Day Out With Thomas at Tweetsie Railroad

On Saturday, May 31st, we packed up the kids and drove nearly 2 1/2 hours west to Tweetsie Railroad in the NC mountains to see Thomas the Tank Engine.

When Luke first saw Thomas, he just looked on in awe. Grandma Shelley had sent him the shirt he is wearing. It even has a button to push that sounds like Thomas' whistle blowing. Needless to say, any time Thomas blew his whistle, Luke pushed the button on his shirt.
Miriam enjoyed playing at the train table in the Imagination Station.
Luke enjoyed building with the Thomas legos.
Whoa Luke! Tweetsie Railroad had a huge Thomas the Tank Engine slide that Luke could not get enough of. Miriam wanted to try it too, but there were just too many big kids there. Maybe in a few more years Miriam!
Luke only played for a few moments in the jumping room. His heart was set on the slide!
Tweetsie Railroad also had other amusement style rides for the children. Even though Luke looks a little miffed in this picture, he really did like this ride and wanted to do it again. Maybe he just wanted to be the one in front flying the plane rather than being a backseat pilot.

Go speed racer Luke!
It was great having Maw Maw on this trip with us. She mostly stayed with Luke and I got to hang with Miriam.
Hi Ho Silver!After riding the rides, it was finally our turn for the Thomas train ride.

A cowboy boarded our car and told us to watch our for Indians along the way.
Uh-oh. I think there is going to be trouble. Indians then boarded our car and there was a little skirmish between them and the cowboys. Luckily Thomas peeped in and the Indians left in peace. We all liked the little show that the cast put on for us on the train ride.
Before heading home, we met Sir Topham Hatt. By this point, Miriam was asleep and Luke was a little intimidated by Sir Topham Hatt's enormous size. It was a great day! Luke still asks when we are going back to Tweetsie Railroad!

Sick Luke

On Memorial Day, my mom, Jenn (my sister-in-law), the kids and I headed out to Macy's in Greensboro to find a dress for me to wear for April's wedding. After no luck we then went to Sam's Club to get items for the barrel. On the way there, Luke started throwing up everywhere. Poor Luke! Later as we were driving home, Luke started throwing up again. He started to get a fever and when he wasn't showing signs of improvement with Tylenol, on Wednesday I took him to Burlington Pediatrics. They diagnosed him with an ear infection- his first ever! They gave him antibiotics and by Thursday evening, he was starting to play again. I am so grateful for medicine! He was feeling great by the time our Day Out with Thomas Adventure started on Saturday the 31st.

Trip to NC

On May 22, the kids and I started our trip to NC. We said goodbye to Morgan in the morning and flew out of Dominica at 2:20 p.m. We arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 4:20 p.m. After shuffling through customs, we then headed through yet another security check before our 7:35 p.m. flight to Miami.

Luke Funny Moment:
You seasoned travelers know that we now have to remove our shoes and belts while going through the security check. In the San Juan airport security line I had already removed Luke's shoes and belt and was working on getting everything into trays and through the scanner. Just as I was pushing our tray along, Luke reaches up to me and hands me his shorts. Without a belt they didn't stand a chance at staying up on his little hips! I just had to chuckle at the sight of seeing him shoeless and now pantless in the airport. Is this a sign of how we are all to pass through airport security in the future?

This is how Luke and Miriam survived the layovers in the airports:

Cookies and movies on the ipod...

and playing with everything in my backpack.

Notice the scratch by Miriam's right eye. This happened also going through San Juan security. I was trying to get a tray off of the cart and as I bent over, I hit Miriam's head on a pole in front of me. So not only was Luke pantless, Miriam was bleeding by the time I made it through the check. What a day!

We had to stay overnight in Miami before completing the final portion of our trip to Raleigh. We landed around 10:45 p.m. in Miami. Luke woke up and started crying which triggered Miriam's crying. So Miriam is screaming and throwing her body all over the place while Luke is crying: "I lost my Daddy" while I am just trying to get everything together and find our hotel shuttle. We finally made it to the hotel and once Luke saw the king sized bed, he smiled and said: "It's so beautiful." The kids then enjoyed a quick bath in a real bathtub and lots of warm water. I had no trouble getting my kids to sleep that night!

Our flight to Raleigh on the 23rd was pretty uneventful...thank goodness! I told Luke that if he was a good boy and didn't cry at the airport that we would go to Target and buy a toy. Somehow this bribe worked like magic! Luke never whined and kept reminding me that we needed to go to Target and get him a toy.

Maw Maw met us at the airport and then treated us to lunch at Cracker Barrel and shopping at Target. I loved every minute of it! The food has never tasted so good and you just cannot even imagine how wonderful it was to shop in huge stores that have many different brands to choose from. Luke was rewarded with a Batman toy and Miriam even got some new toys too. We then headed home and rested up for more shopping to follow on Saturday.

