More Pre-Chrismas Adventures!

We had a big adventure last weekend with Grammy and Papa Frank!  At first we only told the kids we were riding the train into the city.  And they were fine with that!  I honestly think they would have been happy to just ride the train all day.  They grinned the whole way into the city and chatted and chatted about all they saw.

Once we were downtown we walked toward PPG Place and finally the kids realized what we were up to!  It was TRAINS and GINGERBREAD HOUSES and SANTAS!  And a dinosaur that looks like a ketchup bottle.

Gillian really liked the ice skating rink.  I think we will have to have an ice skating adventure sometime soon.


(Note the raincoats.  It was about 55 degrees and threatening rain all day.)

Then Colin needed to see the trains.
 

We loved all of the gingerbread houses too.  There were some creative ones!

Nemo:
 

Star Wars:


The Titanic?


Daddy really liked the Counts.  Made by a local pre-k class!


Grammy tried to talk the kids into a picture. There wasn't much kid-enthusiasm present.  That happens.
 

Gillian was happier when she got to be in front of her desired Santa.


We explored the new International Market in Market Square.  Very cute stuff there.  I found some great jewelry!  Then we had a very yummy lunch in Market Square too.   After lunch, G convinced us to try to wait in line for a free horse and carriage ride.  After waiting for half an hour and not progressing much in line, we convinced her it wasn't the greatest idea.  And, amazingly, she compromised.  Christmas miracle, for sure.

Pumpkin Picking 2011

Well, it's that time again! Time to pick our pumpkins! Yet again this year, we hit up Trax Farms for some gourds and fun! And we were lucky this year to go again with our friends Miss Laura and Mr. Kenny and their lovely kiddos, Ian, Julia, and (new this year) AJ!!!

First up, GIANT PUMPKIN PILES!






Twins times TWO! I always love seeing these four together!


Then the rides opened and Colin saw the train. So, Colin, Gillian, and Julia got tickets for the train. Ian passed on a ride this time.



All Aboard!




Gillian in her olive green shirt dress in this barrel thing makes me think she looks like a WWII female fighter pilot!


Our kids wanted to try the giant slide. They loved it! I was pretty impressed that they climbed and slid all by themselves!


Daddy took them into the petting zoo next since Colin wanted to pet the baby piggy. BUT Daddy made the critical mistake of actually buying food for the animals and they were literally mauled by goats. Very pushy goats. So, no piggy for Colin.

He was placated by the corn bin!



Oh yeah, and Mr. AJ...he showed off his photogenic side. Such a gorgeous baby! And so happy! (Only a little corn went in his mouth...)



And some snuggles with his Daddy! So sweet!


Gorgeous day. Good friends. Fun times. And three perfect pumpkins picked!

Taking the Choo-Choo to the City!

Last Saturday we had a big adventure! My brother's girlfriend, Leah, had told us that there was a nice holiday display at PPG Place in downtown Pittsburgh. It had trains. Enough said. We decided that since we were going downtown already, we might as well up the excitement and take the kids on their first train ride! Ok, so it was the commuter trolley, but they think it's cool.

We drove most of the way into the city, parked, and got on the train and rode for less than 5 minutes into the city!! The kids really enjoyed it! Colin kept saying, "Choo choo puffin', Daddy! Choo choo puffin', Daddy!" Gillian, as usual, was quieter, but she was looking all around and checking it all out. She didn't want me to leave my seat to take a picture of her though!

CHOO CHOO PUFFIN' DADDY!


Yes, it was cold.


We got off the train, rode THREE separate elevators to the street level, walked about six (small) blocks, and TA DA!!


The PPG Wintergarten was very nice. Small, so probably only 30 minutes of entertainment for toddlers and probably none for kids over 6. But, when C&G are bigger, we can go ice skating by that lovely tree! They had about four trains set up in loops of tracks with gingerbread houses set up all around them. The gingerbread houses were made by many different community groups, schools, and companies.

Two of the trains:


Bean skeptically checking it all out....really she DID like it. She just needed to warm up.


Brother was more immediately impressed!


Some of our favorite gingerbread houses...
Michael liked the Greek Orthodox Church:


Tackily, I liked the reindeer riding on the incline!


The kids' favorite parts of the trip? Well, Colin was VERY fond of this dinosaur (the dinosaurs are part of some sort of art initiative, I think, that places differently "themed" dinosaurs about the city):

He called it a "dip dino!" as in, ketchup "dip" dinosaur. Pretty funny, right?

Gillian's favorite part was the ice rink. She really, really liked standing next to the rink and watching the people skate around and around. I think next year we will try skating. We're not quite coordinated enough for it this year!

So, after a snack, we bundled back up, walked back 6 blocks, down three elevators, and back onto the train!


Next time, we won't hesitate to take the train the whole way into the city. In fact, we may have discovered a cheap, wintertime weekend-morning time killer!

Dobble, Dobble

Phew, finally catching up on Thanksgiving....gobble, gobble....or as Colin says, dobble, dobble. Thanksgiving this year was better than last year. No one was IN the hospital. YAY! Sadly, Daddy and I had nasty colds, Gillian was still teething, and Colin was still doing plenty of breathing treatments. Perhaps next year we'll all be hale and hearty, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, we didn't get many pictures over the holiday, but we made the rounds to all sorts of family gatherings and ate, ate, and ate. The kids were pretty funny at the turkey dinners; they just don't eat mashed potatoes, gravy, or, umm, turkey. So, they feasted on olives, pickles, rolls, cranberry sauce, and a banana. Yikes.

Papa Frank had been working on a big surprise for the kids for several weeks before Thanksgiving and it was finally ready to reveal! A TRAIN! Papa had fixed up Daddy and Uncle D's old train in the basement! The kiddos really enjoyed it!

Look at Colin! I think he's saying "WOAH!"


Gillian enjoyed it too!


Uncle D helped Colin get a good view!


Grammy came to check it out too!


On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my Mom's side of the family gathered to eat. Rachel and Matthew cooked us a 28 pound turkey and there was, FINALLY, enough stuffing for all. The kids really enjoyed playing on Great-Grandma Smith's computer. As you can see....



GraGra helped them out some...


It was a busy, tiring, snotty weekend. We enjoyed our family and (Daddy and I enjoyed) the turkey. But, we were all happy to be home and sleeping in our own beds for a while!

Chooooo Chooooo!

Michael was playing with the kids yesterday while I was busy elsewhere, and this is what they ended up doing....


Obviously, the kids enjoyed themselves immensely. I think Gillian is really going to like Kennywood.

Then, Colin got out and pushed. He likes to push things; his activity table, boxes, books, you name it. I think it's good exercise. Note that Michael is not helping him other than with steering. I'm not quite sure if Gillian thought this was as much fun as the Daddy Train, but she was at least OK with it.


And, as always, Schmo is SO much help.