Choo Choo!!

If you are ever in Lancaster, PA with kids you should visit the Straburg Railroad Museum.  Even if you are just driving by you can get out and take pictures of the kids by the trains.  They can also ride on a little Thomas the Train"  (pictures of that below).
While Kirby was out in Las Vegas working, the kids and I went with the rest of the Miller family to take a special ride on the train with a visit from Santa.  Before we went to ride the train, Nanny wanted to buy a train hat for Charlie.

Charlie is having trouble smiling and keeping his eyes open at the same time!  Hopefully this close up provides you with a few giggles.  Check out some of his other smiles in the other photos from the day.  He had us all cracking up!

Yes- that is another attempt at a smile from Charlie!

You may have noticed that I didn't post any pictures of the kids with Santa.  As Santa made his way in our train car Charlie was pointing and yelling Santa with the biggest grin on his face.  But as Santa came to our seats he became pettrified.   Not sure if it was just a coincidence but Jocelyn then broke into a fit of tears as well.  It was almost as if she was scared because he was.  Thus the reason these pictures are Santa free!

The ride itself was probably 45 minutes.  It included a Santa visit (who gave slinkys as a gift- loved this!) as well as two sets of carolers coming through.  FANTASTIC!!!!
After the ride, Charlie rode on the little Thomas train.  This is him waiting in line.  Followed by several photos of the silly faces he made while riding.  Literally, he went from looking like he was mad at the world to  grinning from ear to ear.  Even the other adults waiting in line with their kids were cracking up at Charlie.

Giraffes.. Come here!

One of the best parts about staying at my parents house other than just enjoying our time together was taking  the five weeks to explore.  On an abnormally warm December day, my Dad and I took the kids to the Philadelphia Zoo.  If you happen to be a stay at home mom or could spare a  random vacation day, I highly recommend spontaneously going to the zoo on a warmer than usual day.

So many of the animals were out and moving about.  We even saw the sloth climb a tree and if you know anything about sloths, they basically don't move.  We didn't have to wait in any lines or peak between others in order to get a good view.  Hands down- the best zoo trip I have ever been on!!!

The whole car ride and the day leading up to our zoo adventure Charlie kept saying he wanted to see the Gorilla.  He has had a long standing love for the idea of gorillas, but close encounters prove he is terrified of these amazing creatures.

I basically had to hold him there for the last picture.  Amazing how scared he was of the gorilla yet not of the lions.  I think he would have pet them if he was allowed.

Jocelyn was such a trooper.  She happily strolled throughout the zoo.  I can't wait for the day when she will enjoy seeing the animals too!

Sidenote- There will probably be lots of pictures in this hat.   It was a gift  from my Aunt Mary .  I absolutely love that it covers her little ears and it is adorable!

For Charlie, the highlight of the entire zoo trip was seeing the giraffes.  Hence the title of this post.  I think we may have sat in front of the giraffes for half an hour as Charlie continued to yell "Come here"

Longwood

Longwood Gardens is one of those places you are lucky to live by, but don't quite realize it until you move away.   For the last several years I have been to Longwood at Christmas time to see the lights.  Now with  our kids, I have been fortunate enough to visit at other times in the year.   In mid-November, the kids, my parents, and I went to Longwood to see the train display.

Charlie loved the Percy train.