Howie & "T": Thomas the Train....

May 23, 2008

We decided last year to start a new tradition with our little grand kids. Each year around their birthday we would take them (one-on-one) and celebrate with them for the weekend. We would pick them up on a Saturday and spend the day with them, doing something unique that goes along with their special interests. Then they would have a sleepover with us and go to church the following day together. Finally we would have their parents join us for a Sunday dinner so that they could pick up their kid. I loved the idea because it would give us a chance to bond with them without the distractions of any other grand kids. They would have our undivided attention. This also gives the parents a small break from the kids for a day or so. I had heard from my sister in law that this is what her parents do with her kids and they look forward to it each year. Since our grand kids are so young we decided to wait until their second birthday to start this. Also because of tight schedules we sometimes have to do it on other days besides Saturday so the going to church with us is not always possible. We have done it a few times and so far we have enjoyed our times together sooooo much!

Well, today was Brayden's turn! He just turned 3 years old. I was in Germany when he had his birthday but we knew far in advance what we had planned for him. He is a TRAIN nut! He absolutely LOVES trains especially Thomas. I had heard that Thomas was coming to town so on May 23rd we planned to take a ride up to Heber and spend the day there.

When we picked him up he was wasted. I think he was asleep by the time we pulled out of the driveway.

I was worried because I thought he would be cranky if he was still tired by the time we arrived.

It was pretty funny because you could tell he was excited to go. Each time I would mention Thomas' name his little eyes would crack open a wee bit and he'd get this little grin on his face. He was so zoned out!

By the time we arrived he was rearin' to go! We heard the whistle of the train and he was wide awake. It is amazing that Jack can make a sound of a train whistle almost better than the real thing. Just about each picture I have of him he is whistling.

Here we come Thomas.....

Before our scheduled train ride we were able to go explore some of the other trains parked there. I am not sure if we were suppose to be there but we did anyway. He loved climbing on the different trains and exploring them.

He would climb on one and then look over and see another. " Take me over to that one Papa Howie"

I think it is so cute how he carefully holds onto his toy train the entire day. It never left his hand!

The big locomotive....

He really wanted to get up into this one.

I told him he could just climb up and take a look but he insisted on going inside. I hope we don't get into trouble!

Once he got up inside he refused to get out. It was not until we heard the whistle from Thomas again that he agreed to climb down. He wasn't too happy about leaving this cool train!

More trains......

He wanted to walk the tracks and see where they went. Maybe Thomas would be at the other end!

Here he goes again with his little train whistle...

I love this shirt that he is wearing. My cousin Glenda is so thoughtful. She had heard that Brady loves Thomas and she sent me this in the mail to give to him. It was perfect for our day out with Thomas.

Brayden climbed up on this little pedestal to get a better look. He heard the whistle again and you could barely see it coming in the far distance.

He was sooo excited. I don't think I have ever seen him like this before. All I could think about was how much I wished Ash and Ty could have been there to see his excitement.

As the train got closer Jack Jack was jumping up and down saying, "Grandma T, it is just like my Thomas.... Look it is just like my Thomas." He would sign the color blue and then just repeat it over and over. I think he was a little shocked that he was that close to the "Real Deal"

He did not take his eyes off of that train!

Good thing Thomas was just going straight down the track. Had he been turning a corner Jack would have twisted his neck completely off!

He turned around and said, "I love Thomas"

He was in heaven!

Time to load the train for our ride....

All Aboard....

Come on Papa Howie and Grandma T .... what's taking you so long?

I love these little videos I took of him on the train... Notice the legs just swinging away. All the little boys were doing the same thing. He did not want to be bothered with questions. Just leave me alone and let me enjoy the moment!

Once on the train he was just mesmerized by the whole event. He had this look in his eyes I just can't explain. Just soaking up the moment.

Notice he's still clutching onto his toy train....

He found a track for his toy to ride on....

It was sure a pretty day for a train ride!

Jack has this look on his face like, "Get this strange guy away from me!"

Choo-choo.....

