We went to the North Pole!

*Tilt your head* Sigh.

For a family night this month we drove across the border to Idaho to meet Santa in Coeur d'Alene.

The boys were so excited when I told them we were going on a boat ride to see Santa and lots of Christmas lights.

Along the way we met Rudolph.

Tate was the only one brave enough to get close to this reindeer.

Ryan turned around cried when Rudy came over.

After a not-too long wait, we were headed to the North Pole!

There was another scary-life-size character that only Tate was happy to see and give a high-five.

Our ride to the North Pole!

It was a bit of a chilly night.

I was prepared this time: everyone was in warm coats, hats, and I even got hand warmers for everyone's pockets.  I knew the best view would be outside on the boat, so I wanted to make sure we could withstand the chill.

Tate was so excited and wanted to go to the top of the boat as soon as we got on.

Me too.

We headed up and got to see a great lights display....there was a fire-breathing dragon.

Awesome!  Blake loved the dragon.

After the great light display, the boat got going on our way to see Santa.

We headed downstairs to warm up before going back out.

It's hard to tell because I was just taking pictures with my phone, but that's Santa!

We made it to the North Pole and Santa was there.

We raced up to the top of the boat to get a better view.

Santa had the "Nice List" and was reading names on it.

Tate and Blake were so excited when Santa read their names (Ryan too)!!!

After Santa finished reading the "Nice List" he wished us a Merry Christmas and had to leave to finish getting presents ready.

We got to enjoy another amazing lights display to music.

On the trip back, we enjoyed some hot chocolate and a candy cane from "Star" the Elf.

We even saw the Grinch trying to get on the boat when we got back to the dock.

What a fun night!

My favorite part of the night was Tate saying over and over that, "This is the BEST night of my life!"

I think we may have found a new family tradition in our new home.

I'm so happy we have our very own North Pole only 30 minutes away.