day out with thomas

sunday was the big event: the day out with thomas the tank engine. deanna, denise and i took the three boys, tyson, gus, and eli. of course, we were pressed for time, compounded by a rather lethargic bus driver from the east st. louis metro stop. but, we made it. here, eli gives us a little idea of what he thinks.

tyson and gus used the train time for shenanigans. the train was pretty full, and it had a cool upper deck. thomas is a small engine, so it was hard for him to pull the heavy coaches.

eli, in awe of the east st. louis landscape. actually, so was i. it's amazing how much industry and infrastructure has been taken back by nature.

eli couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. tyson saw a gargoyle with wings and a serpents tail just before the photo was taken.

gus: i wonder if we could get one of these trains to work in our backyard?

tyson: sure was a bad day to quit wearing sunglasses.

eli: what would happen if i unhooked this chain while the train was underway?

you can see thomas' coaches in the background. it was a rather crowed day in an enormous gravel parking lot, so dust and dirt was the name of the game. in other words, a kids paradise.

eli figured a guitar solo in the middle of the dance floor was appropriate to celebrate the occasion.

the kids got to do a little jam session with the crazy guy doing the music. the inflatable "air guitars" were a nice touch. eli was fascinated with it's bendability.

tyson started feeling the groove. all great rock stars really live the music like this.

after a while, the groove left him, and it was back to dust, hay, and hee haw.

crumpled air guitar or not, eli got out onto the dance floor and kicked it. he was surfing the crowd, throwing punches, and generally causing mayhem. it was a thomas day to remember.