Papa's Big Birthday Surprise

Isaac is so blessed to have a Papa who is retired, lives within an hour, and will indulge in the things he loves. On his own, Papa came up with the idea of taking my train-lovin' big 5-year-old in his very first Amtrak ride.

Isaac knew they were having a special surprise "date" together today and has been looking forward to it for as long as he has know. He had many guesses of what it might be, including going to a hobby shop to look at trains, playing trains at Papa's house or even riding the MAX (the electric commuter train) together. When Daddy drove them to Union Station this morning, Isaac assumed that they would be watching the trains depart and arrive (as he's done before with us).

Isaac inquired why Papa was at the counter and then came back with some slips of paper. He noticed that one had his name on it and that they were Amtrak tickets. It took him a moment to process, and he stood astonished. Once it computed, he started shouting with excitement and jumping up and down.

During his trip, he called a few times to report all the details...turkey guts on the tracks, bridges, bikers, trees, more trees...

He had a group of kids on the train burst into a round of "Happy Birthday to Isaac" every time he came near them. He indulged in 2 soy vanilla steamers from Starbucks while in Seattle, only to be topped off by joining in with some Irish drummers and bagpipers who allowed him to bang their drums to entertain all those celebrating St. Patrick's Day. A nice lady on the train also gave Isaac a clover pin to put on his shirt after he disclosed that the only green he was wearing was on his underpants (that just wouldn't do). :)

What a wonderful day that Isaac spent with his Papa! 7 hours of train riding + 3 hours in Seattle = 10 hours of little boy fun and a lifetime of memories.

It was also fun to spend "just the girls" time with Gramma, Abigail and Mommy. Thank you God for a wonderful family!!!