30 Years and One Cool Outing

Today was a VERY special day indeed. Chris celebrated his 30th birthday and Brendan got to meet Thomas the Tank Engine. Chris was kind enough to share his day with Brendan so we spent the day out in the hot sun at the North Conway Scenic Railroad, pushing our way through swarms of small children and trying to prevent Brendan’s temper tantrums.

It all began with a 20 minute train ride with Thomas. This was Brendan’s first time on a train and he was so excited! As we were walking back to our train car, he kept pushing me in the butt trying to get me to walk faster.

He was such a good boy and loved hearing the train blow its whistle- he was a pro at showing off his “choo choo” skills.

We were lucky to sit in the only air-conditioned car so we were quite comfortable during the trip.

This is the best shot we could get with Thomas without paying  a ridiculous amount of money for a teenager with a camera to snap a crappy picture. So we just snuck off to the side and used the money we saved to buy some delicious burritos later that made for a great birthday lunch.

I also had a heart attack when we entered the merchandise tent. The prices were at least double what you would pay in the store- and people were going crazy buying shirts and hats and trains left and right. It was insane. We saw a collapsing bridge set that would have been very cool but it was $50 for FOUR pieces of plastic… we didn’t buy it.

The nice part about this event was that they had lots other activities for kids- like the bouncy house. Brendan wanted me to alert the grandparents to Brendan’s wish of owning his own bouncy house. He loved it but got overwhelmed when there were lots of kids inside, so he would like his very own personal one.

The even had a kid size maze. We may need to build our own in our backyard because Brendan LOVED it. Who knew that running around and getting lost in hay would be so cool to him?

We were exhausted at the end of the afternoon. We’ve had a laidback birthday bash with an awesome steak dinner (grilled by yours truly) and an even more awesome ice cream pie.

And we’re ending the the birthday bash with band practice by playing Rock Band all night long. Tomorrow, the celebrations continue with a night out on the town (without Brendan!) and a mini-golf tournament. Anyone who knows Chris knows that he is a mini golf enthusiast and his birthday would not be complete without playing a round. Thanks to all the friends and family who called Chris on his special day. We wish you were all here to help us celebrate but now you have plenty of time to plan a trip out to Northern New Hampshire for next year!