We never need an excuse to go to Durango, but when a friend told us the the Durango Silverton railway would be featuring The Polar Express, we knew we HAD to go. Even better was that another friend, Mandy, decided she would bring her family out to Durango the same weekend we were going!!! Kind of an aside - the friends I refer to I "met" on an online pregnancy forum while I was pregnant with Rianna. Several of us still keep in touch regularly, so I was absolutely thrilled to finally be able to meet one of my fellow "September Mommies" in person. Mandy and her family arrived in Albuquerque on Friday. After a quick lunch at Chik Fil A, we headed out to Durango!!! We both stayed at the Doubletree in Durango, right on the Animas River. After a long drive, Rianna was ready to run off some energy, so Mandy and her husband brought their son Noah to our room to play with Rianna. After quite a bit of running and jumping, they settled down in a chair to read.
The next day, we had planned to go sledding or tubing, but the hills weren't open yet. So, we headed down to Vallecito Lake, our future home, and we found plenty of snow there!
After playing in the snow for awhile, we headed back to the hotel for some hot soup and a nap in preparation for our ride on The Polar Express!!!
Here's Rianna all decked out in her jammies (and her ever-present boots)!
And our family!
Here's the train!
All Aboard!
Our "chefs"
The Conductor
SANTA!!
And one very excited little girl who got a shiny new bell!
And Denny was excited too, he just doesn't show it very well! :)
