Christmas in Uptown!

 Saturday, we met our dear friends, the Howard's for a fun-filled afternoon.

We didn't tell the kids exactly where we were going until we were in the car and well on our way there. Of course they were full of questions.

 "Where are we going?" "Who's going to be there?" "What are we doing?" And on and on it went.

Finally, they broke us down and we had to tell them;)

We were actually on our way to the "train station" aka the light rail.


The kids LOVE riding the "train",

but riding the train with friends...now that's a real treat.

After we purchased our tickets, we headed up the ramp to the train.

As Sophie waved our train into the station, the kids got ready to board.

I loved the fact that each one of our kids all found a little buddy and quickly got comfortable in a seat. 

Like I said, riding the train is such a treat, BUT riding with friends is...the BEST!


The kids laughed and giggled all the way into town.

Once we arrived at our destination, we gathered up our belongings and hopped off the train.

We then walked over to Founders Hall to see the Bearstein Bears preform.

This is one of my most favorite Christmas attractions to visit in town.

 The mechanical bears form a little orchestra and continually play Christmas classics every hour.

The kids got a kick out of them and enjoyed listening

 (and in Sophie's case-dancing) to the music!


After our visit with the bears, it was time to feed this hungry crew.

Five guys sounded good to all...

so Five Guys is was!

After everyone was thoroughly stuffed , we walked over to the Ritz-Carlton to see their life-sized, organic gingerbread house.

It really was AMAZING and the kids had fun touching, smelling, and even in some cases... uh...tasting the house;)

We also knew there was a FREE Bobcats scrimmage going on in town on Saturday too. We decided to sneak in and catch the last few minutes of the game.

Soon it was time to head home, but not before one last stop at McDonald's for ice cream.
 

It was THE perfect way to end to a sweet day

 spent with precious friends.