Monday, April 30, 2012

all aboard!

let me be honest for a moment. thomas? as in the blue tank engine, thomas? kinda freaks me out. the shifty eyes and (in the earlier seasons) the mouths that don't move while the characters talk are just a little too bizarre. that, and as the hubs says, sir topham hatt is kind of a mean, bossy jerk to the trains. just sayin'.

but, choi boy seems to think thomas is pretty cool and his love for trains still holds strong, so when our good friends asked us if we wanted to join them for a day out with thomas, we said yes, knowing that cb would have a blast with his buddies.

and freaky or not, the day did not disappoint. we got there about an hour and a half ahead of our scheduled ride and kept ourselves occupied with the many different activities that were available for all the little conductors and engineers! (and of course, i left my camera at home AGAIN, so all these photos are from my phone.)

there were strange animals (that were oddly out of place) to see: 
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why, yes, that really is a tortoise and a hare!

the boys tried very hard to appreciate the little critters... Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
i'm sorry, shawna, i had to include this one of G!

of course, cb had to be tatted up for the special train ride!
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cb showed off his street cred.

there was spin art to be made:
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and it wouldn't be a choi family outing without junk food! Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
cb was very nice about sharing the cotton candy goodness with his friends, G and E...

...but his friends aren't has insane about sugar as cb. Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
G couldn't figure why the heck we were munching on this blue fuzzy stuff!

finally, it was time to board!
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the boys were very excited and loved being on a real train!
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the parents, on the other hand, chuckled at the scenery that we chugged through. you see, the event took place at a train museum, which in and of itself was quite cool. it was an old station and roundhouse and was probably super hoppin' and awesome a hundred years ago. and now? well...we joked that we seemed to be chuffing through a train graveyard. Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
where trains come to retire and be transformed into impressive graffiti canvases!

in addition to the old train cars for scenery, we also had several police escorts on dirt bikes. police escorts that happened to be poppin' wheelies for all the kiddos (and excited dads) on the train. ;) Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App

we went all the way down to the junkyard, stopped, and then headed back to the station. but not before coming to a full stop in front of this train car that happened to be scribbled with the words "felon family". which sent us into a fit of giggles as we watched our three boys causing some mischief as they jumped up and down and the train seats. ;) Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App

regardless of mischief, our three little guys all received junior engineer certificates, of which they were very proud. Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
okay, they really had no idea what the pieces of paper were for.

once we exited the train, we tried to get a picture of the boys, and you can guess how that went: Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
yep, that was the best one we got. and we took LOTS. ;)

before we left, the boys got to ride a mini-train that was almost as big a hit as the big train! Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App

and they also had a ride on this funny little ride that was kind of like a sideways ferris wheel: Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
the boys mostly thought it was great fun, but if you look closely, you can see a little fear in cb's eyes as he tries to play it cool... Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
heehee.

we took one final walk through the roundhouse to see all the old trains, Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
then went to grab some dinner at the harbor...

where the mommas left the little boys and big boys to fend for themselves
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as we sat across from them at a separate table, sipping our drinks and actually ingesting our food without being interrupted 5000 times.
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;) what a happy ending to our day out with thomas!

5 comments:

  1. Looks like such a fun day!!! I would have helped out with that cotton candy so that CB's friends didn't have to endure it. ;-) I also would have helped with that sangria pitcher. ;-)

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  2. Yes that is the creepiest cartoon/ kids show ever made. I was so glad when my little cousin outgrew his love for it. It was amazing though how he knew every single train just by it's face. They all look alike to me!

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  3. I am so.with.you on the freaky Thomas thing. Si agrees with me. He has no interest in the shows, but enjoys the little train sets. But, what a fun time! Clearly CB loved it. How sweet that he got to share the day with friends.

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  4. Yep - Alex isn't too into the shows either - doesn't mind the toy train set, but not crazy over it that's for sure. Looks like the day was lots of fun though! Trains, animals, rides, candy.... fruity drinks for the mommas....
    (and great idea of leaving the kids with the dads!)

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  5. Max is into creepy Thomas too. We did this last summer and he had a blast. But once is enough. Don't you think? Regardless, CB and his buds looked like they enjoyed themselves quite a bit so I'd call it a success. And I LOVE that the mommies sat at their own table. Genius!

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why, hello there! do you have something to say? 'cause i'd so love to hear it!