For all of you with little ones in your life, be they children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, you probably know how excited they are to see, read about, and sing about Thomas the Train and his Friends. Luke, as a 2-year old boy, is no exception, but rather his prime demographic. He loves everthing about Thomas, Gordon, Percy, Emily, etc, and of course Sir Topham Hatt, the director of the rail lines on the Island of Sodor. If all this sounds strange to you, that's because it probably is unless you are or have a little one and then, it's all simultaneously sensible and magical. At least children are keeping this kind of wonderment and excitement alive for us all to enjoy.
We recently took Luke to meet and ride Thomas n Chattagnooga at their Railway Museum. It was a great day for the whole family with lots to do: petting zoo, putt-putt golf, air castle, storytelling, Thomas and Friends tattoos (big hit!), playing with train sets and then the big events of meeting Sir Topham Hatt and going for a ride on the real Thomas steam engine. We had a great half-hour ride and hours more excitement in remembering it all these days after. Hope you enjoy the photos and slideshow at the left from Luke's Day Out with Thomas!
Over Memorial Day weekend, Luke went on his very first camping trip in the great outdoors. We camped for a couple nights at Unicoi State Park near Helen, GA. We decided to split our holiday weekend between camping and a visit with Ben's parents at their home in GA. Helen is close enough to my family in NC that they were able to come over and camp part of the time with us, too. For Luke it was the best of all worlds. In one long weekend, he saw both sets of grandparents and his Aunt Chele, slept in a tent, went fishing and wading in the lake, ate roasted marshmallows, and then capped it off with a birthday dinner for Nonna and two days of 'swim camp' at Grandpa Tom and Nonna's pool. He loves the water, so whether lake or pool, he was glad to get wet. The camping debut was a great success, so I'm glad to say it will be the first of many good trips to come with Luke. Ben really enjoyed being out there, too, as it is a peaceful and much needed break from work. One highlight was when we walked up to Anna Ruby Falls to see an amazing double waterfall before heading to LaGrange. Enjoy the photos...can you believe how big a and how much a two-year old can do?!
