Day out with Thomas!!

I'm back!  We had a marvelous time in Lancaster Co, PA for the Day Out With Thomas.  First a HUGE thank you to Lori for letting me in on this little secret.  And now, a photo journey of a sweet boy's present for his 3rd birthday.  (And a little sompin' for mommy too...)

So, I may have mentioned we did this all for Josh's 3rd Birthday (it's tomorrow).  His most favorite toys and shows on earth are Thomas the Tank Engine.  At 3, that boy knows more about how trains work than I ever did.  Anyhow, enough about that - bring on the photos!

So, before we even got to the railroad station, one of Josh's "must do's" happened.  We parked in satellite parking and he got to ride on a real school bus to get there.  He was so excited!

He was announcing, very excitedly, to everyone that he was going to meet Thomas.  As we're pulling up to the station, out the window you could see - you guessed it - Thomas!  Josh was standing on my lap to see out the window and when he saw Thomas let out this squeal that would rival any girl.  We get off the bus and were greeted by this:

The excitement is building now.  Josh notices all of the trains in the yard, not just Thomas.  And even though they didn't have faces, he claimed they were characters from the show.  "There's Toby!  And Diesel!  That's Skarloey!"  It was priceless I tell ya!

Made our way to our first stop - riding on the train pulled by Thomas. 

First, there were lines, but we could see the train.  Josh and big brother, Dakota were waiting so patiently. 

Even though these were NOT the coaches from the show, Josh informed us all that we were riding on one of Thomas' coaches, "Annie." 

 

 So we got on and found our seats. 

Then, they began playing the Thomas theme song...

And we sang along. 

And we were off on our 20 minute train ride.  When we got off of the train, we finally got to see Thomas up close, and even stopped for a picture, Grammy included. 

And yes, Daddy was there - I have proof!

There were lots of opportunities to view Thomas - and we did!

 

We made our way into the Thomas store to buy presents from both grandmas - it was a madhouse, but we got everything we wanted and headed out. 

Josh really didn't want to leave, but we had to be getting on the road.  He said goodbye to the railroad station & trains and then we headed home.

I must say, we were not able to view Sir Topham Hatt, as it was getting late and I couldn't find him.  When someone told me where he was, it was too late to go and we had to head home.  However, I was able to get me a little Hatt, dry humping and all:

Overall, I enjoyed the trip and would do it again in a heartbeat.  I would do several things differently (get there earlier so we could see and do more.  OR take Monday off of work so we could stay longer.  OR go on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. 

I can honestly say, the sheer joy I felt being able to take my son to do something like this was incredible.  It never mattered that the drive was 4 1/2 hours without stops for a 20 minute ride on a train.  It didn't matter that I was tired and worn out from the driving.  It didn't matter that the hotel beds were hard as a rock, or that we didn't get a chance to go swimming, or go to any of the Amish stores.  Nothing mattered but seeing this:

There is nothing better in the world than knowing that you were able to give a child that kind of facial expression for an entire day. 

When all was said and done, we were happy to be home, even Josh who went straight to his favorite toy

and played with it until it was time to go to bed. 

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.