Train Time

No trip to my parents would be complete without running the trains! I think we ran them all but one or two nights while there.

The boys got their hands dirty this time as Grandpa needed to clean the tracks before they could get the trains out. I think Ian found a new love of the trains this trip.

Alex always has some hand in running the trains. This trip, Alex showed Ian the ropes.

I love it when the boys discover new interests.

~*~

Ian also was able to spend quality time with Daniel (who you may remember from other posts as the little boy who lives in the lower level of my parents home with our long-time friends) even getting to go out to the Children's Museum with him. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the two together but these boys have a special connection.

Cedar Grove Railroad

My dad's outdoor railroad...yep, the man is living his second childhood *g*

Running the Trains

Robbie watching the outdoor trains.


The Cedar Grove Train Station...to ride the rails you can watch the You Tube videos in this post from last September.

Mark spent a good part of his vacation helping my dad paint and get ready for the garden railroad tours that Dad's layout is a part of.


My dad has called Alex his "train guy" for years. It's one of those hobbies that crosses the generations and the two of them share a deep love of trains. Unfortunately, most of the "train" weather happened while Alex was over at Nana and Papa's so Alex missed most of the train time.

Thursday evening, even tho' the weather was less than ideal, Grandpa and Alex went out to run the trains. Alex is one of the few (if not the only) grandchild allowed to run the controls. I love that they have this bond!

Trains and More Trains, Oh My

Thursday night my dad (aka Grandpa) took Mark, the boys, and Mark's dad (aka Papa) over to one of his train pals' home to play trains. This is a video from one of their Train Nights.



The boys took their cameras so I'll be posting some of those once we're back home again.

Trains...oh my!

This is my dad's Cedar Grove outdoor railroad. They attached a camcorder to the engine and there you go...a trip on the Great Northern!





Fun stuff!

Catching up...

FRIDAY, July 20:

I really had no intention of giving into the hype with the last Harry Potter book. But as you can see I did. Dropped the younger two off at Grandma & Grandpa's for the night and took the older two off to the St. Helens Book Store event.

The boys got sorted (Cam to Gryffindor and Alex to Ravenclaw), drank Dragon Snot, went through an obstacle course/maze that required knowledge of the 6 books, played Quidditch, and made wands...worth paying full price for the book.


SATURDAY, July 21:

Slept in...hmm can't imagine why LOL...then went down to Grandma & Grandpa's to pick up the lil guys. Ended up going to the "Party in the Park" hosted by their church. Just stayed for an hour or so...plenty of time for the boys to bounce in one of those blown up bounce house things, get their faces painted and get completely sticky from snow cones.


SUNDAY, July 22:

We went to our favorite lil train park. We packed a picnic lunch and rode a couple trains and had a surreal time. Usually, we meet family/friends there and spend a full Sunday afternoon. We've had so many celebrations there (birthdays, Father's Days, etc.) that I've lost count. So it was very strange being just the boys and me. It's also strange to think that it will be our last trip in quite a while. It was a good time just the same.





MONDAY, July 23:

I had planned on taking the boys down to the beach but due to the weather not appearing to be beach worthy we stayed home...it allowed me to finish Harry Potter LOL. Spent a relatively quiet day...such as one can be with 4 boys in the house...and I did most of the laundry.


TUESDAY, July 24:

Today, we went back to the neighborhood to play. Meet up with friends at the local park for a couple hours before heading back to the house for a more relaxing visit. We all got more sun than we thought by the time we got home.