Birmingham

This post will probably be somewhat boring since I have no pictures. I DID actually take pictures...I just haven't taken the time to upload them to the computer!

Anyway, last Friday we went to Birmingham to ride the Polar Express along with my sister and her family. We left from my parents' house about 11 Friday. We had a very uneventful trip and arrived in Birmingham between 3 and 4.

Once we got checked in at our hotel, we met my sister and her family for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. I have never been to The Cheesecake Factory, but it is one of the places I have always wanted to go. It did not disappoint! It was very, very good! We had a great time. I even saw one of Keith's aunts there....ha! She also lives in the Jackson area, but she goes to Birmingham every year to do the Black Friday thing. It was fun to see her!

Immediately after dinner, we headed to the train stop. The train stop is in a small town about 20 minutes south of Birmingham. I did not realize it until we got there, but my sister got us the good tickets....we were in 1st Class. This meant that we had the comfy seats that face each other...yay! The girls were AMAZED to be riding a real train, and the employees were so nice! We sang Christmas Carols on the way to the "North Pole." It only took about 5 minutes to get there....I was honestly expecting it would take a little longer....like maybe 20ish minutes, but 5 minutes worked out fine. We arrived to the North Pole which was elaborately decorated with lights. They even had a workshop! We were greeted with waves by Santa, Mrs. Claus, and two elves. Another perk to being in 1st Class was that Santa actually came on the train with us to meet and greet. The elves came on first, and they were followed by Santa and Mrs. Claus....we got some really good pictures with all of the kids with them. I didn't know how my girls would react to them, but they really liked them! After the meet and greet, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves got off, and it was time to head back to the train station. We got yummy hot chocolate, muffins, and an ornament for the tree on the way back.

We really enjoyed the Polar Express. The kids had fun, but I don't think it will be a yearly tradition. I think it will be more like a one time thing.

We went back to the hotel and went to bed. The girls did well in the hotel. I was worried that it would be hard to get them to go to sleep, but it wasn't bad at all. I guess all of the activities wore them out. The only problem we had in the hotel was that they were a little loud. I just hope we didn't disturb anyone. :-/

The next morning we got up and took our time getting dressed and packed up. The Alabama/Auburn game was at 2:30 that day, and we wanted to avoid Tuscaloosa traffic, so we decided to go to The Galleria for lunch and a little shopping. Ummmm......my kids were AMAZED by an indoor mall. I guess that was Kate Rivers' first time in an indoor mall....the one we go to in Jackson is an outdoor mall. We have taken Ava before, but she was too young to remember it. They wanted to look at everything. And of course we had to let them ride the little rides they have!

We headed home after a while at the mall....unfortunately we were not successful in avoiding the football game traffic. All I can say is, "Wow!" Ole Miss games have traffic, but not nearly as bad as that! I really wanted to roll down my window and yell, "Roll Tide!"  (I seriously think I would be an Alabama fan if I weren't an Ole Miss fan.)

All in all, we had a great trip. I can't wait for our next family trip! :)


By the way, I am pretty convinced I don't have any readers anymore since I went MIA for a while! If you are still around, leave me a little comment and let me know! I would love to know if anyone still reads!!! :) :)