Liam: He's All Boy

Liam is Mr. Lego Man these days.  He loves building things!  He could stay busy for hours with some Legos.  As you can see in the pictures below, he is quite proud of his creations.  I can never take a picture of Liam with his eyes open, thus the multiple attempts.

Oooh!  Well, eyes open, almost!

Ever the boy, he kept himself entertained with landscape blocks while Doug was busy working on our retaining wall.  If you look closely, you'll see that it has a roof and is just wide enough for his Thomas the Train engine.  It even has a door. ;-)

Show me how it works, Liam?

Peace, love and real building blocks,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

A Day Out With Thomas!

I saw commercials on t.v. during the month of September, advertising "A Day Out With Thomas."  Considering Liam's love of all things "Thomas the Train," I thought it would be nice for our family to break away from the retaining-wall madness, so we bought tickets. 


It was just what the doctor ordered and a gorgeous day, to boot!  We knew it was quite a trek from here to Cordele, Georgia (it's close to the Georgia / Florida state line).  The kids were great for the car ride there.  When we arrived at the Veterans' Park, we parked, took a shuttle to the festival area and ate lunch.  The kids both had a port-o-potty experience, which always proves interesting!  :)  After milling around the upper level of Thomas festivities (face-painting, temporary tattoos, live music and a huge train table area), we headed down to the train area.  It was entirely too sweet to watch Liam's expression as he first saw Thomas the train.  He was one happy kiddo. 

Liam's first view of Thomas the Train.  :)

We boarded the train and waited about 20 minutes for others to board the SAM shortline.  The kids enjoyed looking out the window, seeing the sights within the train.  When we got ready to take off, the conductor told us Thomas needed our help, and to say "Pull Thomas, pull!"  As we pulled out of the station, Liam looked over at me and said "Mommy, I don't think we're going forward?  I think we're going the wrong way!"  I was pretty impressed that he realized we were going backward.  Especially after having been seated on the train for 20 minutes or so.  Thomas actually drove us backward for the first half of the trainride, for 15 minutes.  Once we reached the end of the SAM Shortline, Thomas then switched directions and we pushed back toward the station, for the last 15 minutes.  Liam was in his glory the entire time we were on the train.  It was so fun to watch him have fun with this train, since he knows EVERY. SINGLE. THOMAS. TRAIN. by name.  It was his time.  It was so fun!

The weather got a little warmer as the day progressed.  We waited in line to take a picture with Thomas.  We stocked up on all things Thomas in the seriously full-of-gnats gift shop tent.  Even Ava wanted a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion.  As girly as she is, she often plays with Liam and his trains.  :)  The kids then went in a bounce house, cooled off with a lemonade and also had their picture taken with Sir Topham Hatt before we called it a day.  Liam slept the entire car ride home (over two hours).  

I'm so glad we went!  When we went to the Princess breakfast at Disney in February, I felt like it was perfectly timed for Ava.  She was just the right age.  I feel like this was the perfect age for Liam to have gone to see Thomas, as well.  Quite often, lately, when we're working on this retaining wall, I feel like we're short-changing the kids.  I know it's temporary, but know they are in need of attention, as well.  A day like this was perfectly timed, the perfect occasion for us all, where we could just enjoy the "sunshiney" weather and each other's company.  

Peace, love and one memorable day out with the family,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Baseball Day

The teacher in Liam's "new" class at school has really taken the "theme" of the week and ran with it.  I love this!  Every Friday, they seem to have a different theme.  They ask the kids to come in dressed up based on the theme.  A few Fridays ago they had Baseball Day.  Thankfully we've received some hand-me-down clothes from our local baseball star, Matthew Quinn.  :-) 


Here are some pictures of Ava and Liam before they headed into school.  Liam was the only kiddo in full baseball gear, including baseball pants.


We picked Ava and Liam up from school and headed to Michigan after a quick change out of the baseball uniform.  :)


Peace, love and "Play Ball!"
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Slugger Liam

Liam's fellow classmate Frankie, dressed in his baseball cap.