We have thrown really big parties for Edward for the first 5 years, so this year, we decided to switch it up and ask him what kind of trip he would like to do for his birthday. He chose to take a train out to Idaho to go visit his Grammy. We had to break some of his heart because we didn’t let him do it on his own, but I think he had a blast overall.

Because the train left during rush hour, we had to make sure we got there with plenty of time. We got there a little bit quicker than we thought, so we had some time to play around the terminal. I took the boys outside and we got to see some of the other trains coming and going. They were super excited and ready to get on.

Once we boarded, first thing Edward wanted to do was to play Magic, The Gathering with Daddy. The tables weren’t quite big enough, so they had an interesting time. Morgan felt left out, so mommy got him out a card game to match shapes, colors and numbers. He loved playing that. We spent some time looking out the windows and then, Darrell wandered up to the dining car and got us a table to eat some dinner. We figured we would splurge just a little bit since it happened to be our 10 year anniversary on the day we left. After Dinner we went back to our seats and the boys watched a Daniel Tiger Special and then went to sleep for the remainder of the trip.

We spent most of our trip hanging out at Darrell’s Uncle Adam and Aunt Linda’s house. Lorna had driven over her motorhome and was staying outside so she could spend as much time as she could with us. Even Darrell’s cousins  came and visited us there. It had been almost two years since the last time we were out there.

Sunday happened to actually be Edward’s birthday, so we invited people out to a quiet beach area and we hung out while the boys played in the water. Edward and Cole were really good and swam out to the dock so they could jump in. The water was a bit too cold for us adults though. I made the cake and had carried it out to Sandpoint on the train, so I am happy it survived as well as it did. He had an amazing small party and loved every minute of it. He didn’t even want to go when the rest of us were ready.

On Monday, We headed over to Darrell’s Grandma’s house, Snail’s Leap, and hung out for a little bit so we could spend some time with her. Darrell loves the area and likes to go see it to think about his childhood times spent staying there.

And then we headed home on Monday night. Completely worn out and exhausted, but having had a wonderful weekend to celebrate Edward.

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