The Polar Express

A couple weekends ago, Graham and I surprised Jocelyn with a trip to Durango, CO to ride The Polar Express! The night before, we read her the book and told her we were going to ride the train and see Santa. Needless to say, she was SO excited.

It was a little chilly and there was a lot of snow on the ground, but it made it feel more like Christmas!

We arrived around noon, ate lunch, walked around and looked at the little shops. Jocelyn was very anxious to see a train, so we headed over just in time to see the three o'clock train come in. I think she was a little disappointed that it wasn't our turn yet!

They start reading the book on the loudspeaker while you are still in the train depot. Then you move onto the platform and they read about the train pulling up to Billy's house. Then the train pulls in with all the chefs waiving and the train is all decorated. The conductor and the little boy, Billy, act out the part where he asks if Billy wants to ride the train and they ask if anyone else wants to ride.

They serve hot chocolate, cookies and read the rest of The Polar Express while you travel to The North Pole.

The Conductor punching everyone's "golden ticket".

Then you pull up to The North Pole and see Santa with his elves standing there waving. Santa comes on the train and gives a silver bell to everyone. (Obviously Jocelyn's FAVORITE part!)

Can you tell someone is excited?!? When Santa was ALMOST to her, I reached over, gave her a hug and asked if she was excited. I could feel her heart beating SO fast through her coat! I couldn't believe how fast it was going!

On the ride back, everyone sings Christmas carols. Then you get to go see Santa again and sit on his lap in the train museum.

It really was magical and so fun to see Jocelyn's excitement! Anyone want to meet us up there next year?!?

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"....Jocelyn style!

Thinking about this still makes me laugh hysterically! Oh how I wish I had the video camera out when it happened.

Yesterday, Jocelyn was on the phone with my Dad while I was curling her hair in the bathroom. When we were in Durango, Jocelyn received a bell from Santa. She has been singing Jingle Bells for Grandpa while shaking her bell since. So he asked her to sing it for him again, but she said, "I don't have my bell right now" so I told her to sing a different song.

Joc: "Okay....We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! You've paid twice the price....Mom? How does it go?"

Ohhhh my goodness....I was DYING laughing at this point. Have you seen the TJ Maxx/Marshalls commerical? Apparently it's been on our t.v once or twice and she thinks that is really how the song goes. I got in so much trouble for laughing though. She stormed out of the bathroom and tried to lock me in. Of course, I didn't notice b/c I was still laughing so hard, but later I felt bad for making her embarrassed. Seriously, it was the cutest thing!

Update: Horseback riding!

Well, it's been a couple months since Jocelyn started horseback riding lessons and the novelty has definitely NOT worn off! She truly loves it and every morning, she counts how many days she has until Saturday! She is very comfortable around the horses and has no fear, which can make me a little nervous!

The past couple weeks, she has been learning to TROT and POST! Crazy! She started trotting on Annabelle, the white horse. Annabelle is 26 years old and is a very calm, slow horse. I felt comfortable with Jocelyn on learning to trot on her because she would trot for a minute and then just walk. Last weekend, someone else was riding Annabelle so Jocelyn got to ride Hope, the black horse. She was VERY excited, but I was nervous because I had watched Hope chase after another horse a few weeks ago. She is a younger horse and definitely more spirited! When Jocelyn was ready to trot with Hope, she gave her a good kick and even Jocelyn was surprised how much faster Hope's trot was!!!

You can tell she's trotting here and trying to post. The first time she tried to post, I thought she was going to fall off the horse because she was bouncing SO much more than she was before! She is getting a lot better at it and I think with time, she will get the hang of it. It's hard to get the timing right of when you need to stand up or sit down, especially when you are only five years old! The good thing is, she doesn't get frustrated!

I think we are in for YEARS at the ranch with this girl! She has found her passion!

Jocelyn is FIVE!

I'm a little late posting this! Jocelyn turned five on November 15th. I really can't believe my little baby girl is five! I begged her to just stay four, but there was no way I could convince her. Sad. Every parent says it, but I truly think this is going by WAY TOO FAST! There are times I miss her cute little baby face and the adorable way she would say certain words, like bee-anna for banana. If she wanted to sit next to you, she would say "Can I sit by with you?" Awwww, cute. Then again, it IS fun to watch her grow and experience new things. She still makes me laugh all the time (even though sometimes she gets embarrassed if I laugh and says not to tell anyone). Sometimes I wonder if I'll survive the teenage years if I already get this much attitude, but I figure it'll be a nice pay back to my brother if I send her there. No, I'm kidding. I get attitude sometimes, but the majority of the time she is VERY easy and so much fun. She is truly a blessing and we are so grateful that we are her parents.

Jocelyn five years ago in the hospital. Ohhhh, I love these pictures! I can't believe she was that small!

I thought I'd write down some of her favorite things. It'll be fun to look back on this years down the road. This is what she said.
Favorite...
Food: Vegetables (woohoo!)
Color: Blue
Drink: Dr. Pepper...I mean, water. (haha)
Toy: Dogs and bears.
Thing to do: Be with you. See MiMi. Horseback riding lessons.
Animal: Dogs
Movie: The Polar Express (We went to Durango yesterday to ride it.)
T.V Show: Papa Bear (Bernstein Bears)
Friend: Jessica
Holiday: Christmas
Birthday present: Scooby Doo stuff from Bryson
Boyfriend: Gavin. (hahaha. I thought she'd get mad at me for this question)

Cousins

Jocelyn and I were able to make a quick trip to Utah with MiMi to meet Mykayla, Jocelyn's new cousin. (I'm not allowed to call her my niece b/c "She is MY cousin, Mom") We had a great time catching up with John and Myrica and seeing Aiden and Mykayla.

Giddy Up Cowgirl!

We had Jocelyn's party yesterday at the ranch! (I scheduled it a week before her actual birthday b/c BYU is playing UNM the weekend of her birthday and I knew most of our friends would be at the game!) She was SO excited to show all her friends the horses and other animals! We could not have asked for better weather. It was gorgeous and 70 degrees! Jocelyn looked so cute in her cowgirl outfit that MiMi and Grandpa Castle gave her!

Jocelyn and Jessica waiting for the party to start.

It was such an easy party to decorate since it was outdoors! Cowboy boots that the kids got to fill the pinata candy in and a cowboy hat for everyone.

This is Bryson. His Mom told me when they bought Jocelyn a present, he handed it to the cashier and said, "this is for my girlfriend!" So funny. He also announced to Jocelyn that he is going to marry her. (Then she rolled her eyes.)

The Birthday Girl! She told me she didn't want to wait a week to turn five, so if you ask her, she is now five!

All the horses are so sweet and loved the attention!

Caught red handed, Bryson! That's Jocelyn's boyfriend holding another girls hand! UH OH!

All the kids got their faces painted! Jocelyn wanted a yellow horse.

Cute Miss Kendra with her star.

Checking out the cake!

I printed some pictures of Jocelyn's lessons in black and white for the cake/present table.

I love this girl so much! Jocelyn, PLEASE stop growing up SO fast!

This is one of my favorite pictures! What could be better? Cake and ice cream with horses nearby!

This is Jocelyn with "Donkey". He is so friendly but definitely loud!
PRESENT TIME!




"Follow me, guys! Pinata time!"

Lining up for the pinata.

The gang! What a fun group!

YEE-HAW! Happy Birthday Jocelyn!