Liz 2.0

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And don’t forget all the great digital scrapbooking tutorials for Paint Shop Pro and other digital scrapbooking software at DSP.

Saturday we skipped the normal Halloween festivities and headed nearly four hours away to Cordele, GA to meet THOMAS!!

Our day started off pretty icky heavy rain up here and an accident on the highway not 10 miles from the house. We prayed about it and stayed peaceful got through the traffic and were soon back on our way.  We had to stop in McDonough to pick up some Thomas trains and stuff I had purchased off craigslist. 

Still raining.

Things were still moving slowly. We decided not to eat at the event but to stop at chick-fil-a for lunch instead. We had a good lunch stopped by Walmart to pick up a jacket for Jack. Found a pair of Thomas jammies too for the ride home.

There was certainly an opportunity to be discouraged and concerned that it would rain the whole time. I was convinced we’d have a great time and the weather would be great I prayed about it and gave it to God.

We were still an hour and forty-five minutes away. Finally we got there! YIPPIE!!!! Oh and it wasn’t raining!!!  Looks like it hadn’t rained at all in Cordele!

Well we were in the town but we still had about a ten minute drive to Veterans Memorial Park where Thomas was waiting :D We were all SUPER excited!!! We found a parking spot around 1:45 and hopped on the trolley to ride back to where all the fun was happening.

Mom had looked down the track when we were driving in and saw Thomas so on the trolley we were all waiting to see Jack’s face when he saw Thomas for the first time.

WHAT A SMILE! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile soooo big!!!  The whole time we were at disney we NEVER saw a smile like this one! We ALL were BEYOND excited by this point. We KNEW it was going to be a good time.

We picked up our tickets at the will call booth and started to check things out.  We stopped first at the play area where Grandma and Jessie crafted a bag with Thomas stamps and Jack and I played on the play tables they had set up.

There are lots of pictures like this. A half smile and not quite looking at the camera.  There was so much to look at and do that stopping to take a picture was not something he wanted to do.

Kenny and Grandpa B enjoying watching Jack in his element playing on the train tables.

After the train tables we all got tattoos! Jack was proud of his.

We got him to leave the upper level and head down the hill to check out what was going on and see what else was available. Walking down the hill they had banners of different trains. Jack did a great job posing for each one so mommy could take pictures.

First up we got in line to meet Sir Topham Hatt the wait? Nine minutes! Not bad! He is still shy with big headed characters and didn’t want to go up by himself, so I went with him. He warmed up a bit towards the end and put his arm around him.

Next up was the hay bale maze. I loved this thing! Sooo much fun and perfect size for the little ones.  I soo want to figure out something like this for one of his parties. I followed behind him as he made the decisions on which way to go. Smiles all around!

Then Thomas arrived back from his latest trip and we saw him and his express coaches!! SOO EXCITING!

We decided that it was a good time to get in line to see Thomas. Hmm where does the line start? Where is the line? WHAT THERE IS NO LINE WE ARE THE LINE!! YIPPIE!!!

He was happy to see Thomas and he cheesed it up for the camera! YAY! We got some good shots too.

Aunt Jessie got in there too.

We still had time before our 3pm train ride.  We played some putt-putt, daddy helped.

We met a Thomas driver!

Then we moved onto the bubbles.

Okay so I LOVE bubbles they’re so much fun!!

We stopped by the gift shop before our train ride and Jack got blessed with 2 new engines. Rocky and the golden diesel.

Next up our train ride!!!! YAY!! Here is the inside of an express coach.

We sat in the dining car at tables which was great for Jack to play with his new engines.

The train ride lasted 25 minutes at first Thomas pushed us then he pulled us. We traveled over water and saw some pretty scenery out the window. Well us adults did the kiddo focused mostly on the new engines. At this point it was three something and he hadn’t had a nap. The rocking of the train was quite relaxing but didn’t quite put him to sleep.

