The Polar Express...What an adventure!

One night, several weeks ago, in an effort to keep from watching "Ice Age Dinosaurs" for the millionth time, Donny suggested "The Polar Express" movie for Aly to watch. I bought it years ago when it came out because I loved the book so much, but it has been collecting dust since then. Aly surprisingly agreed and immediately fell in love with it. Since then, she has watched "Choo-choo Express" pretty regularly and has become very fond of the book. So, when Donny found out they do Polar Express train rides on the Branson Railways, we decided it wasn't something we could pass up. We immediately bought tickets for that week and planned a quick weeknight trip to Branson and back. I know it sounds crazy, but Donny and I have always been big believers in sacrificing a little to make big memories. We feel like we won't ever remember how tired we were the next day, or how we would have spent the money if we didn't go, but we will always remember the experience. And boy, will we...

First of all, let me just say that we were, in true Hubbard fashion, running late. Donny was driving like we were running late. The roads were extremely curvy. Aly puked in her coat.

We didn't have a minute to spare and she PUKED in her COAT! I've been extremely prone to car sickness my entire life and I was feeling pretty green. Unfortunately, Aly was too. We yanked her out of the car, let her finish her business, stripped her down, redressed her, and were on the road again in about 6 minutes flat. Here's the kicker.... our car is at the dealership being worked on and we were in a loaner! Serves them right for taking their time if you ask me.

So we finally get to the train station. Aly's coat and hat are covered in throw up, so we threw a blanket around her and made her wear the hat anyway. (We've been battling ear infections and even had a ruptured eardrum this week. That's another story.) We literally ran to the station as they were loading the last group of passengers. We went into the ticket office/gift shop and the lady behind the counter held up our tickets and said, "Are you the Hubbards?" We grabbed them and took off again. As I turned, my suitcase of a purse smacked into a postcard display and sent postcards flying! They assured us they would clean them up, but I was mortified.

We got to the train and one of the conductors said, "Are you the Hubbards?!" Wow, we must really be late. As he directed us on where to go, I'm hearing walkie-talkies screaming out, "We are waiting on the Hubbards! Has anyone seen the Hubbards?" It was crazy! Thank goodness, we made it to our seats just in time. Even though we did wreak of vomit for the rest of the evening, I think it might have been one of our favorite memories we have made with Aly so far.



The conductor punched our tickets just like he does in the movie! He punched the first letter of our names into our tickets. A nice touch for a major Polar Express fan like Aly.



They made us buy our tickets in even numbers since we were in the dining car. Kitty became the fourth passenger at our table. If you know Aly at all, you know Kitty is well loved and travels with us everywhere. Mr. and Mrs. Claus gave Kitty a lot of extra attention.


In the movie, the little boy puts his ticket and his bell in his robe pockets. I was so disappointed I didn't realize they could wear their pajamas until Aly discovered she had pockets just like the boy in the movie.


This is our server showing us pictures from the book as it is being read over the loudspeaker. They also played the music from the movie and Christmas carols during the rest of the ride.

Hot-Hot-Hot, Hot Chocolate!


Yummy cookies, too!

We picked up Santa and "Mother Claus" (as Aly calls her) at the North Pole. They gave all of the kids a bell like the one in the book and sang Christmas songs with them.

This is a video of when we arrived at the North Pole. The elves were doing flips and handstands, which I missed because I was too busy taking video!



Aly asked Santa for a dinosaur, big surprise, and happily posed for pictures.

October 2009

Pumpkin Patch

She was not into the idea of reaching into a slimy pumpkin and pulling out the insides, so I came up with a new plan. I think her "jack-o-lantern" turned out pretty cute.

Daddy carved the dinosaur pumpkin she requested. As you can tell, she LOVED it.

She originally wanted to be a dinosaur or a shark for Halloween. I'm so glad she changed her mind and decided to be a kitty cat instead. We went to Trunk-or-Treat at church and then stayed home and handed out candy on Halloween night. This was the first year she really understood what was going on and was really excited about it.



I love so many things about this little girl. I love her silly laugh, her imagination, her singing voice, her curiosity, her love of learning, her affection towards babies and animals, her sensitivity and compassion for others, and even her slight bossiness, which I like to think of as early signs of a maternal instict. But one personality characteristic that I have really loved watching develop recently is her sincere appreciation for things that are given to her or done for her. Whether we take her some place special (Chuck E. Cheese and Little Gym still remain her favorite destinations), buy her a new toy or book, or just give her a compliment, she thanks us a thousand times, which is usually followed by a precious, "I'm so happy." There's nothing that melts my heart quite like knowing that my baby is truly happy.

