Trip to Pittsburgh

Last weekend we drove up to Pittsburgh to visit Jason's maternal grandparents - otherwise known as Cookie Grandpa & Grandma (due to Grandpa's career with Keebler). They hadn't been able to see the kids since they were tiny, so a visit was long overdue. The drive up was long due to an accident on the highway - we had to break out the emergency toys way too soon. The kids did great though - probably better than the grown-ups did. They even used the potty in the car while we were at a standstill.

Once we got to G&G's house, the kids seemed instantly comfortable with them, and were happy to see Grandma Di, who had driven over from Michigan. [we forgot to take pictures with our camera until Saturday afternoon. oops.] 

After some playtime and dinner, we headed over to our hotel for bed. We found a great place that was basically a 2-bedroom apartment, so we had a little kitchen and living room.

On Saturday morning, we went back over to G&G's house, and then to the playground. [sorry, have to wait for playground pictures until Grandma Di sends hers]. Then back to the hotel for "nap" - only Lucas and Jason napped, while the girls did everything under the sun to avoid napping. After nap, we met Grandma Di and Cookie Grandpa at a kids play place, where the crew got to jump in a ball pit and run through a padded play structure. They had a blast! [while I tried really hard not to think about the germs on all the play equipment]

Then it was dinner at G&G's house, more playtime, and off to bed.

Sunday morning, we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo before getting on the road. We wanted to wear the kids out. They loved it - I think it was the perfect age for a first trip to the zoo. They were great about staying in the wagon, or walking with us when they wanted out of the wagon. They were thrilled to see all the different animals.

The trip back was a bit faster, but we still hit traffic, and we had to stop halfway through at a playground to let them run off some steam. It's hard to add another 30 minutes to a trip just to stop and play, but they were whining so much that we really had to.

It was a whirlwind trip, but fun, and so special to see the kids really bond with their great-grandparents. We hope to do it again!

July 4 at the Lake

[We are still behind on blog posts... we may never catch up...we are just so exhausted after they finally go to sleep...]

To pick up where we left off, after spending a few days with my parents while the power and water were out, we headed down to Lake Gaston, where Jason's aunt & uncle have a house. We stayed in a rental house nearby the main house because there were so many people coming. It was a fun and crazy time - 6 two year olds (half of which were ours!), 2 four year olds, and 1 infant; 6 cousins plus spouses; and 4 aunts/uncles and spouses. Here's a little photo tour of our week:

Fourth of July Parade - thanks Aunt Marilyn for the hats and horns!

Playing on the deck

Enjoying time with Uncle Dane, Dad, cousin Brad...

The kids table

Pretending to drive the golf cart

Practicing their bean bag toss

 Goofing around

Enjoying baby Lily (Lucas didn't like it when I held her)

Water Fun 

(not too many water pictures because we were too busy chasing the kids)

(really, the best part of the water fun was when all the kids took a nap so all the grown-ups could actually relax in the water)

All the cousins

Aaah, sleep! 

(they often insisted on falling asleep in the king bed, and then we had to transfer them to their sleeping bags)

It was fun watching the kids interact with everyone in the extended family - they were so much more mobile and verbal than last year. We're already looking forward to next year!

Things they say

Sweet conversation after we finished reading the Elmo Loves You book:
Zoey: I love Elmo
Me: who else do you love? [hoping she'll say mommy since I was out of town all weekend]
Zoey: I love Abby and Lucas.
[melt!]

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In the morning when they wake up they often say "Good Morning" to each other and are so happy to see each other.

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If we have to  move them into separate rooms for sleeping because they're acting up at bedtime, they'll cry for each other and ask to sleep together..."sleep with Lucas!" "Abby come back!"

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Zoey likes her privacy during potty training. For example, "Get out mama.  Close the door please."

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Another potty training gem:
While trying to tell the girls all about the importance of drinking water, I asked "what helps you go pee?" and Abby said "stickers!"

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When they want something, they sometimes won't say what it is, but they'll say "mommy stand up" and then once I'm up they'll move on to the next instruction. It's like a toddler game of Simon Says.

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And their current favorite: "I do it myself!"

The Derecho Storm of 2012

Ever heard of a 'derecho' storm? Neither did we until last weekend's 80 mile per hour winds without a hint of rain in the middle of the night.

Official definition: A line of intense, widespread, and fast-moving windstorms and sometimes thunderstorms that moves across a great distance and is characterized by damaging winds

Implications for us: Loss of power and water for a week, and a yard full of downed leaves, branches and trees during the hottest week of the year to date

Largest pine on our property snaps at the base

We made the best of it on Day 1 by heading to the Discovery museum to experience some air conditioning, and then a quick bite to eat on the outdoor mall:

Stuffing balls into an air tube

Racing cars

A rare donkey-riding cow

Merry go round action

Lunch at Eppies

With the temperature in our house climbing to 86 degrees, Meme and Hat Dad (Lisa's parents) were kind enough to open up their house (and their community pool!) to us for several nights. We then left a day early for vacation down to NC, which ended up being a smart move since water and electricity didn't come back until a full week after the storm hit. Quite an adventure all together, but we're glad that it's over and that the worst damage will be some basic fence repair.

Visit from Uncle Dane

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so we're a bit behind on blog entries. 2 weekends ago, Lisa and her mom headed off to Atlanta for some shopping and Lisa's 20th high school reunion. This left Jason to fend for himself, which involved flying in an emergency side-kick - Uncle Dane. Here are just a few of the things that we accomplished over the weekend:

Dancing at Fridays at Five
Dinner out on the downtown mall
Hanging with Nelly the Cow at the farmer's market in Nelson County

Naked swimming in the backyard (the kids, not Dane and I)
Riding tricycles in the driveway

Climbing at the playground
Running through water geysers at the spraypark
'Giving' pacifiers to babies Leo and Sam (thanks for the virtual help guys)

Here are a few things that we didn't accomplish:

Taking many photos
Cleaning
Sleeping (by Dane or I)
Laundry

Not a bad weekend I'd say. Here's proof that Dane survived his stay:

And some pics from the water park and playground (cheating a bit by borrowing some shots that Hannah took the week before):

Splashing around

Follow the leader

Whew, time for a snack

Sisters chillin'

Dual climbers

All by myself

Slide train!

Zoey leading the way across the bridge

Abby being sweet as usual