At the end of the ride Jack and Jessie received their certificates. They were now Jr. Engineers!

After the train ride Grandma, Daddy, Grandpa and Jack went back to see Thomas again to take some more pictures

Jessie and I took one more pass through the gift shop. I found one book I want to get but am believing to find it much cheaper some place else.

After revisiting with Thomas and thanking him for driving us. We could no longer keep Jack from the tent with the TV playing Thomas videos.  Kenny and Jack watched some episodes.  I chatted with some of the event volunteers.  The lady I talked to shared how she has worked this event for the last three years.  I asked if this is a typical turn out. She said normally Saturdays are about 2,000 people.  WoW! I don’t think we had 500 ppl there the whole time we were there.  God certainly blessed us! No wonder we could do so much without waiting in line and we could do things over and over and over!!  YAY!! 

This is how “crowded” it was.

We finally convinced Jack to leave the TV tent to go back up the hill to play with the tables a bit more. I got some shots of him and grandpa.

I crafted a bit with the stamps that was fun! Jack played more on the play tables. And grandma and Jessie got him a balloon sword from the balloon artist. He had a table all to himself.  Yay God thanks for the small crowd it really made for a peaceful fun time.

It was time to go get some supper…this was the hard part. LEAVING! Removing a three year old no nap all day toddler from his personal heaven on earth was tough he cried a bit but calmed down once the trolley got moving.

I cannot say enough about this event. The volunteers/workers were amazing, so friendly and helpful.  The coaches we rode on were air conditioned and comfortable. All the activities that were free with admission really gave something to do while you waited. The lack of crowds and rowdy kids really made for a SPECIAL day. It truly felt like everything was there just for us!

There was a bar & grill at the marina in the Veterans park so we ate there for dinner. It was VERY good food!  We walked around the marina a bit enjoying the cool weather and looked at some of the boats. After almost falling asleep at the dinner table we went outside and Jack got his second wind and danced on the stage and ran around a bunch to get some energy out.

It was finally time to leave Cordele and get back home we had a long drive ahead of us.  On the way home I was so pumped with how wonderful the day had been.  Everything we wanted to do we got to do (and then some) we had a peaceful time and were not rushed or stressed. God blessed us greatly and answered our prayers beyond what we could imagine!

Thanks to my husband for driving us to and from the event. So glad that grandparents and aunt Jessie could come too. We all shared about our favorite part and I think for us adults it was seeing Jack light up and be so excited.  And of course Jack loved all of it!

After finishing our excursion out this day we headed back to the cabin. Papaw had told Kenny that it was a good ride going left at the flower pot and that it circled around. So Ken decided to go ahead and turn left at the flower pot. ACK!!!  I thought going right at the flower pot was steep.

Maybe in Papaw’s big truck going left at the flower pot is a good idea and probably pretty easy.  In our little minivan not so much!  For a couple moments there I was a bit nervous…okay a lot nervous we were crawling up the road. EEEK that sure was an experience. Mamaw in the middle seat next to Jack and I was in the back seat we both were back there trying to be calm but also expressing our unhappiness of taking a left rather than a right at the flower pot.

There were more cabins along this stretch of road and wow look at those beautiful blue skies!

Once we were back at our cabin it was time to take family pictures. One of the goals for this family reunion was to get some pictures that we could all get up on our walls and in our wallets :D.

Well it’s needless to say I took a gaggle of pictures! Sadly the tripod never made it into the car when we were packing so the self timer was out.  Thankfully Tracy was there to get the picture of the whole family.

So let’s do this.

While everyone was getting changed and ready I just took some fun shots of Ken and Jack. Ken doesn’t have a natural smile :P and now the kiddo’s picking that up too. Can’t say this is my favorite picture but it sure is a blessing to have a decent shot of the two of them.

Jack Cheesing it up for the camera.

Cooper striking a pose.

