Day Out with Thomas

With Vivian’s christening behind us, we headed up to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for a Day Out with Thomas at the Strasburg Railroad. It’s hard to say what excited Henry more: the prospect of seeing Thomas the Train or staying overnight in the hotel (or the “Happiness Hotel” as Henry called it, inspired by the Great Muppet Caper). We drove up to Lancaster on Saturday afternoon and had time for a swim at the hotel pool before dinner. Lancaster is in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and we saw many Amish families taking a ride in their horse and buggy as we drove to and from dinner. It was sort of incongruous to see a gentleman in straw hat and suspenders filling his plate at the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday, but apparently some modern conveniences are OK. On Sunday we headed over to the Strasburg Railroad (a working steam railway and museum) to see Thomas and friends. We met Sir Topham Hatt, played with model trains and, of course, took a ride on Thomas. It was a great day out for the kids in a lovely part of the country. We enjoyed it so much, we’re already plotting a trip to Dutch Wonderland amusement park in the fall. Below are some photos from our weekend getaway.

Vivian's Christening

Vivian was christened on June 13th. We had the entire family in town for the occasion. Bryant’s parents and his brother Kevin and his daughter Micah flew up from Alabama. Elise’s Aunt Pauline drove down from Michigan and brought along Aunt Tweety and Aunt Butchy from New Castle, Pennsylvania. On Saturday night we had a cookout with the whole family. It was great to have everyone over, and Henry really enjoyed spending time with his older cousin Micah and going to the playground with Uncle Kevin.

Vivian was christened on Sunday afternoon at our local parish, St. Mary’s in Old Town Alexandria. Uncle Kevin and Aunt Pauline were the godparents. As you can see from the photos below, Vivian looked angelic in her white christening gown (thank you, Mimi Pauline). Henry did his best to sit quietly during the ceremony and was mostly successful, but by the end (see photo below), was feeling punchy. After the christening, everyone, including friends and neighbors, came back to our house for cake and coffee.

You can watch a video of Viv's christening here: