Shannon Phillips

(Photo by Amy Gehlert Kidwell)

So I discovered the down side to my nifty “birthday on a train!” plan…it is possible to miss the train.

We didn’t, but it was a near thing. The train was fully boarded when we pulled up to the station, and literally three minutes from getting underway. The look of panic on my face must have been pretty striking, because the first thing the conductor said I leapt out was, “Are you Shannon? It’s okay, it’s okay, everything will be fine.”

Our lovely friends and their kids were already ensconced in the caboose: they came out to help us get all the food and everything onboard, and three minutes later we were all chugging along merrily. But can you imagine? Missing your own son’s birthday party—I don’t think that’s the kind of thing you get to live down, like, ever.

Here’s the caboose from the outside:

(Photo by Zach Copley)

and from the inside:

(Photo by Zach Copley)

Pretty awesome, right? Also awesome: my friend Wendy‘s flippy new bob, which she is not entirely sold on but I think is super cute.

Here’s a picture of the engine:

Photo, again, by Zach. You might be noticing a theme here. I was so busy running for the train that I left my camera in the car! Sam did manage to get a few of the boys:

Robin had a great time. He got a little overwhelmed when the singing started: he’s been so much better about people singing that we decided to risk it, but by the third “happy birthday to yoooouuuuu…” he had curled into a little ball and slid down under the table. We coaxed him out to blow out the candles on the cupcakes. (I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and Robin helped decorate them, by which I mean that he put sprinkles on one cupcake and then grabbed it and shoved it in his face. But there were still enough to go around for the party.)

The rest of the ride, though, Robin spent running around with the other kids—he especially adores Wyatt Copley, who’s a bit older than Robin but as a seasoned big brother is quite good at managing the littler boys—and hanging out with his Pappy. Davy crawled around and examined things with great interest, and also availed himself of the opportunity for some good cuddle time with his Nonna.

After the train ride (round-trip it was about an hour and forty minutes, which is just about perfect) we all went to a little park and hung out and chatted for a bit while the kids ran around. And then we came home. The boys, of course, passed out in the car on the way back. Last night as I was tucking Robin into bed I asked him if he had a good birthday party. “Yes,” he said, in a very self-satisfied tone of voice. Of course this morning he said hopefully, “My birthday’s coming?”

“It sure is,” said Sam. “It’s just a year away.”