Day Out with Thomas 2010

Many months ago, I was preparing for a road trip and thought a new movie would help the kids get through the drive. I picked up a Thomas the Train movie from a discount bin at Target and thought we'd give it a try. From that day forward, Thomas and all his train pals have become Cassidy's absolute favorite characters. We combined some of Erik's old Brio trains and tracks with a few of the newer wooden Thomas train characters that the kids have come to know and love. The train collection is, by far, the favorite toy in our house at the moment. And now that Gavin is nearly 18 months old, he has developed his own little love of trains. "Train" was even one of his early words!

So, we were very happy to find that the Illinois Railway Museum was hosting a "Day Out with Thomas" event this summer! We drove about an hour to the tiny town of Union, IL, and there we got to take a train ride on Thomas! We also saw lots of antique rail cars and old Chicago El trains all being housed at the museum. Sir Topham Hatt, the head of the railway in all the Thomas stories, was there, too - although he became pretty scary once it was our turn to walk up and shake his hand and pose for a photo. They had an enormous outdoor tent set up as a gift shop, and we were pretty lucky to get out of there with just 1 train per child. Anything Thomas you could ever imagine, you can buy there. (Bandanas! Tub toys! A giant train tent!) The kids had SUCH a fun day. A great summer outing and a fun memory for both the kids!

Thomas has just been spotted - see him in the distance!

Getting to see him up close before our ride

Family photo!