Ryan goes to the Movie Theater

"We" thought it would be fun to take the kids to see the new movie Maleficent at the theater. "We" meaning "I" thought it would be fun to take the kids to see Maleficent and my husband went because he knew I was cashing in my reward points for seeing X-men with him the week earlier.  It's not very often Mommy gets to see girly oriented movies in this house full of testosterone.

Because this was a full out treat, we splurged on candy and popcorn.  Ryan is not shy about ordering his own stuff.  The conversation with the dude behind the counter went something like this:

Ryan: A box of those chocolate squares please. (pointing to a box of Butterfinger bites).
Me: Those are awfully hard on your teeth.  Pick something else.
Josh: EVERYTHING in here is bad for your teeth.
Me: Good point.
Ryan: OK. A box of Gummy Bears for me and one for Dylan.
Me: How about you share.
The Vender reached in and slid the box of Gummy bears across the counter and said: Now remember, you gotta share these!
Ryan (with an enormous heavy sigh and hand gesturing): HUUUHHHh. I Know, I know.  I always have to do what THEY say (pointing to us and a note of resignation in his voice). "I share all the time. I am VERY good at that."
This seemed to amuse the vender guy a lot.
At this point I ordered a cup of water.
Ryan: Oooh can I have a drink too?
Me: Sure.
Ryan: Root beer. Large please." with a swirl of his hand.
The vender guy was slapping his knee and laughing.
Josh: Um, let's do a small buddy.
Ryan: Oh ok, fine.
Josh to me as we walked behind Ryan (who was noisily slurping his root beer): Who brought that kid??

Window Washer

One bright, airy spring day, Ryan surprised me with the request to learn how to wash windows.  Now, this is the same kid who gets excited about vacuuming and mopping floors and has been known to ask if we can "go home (from somewhere, it could even be the park) and do chores!"  

For many months a while back he would analyze the morning routine depicted in a Richard Scary book we had, drag me into his room in the morning, dressed in mis-matching socks and his hair slicked back with water to surprise me with his clean room, complete with a made up bed.

 I have no. idea.why. But I'm NOT complaining!  And I'm also not foolish enough to ever pass up an opportunity for some household help! 

So on that nice airy spring day, when I really did not want to tackle the windows, we cleaned the windows.

I showed him how the windows flip over so both sides can get cleaned.  I showed him how to fill up a bucket of warm soapy water and add some vinegar.  I showed him the window squeegee.  He carefully squeegeed the water off the windows.  Then I showed him how to dry the edges.  He. loved. it.  He was so proud of all the sparkling windows in the house afterwards.  I have to say, he did a really nice job!

PPG Place

 Ever since we discovered the river walk, we've really enjoyed spending family time on nice days taking long, leisurely strolls.  It seems like every time we go, we discover something new.   We recently discovered this little gem at PPG place.  I had wanted to take Ryan ice-skating here last Christmas but it was just too cold this winter. However, we found out that in the summer, the plaza becomes a fountain with random jets that vary in height intermittently.  Awesome! 

Everyone plays in the fountains here. It's hot. The water is nice and cool. It's allowed. The kids were so excited to see this place because at that point we had walked about five miles along the river and they were ready to cool down. This totally fit the bill.  It didn't matter that they were in their clothes.  So were many other people! 

 They were absolutely soaking wet. Soaking wet. It looked like they had jumped in a lake with all their clothes on.  We decided when we returned we would be ready with swimsuits, swim shoes, a towel and rashguards.  So a few days later on a hot sunny day....we found ourselves back at PPG place.

 Three cheers for the hot summer days rapidly approaching and much more water fun to come!

Happiness Is:

  

 Happiness is: Swinging in the big boy swing. 

 Happiness is sachaying through tall grass. 

Happiness is wishing on dandelion fluff.

Happiness is playing with my big brother!

Memorial Service

The reason for our trip was to celebrate the life of Josh's grandfather, who passed away in December.  We were very glad we were able to visit with him last summer and that Ryan was able to meet and remember his great-grandfather.

 Many family members were there and it was nice to have so many together, even though the circumstances were sad.

