Advent Box Activities - Part 2

While Grandpa and Grandma were staying with us, we got to involve them in several of our larger Advent box activities:

The Polar Express

This special event was held a couple hours north of where we live, so our experience took nearly a full day. Cody and Jaden seemed very curious about riding on a real covered train and were particularly interested in the Polar Express idea since we had watched the movie as a family just a week earlier. The day we rode the train was somewhat rainy and fairly chilly, so it actually felt like winter!

Our family all wore our PJs for the ride (or at least comfy casual clothes for me since I don't have any maternity PJs). We also brought along our own copy of the Polar Express book so that we could follow along better when they read the story (thanks for this great suggestion, Kim!).

All of the kids going on the train received golden souvenir tickets.

As you can tell, Cody and Jaden were thrilled to pose for another picture for Mommy. :)

The Polar Express employees were all dressed in either PJs and robes or chef's attire.

On the ride to the North Pole, our family of 4 (+1) rode on one side together. We loved how the train seats had the ability to face either direction. This part of the train wasn't heated, so we were thankful that we had a spare blanket from the van to use on the ride.

Grandpa and Grandma sat just across the aisle from us.

All aboard! Say good-bye to the train station!

Once the train pulled away, the chefs welcomed us onto the Polar Express and handed out hot chocolate and cookies.

Yum! The cookies were especially tasty. As the boys snacked, the loudspeakers on the train broadcast a reading of the Polar Express story.

Jaden and Cody waited until the hot chocolate was practically cold before they were willing to take a sip. The boys take after their Daddy on this account!

Soon after the book reading, the train pulled up to the North Pole where we saw Santa and a group of elves waving to us. The train employees had all the kids chant, "I wish that Santa would get on the train!" over and over until we saw Santa board the train. Jaden and Cody seemed annoyed by hearing this phrase repeated multiple times, so they didn't participate in the chant.

On the return trip, Grandpa and Grandma sat next to Jaden and Cody. Unfortunately, both boys were fairly moody (likely tired?) on the train ride back, so we didn't get a great picture of them with Grandma and Grandpa.

Santa eventually made his way through each train car and greeted all of the kids. He also handed out small silver bells (just like in the book) that were engraved with "The Polar Express." The elves also encouraged some of the kids to dance with them in the aisles to the Christmas music that was playing. Cody and Jaden were a bit grumpy for this portion too, so that's all the pictures we have! :)

Overall, I'm happy that we experienced this event, but I'm not sure our family will become repeat attenders. Cody and Jaden seemed to be only mildly impressed and interested with the whole activity, so we'll chalk it up to a fun one-time experience and perhaps take our little girl back by herself someday! :)

Gingerbread House Building at the Children's Museum

I had seen this activity advertised in the museum's newsletter and was so excited to give it a try. I love the idea of making gingerbread houses around Christmas, but with Cody and Jaden at the ages they are, it has always sounded like too much effort. However, if someone does all the prep work and clean up for me, I'm all in!! Matt and Kim and her boys attended along with us. The boys all wanted to play at a few museum centers before we started with the gingerbread houses. The mulch pit is typically where my boys always want to begin.

During this visit, the boys spent more time then they ever had before at the Duplo table. 

They attached all kinds of fun trailers and animals to various vehicles and loved driving them around for at least 20 minutes.

At some point during our visit (I think this was after the gingerbread house building), the three 4-year-olds wanted to play fireman.

I'd love for these 3 precious little fireman to come to my rescue someday! :)

We also stopped by the grocery store and took turns playing cashier.

At first, the boys were a bit reluctant to stop their playing to go build gingerbread houses. Once we got started, though, I think they all loved the building process (especially being able to snitch some of the candy!). The museum had all the supplies set up so well. I was very impressed with their organization. Several workers dressed as elves walked around to help the kids too. This elf helper told Jaden and Cody to start by squirting frosting on their plate to make a strong foundation.

Then, Grandpa helped the boys assemble all the pieces of their house, actually made from graham crackers rather than gingerbread (no one seemed the least bit disappointed about this change).

After the houses were erected, the fun part of decorating began! The museum gave the kids Fruit loops, marshmallows, skittles, M&Ms, peppermints, and sprinkles. Cody and Jaden could be fairly independent with this step. Cody used a TON of frosting with his decor.

At some point during our building process, Mrs. Claus (right next to Nathan) stopped by to visit and to give out juice to the kids. She pretended as if we were in her kitchen, building with the "cookies" that she had baked. It was a cute touch.

When Jaden and Cody were done with their houses, the elves came around with wipes to clean up the boys and the tables. Then, they wrapped the houses in cellophane so they'd be easy to transport. All of these details made our house-building process SO easy! Jaden and Cody were very proud of their completed houses.

Looking at Christmas Lights

Another night, we loaded the boys in the van along with bags of popcorn, cups of lukewarm chocolate, and a scavenger hunt list. We were off to look at Christmas lights. We went to a subdivision in which every street decorates in a specific theme. It's quite amazing! Jaden and Cody stayed interested in the Christmas lights much longer this year because they were looking for the items on their scavenger hunt list. I'll definitely need to remember this trick again next year.

Cody enjoying his lukewarm chocolate and popcorn bag!

Chuck E. Cheese Visit

Can you believe that these 4 1/2 year olds had never yet experienced the world of Chuck E. Cheese before this night? Not surprisingly, Jaden and Cody loved this place! I actually wasn't able to go along with the family since I was teaching piano lessons, but Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa helped the boys try out all kinds of rides and games.

Apparently the boys only earned a handful of tickets, enough to buy a tootsie roll treat and a few stickers. They, however, were thrilled!

Now that the boys have been introduced to the joys of Chuck E. Cheese, I'm sure we'll be back to play again sometime sooner than  another 4 1/2 years! :)

The Donut Shop

One of our last outings with Grandma and Grandpa was getting donuts one morning before Daddy had to go to work. Just like last year, Cody and Jaden immediately picked out the donuts with colored frosting and sprinkles.

What a yummy treat!

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for joining us on all of these adventures!