a day out with thomas

Yesterday, we sprang a great surprise on Nick! We piled into the car and drove the 2 hours to Granite City, IL, just over the McKinley Bridge from St. Louis, to spend "A Day Out with Thomas." We wouldn't tell him where we were going - just that it was a surprise and it would take a while to get there. As usual, he was great in the car, and even napped a little (The kid sawed some logs in that car seat!). We stopped at a Cracker Barrel just this side of St. Louis for lunch, and this was really where his fabulous day began, because he got to have his favorite - a pancake with a little baby bottle of syrup! :) The child loves those baby bottles of syrup. After lunch, we only had about 20-some more miles to go before we got to the event, and honestly, we couldn't have planned our arrival better: Just as we pulled into our parking spot, the real train, pulled by Thomas the Tank Engine, went chugging by in front of us, Thomas' whistle tooting merrily. When Nick saw this, he literally jumped up out of his booster seat and SCREAMED with joy and delight! He was absolutely beside himself, and covered us with kisses as he thanked us for his surprise.

Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold and windy for our taste, but we had a blast nonetheless. At the Imagination Station, Nick got to color and play at a Thomas table, and he got a cool tattoo of Thomas on his cheek. We also checked out a huge Thomas built with Legos, and Nick sat on and played around that for quite some time. There was a little music area where they had railway tunes playing, and a woman was handing out egg shakers and bells and helping the kids get down with their bad selves. :) There was also a big inflatable slide, and Nick had a great time on that! He got to meet Sir Topham Hatt, and also had his picture taken with the train conductor, who looked uncannily like Capt. Kangaroo. The prices in the gift shop were horrific, especially for a cheap-o like me, but we did concede to let Nick get two wooden toys - a special edition "Day Out with Thomas 2009" passenger car and Sir Topham Hatt's car. Of course, those two small wooden toys ran us $30!

Nick got to ride on a little tractor-pulled train, but the main attraction was, of course, the 25-minute ride on a real train, pulled by Thomas the Tank Engine himself! The passenger cars were double-decker ones, which was pretty cool, and of course, it was imperative to Nick that we sit on the top level. Even though the scenery was anything but scenic, that train ride was by far the highlight of the day for Nick, and for me, as well, because he actually sat on my lap and snuggled with me! He never sits on my lap anymore, so I really cherished that, and soaked it up! I think Brian enjoyed the train ride a lot, too - partly because it got us out of the wind and chill for awhile.

It was a wonderful time altogether, and we were so glad we did it, even though we basically drove 4 hours round-trip to be there for about two hours. On the way home, we stopped at Panera in Rolla for dinner (Yay! I love Panera, and don't get to eat there often enough.), and as the capper to his day, we let Nick pick out a huge chocolate cookie to take home. Later at home, he enjoyed it with a glass of milk. And he slept like a log last night!

Here are a few pictures from our wonderful day:


Nick and Mommy on the train

Nick and Daddy on the train

Nick with the train conductor (See? Totally Capt. Kangaroo!)

Nick with the rather jowly Sir Topham Hatt