A Day Out With...

Thomas!!!

Earlier in the year we heard about this event where you can ride Thomas the Train. Since both of our boys LOVE Thomas, we looked into it and found that this event would be in the Santa Cruz area in July and August, so we bought the tickets and planned a camping trip around it! We've been just as excited as the boys since then!

They were sooooo excited as we saw Thomas steaming down the track with a load of passengers!!!
Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, CA is where the event was, and they had a lot of fun things for the kids to do: bounce houses, train tables, face painting, tattoos, bubbles, the works!!! We had a lot of fun, and got to see Percy!!!
After checking out everything, we headed to our boarding area......got out tickets out and ready... ...then loaded the train!!!

Ryan and Austin were being their inquisitive little selves watching everyone and everything!

As soon as we felt the train jerk, they were so exited!!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! It's rare to get them both smiling!

And we headed off into the woods! It was sooo beautiful!!!

Daddy and the boys liked to look down over the ravine at the river and other things they could find!

After our ride we got to jump in line to take a closer peek and meet Thomas face-to-face!

It was weird to see something that you've only seen as a miniature toy in such a large size!!!After some lunch we got to meet Sir Topham Hatt! Austin wasn't too sure about that GIANT head, but neither was I!We had so much fun on our camping trip and meeting Thomas! Hopefully we can do it again!

Family Camping Trip!!!

Last weekend, Justin and I took the boys camping in the Santa Cruz Mountains!!! We've done a lot of fun things this summer, but I was especially excited about this because it was just going to be our little family!

Our campsite!!!

After getting camp all set up, we took a walk along the trail that went behind our tent...
to check out this AMAZING view!!!
We then went to a park nearby...
...then headed back to our campsite where we roasted hotdogs for dinner...

...enjoyed some smores...

...then turned in for the night! The boys were super excited to sleep in the tent!!!

The next morning we got up and headed off to see this guy (post to follow)...

...then hit the beach!!!

Our camping ticket got us into all state parks for free, so we went to the Natural Bridges State Park rather than braving the Boardwalk! It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The boys loved being by the water and playing in the sand!

Ryan didn't completely understand why he couldn't go just swim in the water like he always does, until the waves splashed up into his face. Then he got it!

He then thought it was fun to run away from the waves......and play in the sand! Austin didn't love the cold water at all, but he sure loved his sand toys!!! The family next to us dug a huge hole then told the boys they could play in it when they were leaving. They were very excited!!! After a fun filled day, we headed back to camp for some much needed rest! The next morning we packed up camp and headed to the Redwood Grove to see the big trees before heading out of town! The boys and I standing inside of a tree. Apparently a redwood trees bark is so thick that a fire doesn't usually penetrate and kill the tree, so it continues to grow around the burned area! Neat to see!!!Justin climbed up to make sure it was safe for the boys. It wasn't!!!

We came upon a tree that had fallen down and been uprooted. The boys thought it was fun to sit on the roots "like a horsey!"Lastly we visited the 'Fremont Tree' which is a hollow tree you can stand up in! It's like a cave! The boys loved it in there!

We had a great time on our camping trip and can't wait to go back again!!!