Clown Car

We took a trip south recently in our "clown car," which is a 2 door chevy cavelier. Unfortunately the family who used to watch our dogs on long trips have moved away, so when we travel, our 75 pound and 40 pound dogs come too.  Everyone does manage to fit, although it is rather tight.  Esteban sits on the floor in the back; Eliott, the princess, dominates the middle of the backseat and the boys sit in their carseats on either end.  All the luggage is squeezed into the trunk.  Ryan is allowed one small backpack of car activities to share with Dylan (coloring books, crayons, mazes, dot-to-dot, small action figures), if it can fit in the backpack it can come.  This particular trip was 11 hours long without stops.  

Usually, we load one rental movie onto the iPad for those meltdown "I-can't-take-sharing-this-car-with-my-brother-one-more-minute" type of moments, but I thought it was ridiculous to pay $4.99 for ONE rental movie on itunes.  The kids would have to suck it up and do this thing the old-fashioned way. No movies. I felt like a pioneer: there would be no "technology" on this trip; we would rely on good old fashioned music and our own creative ingenuity and wit to get through this trip and still remain sane.  And I have to say I was proud of those kids.  They surpassed my expectations.  Sure there was the ocasional, "are we there yet?" and "He's looking at me wrong," or "he bumped me," but it really was few and far between.  Those kids now know far more songs than they did at the start of the trip and they used their powers of observation on the road in ways that surprised me: "Look at the cows!" "look at the airplane!" "Look at the BIG truck!" "Look that truck has pigs in it!"  When they got tired of that, they colored and looked at books. And when they got tired of that, they made up their own games, which largely involved poking each other and disolving into giggles.  It was actually really great. 

Dylan made some serious attempts at striking up conversation, probably out of boredom,and it was the exact same conversation script each and every time but hey he did try.  It went something like this:

Dylan: "Esteban is an old dog?"

Tiredly, one of us: "Yes Esteban is old." 

Dylan: "We gotta be gentle?

Patiently, one of us: "Yes we need to be very gentle."

"Don't want to hurt him?"

Relieved this conversation is mostly over now: "Nope, don;t want to hurt Esteban."

This conversation repeated itself about 500 times. 

The only real downside was poor, old Esteban. We were only two hours into the trip when Esteban, our epileptic dog, began to have a seizure.  Let me tell you, a 75 pound dog seizing on the floor of a small car is not especially fun.  But there was nothing we could particularly do for him, except wait for it to pass, and being confined to the car was certainly safer than him seizing and crawling around next to a busy highway, so we kept going. 

We usually get a lot of looks and comments when we travel this way: when we stop for gas, when we go through the drive-through or bathroom stops.  Someone offered us another dog, which we had to politely decline.  Clown car. 

 Our troopers

Our old, big, trooper, who loves sleeping with his legs up in the air for some reason.

Emergency Landing: The Flight Back

On my recent trip to Missouri to visit my Grandparents, I had quite an adventure traveling.  There were no direct flights to and from my destination, so I had to make a connection at O'hare, Chicago on the way to and from Missouri.

On the way home, I was sleep deprived after a wonderful night of staying up late, past midnight, catching up with my cousin and waking up at 3:00 am to leave for the airport.  I figured I could sleep on the plane.  The first leg of the trip went smoothly, landing in O'Hare and finding my connecting gate with plenty of time to stop and get a bite to eat for lunch.

We boarded the plane.  My seat was clear in the very last row in the back of the plane next to the bathroom. That was less than exciting, but I had the whole row to myself, so I figured at least I could stretch out and sleep once we took off.  However, a kind stewardess came to me before takeoff and suggested I move up, all the way to the first row of coach, because the bathroom gets to "smelling pretty bad."  I took her up on this offer.  It was a small plane, with two rows of seats on each side.  I had a seatmate, a young lady who looked about my age.  She was absorbed in her iPad and I had no plans to make new friends on this flight, only to sleep. So I closed my eyes and drifted off as they were shutting the plane door.

I woke up twenty minutes later to an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen," the Captain said, "There is a malfunction with our landing gear.  We will be returning to Chicago and making an emergency landing." Emergency landing? What did he mean...Emergency landing?? I sat up, tired no longer.  I looked around. The man across the aisle looked bored.  Others looked back with fear in their eyes.  Some people laughed nervously.  I turned my phone on.  I had to let Josh know, he would be leaving for the airport about this time, and I would not be there. And I was a little nervous. I texted him: "Making emergency landing. Something wrong with the landing gear. Going back to Chicago."  The message came back: "message failed."  Great. Now he would not know where I was or what was happening.  There had been some small measure of comfort in telling my loved one what was happening.