These are some of my favorite recent moments:

• Out of nowhere she will stand up in the cart at Walmart to give me a hug and say, "I looove you, Mommy!"
• I know she's getting a little old, and a little tall, but I still rock her before bed every night. That is when we have our sweetest moments. The other night she said, "Mommy, your mole is so beeeeautiful!" My mole! It makes me think back to when I was little and thought everything about my mom was perfect.
  
• Her new saying is, "Mommy, I love you in the whole wide!" (I'm assuming she means the whole wide world.) She also says, "You are my favorite girl I've ever seen!"
• She starts every prayer the same way. "Dear Jesus, thank you for today. Thank you so much for Daddy, Mommy, and Aly... "I tear up just thinking about it.
  
• Donny and I were dressed up to go to a charity event and she said, "Your dress is so beautiful! Is my daddy going to dance you?" When we were shopping for the dress, I tried a blue one on and asked Aly if she liked it. She replied, "No, it's too dressy. And too bluey."
  

The love God has created between a parent and a child continues to astound me. What a privilege it is to watch this little miracle learn and grow every day.

Our Little Paleontologist

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! I have to go back in time to document one of my favorite memories we've made since then. Last month we went to Oklahoma city to visit Uncle Dan and Aunt Jenn. We couldn't leave without taking a trip to the nearby dinosaur museum. Dinosaurs are Aly's latest passion. She knows more about them than I do, that's for sure. She was so excited the entire time we were there. She kept yelling, "I'm so happy!" I was shocked at how she was able to recognize all of the dinosaurs from just their bones! It was pretty funny watching a little two year old run around and say, "Look, a pteranadon!"

Aly took her "research" in the kids' discovery room very seriously.



This is the biggest complete triceretops skeleton ever found!


Holding a real dinosaur bone!


Aly and Uncle Dan
Aunt Jenn had to work, but we missed her!




Aly chose a dinosaur puzzle from the gift shop to remember her trip to the museum. What a wonderful day!

What a summer!

Wow, what a summer. I haven't been posting everything as it has been happening because I have been so overwhelmed with how much I have had to post! Everyday has been so special for so many different reasons. We have had so much fun together and have made so many memories. We even accomplished our two main goals for the summer: potty-training and big-girl bed!! I continue to fall in love with Aly a little more with each passing day, each newly learned phrase, and each new amazingly sweet personality trait that emerges. Take a look at my overview of a pretty perfect summer...

Naturals Baseball Game

For about a week, Aly would throw up a peace sign every time I told her to look at a camera. Don't ask me why. Donny and I aren't particularly the peace sign posing type. Maybe she thought it meant "Look at me, I'm two!" Thankfully it was a phase that passed quickly.

Aly and Andrew

We got to meet Strike!!

Tap and Ballet Class

Pretty sure their favorite part of dance class is the suckers they get when it's over.

First Haircut

So brave!!

Big Cedar Lodge

We couldn't get Daddy away from the store long enough to take our usual beach vacation this year, but we could get him to commit to a few weekend trips. This one ended up being a lot of fun for all of us.

When I took this picture she was saying, "Oh, I just love coffee!", which is actually chocolate milk. We hate to leave her out of our favorite way to pass the time.

Aly's 3-D glasses were a little oversized.




Tuckered out.
We can't leave the house without "blankie and kitty".


Fun with Friends


Who knew an $8 blow up pool could provide hours of summer fun?

Caroline and Aly came up with this on their own while eating sweet potato fries and asked me to take a picture!

Always taking care of someone.

Silly gulls!!
(That's what Aly says when she sees this picture.)
This was also 100 percent their idea.

Reunited with Ian at the library


She held her own with the boys at Lucas' birthday party.

Aly fell in love with baby Joshua! She took such good care of him while their mommies planned for the new school year.

Aly and her cousin, Aiden, enjoying some pizza.

Hanging out with "Dadd-y-o"

Donny was so patient with Aly when he let her help him with every step in the process of putting together her new bookshelf. She was so proud of herself and so thankful to him for letting her help.


Loving our time at home together

Aly loves playing with her Mrs. Potato Head, as you can see.

Taking a break from a shopping spree to eat lunch with Mommy

Just another reason I love my job. Three months of sleeping in, watching cartoons, cooking together, reading books, painting, coloring, braiding, baby dolls, and lots and lots of hugs and kisses along the way. Thank you for an unforgettable summer, sweet girl.