My Mom called me a while back and asked if her and Dad could take the kids to see Thomas the Tank Engine when he came to town. Of course I said yes, they would love it, and I got invited along too. After the tickets were officially booked, I couldn't wait to tell Georgia all about it. She was so excited, we had to draw a countdown on our chalkboard so that we could stop debating about whether it was "Tomorrow" or not.
The Day Out With Thomas finally arrived, and the kids were so excited! I squeezed James into his "conductor" overalls one last time before he outgrew them and grabbed their train engineer hat from the play clothes and we took off for Heritage Park (one of the kid's favorite places).
Everybody's ticket comes with a scheduled time to ride the train, so we lined up when it was our turn, and rushed to get in the car that Grandpa really wanted to ride in (it's not just exciting for the kids!). We hopped on the train, yelled, "All aboard!" and rode around the park three times.
I wish travel still looked like the inside of that train car, it was beautiful! What a way to see the country. The kids got the chance to meet Thomas and take pictures with him, Georgia loved that his eyes and mouth moved and smiled.
There were lots of other activities to do and a passport to fill with stamps so the children could collect a prize on their way home. Little wooden train sets were everywhere, there were craft stations and entertainment, and a few of the rides were already open for the season.
The face-painting was a huge hit, both of them decided to be puppies and "barked" their way around the entire park.
Every time the train went by we all had to stop and wave, they were in love with Thomas. The kids (and the adults) had a blast, and they felt so special that Grandma and Grandpa wanted to take them. James fell asleep the next few nights holding onto the empty Thomas pez dispenser that they bought for him, he loves that thing.
