Eleanor and Henry set off for a Metra adventure on the Saturday. We started downtown at one of the large Metra stations, and got to see lots of trains in the yard, and explore some engines up close. Then, it was time to board our train and head out of town. We rode the train for about 50 minutes, watching different towns go by. Eleanor and Henry were glued to the window the whole ride – we sat in the upper deck for most of the trip for the best views. We got off in a small town that has a lunch spot just for railfans – every meal is delivered to your table by a model train. Henry especially got a kick out of this – plus when not delivering food the train just scoots around the track so we got to watch it a lot. Then, it was back on the train for our return trip. Henry was again glued to the window – Eleanor was getting a little tired and snuggled with Dada most of the way. We arrived back downtown to a unplanned twist to our trip – the parking garage where we parked had a fire – and there were around 40 fire engines, ambulances, police cars and fire chief cars taking up the entire city block on both sides of the building. What are the odds! They told us the fire was in the basement (which is of course where we had parked) and that it was now out, but they had to clear the building of smoke before anyone could go in. They even had a fire truck with a giant fan mounted on top helping the cause. So we decided to walk to our next destination instead, which was a visit to Aunt Tia and Uncle Jay’s house to meet their new kitten Nadra. Eleanor and Henry were both surprised to see the difference in energy level between Zapa and Nadra. Henry was giggling with glee as she chased her feather, jumped in the air and chased them around the house. After a nice visit, Dad was finally able to get into the parking garage and find the car safe and sound (albeit with a new barbeque smell). We headed home and had some nice downtime before bed. Eleanor said on the way home, “We had an adventure!”.
Both kids battled a fever this week – Henry early and Eleanor later. Poor Mama took the brunt of it – just when things were looking up and she had finally gotten Henry to fall asleep on her for a nap – he woke with a start and managed to simultaneously get sick and have an accident both all over Mom. Oh boy…
On Sunday, Henry made my day while we were playing ball outside. He said to me, “Dada, I love playing outside.” I said “I do to, Henry!” To which he replied, “Dada, we are buddies. Just like Jack and Ben.” :)
Friday afternoon Mom and the kids were able to explore the new Japanese macaque exhibit. Plus, any trip to the zoo is sure to include a carousel ride and a train ride.
