Day Out With Thomas 2008

Wow! I think this is our 4th year going to Day Out With Thomas (DOWT) down in Spencer, NC at the NC Transporation Museum. This is the first time that it rained while we were at the event. Thankfully, it was mostly just misty and not really coming down. We never used an umbrella. I'd say this year's event was just as much fun as all the others, but it seemed slightly more low key and less crowded today probably because of the weather. The only thing we missed was that they did not have the Norfolk and Southern diesel engine that we could walk inside of today. We enjoyed our train ride and the roundhouse and the boys had a blast with the Thomas inflatable and putt putt. Enjoy the pics. I've included a few of the best here, but the rest of are here. You'll see Johnny driving a real fire truck, the view from the train ride, and some other cool things.

From 2005. How times change and stay the same...

R2-D1 is here!

Well, actually, it's more like a combination of R2-D1 and R2-D2, but Joey calls him R2-D1. He wanted to make up his own droid instead of just being R2-D2, but after we built it, we discovered there was a real R2-D1. Oh well.

Here are some interesting droid links we just enjoyed:

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And, not to be left out, here's Johnny practicing for his Halloween debut as Mr. Incredible.

Yates Mill Pond Revisited

The boys and I were back at Yates Mill Pond today. It was the 3rd weekend of the month, and they were running the water wheel and giving tours. I went with tripod in hand to try to get some different shots of the water spilling out over the wheel. The goal was to get a misty effect. I think the shots I took turned out pretty cool. If you can fast forward through them, it's almost like you're watching it happen all over again.

I also tried to get some more stained glass type shots today with a new clear dogwood flower etched (heavy) plate. It's fun to play with the glass and marbles (when they aren't sliding off the plate onto your head).

The best shots are here.

All the shots are here.

Halloween Party Invites

I really wanted to use my spooky Halloween fence stamp, so I tried to think of how I could incorporate it into a Halloween scene. I came up with what you see. I wish my haunted mansion stamp was more like The Munster's house (wider), but it'll do.

I showed the sample to Joey this morning, and he liked and agreed to help me make more.

I had prestamped the cut-uts. Joey and I set out to cut them out; he cut out one set, and I did the rest. Then he used other stamps to finish decorating on the inside while I assembled. It was good teamwork.

Of course we've made these so early we'll need to hold them for a while before mailing, but...

The rest of today's pics are here. Joey made a lot of other nice crayon drawn cards for his mom tonights, and I took some pics of those.

Domo

According to Wikipedia Domo arigatoo is a Japanese phrase meaning "Thank you very much". Joey was walking around with Domo, the new monster doll he got at Target yesterday, this morning when all of a sudden Mr. Roboto came into my head. You really should take a step back in time and listen to it. Joey was pretty fascinated with the video about a robot. He and Johnny were talking in robot talk at Target yesterday (to the extent of driving me nuts). Here's a neat video that Target has featuring Domo that I'm sure the little kids will enjoy.

Decorating Continues

The boys and I continued putting up Halloween stuff in the house this morning. After putting up the first pass of stuff that I got down from the attic, both boys were begging for me. It was hot today, and it was no fun in the attic, but I got down a few more things.

The gypsy was my after Halloween clearance find of the season last year. Joey isn't sure about it; Johnny thinks it is great. It has a motion sensor, and 'she' says some interesting things.

Teddy bears got Halloween sweaters.

The seasonal garland went up in the kitchen too.

After a trip to Target, Joey had fun drawing Domo and his friends (made up by Joey). I guess Domo is Target's advertising 'guy' for the Halloween season this year. He was everywhere in there.

And, last but not least, Joey and I put together the approx. 500 piece Lego Scary Laboratory set (1382). It is soooooooo cool. It has lots of moving parts including a spinner for a skeleton and a teeter totter type thing for Frankenstein.

All the pics are here.

Star Wars at the Museum

The boys and I met up with some friends at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham today for a special Heroes, Villians, and Special Effects event. Star Wars characters were the main attraction for many of the little kids...Joey and Johnny included! They got to pose with Imperial Officers, Princess Leia, a Stormtrooper, and R2-D2. The boys got their faces painted. Joey decided on Darth Maul, and Johnny picked 'blue boy'. It was neat to watch them get it done and then to enjoy being done up. The boys also got to paticipate in a green screen Star Wars battle. Think about watching the nightly weather person give the forecast only Star Wars style. There was another area training stunt choreopgraphy. And, we got to watch some stunt people fall off a building (onto an air bag). We always enjoy the museum, and today was extra nice.

All the pics are here. You'll also see Joey climbing the rock climbing wall and Johnny doing the fireman pole outside for the first time.