I tried my hardest to hide Thomas the Train from Jonah as a little boy. I thought that I was out of the woods when we were at the library one day and he asked if he could get a train video. He was 3 1/2 years old, I think. Well, I was wrong. He has a bit of an obsession, let's say.

So, Joel and I thought thought that as a VERY special treat, we would take the boys to Calgary for the weekend to see the big engine, "Day Out with Thomas" was in town. Jonah was elated and counting down the days. Mommy instinct told me we'd get sick before we went, and sure enough, we did. Oh, did we get sick.

I called in sick on Thursday, and Friday, we headed down, congested, snotty, and feeling like a sack of rocks. We arrived at the hotel, and Joel got Benett ready for bed while I took Jonah for a swim.

Ben was SO sick that night, none of us slept well. It wasn't all his fault though, other factors attributed to a restless night. But, we soldiered on, and the day was a welcome distraction for them. The weather was great too, a true bonus!


Start of the day, waiting for Thomas. The boys were so excited to hear him peeping and see his steam coming.




Going for a ride on one of Thomas's cars and meeting the conductors. What patient men.



Nice views of the reservoir, and of course, they had to have a snack. Benett had to be entertained for a bit, the ride was getting a little long for his liking. The train made three laps around the park. Joel and I figure that even though once around would have been sufficient for the kids, they probably made that many trips to appease the parents and make the cost of the tickets worth while. No worries, though, the marketing behind this was genius enough to suck more money out of the parents wallets. Ah, kid's events.



The turntable.



There were several tents set up with activities, so of course, the boys had to get tattoos.



They also me the fat conductor. I only wish I could have known what Benett was thinking here.



Jonah had to have his picture taken with these 'guys'. He needed a photo of him standing in front of each individual train, but I won't post all of them. You can thank me later.




Time for the boat swings! No photo of B on them. He likes swings for about 10 seconds then has panic attacks.



An ice cream break was in order!



And the bakery, for some, um, fat gingerbread men to go with the fat conductor?



Look, there's Thomas again!



Benett going through one of the mazes with Joel.



Feeling better for a bit.



Time to check out the railroad track set up indoors.



Bye Thomas! It was fun, maybe we'll see you again.