She'll be comin' around the mountain...

What is it about trains? All of my children have gone through a train stage at one time or another. Actually, I think they like just about anything that "goes"... cars, trains, planes, trucks, tractors, rockets, etc... One of the best investments we made when Zack was about 1 1/2 was a beginner set of Thomas the Tank Engine Tracks. Over the last 15 years, we've added to them and have quite a collection. Nate has pretty much outgrown it, so the whole set is packed away very nice and neatly in the attic, waiting future grandchildren that will think I'm the coolest grandma because I have the best toys.

For my Christmas picture today, I have a picture of a train that is set up around our Christmas tree. Truthfully, I'm not crazy about having trains in the way of the presents, but our kids love it. And, since Thomas has been put away for a while now, having a running train is a novelty to my boys... We weren't sure it was going to work... it's an old track and is held together by lots of black electrical tape. And, the battery connections were corroded, so even after fresh batteries, it wouldn't go. But, thankfully, dad can fix anything! After a little cleaning, our train is running it's route without any trouble. Thank goodness!