Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend we got the chance to visit with Bo and Mike (aka Nona and Uncle Mike). They came down to spend a long weekend so we would have plenty of time to hang out and visit. On Saturday I had decided we should go to Casey Jones Village in Jackson, TN which is home to Casey Jones (well, it was when he was alive) and his famous train. http://www.caseyjones.com/ Since Ava is a little fascinated with trains lately, I thought she would enjoy the experience. We started off eating at the Old Country Store and the food was excellent. For a buffet, I was very impressed with the food and atmosphere. They also have lots of little shops, trains, and a tour of Casey's house. We made it to the 2nd shop when the fit started. Ava was wearing her little monkey backpack and walking around on her own. Outside one of the shops were some tall, wooden animals. Ava spotted a giraffe and looked at it for a few minutes until we were ready to move along to the next shop. Apparently in her mind, we were buying that giraffe and taking it with us because a huge, crying fit erupted. She was screaming and crying and being all dramatic. She kept crying, "Bye, Giraffe! and See you later Giraffe!"

The fit culminated in the final stop where you could tour the house and train. It was so intensely bad, I had to remove her from the store and I made her sit down outside on the sidewalk and try to calm her down. All the while, Uncle Mike is like a paparazzi snapping pictures of her and people are staring at us. Let's just say that not only happy moments are now immortalized on film. But after we got back to the car, she calmed down and was fine. In fact as we drove out of the parking lot, she kept saying, "Train, Choo, Choo!" I have to give her that it was extremely hot and close to her usual nap time, but man, can she throw a big one! So needless to say, we didn't get to fully experience Casey Jones. Sorry Bo and Mike, maybe another time!

The giraffe that started it all...