Trains, animals and cousin Noah? Nothing beats that entertainment value in Samantha and Amelia’s book, so when the girls found out we would be meeting Noah and his entourage (Cousins Allison, Zack, Ben, Great Auntie Lynn and Great Uncle Steve) at Irvine Regional Park, they cooperated lightning fast to potty up and get out the door.

Samantha and Amelia with engineer Noah.

Last year, we rode the special Christmas train at the park to see Santa, but this year, the regular train was just as fun– except for a few minor technical difficulties. The tracks were slippery (or, more likely, we were all just too heavy from all those Christmas sweets) and the train had a hard time making it up the hill… after sitting stopped for so long, Samantha and Amelia were ready to jump ship. There were only so many “I think I can, I think I can” comments we could make to keep the girls occupied! Thankfully, Noah’s crew never fails to entertain.

Last year on the Christmas Train:

So much bigger now!

Ben’s disappearing arm trick kept the girls occupied.

After our ten-minute-turned-thirty-minute train ride, we walked up to the zoo; or, rather, I drove my car while Uncle Steve pushed the twins up the hill to meet me there. Thank you!

Two little birdies.

Fascinated by deer, or in Noah’s case, giant ornament decorations on the ground.

What an entourage!

Samantha was a big girl carrying her own lunchbox around and then thought it was hilarious to walk around with it on her head.

Of course, Amelia had to follow suit.

The girls kept asking the cougar if he would like anything out of their lunch boxes. I’m fairly certain he would have rather eaten one or two of the creatures holding the lunches… starting with the meatier one.

Thanks for a fun outing, Noah and crew!

Lots of love,