Reindeer Engine

On Friday we went to ride the Reindeer Engine.  Our friend Tom is a fire fighter and he and his family host a party at their house  each year and let the kids ride on a decked-out fire engine complete with a sleigh and Rudolph-the-Red-Nose-Reindeer on top.  Everyone brings food and drinks to share and the adults stand around and chat with the kids play football on the lawn (or at least tackle each other if they don’t quite get a game going.)   We have done this every year since Owen was a baby and it is a really fun tradition.

I didn’t get a photo of the whole engine, but here is the important part.  The monkeys were especially excited to climb the ladder all by themselves. 

We also got to ride inside the engine.  I sat in a real seat while the monkeys sat on a tall platform in the middle of the truck.  They lay on their tummies looking out the front window.  Even though the engine simply drives around the block, the boys are thrilled by the adventure. Of course, Owen is never too thrilled; not enough to make him overlook rules…As Tom started driving the engine (at approximately 1/2 mph on the rarely-used residential road) he turned around and greeted the monkeys asking if they were having fun at the party.  Owen politely answered, “We are.”  Then, “Um, could you face forward please, so you don’t crash?”