Jo's birthday outing to Glenview

The Sunday of Jo's birthday we surprised her with tickets to ride on a real train. It was something she'd been asking about for months. Since the weather was forecast to be in the mid-90s we decided on taking the (air conditioned) Amtrak to Glenview. Jo really wanted to ride in the caboose, but when we got all the way to the last car I noticed the Quiet Car sign. When I explained what that meant, she decided to move up to a different car where we could all talk for the hour-long ride.

From the train depot in Glenview we walked to eat lunch in (air conditioned) Jimmy Johns, then walked a few blocks to a playground, ordered ice cream at the Dairy Bar and crossed the street to check out the children's area at the brand new (air conditioned) library. We took the 3:30 train back to Milwaukee and ordered Chinese takeout for dinner.

Aside from riding on the train, Jo's other birthday present was her very own desk. This was something she'd been longing for. Her own space to sit and draw and write letters to her penpal. Matt found the right shade of purple paint to refinish my old desk that I used when I was at MU. Jo helped him add some light blue trim. We set it up in the kitchen for now. That way I figure I can be fixing dinner while helping Jo with homework questions. In theory anyway.