Sunday, August 24, 2008

Steam Train to Liamville


What an eventful couple days. On Thursday, Liam's daycare was having a end of summer Carnival. There was a hot dog dinner, cotton candy, and games with prizes! Mommy and daddy were tired from their hard day of fixing our basement windows, but we still stayed at the carnival for an hour to eat and play a couple games.

On Friday, Sean and I finished up our windows (and I must say, the finish product is quite nice). The only adventure we had, however, was when Liam and I braved a trip to the grocery store with all of the returning college students back in town...It was a mad house! I stayed up a little late that evening to can some cherry-blueberry jam. And it turned out great. But then we were woken all night by a party of more than 100 people in the house across the street. Needless to say, we are not happy with the new renters. :(

Saturday morning was a slow start, but we had special plans for the afternoon. We packed a picnic lunch and then took a road trip down to Coldwater to visit the Little River Railroad. Little River is a historical railroading organization that restores old steam engines and rail cars. They offer rides throughout the year and were one of the most affordable ones that I could find in our area. We decided to take Liam on a train ride as part of his birthday gift. When we arrived, the steam engine was simmering. Liam was very excited to see it up close. We had told him that when he woke up from his nap, he would see a train! I got tickets while daddy and Liam checked out he engine.

There were several cars on the train, including some old Pullman streamliners, some open-air cattle cars fitted with seats, and a caboose. We took a seat in one of the Pullman's because I was worried that the wind, smoke, and noise might bother Liam. The only problem was that it was a very hot and humid day. So in no time, we were sweating up a storm. Liam was a little impatient for the train to start. I took him on a walk through all the cars to take a look at everything. When the train started, he was all smiles! It was such a joy to watch his excitement. He and daddy looked out the window at all the passing scenery and waved to the people.



The trip was just the right length. We arrived at Quincy, where to our surprise, there was a town festival going on. Classic cars were all lined up, there was ice-cream and food, craft booths, and live music. We took a look at some of the cars, but the heat soon drove us in search of the ice-cream. Unfortunately, they ran out of ice-cream while daddy was waiting in line (and Liam was playing on the playground). We tried again later with success and were able to cool off under a tree. After our ice-cream we got a close-up look at the engine and even got to climb aboard. Daddy and Liam also got to climb on to the caboose.

Soon it was time to head back to Coldwater. This time we rode on the cattle car. At first Liam really loved it, but about half way back the noise started to bother him. It was tricky to walk between the cars, but I managed to take him back to one of the Pullman's for the last few minutes of the trip. Liam was very wound up from all of the excitement of the day. He cried and cried when it was time to go. :( I hope that he will remember all the fun! I know that Sean and I quite enjoyed our trip!

Today, Sunday, was much more laid back. There were no more chores to do, so we spent much of our day watching movies and relaxing. I made some banana johnny cakes for breakfast. I was please with myself, because I thought that Liam would love them, but he wouldn't even try one...bummer. He spent a long, long time play with play dough while I cooked in the kitchen. Later, daddy and Liam went for a walk to the playground. Liam likes to swing on the big boy swings now - no more baby swings for him! After his nap, we all went to the downtown library. Liam played with their train table while mommy and daddy took turns looking for books, music, and videos. We ate dinner alfresco on the patio, as we have most of the week.

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