We love Daddy and our Grandpas!

Not only did we do Dutch Wonderland and enjoy a day with Thomas, we also celebrated our daddies and granddaddies that same weekend. After a busy couple days of traveling, we headed back home Saturday evening so that I could be home to cook a meal for Dave, my dad, and my granddad Sunday and celebrate Father's Day together. 

Earlier in the week we'd been preparing for Sunday with some crafty projects. I saw a toolbox card on Pintrest and got the idea to trace the tool-shaped pieces from one of Caleb's puzzle to try to make one of our own.

Hadley was ready to get started!

I liked this activity because it motivated Caleb to try to use a pencil. Now that he is interested in using markers and chalk to draw pictures and write letters, I want to expose him a little more often to paper and pencil and see what results without too much pushing.

As a perfectionist, he wanted my hand in the game to make sure it was right rather than branching out to try it on his own.

Markers, on the other hand, were a whole different ballgame.  Instead of helping steady his hand, I was just trying to make sure he stayed on the paper.

Hadley added her special touches to a few tools too.

Then, it was time to make the toolboxes. I simply folded a red piece of cardstock and cut out a handle, latch, and gray "metal" accents. Caleb helped with the glue and assembly.

On the back of the tools we wrote personal presents from each of us to Dave, my dad, and my granddad. Simple and fun!

To Pop

To Daddy

To Granddaddy Eddie

For Grandpa McKinstry, we decided to do something a bit different.While redeeming those tool coupons might be difficult across the miles, this present was something distance made all the sweeter. Again inspired by Pinterest., we traced the kids on large pieces of white paper and sent hugs to Grandpa. Caleb and Hadley both decorate their own outlines.

The black lines you see him drawing here are his "bones."

Dave wasn't home the morning I tried to trace Hadley, and though I thought it was going to be difficult to do by myself since it took one of us to hold Caleb down while the other one traced, she was so intrigued by what I was doing that she laid very still. Once the markers got in those sweet fingers though, I had my hands full trying to keep the creativity off the hardwood floor.

Father's Day itself started with church like usual. Caleb made these for Dave in his Sunday School class:

When we got back, the kids gave Dave their toolbox card as well as some tie crafts they made at the library. For good measure, I threw in a Lincoln movie and Shenandoah National Park pass for hiking trips since he is such a good daddy to these little ones and takes good care of their Momma too.

While my three buddies napped that afternoon, I got busy getting some good food together. Right after everything was ready, here came the crowd!

The evening proved to be a very relaxed one as we sat around the table lesuirely and chatted or watched the kids as they entertained us. Some great ladies to help with the clean-up also made things a lot easier on me after such a busy weekend.

Uncle Brandon, Pop, Granddaddy Eddie, Dave, and Cay-Cay (as he is still adamant that we call him instead of Caleb)

Hooray for the great dads in our lives!

A Day Out With Thomas

The real reason we were in Lancaster vacationing a week and a half ago was not just to check out an amusement park. The motivating factor for this trip was a certain smiley blue train that was coming to visit the Strasburg Railroad.

 

For Caleb's birthday this year, we opted to give him a "Day Out with Thomas" as his big gift. Since Thomas only visits Lancaster a couple times a year, this present was delayed a few months, but finally it was time for the big event!

Hadley got the benefit of her brother's birthday present and was allowed to tag along as well. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it as much as he did thankfully. Whether it was high-fiving Sir Topham Hatt or spotting an enormous blow-up Percy, she was right in there for the experience. No waiting from the sidelines this time; she was involved in it all.

In one tent they had several train tables set up for the kids to enjoy while everyone waited on their trains. My kids knew just what to do with all those toys and got their little hands in there as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

All aboard! Dave yelled for us to put the toy trains down and hurry so we didn't miss our scheduled train ride. Thomas, who is "a very useful engine" of course, pulled our open air car through the beautiful Amish countryside. While Thomas visits Baltimore every so often too, I chose for us to meet up with him at the Strasburg Railroad instead for this very reason. Open fields of green produce and peaceful farms make for a much more pleasant view than anything the city has to offer in my opinion. We got to see several Amish men using horses to plow their fields, enjoyed the sweet aroma of honeysuckle, and imbibed the fresh air. Hadley was so relaxed that she even took a little snooze.

Other attractions included in the price of the Thomas tickets were these little crank cars as well as a miniature steam engine ride.

And, you might be able to tell that these are kids are mine because, when it came time to go in the gift shop, Caleb ran right to the book shelf ignoring the toy section. Eventually, he made his way to check out a few other novelties, but both little ones ended up with books from NaNa as their souvenirs for the day.

In combination with the Thomas ride, the railroad offered an additional longer train ride for just a little bit extra. Since we had no where else to be that day, we splurged and went for it. More cool breezes, gorgeous countryside, and SANTA! Yes, Santa! Though it was not planned, Santa was spotted hanging out near the railroad tracks in some shorts and suspenders. I'm not sure who got a bigger kick out of this jolly character showing up out of context in June - the parents or the kids. Thankfully, Santa wasn't the only legendary figure we passed. An up close look at Thomas as we passed each other was also part of the trip.

Caleb, who was wore out from the activities of the weekend, never made it from the train ride to his midday meal. While Dave and I were waiting in line for the grub, this preschooler curled up in the stroller and konked out. It is very rare to see him so tired that he falls asleep anywhere but in his bed or the car. He didn't even make it to his normal nap time!

Since Hadley had her siesta on the first train ride of the day, she was raring to go. Back to the train table tent we went and then to get her first TATTOO! Yes, her daddy held this one-year-old while an older gentleman plastered a lavender Rosie train on her forearm. She loves when we put stamps on her hand at home and often points to them and grunts to get us to let her have one if she spots them sitting on the desk. When Dave saw her pretending to stamp her hand with one of the Thomas blocks, or so it appeared, he thought she would be very happy with the tattoo. I don't think she knew quite what to think at first, but it grew on her. And, though Caleb missed out, we got a Henry tattoo to take home for him to apply later if he wanted as well.

All in all, this was probably one of the best vacations we've taken with the kids. They were both in very good moods throughout the trip, we couldn't have asked for better weather, the lines were short, and we didn't feel rushed or stuck to an agenda for the most part. While my growing baby bump made it difficult for me to tote the kids, having my mom around also made the trip much simpler as the three of us took turns holding the kids, pushing the stroller, and lugging the bags. I'm definitely glad we had her!

Where to next?