DOWT - Part 3

When we got off the train we were going to go see Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas to take pictures. Surprisingly, Nathan was more excited about getting to see Sir Topham Hatt. So...we went there first. When he got his turn. He turned into the silly Nathan that we love! I couldn't resist including several pictures. You might have to look at them large size to get the full enjoyment.




Then, we headed for the line to take pictures with Thomas. While Matt and the kids waited in line, I went to get a picture of the whole train.


Nathan wanted to do his hand like you do to get truckers to blow their whistle. I guess he was hoping that Thomas would "peep peep" for him.


We got our turn up in front of Thomas. I actually didn't get any pictures that I loved from this location. I thought I would include one anyway.


And here is one at a better angle (in my opinion).

DOWT - Part 2

So...here's the main part of the trip...the train ride. On the way to the train, we stopped to get a quick picture of Nathan and Thomas (more to come later).


Here is Nathan and William getting on the train.


After we boarded the train, we had about 15 minutes before we went anywhere. We took the opportunity to get a picture of all of us. Look! We're all looking at the camera at the same time!


I also went down to the end of the coach car to get a picture of the whole environment. You can see Matt and Nathan about halfway down on the right. There were two sets of seats facing each other, so we were all in one little area together.


We tried hard to get a picture of Mommy and the kids, but we just didn't all look at the same time.


Caroline really enjoyed looking out of the train. It's the first time that she's been in anything moving and not been strapped in. She could get right up to the window and check out everything going by.


Nathan was checking everything out, too. We went over a piece of Lake Blackshear (see above) and through some pecan tree orchards. On the way back, there were some people out in a boat that waved at us as we went by.


This man was the "host" of our coach. At the beginning he got everyone to say "push Thomas push...push Thomas push..." While we were riding, they played some Thomas music and short stories. He would come down the aisle clapping. Caroline thought that was very entertaining and would watch him coming and dance to the music. So...we had to get a picture of her friend!

DOWT - Part 1

Matt and I have been waiting for months to take Nathan to a Day Out With Thomas (DOWT) event. We decided to go to the one in Cordele. We didn't tell Nathan about it until a few days before, though, because we knew he would be asking about it every day. We knew that we would get to ride on Thomas's train, but the details about the rest of the event were a bit vague. We didn't exactly know what to expect, but we figured it would still be a fun family outing. So, here is part one of the recap:

Nathan got his ticket when we arrived at Georgia Veterans Memorial Park. We actually didn't need the ticket for anything but the train ride itself, so we took it back until we got to the train.


There was a big tent set up with all kinds of activities. Since we were there a little early, we let Nathan enjoy a few before heading to where the train was located. Here he is stamping some of his favorite engines. (Notice that William also got to enjoy this event.)


They also had coloring sheets and markers. That didn't last long, though, because...


...he quickly spotted the actual trains that he could play with. They had 5 or 6 tables set up with (I think) three different types of Thomas trains. Luckily, there weren't too many kids around to compete with!


Caroline enjoyed hanging out and watching all the people as well as Nathan playing.


I think it's funny that one of the things that he got most excited about was the bubbles. They had machines set up all over the place that would occasionally blow bubbles.

our adventure revealed

Our adventure was to see Thomas - the big life size ride-on-his-train Thomas!


Over the next few days, I'll chronicle our adventure. Stay tuned!

a special trip

We took a special trip yesterday. It was fun! I don't have time to post about it right now, but here is a clue. See if you can guess what we did (if you already know what we did, don't tell).

new pictures

Last week, both of my kids needed a bath. No news there, right. Well, when I give Caroline a bath, Nathan wants to help. When I give Nathan a bath, Caroline wants to play in the water. So, I decided to give them simultaneous baths this time. Unless I'm wrong, this is the only one they have had together. I thought it was worth a picture.


About two weeks ago, Caroline started walking while holding hands. We had tried to get her to do it a few times, but she just wasn't interested in moving her feet. As seems to often hold true for kids, she just decided to do it one day...and hasn't stopped. Before, when I put her down, she would easily sit on the floor. Now, however, when I go to put her down, she positions herself to be standing. She will walk all over the house exploring. Nathan has watched us help her walk around and wants to help as well. The first time, he tried to make her walk. We had to explain to him that he was only there to help support her and that he had to let her go wherever she wanted. He does a pretty good job, now.


Today, it is a bit chilly outside. So, I decided to let Caroline wear her shoes for the first time. When I initially tried to put them on, she curled up her toes and made it very hard. Later, she sat and checked out these new things on her feet.


There's not really a story to go along with this picture. It's just Nathan sitting at the table eating a snack.


...and here is Caroline hanging out at the mirror.

a few of Caroline

Well, I still haven't taken the time to take more pictures of Caroline like I would like to do. So, I decided to go ahead and put up a few of the ones that I had previously taken. I included two rocking chair pictures because Matt prefers the whole Caroline picture and I like the closer one.

