Our sweet little boy turned THREE years old on Saturday. We thought we would make his day extra fun and bought tickets to ride on the Amtrak from here to Gainsville, Texas. He is just a wee bit obsessed with REAL trains.

Birthday Invitation

The train departed at 8:25 so we had to wake the children up much earlier than they rise in the morning. It was bitter cold outside but we were all excited. The temperature in the car at one point said 5 degrees so I took a picture of it with my phone camera. Then it read zero degrees. That is crazy cold!

The plan was for them to ride on the train and I would drive southward and pick them up at the train station in Gainsville so we could have a vehicle to come back on Sunday night.

Brady said Hunter was thrilled and enjoyed looking out the window taking in all the sights. Hailey enjoyed the experience but doesn't quite have the love Hunter does for trains. They both fell asleep for about 30 minutes but Brady woke them up so they could soak it all in while they could. They went and visited the snack car when it was open and had some breakfast. Hunter had a strawberry cream cheese bagel and Hailey of course had a plain cream cheese one. I love the fact Brady took a picture of the meal for me. For some reason, I like to take pictures of my meals on planes if I ever get served one!

They stopped at a few train stations briefly, saw lots of wildlife and were even treated to an eagle who flew in to hunt for a meal at the river. Brady kept me informed so I wouldn't feel left out and texted me the entire trip. I felt like I was chasing a train several times. I pulled over in Davis, OK and found the perfect spot to watch them come by on the train. There was this neat little museum right off the tracks. I toured it briefly but was too anxious to actually enjoy it more. (I did see a 100 year old casket, a large geode and a perm machine that were fascinating.) I didn't want to miss them passing through that town. The lady said I would know when it did come and that it would come by fast. She unlocked the back door for me so I could stand closer to the building. She was right. It zipped through super fast! I stood out there waving at the train like a nut all bundled up. Brady saw me but it went by too quick to capture me on camera. It was fun seeing them though!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ6I0cQfCZQ 500x500]

I greeted the birthday boy with his balloon when it reached Gainsville. I went to use the restroom and they thought it would be funny to move the car and trick leaving me! We then headed to get me a bite to eat because I was starving and then headed to the lake. We made a quick trip to see Smokey at the Tackle Box before going to the lakehouse.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvB3i_uWDEQ 500x500]

THE TRAIN CAKES!

I made Hunter two cakes actually. One with a windup train on the top and one in the shape of a train. Hunter loved them and Hailey enjoyed eating the m&m car the next day! I gave Hunter first dibs and he said "Uh - the caboose!" like I was crazy for asking him in the first place. He ate off the engine for breakfast one day too. Birthday's are special. I declare you can do that. 

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGXRqrJLVrs 500x500]

PRESENT TIME!

SILLY PICTURES!

We braved the bitter cold and walked down the dock so Brady could take pictures of the cool ice formations for his mother.

Pizza on the grill was for dinner and Hailey enjoyed making smores with Grammy.

Hunter fell asleep for the night right after 7:00. He wound up sleeping 14 hours!

Enjoying birthday cake the next day and the following morning for breakfast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER LEWIS! Hope you had a great day. I know we all did.