dream weekend day 2

And the magic continues... Today we took a ride on the Calera & Shelby Train at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. We have ridden the line when Thomas the Train came to town and again last October for the Pumpkin Patch Express, but this was the first time we went on a regular weekend excursion. Dennis was beside himself with joy over meeting the conductor and getting our tickets punched. He met a cute little blonde girl named Caroline and shared his seat with her (she's an older woman: age 3 & 1/2), and they played and pointed things out to each other as the train rumbled down the tracks through the woods. Midway through our excursion, they disconnect the engine from one end of the train and drive it to the other end to return us to the station. Dennis went to the front of the train and watched as they uncoupled the engine. There were loud noises involved, so he of course covered his ears, and then he asked "why is our engine leaving us?". He watched it pull forward, watched the brakeman pull the switch to change tracks, and then watched it back up to the front of the train. When we returned to the station, he watched the process in reverse and was very fascinated. He loved playing on the train tables inside and looking at the stuff in the museum.

After our train ride, we stopped by to see Allison and take her some get well treats as she recovers from major shoulder surgery. She is doing very well for two days post surgery! Dennis took her a band-aid for her shoulder boo-boos and told her he hoped it would make her feel better. On our way back to the lake, we stopped at Peach Park and got to see the Smith twins and their adorable cousin! Dennis was so excited about it and asked me if he could kiss them (especially the sleeping Katelyn), and their Mommy told him that he could. He LOVES those babies and has talked about them since we left there. He is so disappointed because he was trying to steer their stroller toward our car saying that we were taking them to our house, and they ended up in Jennifer's Blazer against his wishes. He told her he wanted to go to her house and offered to ride in the back of her Blazer. We topped off all the day's festivities with an excellent Gigi Gourmet meal. Another perfect day! We are so spoiled.