Trains

I mentioned before that Jack is in love with Thomas the train. Well, the sad thing is that Jack's dad is a little obsessed with the toys as well.

I used Thomas to deter Terra from Barbie's for as long as I could. Now it turns out that a few of the toys I bought a few years ago (and had some enjoyment) are worth characterized by words like "rare." Totally new to me, I feel almost like I bought the very first Superman comic book.

Next, a word to the wise, "Never buy Thomas the Tank Engine stuff new." The toys are wooden, so they hold up well. Compared to a Polly Pocket or a barbie shoe, a Thomas the Tank Engine toys is like a diamond compared to a mood ring, they just hold up.

Now, Jack and I are watching every Thomas the Tank Engine episode I can get my hands on, almost every night. We've bought the DVD's, we've watched on Netflix, and on YouTube. However, once you get into Thomas, you quickly learn there are a ton they don't make anymore.

I'm not talking like Mattel stopped making Duke, for GI Joe, here. I'm talking about super critical stuff like the NW Brakevan, or Toad, and China clay cars, and Diesel. These are crucial characters to some of Jack's favorite stories (and his dad).

So, naturally, I went to Craigslist. Initially, just to get stuff like more track, but then I saw this sweet deal. It came with a lot of trains, and now we have some pretty cool stuff that isn't available anymore. We have Mavis with the green stripes. We have the first Bertie, and the Crosby Truck with no writing on it, which means it's a prototype.

"Dad, please go my room," is what Jack says, now. We moved the train table to his room. We got to his room, we setup the track, and we rehearse some of Awdry's stories.

The next best part is the girls are totally OK, with this. They know a little bit of this is my obsession. Then the next part is, "Hey! Wow!! Jack got Henry's forest car, let's go up stairs buddy!"

Labor Day

We had Jack's birthday party schedule the second weekend in August, but guess what? That boy decided to get strep throat, aka striped throat, as one of my daughter's called it a few years ago. Jack was sick, with a real fever, so we had to reschedule the party. Labor day weekend was the day.

What a blast! Unfortunately, since Jack didn't have his real birthday party, he got several from us this past month. He finally had some closure though.

First, the girls were determined to dress this party up. They went with me to the store and we bought some balloons. They taped them to the hallways and Jack's steps.

Then, what almost brings a tear to my eye, they made Jack a crown, for the birthday boy. I thought to myself, "That's very sweet, but he won't wear it." Lo and behold St. James wore it the entire birthday party. He loved it. It had his favorite things on it: cars, trucks, and trains. We actually kept the crown, and I'm not a super sentimental guy, usually a picture is good enough for me.

It was all very fun. Jack knew about his presents, his sisters genuinely made it very clear that it was his birthday and he enjoyed every minute of it.

Then the fun moved outside, after the presents were opened. We played on the tire swing. Sarah, the eldest girl wound up the tire swing and had everyone spinning on it, she got the most turns. Later, she threw-up, but despite that, had a great time.

And I borrowed our neighbor's steam cleaner, and now we have super clean first level floors. (Once you clean up one spot, the rest of them just need it.)