Our Day Out with Thomas

We had a fun time yesterday at the Day Out with Thomas. Of course, I think Sam had the most fun of all! :) Although he didn't have a huge grin on his face, his eyes were very wide as he took it all in. We could tell he was pretty excited to see "Big Thomas" and all the Thomas-related stuff, not to mention several other trains that were at the railroad, too.

When we arrived, Jim took Sam through the different tents (gift shop, "Imagination Station," etc.), while I changed and nursed Julia. Then I caught up with them in time to board the train for our 20 minute ride. Much to Jim's dismay, we discovered that Thomas is a big fake! (The train was actually being pulled/pushed by a diesel engine at the other end, while Thomas is little more than a big box on wheels.) However, it was a still a fun experience, and Sam thought it was pretty cool to have a train ride. We ended up in the only air conditioned car, as we were some of the last to board the train and all the other cars were full. It was a VERY hot day, so being in the air conditioned car was a treat! The only downside was the rather strong, stale smell of the air conditioning in there. But at least we got to ride in comfort. :) Julia even did well for the whole ride and only got fussy toward the end of it. I took a picture of Sam and Jim standing beside Thomas (this picture has somehow disappeared off the computer at present, as we were having some technical difficulties yesterday--but maybe we'll get it back eventually), then Jim and Sam walked around and took some more pictures while I went off to nurse Julia again. (She tends to be a "cluster feeder" who wants to eat in short little spurts over a little period of time, then take a nice long nap. Hey, at least she is sleeping through most every night, though!:)) I appreciated that the station had a caboose all set up for a nursing/changing station for mommys. It wasn't fancy, but they had a bunch of folding chairs, a bench for changing babies, along with baby wipes, hand sanitizer, and Diaper Genies. And also a big fan! It was nice to be in out of the sun, and keeping a little cool with the help of the fan. I think it's so nice when facilities cater to families by having a place set up like that for moms. Very considerate! Julia ended up falling asleep, so I popped her back in the stroller, then walked around till I ran into Jim and Sam again. After that, Sam got to meet Sir Topham Hatt (or as Sam calls him, "The Fat 'Troller"). Sam wasn't too sure about going up and talking to him, so Daddy went along with him. We took more pictures as Thomas came into the station after another trip. Then we decided it was time to go, as we were pretty hot and hungry.


We stopped at McDonald's for lunch, then headed to the outlets for a quick shopping trip. I got my Yankee Candle "car jars" (see previous post), and I was also excited to find my favorite jeans in Eddie Bauer on sale for almost half the normal price. I got 2 pairs, so I should be set for a while! :) After a quick stop at TJ Maxx, we headed for home. Both kids conked out right away and slept all the way home, so Jim and I got to enjoy some time to talk without interruptions, which is always a treat. :)

All in all, it was a good day, and we will probably plan to do it again next time Thomas visits our state.