At this point the head stewardess began to make announcements.  She was reading from a thick manual. She instructed us to put everything away--cell phones, other electronics, and to make sure our carry-on's were securely stowed under our feet.  She told us to sit up straight and tighten our seatbelts. We did. "No, TIGHTEN them, as tight as you can!!" she enforced.  I tugged on the seatbelt until it felt I had almost no room to breathe.

"OK, Ladies and Gentlemen, in the event we will be jumping out of the plane, it is about a ......foot drop" Jumping out of the plane? HOLY COW. JUMPING OUT OF THE PLANE? The tension was palpable.  I can't remember all the things she said because after that, adrenaline started to really pump.  My knees were shaking together. I clenched them tight to stop shaking.  My seatmate was holding her hands suspiciously clenched in her lap, and I suspected she was shaking too.  The stewardess went on to recruit a hapless pilot who happened to be flying first class as a passenger to be the first one to jump out and catch people, "in the event it should be necessary." She mentioned the possibility of using the big yellow slides to exit the plane.  She told us to all look at our safety cards in the back of our seats while she reviewed them with us.  She told us to make sure to leave EVERYTHING on board when we immediately exited the plane.  Then she told us she believed that there "are angels all around this plane."

The announcements stopped as we perceived we were heading back to Chicago.  People began talking to each other.  I was very glad I had a seatmate at that moment and that I had moved up.  My seatmate's name was Sarah. She asked me to put her phone in my hoodie pocket, which I had also done with my phone. There was no way I was leaving my phone on that plane.  So I did.  She told me she just hoped we "didn't slide across the runway." There were lots of conversations like that going on in low tones.  "I just hope....X terrible thing doesn't happen...." The tension was thick.  The man across the aisle from me still hadn't said a word. He just looked ahead.  He still looked kindof bored. I wondered what he was thinking.  

The captain's voice came on the PA system. "OK folks, we do not know if the landing gear is up or down.  We are going to be doing what is called a fly-by, where we make a pass and fly very low to see if the tower can get a visual on the landing gear.  Then we will go back up and go around once more and brace for our emergency landing.  "

The stewardess then instructed, "OK, after we make our fly-by, we will all brace.  Everyone needs to bend over with your heads down and hold your legs.  DO NOT lift your heads up until we have instructed you to do so. I will be giving the instructions to brace."

More waiting. Some people were making nervous jokes.  Lots of people were just sitting quietly and clenching their hands together.

Then it began.  We lost altitude.  The airport came in view.  My heart was in my throat.  The final landing is coming and the outcome is uncertain. Would there be a fire? Would there be skidding? Would the plane flip over? How rough was it going to be?  Would this day end with me in a hospital in Chicago or....worse?

Altitude increased.  Someone shouted, "Well is it up or down??" The stewardess pointed two thumbs down, but the passenger could not see.  The plane turned in a wide circle. One last announcment from the stewardess, "If you believe in God, you will be OK. If you don't, you better start believing."
Altitude began to decrease.  Small buildings and cars that looked like ants grew in size as we descended.  The stewardess was strapped in her harness. She crossed herself.

"BRACE! BRACE!" She yelled.
  This is it, this is it!

Everyone bent over, hugging their knees.  From the back the other stewardesses were shouting at the top of their lungs, "HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"

Bumps and jolts.
 "HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"
Screeching.
"HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"
Skidding.
"HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"
The sensation of being stopped.
"DO NOT LIFT YOUR HEADS UP YET!"
A few seconds later, the captain,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have made a successful landing."

Everyone sat up.  The plane erupted in cheers and laughter, clapping and sobs.  The man across the aisle reached over and grabbed his seatmate in a big bear hug.   Sarah next to be began to cry.  The relief was so tangible.

All of the power in the plane was out.  The captain got on the intercom, "Well ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Chicago.  They are sending a tow out for us so just sit tight a few more minutes and remain in your seatbelts until we return to our gate."

