The Brenay Family: Thomas the Train

Last Saturday we surprised the kids with a trip to Globe to ride Thomas the Train. We told them we had a surprise and the suspense was killing them. They kept trying to guess what it was, a park, a museum, the zoo. But, we almost didn't all get to go. About an hour before we were going to leave Emma started complaining that her ear hurt. She had been coughing all week, but never a fever. She has never had an ear infection, but she was not acting like she felt very good. I gave her some Tylenol and Sudafed. Then we stopped at Walmart on the way out and bought some ear drops. By the time I came out of the store she had already fallen asleep in the car which is very unusual for her. I was feeling like such a bad mom dragging her out when she didn't feel good, but the tickets were nonrefundable and this was a rare occasion that Thomas was in town! I woke her up and put the drops in her ears. She slept for about 30 minutes and woke up feeling fine. Thank goodness! As we pulled into town Emma asked if we were riding a train. Then she started seeing Thomas balloons. Derrick was still clueless. We got our tickets at Will Call and the lady asked Derrick if he was excited and he still wasn't sure what was going on. We finally told him we were riding the "real" Thomas! He was excited but I don't think he quite comprehended. We went to wait at the station to get on and when Thomas finally pulled into the station, Derrick got it! His face lit up, now he was excited! We boarded the train and got to meet Mr. Conductor. The kids were all asked to help Thomas start by yelling "Push Thomas, push!" Emma and Derrick were yelling as loud as they could, along with every other kid on the train. We finally got underway and took our 25 minute train ride. Not very scenic or exciting in Globe, but the kids just thought it was cool to be on a real train. It was actually my first time on a real train too. Jon even got a nap in. He wasn't as excited. He has been on lots of trains, having served his mission in England. After the ride was over we got to go take pictures with Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt. Derrick was a little scared of Sir Topham Hatt. I don't really blame him, but we made him take a picture anyway! Then it was off to the bounce houses. Those kids sure love bounce houses! There was also a ball pit which Jon and I refused to let them play in...gross! One last stop at the gift shop to buy a train whistle and the day was complete. I am so glad we got to do this for Derrick. He absolutely LOVES Thomas the Train and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He is growing up so fast and won't like trains forever! Happy early Birthday to our Thomas loving Derrick!!