Day Out With Thomas 2008!

Well, this past weekend marked our 3rd annual trek over the mountains to Snoqualmie, Washington. Of course you know that Thomas the Train was there, didn't you?! The girls had a ball - especially Sofia, who, at 2 1/2 is the perfect age for experiencing those "wide-eyed moments" that we all stive for our kids to experience! She's a believer, that girl! Audriana, at 5 1/2 still loved the trek, but is old enough to figure out that the train we rode on was only "dressed up like Thomas". She still loved it, though. We always stop at the look out point at Vantage so I can get a picture of the girls. I've been doing this yearly since Audriana was an infant. It's so beautiful there and I just can't get enough of it!

I have a about 50 other shots of this, but like I said above, I just can't get enough of it!

Here he is, folks! The train leaves every hour (or so) and everyone has a scheduled ride time with a ticket. Once all the coaches are full of his passengers, he takes off on a very beautiful ride through the mountains and stops at the Snoqualmie Falls waterfall (right at the resort). He stops so everyone can get a picture, then returns back to the festival to let all his passengers off.

It's fun to see how excited the kids get to have their picture taken in front of Thomas. The picture doesn't seem to show how really massive he is! The photographs can be purchased if you want (I always do because they make it look so pretty and it's a great keepsake for their baby boxes), but you can also get pictures on your own digital camera, which is nice.
I just love this picture. Aren't they adorable. What you can't see is how tired and cranky they actually were! Shhhh!

The other big highlight for the girls was getting their picture taken with Sir Topham Hat (also available for purchase). Sofia was enchanted with him and just stared up at him with her big brown eyes. It was so cute.I usually have the camera, so you don't see many pictures of me, but Martin grabbed it and got a pretty good one. I thought I should have at least one of me on this blog! The girls each got a new Thomas t-shirt, so they are wearing those here.
A clown giving away Thomas stickers.....Daddy and Audriana on the train......Our Day Out With Thomas 2008 was fun and filled with many great memories. It has really become a tradition and I will be sad when they don't want to do this anymore. After the festival we drove down into Redmond and checked into the Residence Inn and enjoyed the rest of the weekend swimming, walking, eating, and playing. I love my family.