A Day Out With Thomas

ALL ABOARD!

It's no secret that we have two HUGE train fans here, and that they are obsessed with Thomas and his friends. We have more than a dozen of the character trains, and we never leave the house without at least two or three in tow.  Lucinda won't go to bed unless she has "three choo choos!" (usually Rosie, Charlie and Thomas) and the very first thing Malcolm always wants to do when he gets up is "go downstairs, play choo choo!"  He insists on his red sweatshirt because it's his "James sweatshirt" (James is red) and Lucinda loves her pink "Rosie sweatshirt."  They call every crane we see Cranky, and will only submit to having their teeth brushed if we tell them we're taking them to the steamworks so Victor can clean their teeth.  

So, when a friend unfortunately had to sell her family's tickets to A Day Out With Thomas in Baltimore, we jumped at the chance to take the kids to meet Thomas in person!  We woke them up early and asked if they wanted to go see Thomas in person -- Malcolm practically dressed himself and ran to the door ready to go.  We made it up to Baltimore around 8:45 am.  As we made our way in, with a stop to check out a little red caboose,  they caught a glimpse... "It's Thomas!!  It's Thomas!  Hi Thomas!"

The highlight was a 25 minute train ride, pulled by Thomas himself.  

They thought it was so cool to go for a ride on a real train. 

The conductor gave all of the kids (and Matt, oddly) certificates signed by Sir Toppam Hatt declaring them certified Junior Engineers.  Doesn't Lucinda look proud?

After the train ride, we checked out the rest of the B&O Railroad Museum, which is really neat.  We'll definitely have to plan another trip there.

We also watched the electric trains outside for a long time, got temporary tattoos (Malcolm picked Thomas, Lucinda wanted Rosie), and watched a fun puppet show.  Lucinda sat down with the other kids the whole time! Malcolm stayed for a bit, before coming to sit on our laps, but then hopped back down to go with Lucinda to meet the puppet at the end.

After lunch we headed home, tired and happy.  

Such a fun morning!