I looked past Sarah out the tiny airplane window.  A firetruck was wailing it's way down the runway...followed by an ambulence...followed by several police cars.  Holy cow! 

Naturally at that point, many began taking pictures, writing facebook updates and calling loved ones.  I called Josh.  He was more calm than I would have been if the situation had been reversed.  One of my text messages had gotten through.  Only the one that said, "Making an emergency landing." He had just left. He turned around and went home, logged on to "live flight tracker" and watched us make our emergency landing in real time.  He said said we had never left Chicago. The entire flight we were looping around the city.  He said the only reason he knew of flights flying in circles like that was to burn off fuel to meet weight landing requirments and decrease the risk of a fire.

After a while the Captain announced, "Well folks, there has been some damage to the tow hook on the nose of the plane so they are unable to tow us to the gate.  We will be deplaning with the stairs and be bussed back to the terminal."

Soon enough, from the distance we saw a line of busses making their way towards our plane.

Conversation turned to: OK, we are all alive....now how are we getting home??
Sarah was looking at the remaining flights to Pittsburgh from Chicago and they all looked pretty late in the evening and full to boot.  Once the busses arrived they put up an airstair, we were able to remove all our carry on luggage and get on the bus.  The bus drove along the maze of runways until we got to a terminal.  When we got off the bus, friendly attendants told us they already had a plane for us and we would depart as soon as our new crew and pilot were debriefed.  

While we were waiting they brought out chips and pretzels and sodas for everyone to eat.  There was an interesting dynamic in those of us who had been on the plane to hang out with the people sitting next to them on the plane.  New friends were made and information was exchanged to keep in touch.   When it was time to board our new flight, we were all assigned the same seats and it felt like "de-ja-voo," in some ways, however, most people had previously stated they were going to sit with the same person again regardless of what seat they were assigned. So it all worked out really.

The second time around, the flight continued without incident, although some rough turbulence mid-flight tweaked some anxieties.  When Josh picked me up, I'll tell ya what....I have never been happier to see those three precious faces in my entire life.

Family Trip #2

 Visiting my Grandma and Grandpa on my mothers side growing up meant: hours of playing freeze tag with my siblings and cousins, it meant field trips with my grandparents and cousins to places like The Steamboat Arabia, Worlds of Fun, and the Pony Express.  It almost always meant at least one fishing trip with my Grandpa and then a fried fish dinner with mac'n cheese and canned green beans.  

It also meant hours of uninterrupted reading time, exploring the hundreds of books on my Grandma's bookshelves in the basement.  It meant sleeping on a hide-a-bed and simulataneously watching Shirley Temple, Flight of the Navigator and Lucille Ball. There was always something very peaceful about these visits.  

 Since our big move, it has been years since I have seen them. It just seemed too expensive and too far to go visit anytime soon, and time flies far too fast. Grandma has been declining for a while.  She has lost her mobility since we left and is confined to a wheel chair.  She needs help with just about everything, including brushing her teeth.  She can not tolerate long visits like she used to and gets worn out very easily. But I had a wonderful idea--to go alone, perhaps with just my mom for a short weekend trip.  We could rent a car and stay in a hotel to give them needed breaks from visiting.   And so it was arranged.  My mother brought two of my sisters, Amanda and Larissa, and we met up at the airport, checked into our hotel and had such a nice visit!

First of all, it was extremely nice to see my sisters and mom again too, since we are all spread out across the country.  Visiting with Grandma and Grandpa that afternoon was so nice.  Grandma appeared to be living in a different time of her life at times, and would be coherent other times.   She told us her parents were "making a big transition," Grandpa snorted and responded, "I'll say! They're dead!" This, she refused to believe.  So we played along.  

Amanda was just a little girl the last time she saw Grandma and Grandpa.  When Grandma saw her, she exclaimed, "This is Amanda? Amanda??? You are beautiful! You are just precious!" Amanda's grin was a mile wide at this praise. 

The next day, we enjoyed some time with my cousin, her family and my Aunt and Uncle before having a pizza dinner at my Grandparents house.  It was so nice to re-connect with her! We stayed up very late that night talking and catching up.  

Even my cousin Brandon came, even though he had to work all night. 

  One last group photo before leaving.  Family time is so precious!