The PumpkinTrain

This last Saturday, we went with our whole Bruton family on the Pumpkin Train! Heber Valley Historic Railroad does a special train for Halloween each year, where you can ride the train to the Charleston station and back, then choose your very own pumpkin to take home!

When we arrived, it was right smack dab in the middle of nap time. We were a little nervous about how the kids were going to handle that, but they were all happy and very well behaved the whole time. Except for John, who got quite tired. But we forgive him. :)

First thing the kids wanted to do was go on the Haunted Train car. They each got a sticker (Henry's was a green ghost he called "Blobby.") They had glow sticks for a ring toss and they got to shoot a big spider with a Nerf gun (Henry drilled it!). So obviously not too haunted, but a ton of fun for the kiddos.

We boarded the train just a couple minutes following the haunted train car, and boy, were the kids excited! We all sat together, the kids switching seats every couple of minutes to be with Grandpa and Grandma, Mom or Dad, or a different aunt or uncle. Johnny was really only happy with either me or Daddy, but Uncle Jared sure tried. Henry was happiest when he was with Grandpa, so he spent most of his time on Grandpa's bench by the window. He got really tired about 3/4 of the way through, and cuddled up next to Grandpa with his blankie. I thought for sure he was going to fall asleep, but apparently he was just too excited.

For most of the ride, we just enjoyed the beautiful scenery out our window. The mountains are beautiful right now, and we had PERFECT weather to enjoy the ride with the windows down. The kids liked dancing to Thriller, eating snacks (Allyson especially enjoyed the pumpkin cookies they gave out), and playing musical chairs, as mentioned before.

The highlight of the trip was probably when the engine switched from the front to the rear end of the train at Charleston Station. All the kids leaned their heads out the windows to watch the train and the conductor go by. It was so fun to hear and see their excitement as they watched.

When we got back to the station, we got our pumpkins, attempted to take some photos of the kids and our little family on the caboose (disaster), and then headed back to our cars.

But guess what? Our truck had a flat tire! Derek and Jared got it changed quickly (luckily we had a full sized spare) while Grandpa supervised. After getting that changed, we headed over to Dairy Keen for burgers and French fries. It was so much fun, and we are certainly looking forward to the pumpkin train again next year!

--Jen