Papaw helping the big kids play tic tac toe but they just didn’t get it. That didn’t stop them from having fun though.

Cute shot of the big kids.

Took some pictures of Lisa and her kids.

And Tim and his kids. Look at Pman’s face :P he just was not into it.

Next up Mamaw and all the great grands

A silly one of the kids

The Papaw, Grandmacoy, and Mamaw with the grandkids.

The McCoys

Everyone! (Thanks Tracy for taking these shots.)

One of Mamaw and her grandkids

Grandmacoy and Jack-a-mo

I got a few of Jack and his bestest friend, Moosey Moo.

We got a picture of our family (thanks lisa) YAY!!

Phew…man it is hard taking pictures of so many adults with kids who just want to play :D we had the candy out and were bribing away. It worked pretty good. But by this point we were all pretty much done with the pictures. I just was believing God that we got some good ones.

Before dinner Papaw, Tracy, Mamaw, Ken, Jack, and Me all piled into papaw’s truck to go exploring in the new section of the neighborhood. I think Tim & Lisa were packing up their van to leave after dinner.

We drove up to where Ken and I hiked the day before. More steep roads

Pretty views taken out the window of the truck.

A little bit of nature.

There was a little park with a bridge over a mini creek, a shelter nestled in the woods. It was a pretty site. Jack cheesing it up a bit more for the camera.

I got a great picture with my kiddo (thanks dad!)

And we got a picture of the whole family together (thanks again Tracy)

A shot of the little picnic shelter.

And a shot down the creek. We would have walked further but because of all the rain the ground was very saturated and we could have sunk in.

On the way back we stopped by a neighboring cabin and walked on their wrap around porch to catch this amazing view! The best one the whole trip. They have to love having that view.

A picture of Jack snapped quickly on the way back to the truck. Just makes me smile looks like he’s got his hands on his heart to show LOVE.

Then a quick look and a smile at mom. I LOVE THIS KID!!!!

When we got back to the cabin there was still some time left before dinner was ready so I got out the bubble pack I had bought for the trip. The kids and I had lots of fun playing bubbles and making a big soapy mess!

Can I just say that bubble pipes ROCK!!! Absolutely way too much fun!

After the bubbling was done it was time for supper! Lisa made some yummy bbq pork we all ate outside and enjoyed the conversation. 

After dinner the kids had fun on the porch swing. Boy did they have fun!! And Pman even put down his blanket to smile really big for us. They wanted to go faster and faster and higher and higher.  Us adults really had fun watching them all giggling and having a blast.

It was time for Tim, Lisa and the kiddos headed home (boo). That meant it was our last night in the cabin, and we were headed home tomorrow too.

Once dinner was all cleaned up all of us adults wanted a rematch of Phase 10. OH MY HOW FUN! The game went on forEVER! We started up stairs in the loft and we kept Mamaw up for a while but she couldn’t stay up for the whole time.

I can’t remember what was said but I do remember that Mamaw said some HILARIOUS trash talk. Rick and Sandy were winning most of the time. Then we moved back down stairs where it was more comfortable and play really heated up.  Guess who won? ME!!! but guess what our scores were? In the 600-800’s!!! That’s just CRAZY!!

And there you have it. Day 3 ended quite late but it sure was a great day!

Well here we are our third day on vacation and our second full day at the cabin. Same schedule this morning. I think most everyone had pancakes I had coffee and a bagel for breakfast. I think I was showering during everyone’s breakfast.

Jack, Dad and I played a bit of peek-a-boo in the bedroom…”Jack-a-mo where are you???”

Papaw had been telling us of a nearby town called McCaysville and something about our ancestry. So we decided to head on over to the town to see what was up.  This was also the end I believe of the scenic railway route.  We didn’t want to miss out on family fun time so our family went too.  It was a cool morning over cast but thankfully not raining as it did every night I think.

