An Unexpected Adventure

It was Saturday following a  Friday where the rain poured continuously all day.   The forecast predicted rain all day Saturday too--from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm that day.  So I made sure not to set an alarm the night before and prepared for a "boring" day inside.   However, by the time 9:00 a.m. rolled around, the clouds had burned away and the sun had come out.  By 10:00 a.m. the sun was blazing in all it's glory and a light breeze was blowing. At 11:00 a.m and still sunny, we started to think maybe it wouldn't rain after all.  A re-check of the forcast showed they had revised it to be sunny all day.  At noon we started to make plans and after some debate settled on a walk of the Tri-river Heritage trail, which we had never done before.

The Tri-river Heritage trail runs parallel to the riverbanks and provides a fantastic view of the city.  We thought we would walk from Millvale to the Point (where the Monongahella and Allegheny rivers unite to form the Ohio river). Josh estimated this to be roughly a four mile walk roundtrip.  It is a good place for yakaking, canoeing and biking, with lots of rental facilities and restaurants along the rivers.

The trail was paved and very wide and gently sloped around and up and down with the river.  Ryan was enjoying riding his scooter and Josh and Dylan was enjoying riding in his stroller and looking at all the sights.

Before long we came to this cool little piece of architecture.

There were some dogs playing in the pools and some older kids wading in the water.  Ryan wanted to try it so we let him.  He was so careful to roll up his pants and walk gingerly so as not to get wet.

Dylan on the other hand....

He did not care about getting wet.  In fact, he sugmerged himself sweatshirt and all and loved every minute (despite the fact it was a breezy 65-70 degrees outside).  

Eventually we were able to coax him out and continue on our walk. Dylan spent the rest of the walk sans pants and covered up in my jacket.  Eventually we decided to cross over one of the bridges to reach the Point on the other side.  This was very exciting for both kids since they had never walked over those monstrous bridges before.  Cars were whizzing along on the left side and on the right side boats and barges were floating by. 

(one of the barges floating by) 

On the other side, I took Ryan to see some of the cannons in front of the Fort Pitt Museum and to go inside the old bunkerhouse.  Eighty percent of the building is still original wood and stone.  They had some glass fragments and some nice DAR ladies who were able to tell us about the history of the place. 

Then finally we made our way to the Point and enjoyed the spray from the fountain and the incredible view. 

It was time to turn around.  Just going as far as the Point had taken about two hours (of course we did stop and let the kids swim--I mean "play" in the fountain).  Ryan was starting to get a little tired.  He let us know by telling us things like, "I don't think I can make it much longer!" and "I think my legs are gonna wobble off."  We decided it would be in our best interest to stop and get him a bite to eat and something to drink.  

Josh settled on Jerome Bettis Grill because the food is great (and I can attest to the service being great too!) not to mention Jerome Bettis was a great Steelers player. 

Even though the wind was something fierce, because the outside seating was not protected by the building itself, it was so relaxing to sip on a cocktail, soak up the sun and fresh air and take a break.  Dylan was asleep at this point so we didn't worry about getting him anything.  

This was such a great little adventure into the city.  We can't wait to try the bike rentals next time (bicycle built for two anyone??) or even the canoes or kayaks! 

Happy Easter!

 HAPPY EASTER! 

 HE IS RISEN!

We had a really nice Easter Sunday.  Josh and I taught sunday school and had permission to do some fun things with our class.  We had an "empty" egg hunt--the eggs were all empty to signify the empty tomb (although we let the kids keep one egg which we filled with pastel m&m's at the end of the class).  We did hard-boiled egg spoon races and a game called "empty tomb." Empty tomb is played by making a circle out of string.  The kids go inside and lay down as though they are "dead in the tomb." Then the leader jumps up and runs out of the circle, around it and back inside, tags someone else and the cycle continues until someone's team finishes first.  That team is the winner.  Back inside the classroom, we did resurrection eggs to re-tell the easter story.  

We were just too busy this year to go out and do our annual easter egg hunt at the farm.  I had enough plastic eggs that we could have done our own in our yard, but the idea of giving them MORE candy than what was already in their easter baskets just did not sit well with me. I could have stuffed them with some small plastic animals, but I knew if I did that most of them would get burried in the dirt, and I was not sure I wanted those toys to meet a dirty end. So, I just gave them some eggs to play with in the water table and put bubble solution on the other side. 

 Ryan blew some enormous bubbles! 

 They wanted to see if the eggs would sink if they put rocks in them.  We predicted they would sink, but those things are surprisingly bouyant!

 Ryan enjoyed watching the water drip out of the holes in the bottom of the eggs.

 Dylan just enjoyed telling me what color the eggs were. 

 Aaand of course he enjoyed playing with his little animals and people.

 Ryan was trying to show Dylan how to blow bubbles.

Happy Easter!

