Santa's Village

To kick off the holiday season we went to Santa's Village the day after Thanksgiving. Of course Sophia had to keep the trip interesting so we had to make a detour to the pediatrician for eye drops to control the conjunctivitis symptoms she started to display 10 min. before walking out of the door.

We told Sophia that we were going to the North Pole to see Mr. & Mrs Claus. The weather helped out in pulling off a great visit to the North Pole. When we left Methuen the temps were typical of November and there was not a snowflake to be seen. Sophia fell asleep about an hour into the trip and woke up when we were in the mountains of New Hampshire and snow on the ground. About a half hour into being there we were caught in a snow squall and Sophia was so excited to see the snow.

Even though the temperatures were close to 30 degrees, Sophia still had a great time riding the rides and exploring the park. Thankfully, we brought a lot of extra warm clothes and made a lot of stops during the trip to add warmer layers.

Sophia wanted to see Santa but was more excited to see Mrs. Claus when she made her rounds outside their Christmas Cottage. (I think Mrs. Claus looks like Kathy Bates.)

Taking care of Santa's reindeer.

Daddy's girls!

This is a happy family picture as we were waiting for our last ride of the night....Santa's Sleigh. At this point in the trip it was 7:15 at night and around 15 degrees. The sleigh ride is a tram that takes people around on a track suspended above the park. Well, we were all smiles waiting in line but half way through the trip the track had built up ice on it and the sleigh in front of us got stuck. That meant that we couldn't go anywhere until they moved. About 10 minutes later their sleigh began to move and so did we....only to get stuck in the same spot. A 10 minute ride turned into a 23 minute ride. That will be the last time I EVER go on that ride again!