More trains....

They had booths set up all around with different activities for the kids to do. This was a cool demonstration of Legos. This man had made this elaborate train set with ferris wheels and other fun things all made out of Legos. The detail work was incredible. It was fun to watch the trains buzz around these tracks.

They had story time. I was surprised to see Brady just sit there through the entire story. Usually he is up and about and doesn't have the attention span to sit still that long. Very impressive. He was just soaking it all in.

They also had a section where the kids could go pet goats and miniature horses. He did not like that as much.

He enjoyed making huge bubbles with Papa Howie

Such concentration.....

He did the bubble for quite a while but his favorite part was yet to come....

There was a tent set up with many different tracks for the kids to play on. This spot was the "hit" of the day! He walk around and around and around and around the tables for hours! Literally HOURS! Look at that tongue again. Deep in thought as he drove his trains around.

He was now in HEAVEN! I don't think I have ever seen so many excited little boys in one place before. I was amazed how well they all played together. I also had no idea how many different trains there were in this collection. They all have their own name and Jack knew them all.

We decided to just sit down and let him play as long as he wanted. I thought he may do this for maybe ten or fifteen minutes. NO! It was well over an hour. Closer to two before we thought we'd better take off. As we sat there it was funny to watch the parents strategically grab their kids and run out. They first had to find an exit path.... swoop the kid up before they knew what was happening and RUN! Then once outside the tent the kids would have their "Meltdown" kicking and screaming. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!!. There was another couple sitting near us and they were sitting as long as us if not longer. They just didn't want to make a scene and they knew the very moment they said it was time to leave there would be trouble. I watched over the hour or so and laughed each time a child was pulled from this tent to go home. But it was not too funny when it was time for us to take Brayden. We probably should have let him stay until he was finished or bored but we would probably still be sitting there this day watching him walk around the tables had we done so.

Like we imagined and like each child that had to leave, Brayden cried and cried and cried.

"But Grandma "T" I love this place! Please don't make me leave"

We tried bribing him by telling him we could go visit with Sir Topham Hat. He had no interest at all with that. He would not even stand next to him for a picture. He just wanted to go play with the trains again.

Papa Howie had a great idea.... We'll take him into one of the shops there and buy him a new train. Jack went from one display to another saying, "I want that.....I want that....Please buy me this" It was a lot better than the crying fit he had outside just before but now it was the job of choosing just the right toy. Then Papa Howie showed him this cool train set which was set up and running. It was pretty cool with Thomas blowing out REAL steam. Finally Jack-Jack was happy again and we were able to leave.

Last shot of Thomas before we left....

This was a great adventure! I think I probably had more fun than Brayden just watching him and the excitement of that day. We all loved it! Goodbye Thomas!

Once inside the car Jack insisted we open the train set up and pull out his new train. Notice the one in his lap which he did not let go of ALL DAY LONG! Just after this picture he handed it to me and said "Grandma T you can have this Thomas now. I love you"

One thing I love about Steve's car is that it has a dvd player in it and the grand kids can watch movies. It was nice because we had just spent over 3 hours listening to Jack say "CHOOOO-CHOOOOO! Finally quiet.... Aaaahhhh! Time to unwind!

After a nice dinner in Heber we got home and promptly put together the train set. I had to get a picture of Howie actually looking at the instructions.

Men drive me NUTS when it comes to the fact that they think they don't need help. They can figure things out on their own. These toys are made with instructions for a reason. It takes less time to put it together if you start out knowing what to do. Lots of wasted play time as they sit their and try to figure it out on their own just to find out later they have to look at the instructions after all. Okay enough of that! I just went off on a tangent. I just think that all men do this and I think it is WIERD! Howie says "It's just the way we are-Just love me for it" Which I do! This little editorial was not aimed at Steve. It goes out to all men out there. You are sometimes strange creatures!

Play time with the train set.....

Brayden loves to lay down next to Papa Howie and watch movies. Usually it is with a bowl of freshly made popcorn but we were just winding him down for the night.