Thomas the Train & Roaring Camp

Dear Buggy...This was our first glimpse of Thomas the Train!  We arrived at Roaring Camp early in the morning and we were the first car in a long, long line.  Then we looked out over to our right and there was Thomas the Train right next to our car!  A park worker said that he had been shining up Thomas and that Thomas had winked and smiled at him. You and Ariana were so excited!!!  You couldn't wait to go inside!!!

We waited and we watched and we waited and we watched and we waited and we watched and we waited some more!  We even had a chance to watch an entire episode of Thomas the Train before the park finally opened. You and Ariana had lots of fun dreaming about what it would be like to ride the REAL Thomas the Train.  And we played lots of silly games, too, like trying to say the word "Pineapple" as fast as we could. "Pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple-pineapple!" Try to say THAT ten times fast!!

You and Ariana having a great time!!

You are SO EXCITED to see Thomas the Train!!!!

Doing a little HAPPY dance as we walk inside the park!!!

YIPPEEEE!!!!!  We made it!!!!! We are FINALLY here!!!!!

Its fun to ride on Daddy's shoulders!  Here is a cute little yellow caboose!  

You and Ariana had so much fun playing inside of this cute little barn!  You kept wanting to open and shut the doors, and you shared your snow cones inside the barn, too!  

Gasp! Mommy! There's THOMAS!  Can we ride him PLEASE? PLEASE?

Patiently waiting for the train to begin

Roaring camp has beautiful scenery, filled with rivers, trees and wildlife.  The views from the train were absolutely stunning as we whirred quickly through the forest!

You wanted to get down and walk on the tracks!  

Our family with Thomas the Train!!!!

Mommy and Nathaniel having a picnic

A very sweet picture of Ariana and Daddy

Face painting FUN!  

Oh, BOY!  So many trains to play with!!!

You and Ariana playing symbols to "Mary Had a Little Lamb."  There was a nice lady playing the guitar and singing, and Ariana even helped her to sing a song up in the front! There were hay bales decorating the booth and it gave a feel of being out in the country.  

Almost time to have our pictures taken with Sir Top'em Hat!

This is my absolute favorite picture from our whole entire day!  The looks on your faces are so, so cute!(I think you are a little bit star struck by Sir Top'em Hat) : ) : ) : ) 

Our family with Sir Top'em Hat!

This picture says it all!  Happy and content : )  A wonderful day. 

All of our love to you always & forever, Mommy & Daddy

xxxooo

Happy Hollow Zoo & Teddy Bear Picnic

Hi Nathaniel! Yesterday was an absolutely PERFECT day for our family!!!!  Daddy and I spent the whole day with you at Happy Hallow Park and Zoo!  But it was not just any ordinary day.  There was a Teddy Bear Picnic and a Summer Animal Show!  And what made the day even more exciting is that your mommy got to be in the show!!!!  We arrived early so that we could sit underneath an umbrella on the grass. We laid down a picnic blanket and brought your favorite teddy bear for you to hold.  It was right in front of the stage and we could see everything right up close!  We ate a picnic lunch together, and then as the show was starting, they asked ME to hold a long rope so that a cute little possum could crawl across to the other side!  At first the possum didn't want to walk so your mommy was holding the rope for a very long time!  I remember looking out into the audience and waving to you while you were watching.  Finally, they gave the possum a grape and he walked to the other side of the rope! Then the show brought out all kinds of other animals too, like a hawk, a bald eagle, and even SKUNKS!  You always love going to Happy Hallow Zoo, and you ask me almost every single week if we can go. You say to me, "Happy Hallow soon?"  And I say, "Yes, Buggy, Happy Hollow soon."

After we had fun watching the show, we all explored the zoo together. The first ride that we went on was your favorite, the Danny the Dragon ride!  You love this train so much that you are going to be dressing up like Danny the Dragon on Halloween this year!  We already bought your costume and you love to wear it around the house and look at it hanging up in your closet.  When we were in line to ride Danny, we met the cutest little red-headed girl and her Daddy. The two of you were fast friends!  She talked to you and hugged you a lot before the train finally arrived.  Her name was Cameron and she was four years old.  She decided that she wanted to ride the train with you, and that you should both sit together by the tail! This was just great with you, because of all of the seats to sit on Danny the Dragon, the tail is always your favorite place to sit!!  And so, we all decided to ride together!

Here we are sitting together!  And there is Danny's tail in the background!   We were lucky to get to sit by the tail because it is the most popular car to sit in.  Daddy and Cameron's daddy were sitting in the car in front of us. You and your new friend chatted up a storm about Danny the Dragon and his big green tail! But after a few minutes you wanted to sit up in the front with daddy. Danny drives through a colorful tunnel, and you felt safe and secure on daddy's lap. But after the tunnel you were good to go again, and all of us enjoyed the rest of the ride!  

It was a perfect, happy, sun filled day!  We made new friends, got to see a zoo show, and mommy even got you a surprise!!!  When we got back into the car, I surprised you with a big green and yellow stuffed snake!  You LOVE your new snake and you played with it for the whole rest of the day!  You even wanted to take a nap with your new snake!  And you kept saying, "Sssssssss!" because, of course, that is what snakes like to say!  You are the funniest, cutest, sweetest, most special and charming little boy in the whole wide world!  And more than anything in this whole wide world, I LOVE BEING YOUR MOMMY!!!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that we had so much FUN FUN FUN together with our family at the zoo yesterday!

All of our love to you always and forever,  Mommy & Daddy

xxxooo