Best Friends

 These two boys are getting to be really close and I"m so glad that they have each other.  Dylan looks up to Ryan and is always trying to do everything he does.  Ryan does a special program at the library just for his age group.  While Ryan is learning and interacting with kids his own age, Dylan soaks up some special time with me.  Usually we sit at the sunny little tables and read book after book.  But even though Dylan enjoys that special time, he will ask every so often, "where's Ryan?"

Ryan in turn is a great big brother.  He is very patient with Dylan.  I feel like I say that a lot, but it is just so true.  If Dylan is throwing a tantrum or fussing to get his way, Ryan tries to help him by giving him the right words: "Dylan say....Mom....can....I....please...have....a drink." Once at the playground another child said something not very nice to Dylan and Ryan immediately took offense and defended Dylan in a voice that carried across the playground, "Don't say that about my BROTHER!" I think my heart melted away into a puddle instantly, it swelled with such pride.

Now that spring is finally here, it is so fun to watch them play together in the backyard.  They have a little wooden swingset, of which we took half of the set down last summer to make room for our inflatable pool.  The part left standing is a little platform area, a swing and a slide.  They refer to this as their "treehouse," and they are constantly playing in it.  Ryan takes his little broom and dustpan out and likes to sweep it and keep it "clean." He built a  little "fireplace" out of rocks, charcoal and long grasses the other day.

They also like to take their lunches outside and eat them in their "treehouse."  Dylan mostly likes to maximize dirtiness.  I often find him digging or pouring water in one of the empty flower beds, covered in dirt or mud, burrying toys and digging them up again.    I predict they will both need baths nightly during the summer, while we could get away with less frequent bathing in the winter months.  

Of course they still get into scrapes and little fights with each other, but it's becoming more frequently the playful kind of wrestling.  Dylan has made big improvements in "sharing" and his language skills have improved so he can tell Ryan what he does not like instead of lashing out and hitting, pinching or hair pulling.  Two boys are such wonderful blessings!

First Fishing Trip of the Season

 Oh my goodness. Spring looks like it is **finally** here! We went for our first picnic and fishing trip of the season this weekend.  It was glorious.

 The boys frolicked.

 Ryan practiced his casting.  Josh would set Ryan's hook up with a worm, cast it out for him and tell him to wait patiently for his bobber to go down.  About 30 seconds later, Ryan would begin reeling his line in. Then he would attempt to fling his line out himself, throwing his worm into the lake in the process. Josh would repeat the steps to getting his hook set up again.  This process repeated for about an hour.

                                          
Dylan, bless his onery little heart, did not care about fishing in the least, but he did care a lot about the worms.  All he wanted to do was hold one. He was so excited.  He had a giant grin on his face, proudly holding his worm.  Then he flung the worm into the lake.  The first time it was funny.  The second, third, fourth, fifth...etc it was not funny.  I left with Dylan to play at the park and extend the worms lives by a little bit.

Swimming Lesson Update

 Back in September, Ryan had his first swim lesson.  I recall that he was quite the stinker that first lesson.  He refused to get in the pool.  He would act like he would get in, but then he'd skip just out of reach of the teacher's waiting arms.  I had to be very firm with him before he would get in.  Then it was baptism by FIRE...er water?  They told the kids they would be dunked underwater.  While the instructor held them, they counted to three and then submerged and popped up.  Ryan watched this happen with growing panic.  When his turn came he began yelling, "oh no! oh no! oh noooooo...." I was secretly delighted.  This seemed very promising to me!

  Now it is April and I can not get over the leaps and bounds he has made.  Now he puts his head underwater willingly.  He blows bubbles.  He jumps from the side of the pool.  He jumps from the diving block in the deep end.  He jumps from the diving board.  He is now learning to coordinate moving his arms and legs, kicking and stroking and breathing.   He is learning to swim to the side of the pool after jumping off the diving board in the deep end.  He is learning to dive to the bottom of the pool and pick up rings and toys and such.  He loves, loves, loves his lessons.  His teachers are amazing. They are also highschool girls.  I have been extremely impressed with their level of dedication, patience and teaching abilities.  I can't wait to sign Dylan up!

This One's For the Birds

We went on a field trip recently to the National Aviary.  Back in February we attempted to get into the Aviary's "free" to the public day.  We were blown away by how extremely busy the Aviary was despite the nasty cold weather.  The line went out the door and all the way to the street corner and around.  CRAZY.  The perk was the Aviary was so swamped employees were passing out free tickets to people who were willing to JUST LEAVE and come back another day.  That sounded good to us, so we took them up on it.  One nice day in April we decided it was time to use those tickets.  

 They had a few birds of prey including the Bald Eagle and several Condors. 

 In this wetlands room, we saw some smaller free-flying birds.  Dylan reached out and touched one unlucky bird.

 We saw the Flamingo's.  Ryan already knew why they were pink, but he was impressed at all the different types of Flamingos.

