A Day With Thomas

We went with our neighbors to Bryson City, NC for the weekend to see Thomas the Tank. We drove up Friday night to spend the night in a cabin, which was super nice! On Saturday, we went downtown to take our train ride with Thomas pulling our car. Coleman was a little startled initially, but by the end of the day, he loved watching Thomas. We spent our day playing at the train tables, shopping for Thomas accessories and visting various exhibits that were set up.

On Sunday morning we went back to downtown Bryson City, to tell Thomas goodbye. Coleman kept repeating, "Bye, bye Thomas."

Thomas taking off from the station

Bradley, Riley and Coleman

Coleman, me, Riley, David, Bradley, Danny and Misty aboard our passenger car

Happy 2nd Birthday Conner!

Conner celebrated his 2nd birthday on July 15. We met them at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. On the 18th was his actual birthday party at their house. The theme was farm animals, and the cake was super cute...it was a cow!

Conner, his mom and his cousin

Conner, Coleman and Andrew having fun at their new train table

Happy Birthday Conner! Thanks for including us in your special day!

The Fourth of July

We spent Friday night at the Echerer's house. We ate hotdogs, watched fireworks and hung out. My brother, Justin, joined us, and I think he had a good time too.

Kim, Coleman and I watching fireworks from afar

Kaitlyn, Zachary and their cousin watching fireworks

On Saturday, we went to my parent's house to eat barbeque and lots of other good food. While we were there, Coleman played with the kittens next door.

After leaving my parents, we went to the Davis' house to watch fireworks. Coleman was a bit scared because the fireworks were much closer than they had been the previous night.

Barbra, Eason and Coleman (Eason thought the fireworks were loud too!)

New York City - Days 4 & 5

We spent Saturday at the Bronx Zoo. We took the Subway to the zoo, and we had a wonderful day. Later that day, we went to FAO Schwarz and Coleman and I played on the large piano.

On Sunday, I flew to Chicago, and David and Coleman flew to Charlotte. We hated to leave our favorite city!

New York City - Day 3

We started our day at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, which was awesome. The museum had 2 whole floors dedicated to children under 3 years old. Coleman loved storytime, play dough time, and all of the cool exhibits.

Daddy is helping Coleman down the fireman's pole

After the museum we ate at Homer's World Favorite Malt Shop. After lunch, we walked around the Upper East & Upper West sides. We then visited Dylan's Candy Bar (Ralph Lauren's daughter's shop). We had a blast eating all of the candy!

Coleman shared an ice cream with mommy at Dylan's

After Dylan's we visited the FDNY (Fire Department New York) Fire Zone at Rockefellar Plaza. Coleman loved the firetruck, and we were able to buy cool t-shirts.

Mommy and Coleman "driving" the firetruck

We had pizza for dinner and visited Toys R Us. We finally called it a day!

New York City - Day 2

We started our morning by getting a little breakfast at the grocery next door to our hotel. We then headed straight for Central Park. The first thing we came to in Central Park was the carousel. Coleman loved the carousel because it moved faster than the other carousels that we have ridden in the past. After the carousel, we went to the Central Park Zoo. Coleman had the best time feeding the goats at the petting zoo.

After leaving the zoo, we went straight to the Boathouse to eat lunch. Coleman actually took a little nap in his stroller while we ate, so it worked out nicely. As soon as David and I took our last bites, Coleman woke up. We decided to get him a hotdog and fries from the Express Cafe, which was located on the back side of the Boathouse. After our lunch, we took a row boat ride.

After our boat ride, we explored Central Park some more. We then found a playground, and Coleman was very happy.

After our adventures in Central Park, we took the Subway down to the World Trade Center area, and did a little bit of shopping in Century 21. We then walked up to Chinatown and Little Italy. We ate dinner in Little Italy, and it was delicious! We then took the subway back up to Times Square and did our nightly visit of Toys R Us. We then left and went to bed...we were so tired!

New York City - Day 1

David, Coleman and I left out of Charlotte on Wednesday morning. David left around 10 a.m. and Coleman and I left at 11:40 a.m. We took different flights to keep costs low. As soon as we arrived in Queens, we took a bus and then the subway to Manhattan. We went straight to Times Square, where our hotel was located. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that our hotel was nice. We bid on it from Priceline. We ate dinner at the Barking Dog, and after dinner we went to Toys R Us in Times Square. At Toys R Us, we road the enourmous ferris wheel in a firetruck cart. Then, Coleman had his first encounter with Spider Man. Coleman now loves him!

Elmo was working the streets in Time Square

Coleman is preparing to give Spider Man knuckles

A Wedding in Jamaica

We spent last weekend in Jamaica celebrating David's cousin Matt's and Jenn's wedding. We flew out of Charlotte on a Friday and we returned the following Monday. We spent our first night celebrating at the rehearsal dinner. It was gorgeous because it was out on the beach with a steel drum band, a bondfire and a wonderful dinner.

We spent Saturday playing on the beach and swimming in the pool. We also took the pedal boat out, which put Coleman asleep. Saturday night was the wedding, which was on the lawn overlooking the ocean. Jenn was absolutely stunning, and the ceremony was beautiful. We then had dinner and dancing for the reception.

On Sunday we played at the beach and in the pool. David took a ride on the banana boat, which he really enjoyed. On Sunday night, we ate a a local flavor restaurant, Scotchie's, which served authentic Jamaican food. It was really good.

On Monday, we packed our bags and returned home. It was so hard to leave such a beautiful place! Congratulations Matt and Jen...we enjoyed sharing your special day with you.

Matt and Jenn

The authenic Jamaican restaurant

Coleman playing in the water/sand with his cousin Lauren

Mommy and Coleman at the pool