Day 3--Cape Cod and Shopping with Grampa & Auntie Cheryl

Will, the conductor
Perusing all of the animals at the Zooquarium

Exotic wildlife

Getting a closer look

Will and Ella found some riding toys and Mike indulged them.

Will just loved this train. You could pull a rope to make the bell clang and he took full advantage!

Will's passengers

Shopping trip to Toys R Us with Grampa and Auntie Cheryl. Will headed straight for the trains.

Ella followed suit

Grampa really wanted her to pick out something besides a train. Ella typically likes everything that Will does, but she does have a thing for purses or as people on the East Coast say...pocketbooks. She wouldn't even take it off of her shoulder to scan it at the checkout counter!

Our stay at the Cape ended up with a visit to the Zooquarium, which was a good spot to take the kids. They had outdoor and indoor areas with various wildlife. Afterwards we drove out to Auntie Cheryl and Uncle Steve's where we had dinner with Mike's Grampa. We talked it over and decided this would be our only opportunity to take the kids to Toys R Us (something Grampa really wanted to do for the kids). Mike's Grampa is so generous with all of us. He has a great big heart and really takes pleasure in bringing the kids shopping and letting them pick out what they want. Will remembers going with his grampa the last time we were back East. I don't think he left the train aisle! Ella would have been more than happy to stay with the trains herself. Grampa kept telling us to go find her a doll or something! :) Ella's just not much of a conformist, even at 1 1/2! She ended up with a Sesame Street computer toy and a purse. The purse was pink so I think it satisfied Grampa's desire for Ella to have something "girly". She toted it around for the entire trip and used it to store her puppy dog. Will made out like a bandit with a ton of trains. What a lucky guy! He really doesn't have too many at home so they will be a nice addition to his train set. It's also nice to think of Grampa every time I see Will with his trains scattered about him working on his railroad.