Last Friday, Reggie, the boys and I were able to enjoy some family time together.
First, we went to see Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes To Town at The Beacon Theater. Initially when I received the tickets, I was going to give them to another one of the Mom in the City reviewers, since my kids aren’t huge Thomas & Friends fans. I made the mistake of mentioning the tickets to my husband in front of the kids and they insisted that they wanted to go. Even my 2 year old son Sean (whom I don’t think has ever seen even one episode of Thomas) expressed his interest. “Thomas the Train! Choo! Choo!” It turned out to be a “happy mistake” because both kids loved the show.
I could tell most of the kids in the audience were Thomas fans, because they screamed out the name of each train as they appeared on stage. The show was very interactive – with the audience singing/chanting/doing various hand movements – so the kids remained entertained the entire time. As a parent, I especially like the themes (i.e. hard work, being useful, teamwork, etc.) that were presented in a “non-preachy” manner. So, both the kids and the parents had a great time and left this show happy. (Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes To Town is still being performed throughout the country, so check their site to see when they’ll be in your area.)
After the show, we were getting ready to go home when Michael asked, “Can we go to the park?” Reggie and I had other plans, but we decided to prolong our “family date” – it was a beautiful day outside. We picked up some lunch to go from Fairway and went to the nearby Elephant Playground in Riverside Park on 76th Street. It’s a great, little playground. It has a sandbox, swings, and several different climbing options. In the summer, the elephants sprinkle water (but it was too early seasonally for that). We played, ate and played some more. By the time we reached home, everyone needed a rest! What a wonderful day…