Georgia Nat'l Fair

On Saturday, my parents and I took the kids to the Georgia National Fair. (Matt was out of town on a "Manly Man" trip with the guys from our Sunday School class.) We headed to Perry after lunch and Nathan and I stayed until after the fireworks that night. Mama and Daddy took Caroline back to their house after a couple hours.


Lots of vendors have their products out for people to look at, check out, touch, etc. Nathan enjoyed the tractors, backhoes, etc. as well as the playground equipment. Here's a picture of Nathan up on a backhoe.


Part of this fair is competitions for cows, horses, sheep, etc. As a result, there are lots of them around to see and pet. When we went to the rabbit area, this sign was up at the beginning of the line. I thought it was pretty funny. (Click on it to see it larger and actually be able to read it.)


When we went to the chicken building, they had boxes of baby chicks that you could hold. Caroline thought it was very interesting. Nathan held one himself. I thought he was going to squeeze it to death. It seemed ok, though, when we put it back. I think, however, that those chicks don't have a chance after being handled so much.


It was a cloudy day which had its pro's and con's. It was nice because we didn't have to deal with sunburn. However, it rained a couple times (not for long) and was quite muggy for the first part of the day. While it rained, we ducked inside some of the exhibit buildings or the animal barns...basically, anything with a roof. While wondering through one of the buildings, I turned the corner and found my little baby with a sucker in her mouth. She loved it!


While we were walking around, Nathan was really wanting some ice cream. As is typical for Nathan, once he sets his mind to something, he doesn't give up easily. So, Grandma bought him some before they headed out. She also gave him a little money to spend after they left. One of the first things Nathan decided he wanted to do was ride the sky lift. It was a nice view of the fair.


We took a picture of our feet with the people underneath just to show how high up we were.


They had a stock dog demonstration that Nathan really wanted to see. We tried to find it before Grandma and Granddad left, but we couldn't figure out where it was. So, after we rode the sky lift, we went looking for it again. We finally found it tucked around a corner. However, it was raining when it got to be time for the next show so we ducked into the sheep and goat barn. The people who had the sheep and goats were very nice. Several of them told us that Nathan could pet the animals and a couple even offered to let Nathan into the pens with them. We took one of them up on the offer. When we first saw the goats, Nathan asked if they were girls because they had tags in their ears. I told him that it didn't mean that they were girls. We stopped and asked a little girl who was holding on to a goat how to tell. Afterwards, Nathan walked around squatting down to check and then declaring what gender each animal was. How funny! Here is a very unique picture of some of the sheep.


There was a petting zoo at the fair. They had all kinds of animals of different sorts - camels, goats, monkeys, a porcupine, turtles, and all kinds of other animals including some I had never heard of. Nathan really enjoyed feeding them. The goats ate out of his hand the best.


We stopped and ate supper at a little restaurant. It wasn't exciting food, but it was inside and air conditioned. We ended up in line in front of the people who ran the pig racing exhibit. We chatted with them a little bit and then ended up sitting at a table beside them and chatted a little more. They gave Nathan a ribbon that they normally gave out for the kid who picked the winning pig for one of the races. It allowed him to get a free camel or pony ride. He picked the camel. It wasn't a long ride, but it was fun since it was free.


While sitting and waiting for the pig races, Nathan spotted a little girl with a toy trumpet. He wanted one so I told him he could ask where it came from. Once the pig races were over, we headed out to find the fishing for sharks game where it had come from. After walking around a bit, we found it. It was one of the games that you always win something and the toy trumpet was the lowest level of prize so Nathan was sure to get it. How fortunate! He played one other game and rode one ride (a train, of course). Then, we headed out to get in the car so we would be ready to scoot when the fireworks were over.

And just for one last overall picture, here's the clock tower in the middle of the park. The main stage is at the bottom of the flag. The people who were playing were singing "God Bless America" as we went by.

a few of Nathan

Last week I worked on taking some pictures of both Caroline and Nathan. I was (am) specifically after some pictures of Caroline to print black and white to go with some that I have of Nathan when he was little. I wasn't going to put any up until I finished, but I still haven't found the time to finish. So...here are a few of Nathan.

a track, a family, and a uterus?

On Tuesday, Nathan and I were looking at some pictures of Aunt Jenn's pregnant belly. Nathan asked "When Aunt Jenn eats food will it get on the baby's hair?" I told him that it wouldn't and started to explain. However, I decided that a picture would make the explanation much easier. So...I drew a picture (of sorts) for him. He wanted to draw the baby inside, though. I thought it was kinda funny so I took a picture. Here it is:



After that, Nathan decided to start drawing us. Here is his most recent family portrait:



Nathan is still enjoying his trains. He recently saved money to buy himself a roundhouse and a turntable. Here is a track that he built almost completely by himself on Wednesday:

her boys

This night, Caroline just climbed right on up and took a seat. You know her Daddy loved it!



Nathan was sitting quietly watching a cartoon when...suddenly...he was attacked by a Caroline monster. He was actually extremely patient with her.