While home, it was one of my goals to get 2 barrels ready to ship back to Dominica...so lots of shopping took place on this trip. The kids were real troopers and my mom was a great help at babysitting and providing packing expertise when it came to actually putting the stuff in the barrels.

So here are just a few of the pictures from our time in NC...

Here is Maw Maw Lewis with Madison and Miriam.
Miriam didn't really know what to think of Maw Maw until she watched Madison. Madison just clings to Maw Maw and loves her dearly. After Miriam witnessed this for a few days, she really started to trust and take up with Maw Maw.



Luke, Miriam, Kaitlyn and Madison all watching a show.
Luke and Miriam loved taking a bath in Maw Maw's big tub. Luke just loves to make bubble beards on his face.
Miriam loved dressing up at Maw Maw's.

Here are the cousins eating at their little table.

On Sunday May 25th we had a family dinner. Notice that Luke is in batman pjs. Maw Maw bought him several pair of super hero pajama sets and he just had to wear the batman set for this gathering.

Jeff and Jenn being entertained by Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn entertaining her parents- Brian and Melanie.
Kaitlyn and Madison quickly became Luke and Miriam's favorite playmates. Melanie was so great at having them come over to play with her girls. Thanks for sharing your movies and toys with us while we were in town!

Our Crazy Week in Review

On Thursday, May 15th, we finally received our barrel! My mom did a great job packing all the diapers, canned goods and treats for us. It was like Christmas unpacking all the food and putting it away. As we were unpacking it, Luke kept saying: "I'm so smiling." He was so happy! Some of our favorite surprises in the barrel were: Lucky Charms cereal, gummy bears, M&Ms, cookies, goldfish crackers, brownie mixes, marshmallows, and canned chicken. It's these little things that we miss and are so grateful to have them again! Thanks Mom!

Luke and Miriam were quite the playmates this week. One day they made up their own game that consisted of running from one end of the apartment to the other while holding hands. If Miriam happened to drop Luke's hand, she would reach up for it until he held on again. It was really cute. Then they played a game of chase one another around the kitchen table while I was cooking dinner. I hope they continue to play well together.
This is how I found Miriam as she was waking up from her nap. Look how big she is getting! She is now 15 months old!
Luke also got new Superman/Batman cartoon DVD in the barrel. He insisted upon wearing his Batman costume as he watched. Morgan and Luke had a great time watching these cartoons. Luke would even try to get the bad guys when they appeared on the TV. We love superheroes in our family!
A bit of sad news...Luke and Miriam have been sick. Luke had it first and then like any good older brother, gave it to his little sister. They both had fevers and Luke had a nasty cough. Miriam seemed to be the most pitiful though. She only wanted to be held in the way that Morgan is holding her in the picture. However as of this morning it seems that she is feeling better. Her fever has finally started to go down and she was even playing with toys. That's a good sign!

Luke's 1st Day of Preschool

Luke started preschool this week. Technically it isn't a formal preschool but it is as close to preschool as we get here in Dominica. In the fall he will be in a pre-K class but for now he goes each morning to the daycare on campus at Ross Preparatory School. They sing songs, play instruments, read stories, art projects and free play. We decided to enroll Luke in the program because whenever we were on campus and walked by the Prep School, Luke would cry. He begged to go to school and be with the other children. How could we deny him after that?

The smiling Luke before heading out the door.

Morgan and Luke ready to go!
Let's go Daddy! When Morgan dropped Luke off on Monday, he said that Luke went right in and started playing. He then told Morgan: "I feel much better now." What a big step for my little man!

Happy Mother's Day

Morgan, Luke and Miriam performed a little dance to the video clip (see bottom of post) for me on Mother's Day. Here are some pictures from their dance:

2 Smooth Dudes
I was also rewarded with some Belgian chocolate that Morgan had our friends the Bensons bring back from their recent trip. He also brought back an ipod for me when he was in Indiana. Thanks Shelley for shipping it to the hotel! I love rocking out to my own music while trying to burn off all those chocolate calories!

This video is dedicated to all you mothers out there! We love our Moms and Grandmoms so much!

Batabou/Pirate Beach Trip

This is the most beautiful beach on Dominica! Luke is not a fan of beaches (he doesn't like to get dirty and the ocean scares him unless Morgan is holding him) but even he enjoyed our outing last Thursday to Batabou beach.

It's also unofficially named "Pirate Beach" because a scene from the 2nd Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed here.
After taking a short 20 minute walk through the rainforest, this was what unfolded before our eyes. Pretty incredible huh? Our group consisted of 14 adults and 9 children. We were the ONLY ones there. It's so awesome to find a deserted beach and enjoy it's beauty and serenity all to ourselves. Miriam absolutely loves beaches! Each child is so different. She loves to run out into the ocean and play in the waves.
But most of all, Miriam loves to EAT sand! No matter how hard I try, she always sneaks bites of sand. She's never hungry when we get home from the beach!
It was a magical time with Morgan over the break. He was wonderful with the children and Luke treasured each moment with him. Here is Morgan trying to coach Luke to get into the water.