Pittsburgh, part 2

After the Children's Museum, we spent the afternoon and evening at Aunt Helen's house.  I, unfortunately, was feeling quite ill from a tetanus shot I had received the day before.  But the kids were content to play with Aunt Helen's toys while I crashed on the couch.  The next morning, we completed our mini-vacation with a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium.   I really liked that there were several different viewing areas for each animal.  We saw almost everything, but the kids were pretty tired by the end.  I'd like to go back again someday.

baby elephant

adult elephant

This shot makes me laugh.  Scott saw a great photo opportunity of me and the kids up close with a kangaroo.  But by the time he turned the camera on, I was trying to blow a bee off Micah's back, and Hannah was trying to wrestle away from me.  Nice. :)

We were both pleasantly surprised that Hannah sat still for the log ride.  It was a good end to the day.

Still Going...

Less than 24 hours after arriving home from Indiana, we repacked and left for Pittsburgh for the weekend. (We had not originally intended to have these two trips on top of each other, but that's how life goes sometimes.) We stayed with friends from college on Thursday night, then met some of Scott's family at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum on Friday morning. (I also had not planned to visit three different children's museums in two months, but - oh well!)

the raincoats were cute, but we still had to change Hannah's clothes when she was done with the waterplay :)

that girl is crazy!

when they made the seesaw move, bubbles came up in the glass wall between them

a light-up sand table

Hannah and Micah with their second cousin, Nathan

this climbing structure reached from the first to the second floor

The Rest of the Indiana Pictures

all the kids watching Curious George

an archeological dig at the children's museum

the LEGO exhibit at the museum (with Aunt Laurie and Scott's Aunt Mary in the background)

flying planes

the Hot Wheels exhibit

racing cars is serious work

playing at the splash park

trying to get a drink :)



Micah beat Nana at every game they played.....hm...suspicious... :)



donuts for breakfast....it's vacation, right?

Cousins

The kids and I just got back from a trip to Indiana.  I'll post more about it later, but for now I couldn't wait to share some of my favorite pictures of the cousins having fun together.  :)

I believe Micah was making them laugh by putting a stuffed animal on their heads.  Comedic genius.

This time they were laughing because they were feeding each other from a sippy cup. 

The Bubble Lady

We didn't have anything going on one day last week, so we drove to another library to see the "Bubble Lady".

Applesauce

I left Hannah alone at the table to finish her applesauce.  I came back to find her rubbing handfulls of it on her feet (her shirt and legs were already coated).  I couldn't help laughing, and she found it pretty funny, too.  Does this remind you of another applesauce incident?  When will I learn?

Talking

Hannah has started putting more words together.  I love to see the concentration on her face as she tells me, "Mommy!  Daddy car....all gone!"  From the moment she gets up in the morning, she can't wait to tell you what's on her mind. "Mommy!  Is green!" (referring to her stoplight alarm clock) "Mommy! Daddy sleep!  Mommy!  Micah sleep!  Mommy!  I snack!"  (meaning she wants to eat breakfast).

On the day of these pictures, she was reading books to me in her room.  I tried to take a video of her reading, but once she saw the camera she was too distracted.  Can you guess what book this is? "Moon.  Pop! Bawberries, apples. Blah, blah, blah, pop, blah, blah, blah. Fuffah!" 

Fun Fourth Week

Writing "fourth week" made me think of "fourth meal"....mmm....taco bell....

I'm sure having the 4th of July on a Wednesday is inconvenient for people in a lot of ways, but I liked it!  It made the whole week feel a little special.  Also, I know plenty of people could do without the heat in the upper 90's, but I kind of like it.  :)  I pretty much like all kinds of weather (which is why I don't really want to live in San Diego, even though I understand the appeal of always 70 degrees and sunny).  But anyway, we had a lot of fun this week.  The kids and I spent hours at the pool and used a lot of sunscreen. :)
On the actual holiday, we went once again to the parade in Stow.  As we were walking to find a spot, we passed our good friends, the Wagners.  We were soon joined by the Doughertys (and their parents) and the Frisbees, and the Snyders!  What fun!!

Hannah, Micah, Sawyer, Avery, Lily (in back), Ali, and Reese

As usual, the parade was great.  There was an excessive amount of candy, cars, trucks, floats, politicians, music, and even a camel!  The rest of our friends called it quits after an hour or more, but we stayed to the very end.  Micah was dripping with sweat, but never left his candy-getting post. :)

After a quick stop at home, we went to the Kuznicki's for another pool party.  It was basically a repeat of last time, except Micah got a stomach ache.  Scott took him home, while Hannah and I enjoyed ourselves.

Finally, on Saturday, the Oysters hosted "Fireflies and Fireworks" in their backyard. It was a pretty big deal for Micah. Since he is usually in bed by the time it gets dark, he has never caught fireflies or seen fireworks. We also had s'mores, sparklers, and glow sticks. This face pretty much sums it up:

Ally Hay checking out her fireflies

Ryan set off a few noise-makers before it got dark.

sparklers!

getting ready for the show

cheering

The moms who thought to give the kids glow necklaces are brilliant.  As it got dark, it made it a lot easier to keep track of the kids.  You can see them bobbing around as Carter leads the kids in a parade chanting "Fireworks! Fireworks!"  :)