We snapped a couple pictures before we left of Jack and Abby. The cute ones-

The super hero shots:

Dad even jumped in there to get a shot with his son. What a bummer the sun was shining so bright on Jack’s face

This is sooo my kid right now, every question or statement is emphasized by putting his hands on his hips. LOL It’s just too funny to see.

We all piled into the 2 minivans and headed out to McCaysville. Our minivan had our family, Papaw & Mamaw. We had a great time fellowshipping in the car. I think it was nice for Jack to have a bit of one on one time with them. Both Ken and I mentioned it was one of our favorite parts of the trip.

So we arrived in McCaysville…Hmmm I cannot say I was remotely impressed. Don’t get me wrong small towns are awesome and I enjoy just walking around and seeing sites but this town was pretty boring. Not sure if it was the wrong time of year or if it just isn’t a touristy town.  We opted for the driving tour. I snapped pictures from the back seat of the minivan.

We did stop by the Woodland Express Mini-Mall. An antique store filled with different seller’s booths. I like those kinds of stores. The Owner or worker was sooo friendly. If you find yourself in McCaysville be sure to stop. He definitely had some great personality and was willing to chat.

I found a vintage kids accordion for Jack and a Big Boy bobble head for our collection.

The guy at the mini mall suggested we eat at this diner at the end of the block. I definitely would not recommend this restaurant. Our service was great the food was much less than special and for the price definitely not worth it.  We sat on the patio and wouldn’t you know it that is when the sun came out and it was HOT!  I did like the location of the restaurant it had an outdoor patio right on the river that ran through town. the kids liked looking at the ducks and the water.

Not too many pictures again today I wanted to make sure we gave Jack lots of attention again today.

We did take a couple pictures while sitting at the table. There was this random totem pole next to our table.

The river.

A mini photoshoot of Jack on the bridge. Did you know it was difficult to give direction to a 3yo. Plus he definitely is growing into his dad’s goofy smile LOL.

I liked the bridge don’t think I really captured it how I wanted in these shots but here is one of Pman.

After lunch we took up the advice of the guy at the mini mall and headed over to Mercier’s Apple Orchard. WOW now we know where everyone in the area was they were here!!  I highly recommend heading over to Mercier’s Apple Orchard if your traveling through or staying in the blue ridge area. Well worth the stop this time of year.  This is not a pick your own kind of orchard it’s the store front. Of course there were apple tasting and apple juice and cider. YUM YUM. And OF COURSE fried pies and fritters and all kinds of baked goods.

A running joke/story this whole weekend was that Mamaw was nervous about bears. She’d look out the window at night and see a shadow and get a bit antsy. We didn’t see any bears the whole time well until we went to the apple orchard so I had to get a picture of Mamaw with her bear.

And while we were waiting for the rest to ring up their orders we got a shot of the 4 generations.

Oh and speaking of baked goods. OMG!!! The Apple Fritters WERE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! they were as big as a sheet of paper…and freakin awesome!!!  I tried the fried pies but those just aren’t my thing.  But my word those fritters MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.  My mouth is drooling right now!

They also have a cafe there at the orchard shop and turns out we could have eaten there. Personally I would have much rather spent more $$ eating at Mercier’s than the place we ate at for lunch (ICK!).

Oh and they had lots of great goodies to buy at Mercier’s one thing I really really really wanted to get but it was a bit too expensive for me was this game called Find It Game it was an ingenious design, the whole game is contained in one tube. It was like a Where’s Waldo, but ever changing.

Here is the description from their website:

A creative game that never needs to be put away. Find It is ideal to play anywhere: at home, in the office, in your car. People of all ages will enjoy the hunt for the hidden objects buried within the layer of recycled plastic pellets. Alone or with friends, everyone will enjoy spinning it, shaking it, and twisting it until all the objects are found. Can you find the hidden penny…?

It definitely looked like lots of fun!!!

This was our last stop out and about today, next up part 2 heading back to the cabin, family pictures, and dinner!