A Day Out With Thomas!

As a parent of young boys, it's not unusual to have boys that love cars, trains, trucks, planes and pretty much anything that moves with wheels. But what is unusual, to a degree, is the absolute fascination with one particular train....Thomas the Train. When Tanner was two, he loved Thomas so much we got him a toddler bed that was a plastic Thomas the Train that you slept in and painted his room in that wild blue Thomas color. He loved to play with trains and loved Thomas toys, but never really got into those somewhat slow Thomas movies. Evan, however, absolutely ADORES all things Thomas....from the trains, to the movies, to stories...if it's about Thomas, it's a hit with Evan. He amazes me how he can name every single character on the movies...and there are a lot of them. So, how could we not take them to see Thomas the Train when he rolled into Nashville today???? I had ordered the tickets weeks ago and had been just about to burst keeping the big day a secret from the boys. We loaded them up this morning and headed out to a special destination that neither one of them got close to guessing until we pulled into the parking lot and Tanner noticed that some of the staff had Thomas badges on their shirts. When we told them we were going to take a ride on the real Thomas the Train, there was complete silence for about 3 seconds and then madness and mayhem as they struggled to free themselves from the carseat harnesses and get to that train! We had some time before we boarded our half hour train ride, so the boys did what they love to do most...play at the many Thomas the Train tables set up at the event. They would have stayed there rolling trains along a wooden track for eternity...seriously! They finally were able to tear themselves away to get various Thomas tattoos and to watch a few Thomas the Train movies in a tent. Evan was in Heaven....Thomas on the big screen....I don't have to tell you the tears started flowing when we had to leave that one. Evan loves his Thomas movies. The boys heard the familiar "peep peep" as Thomas rolled into the train yard and I won't even try to describe the look on their faces as he pulled into sight. Tanner was jumping around asking if we saw him and just so full of happiness he couldn't be still, while Evan was motionless...almost as though he might make it all go away with the slightest movement. His eyes told it all....sheer delight that Thomas was right beside him. We had a great train ride and then made it to the gift shop where the boys each picked out a new train to take home. Tanner chose Spencer and Evan chose Molly (only because the very last Harvey was grabbed right before his little hand could get there) and they were beside themselves that they had new trains. That is, until they got home and Evan decided that he didn't really like Molly afterall and that Tanner should let him have Spencer and the tears, and the wails......oh, well! It was really a perfect day....almost like we were on the island of Sodor...if only for a little while!

Here are some pictures from today!