 The highlight of the Aviary was getting to feed the birds.  Well, trying to feed the birds.  We had gone late enough in the day that many of the birds just weren't hungry after several earlier feeding presentations.  Each child received a wax worm and they were instructed to hold it, palm open and as high as they could to entice the birds to eat from their hands.  We were not able to entice any birds, but it was still fun. 

 Ok, well Ryan was a little dissapointed. 

That's OK. Maybe another time! It was a beautiful day and we all got to experience it together. 

A Special Trip

When I was nine years old and my brother was six or seven years old, my mother put us on an airplane, waved "goodbye" and sent us across the country to visit our Grandma and Grandpa Noll in Arizona--for five weeks.  It was hands down one of the best summers of my life.  I would wake up early with the sunrise and sit outside on the screened in porch sipping chocolate milk and reading the comics while they read the newspaper.  I worked hard that summer to befriend their skittish cat, Sarah, offering plate after plate of tuna and moving very slowly to try to pet her.  My brother and I swam for hours every day in their pool.  We would dive for coins, rings, or pretend little games like "pirates" or "mermaids" (my brother wouldn't be caught dead being a mermaid--he was the pirate).  After exhausting ourselves in the water, we could sit on the warm porch with an ice cold Root Beer.  I'd read fairy tales while I dried off.  Then we would go inside and watch episodes of Gilligan's Island or Tiny Toons.  Sometimes, with the Arizona heat radiating off the walls and the ground, we would walk along the alley behind their house armed with rubber bands to stun and catch lizzards who sunned themselves on the stucco walls. 

Grandma and Grandpa took us places too.  We went to church where they had beautiful stained glass and special benches to "pray on." Communion was real wine and fancy wafers, so different from our church back home which met in the local middle school and drank grape juice and ate broken crackers.  I will never forget a trip to Rawhide, a "real" old western town which brought to life legends like Annie Oakley and Wyatt Earp.  We watched re-enacted shoot outs, walked through the dusty town and ate some really good hamburgers.  Jason got a cowboy hat, which he put on Simon the cat, who tore out of there like greased lighting.  The hat was never seen again.  We went to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo.  Needless to say, when it was time to go home, we didn't want to go. 

My Grandma used to tell me such fun stories from her childhood.  She would tell me how she met my grandpa.  He was the cute basketball player.   She would tell me about a school girl she did not like much and put a dead snake in her locker.  My Grandma had spunk.   She would also tell me, when I got older, about her father who developed Alzheimers.  "I never want Alzheimer's" she would tell me.  "It is such a sad thing to lose your mind." 

 Despite living very far away from my grandparents for most of my life, they have found ways to significantly invest in our lives, from traveling to visit us, to hosting us for visits.   Now that I have my own family, still on the opposite side of the country, visits are fewer than what we would like. 

 My Grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago.  We don't tell her she has Alzheimer's--although the doctor did once.  It shattered her.  Thankfully, she has since forgotten.  Sometimes she will tell my Grandpa, "I never want Alzheimer's. I don't think I will get it." And he tells her, "No, I don't think you will."  He does what he can to protect her and shelter her.  He takes such good care of her. He tells jokes to make her laugh and lighten her when she is troubled about not being able to remember things.  And she still laughs at his jokes.  I so much appreciate their example of growing old through the good and the bad and remaining so deeply in love.  

A few weeks ago, Josh was able to take me on a business trip with him to Arizona, while his parents visited and watched over our children.  I was able to visit for a fabulous three days with my Uncle Wally and my Grandpa and my Grandma.  It is a difficult post to write because of the layers of emotions.  Happiness for any time spent with them.  Thankfulness for the things Grandma does remember.  She is still spunky and she compensates very well.   Sadness to see more details fading. Determination to protect her from knowledge of this terrible disease and admiration of my Grandfather for being her rock.  It was so nice to think that while I was enjoying time with some very important people in my life, my own kids were soaking in the attention of their own Grandparents and making bonds that I have no doubt will last far into their adult lives.  

"The history of our Grandparents is remembered not with rose petals,

but in the laughter and tears of their children's children.  It is into us that the lives of Grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future." 

--Charles and Ann Morse

 

Aunt Cassie

 It was this special girl's birthday a few weeks ago, and we had the great pleasure of celebrating her 19th birthday with her in person.

I simply can not believe she is nineteen.  Stretching back into my memory, I find the image of a cherub....a rosy cheeked, bright eyed, dark haired angel baby.  Goodness she was a cutie. And now she is an older, sassier type of "cute" and a beautiful young lady.

Cassie you are a great sister to Josh.  You have taught him things about sharing with siblings, patience and in general laying down one's life for others (think about yourself as a toddler walking off the dock at the lake and Josh diving in to save you!)  You are a great friend and have a big heart. Your nephews adore you! You have perseverance and spunk.  We can't wait to see what the future holds for you! Happy 19th Birthday!