A Visit to Santa

A big reason for our time in Colorado this month is to have time with our family. Sunday we repeated a Christmas tradition by going to the Colorado Railroad Museum with Eric, Liz, Kylie and John. We, of course, rode the Santa Train. Several times each year the museum fires up steam engine #346 to give visitors a ride around the grounds. We really enjoy taking advantage of the opportunity each December.

This is a view of the train from our open observation car.



This is taken of a later trip. We were able to watch the train as we waited in the line for Kylie and John to see Santa.



Here is a picture of the three men of the family taking the trip.



And here are the women.



The day was cold with a brisk breeze. We were thankful for our winter coats.

After buying some lunch, we waited for Santa and Mrs. Claus to return from their lunch. Kylie and John each told Santa what they want for Christmas. One of Kylie's wishes was for a loose tooth to come out. She is 10, John is 4.



Since this visit is a tradition, each year we visit the same areas of the museum. In the basement there is a large, beautiful model train layout. You can put in a quarter and the train will run. Between the four adults, we only had one quarter. After the train finished running, John asked his papa to put in money again to make the train run. Papa said, "I don't have any more money." To which John replied, "Well, go get some!"

After we watched the garden railroad and the model trains, both children had their faces painted--something new this year. Kylie had a blue whale painted on her cheek.



John chose a spider and web.


When we live on the road, we miss a lot of family time. That makes the experiences and memories of our time with them even sweeter.