Pittsburgh Weekend

We decided on our fall road trip that we didn't have enough time in Pittsburgh. This spring, we had 2 free hotel nights that we had to use, so we headed back to our old hometown for a weekend.

Friday night, we drove by the old house and ate dinner near our neighborhood. We took advantage of the convenience (ahh...we miss that) and actually ran a few errands before heading to the hotel.

Saturday morning, the first order of business after breakfast was the pool! The boys played there for about an hour before we went to the children's museum.

At the kids' museum: Musical stairs, that make noises when you step on them...

An awesome water play area. We loved the pipes coming out of the floor that you could use to create your own fountain.

Tilted room. Makes my head spin even to remember it!

Magic floating paperclips:

Construction area:

Rocket creation:

Next, we walked over to the Carnegie Science Center.

So far, I think this is one of our favorite museums. The main building has an amazing train garden, interactive robot stations, and lots of other really fun stuff. Brady got to be an assistant in the soda (or pop, in Pittsburgh!) making demo:

There is a whole other building dedicated to sports. Rock wall:

Pitching practice:

and trampolining:

Brady and James also rode a virtual roller coaster. There were also races, hockey games, and basketball shooting. I think the trampoline was the biggest hit.

That night we went to the Pirates baseball game. Highlights here? The pierogie race and the post-game fireworks!

Rudy fell asleep during the 8th inning...

Sunday morning, we headed back to the sports museum for a few more activities and then visited the Monongahela Incline.

On the way home Sunday afternoon, I asked the boys what their favorite thing was about the trip...

R: I don't know...hard decision.
K: OK. What were your top three?
R: trolley ride up the hill (the incline), the trip, the lollipops [the free lollipops in the hotel lobby]
B: trolley ride up the hill, the science center, swatting the fleas [flying ants at the top of the incline that were attracted to James' yellow shirt but nobody else's]

So glad we drove all the way to PA for lollipops and bug swatting...

Masterpiece

Rudy made me this masterpiece at school. He mixed the colors up just right so they would match the wall I just painted in the family room/kitchen. He really wants me to hang it up, so we're on the hunt for a frame now...

He can read!

Rudy has been working really hard on his reading lately. We started off with a word wall, but the post-it notes kept falling down and weren't all that easy to move around.

He took a count and had 92 words on his door and wall.

My dad gave us a huge box of his old business cards, so we put those to good use as flashcards. We're up to about 110 words that Rudy knows pretty well. With these cards, he's also able to move them around to start to make sentences!

Little Helper

This little man has had a complete turnaround lately. (I hope I'm not jinxing it.) He's gone from being contrary, rude, and argumentative to being a lovely, charming, helpful, and agreeable little boy. I'm not sure what changed, but I sure do love it!

Art Show

Yesterday was the art show for the entire school district. One of Brady's masterpieces was one of the 150 that got selected from his school (of 600 students) to be on display. He was beside himself with excitement Saturday morning; he was so proud that his picture was on display and could hardly wait to show it off!

Besides the kids' art on display, the art teachers had gone to great lengths to decorate the gym in an under water theme, complete with coral reefs! Each art teacher in the county also had a table where kids could make a different craft: sea turtles, bottle fish, bottle jellyfish, etc. I was quite impressed with the whole effort!

Outside in the springtime

I've pretty much been kicking the kids outside every day. It's just too nice to be playing inside. Of course, they can entertain themselves for hours with a creek and a few sticks...

Mulch

Lots and lots of mulch! We had 25 cubic yards delivered and actually managed to spread it in less than a week! (Of course, spreading it also included moving a sizable pile to the back of the lot for future use.)

The boys had a great time playing in and on the mulch pile. I didn't mind so much, until all of their Thursday friends came over (about 10 boys total) and decided it would be grand idea to play with the mulch by spreading it over a large portion of the front yard.

A long talk about making good decisions around friends followed. Apparently, it had little impact as the next day I heard a report from another mom's house that several of the same little boys decided it would also be a grand idea to pull a dead mouse out of the family's trash container.

(Same long talk ensued. Should I just record it and play it daily for the next 18 years?)

Hungry Again

From the day he was born and figured out how to nurse, this little man has been a bottomless pit. He eats A LOT! To the point that I almost made him a shirt with this "name tag" ironed on:

We really hear "I'm hungry again" numerous times a day. Sometimes, he even emphasizes the last word (I'm hungry again), as if he is also surprised to find himself ready to eat again (likely only 15 minutes after he's finished a meal).

His appetite has leveled out a bit in the past few months, but when Nana and Popsie found this shirt at a pancake house in OBX, it was pretty much a necessary purchase!

Bike Riders

It was an exciting weekend of spring weather, so the kids were outside as much as possible! Brady has graduated to a bigger bike and Rudy has officially learned to ride a bike.

Pretty proud little man:

Hard work...

It's tough getting back in shape for warm weather and spending all your time outside!

Buddies

The boys still love playing in this fort that they built with Papa last year. When they have friends over after school for our Thursday playgroup, they drag all kinds of treasures over there and have elaborate battles or spy missions.