Last week we had a few appointments and some time away from home. One of our days out, we stopped at Michael's store, where the girls and I each chose a little house to paint for our fairy garden we are building in the yard. They were so anxious to get busy painting! Over two days, we spent several hours painting and decorating our houses. The paint was not washable, so in order to save clothes, the girls got to paint in their skin. Tierney especially thought it was pretty awesome, and spent as much time painting herself as she did her house.
They turned out pretty cute, though! Now to seal them with several coats of varnish, and then they can go outside.
All week long, I was secretly packing for our big weekend adventure. I managed to completely pack for everyone and get the van loaded without getting caught. I almost got busted when Ezri found her Thomas hat in a bag on the counter, but I was able to talk my way out of it - whew! So, Friday night the girls went to bed none the wiser.
Saturday morning came very early. We woke the girls around 6 and got them dressed and into the van. A bit later, we were off toward Opa & Oma's house to drop Sadie off for the weekend as she could not join us. Jay and Becci joined us in the van, and our road trip was on! Around 10am, we pulled into Greenfield Village, where Ezri finally figured out what was going on when she saw a sign for Thomas. Suddenly the van was full of excited chatter from the girls!
It was sunny, but chilly, so we bundled up in layers and prepared for our day in the village. Our ride on Thomas was at 10:30, so we scrambled to get into the village and over to the train depot. Once on board, the girls were excitedly chatting as they waited for the ride to begin. This was Alora and Ezri's fourth time (we first went when Ezri was two and Alora was a few months old).
It was Tierney's third ride (her first was when she was 4 weeks old!), but the first she was really aware enough to appreciate as she knows who Thomas is now.
After our ride around the village with Thomas, we jumped in line for our picture with Thomas!
We then met up with Aunt Becky and made our rounds around the village, collecting stamps on the girls' passports so they could get a prize at the end. Sir Topham Hatt was one of our stops, and this time the older two were all in, but no way Tierney was stepping foot near him, not even with Daddy.
We walked through the roundhouse, checked out the trains and workshop for a bit too. Ezri and Alora collected their free stuff from a train safety table while Tierney entertained herself with Becci's sunglasses.
Then we headed outside to watch Thomas pass by.
While Daddy and Jay went to get our lunches from the van, the girls went to get temporary tattoos!
We enjoyed lunch on our favorite lawn spot, right near the tracks where we could watch Thomas pass by. It was very exciting each time we heard his whistle.
Before one of his passes by, the big boys put some pennies on the tracks for a little fun
The girls thought this was pretty cool, and each of them got to keep a penny
Then we played around a little while we waited for Thomas to return.
A ride on the carousel came to us thanks to the generosity of a friendly woman who just happened by as we were debating, and offered us her two tickets. So, the girls went with Jay and Becci and enjoyed themselves on their ride.
We couldn't get away without stopping by the playground for a bit as well.
We had a wonderful day together and enjoyed ourselves during our visit. One last stop for a picture by the fountain, and we called it a day. Rain was soon to fall and the girls were tired and ready to go to the hotel and swim.
Our hotel backed right up to Greenfield Village, so the girls were able to watch Thomas make a few more rounds through Jay and Becci's window. After a little frustration, a botched room request which put us a floor apart, a broken refrigerator in our room and some complaints, Our room got moved and we were across the hall from Jay and Becci, which made things much happier for everyone. A quick dinner and the girls were begging to go swim, so despite the pool full of unsupervised children, we took them. Thankfully, the pool slowly cleared out and the girls had more room to play. They had a great time splashing and playing in the water for quite a while.
Once back in our room, we quickly washed the girls and got them into bed. Though I thought they would quickly fall asleep, I was wrong. Tierney fell asleep fairly quickly, but the older two held out for a while before finally giving in.
Sunday morning, we woke, ate breakfast, packed up and headed off on another adventure. Though it was again chilly, the rain had stopped so we opted to go check out the Detroit Zoo. A new penguin exhibit had just recently opened and we were all anxious to check it out. We were not disappointed!
We found all sorts of really cool animals. Though some were not out and available to watch, we got the chance to see others playing that we had never before had the chance to.
Tierney really liked the flamingos.
Ezri and Alora really enjoyed the peacocks wandering wild around the zoo.
The girls all had a little fun being prairie dogs, when they got to pop their heads up in the middle of their hills.
The polar exhibit was another exciting place for us to visit. While we didn't get to see the polar bear swimming, we did get to watch the seals swim around and above us, especially one particularly active seal.
We did finally get to see the polar bear on our way out. He was sleeping on a hill.
And while we watched the polar bear, a friendly duck entertained the girls.
It was a short weekend, yet parts felt long as we traveled so many miles in such a short time. Regardless, we all had a fantastic time together, shared plenty of laughs, enjoyed all of the things we did and saw, and found ourselves a little sad to have to be going home so soon. Poor Alora had the hardest time with going home, crying part of the way home because she didn't want to go home yet. What a fun and adventure filled weekend!
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