Big Thomas

Granny brought up this giant Thomas train that she picked up for Dennis at a yard sale for a ridiculously low price. It's much bigger than I anticipated. I was thinking it was one of those carry cases for Take Along Thomas figures, which I have seen in the toy stores. Instead, it's much bigger and has tunnels all through it. It's designed to hold Trackmaster Thomas figures, and luckily we have a few of those on hand--that's the only kind you can find at Wal-Mart these days. Trackmaster engines take batteries and will move along the tracks and tow cars. We had hidden Dennis' Trackmaster cars from him because we were tired of fetching the things from under the bed, under the couch, wherever their little batteries would carry them. We got them back out today so that he could play with his new "Big Thomas" (as Dennis calls him) and the engines that fit inside and travel through him. This entertained Dennis for over six straight hours. True, I got so tired of hearing the battery-powered engines getting stuck against walls and would beg him "Please go turn Rusty off" or "turn Dennis off", which he would do. But then he'd turn them on again and subject them to more peril.

To give myself a break, I asked him if he wanted to watch a movie and he said "no, listen to music" and pointed to the stereo. We enjoyed an afternoon of contemporary Christian music together as a nice backdrop to train engine noise.