Thanksgiving weekend fun

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Darrell's side of the family! We always stay over at his sister's house, with the morning after bringing a trip to the gym and then more pie for breakfast! (It's all about balance, right?) We travel through Pittsburgh to get home, so we try to do something fun with the kids. This year we made a stop at the Carnegie Science museum. We tried to see the train display but the line was too long, so we played mostly at the top floor with activities for all ages. Evan, Ann-Marie and I took in one show about the states of matter....you can see Ann-Marie (above) participating in eating a marshmallow dipped in liquid nitrogen.....brrrr!

Hot bubble baths sometimes bring on GREAT IDEAS and that is how we found ourselves at Oglebay in West Virginia on Saturday afternoon. Friday night, I needed some reading material for my bath time, so I grabbed a book that I had given Darrell - "1,000 places to visit before you die" (the United States version) - and read up on local places of interest. Since we're so close to West Virginia, the chapter on Oglebay was interesting. We decided to take a visit and we were so glad that we did! They had a small zoo (as you can see from the pictures), an outdoor light display, an indoor Christmas laser show, and a six-mile drive-through light display. We were really glad to have gone early because once we were done with the drive-through, we saw that cars were lined up to get in for over two miles! It was well worth the trip for us, though.

Next adventure.....my sister and her family will be flying in this afternoon for six days! We are very, very excited for this opportunity to spend time with them.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, we travel a little over an hour to spend Thanksgiving with (almost) all of Darrell's side immediate family. Since he is the youngest of six, it is quite a gathering. I am very thankful to be part of such a loving family. I am also reminded today of the people I will not be able to spend time with but whom I am very, very thankful for also....my dad and step-mom in Iowa, my sisters (one in Iowa, one in Colorado), my step-sister and step-brothers, my niece and nephews, my grandparents, all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins spread throughout the United States and my wonderful friends who are spread out not only in the United States but also overseas. God has blessed me with loving, meaningful, and long-lasting relationships, for which I am truly grateful. So as we prepare to head out for our annual Thanksgiving feast, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there!

Happy 4th birthday, Alec!

We had a birthday party for Alec on Saturday, November 21 at our house. Three of his friends from the area came, as well as our dear friends, the Shullenbarger family, from Maryland. Grand total of participating kids (including our family) was nine. Alec opened his Batman house right before the party because that was what gave him the idea to have a Batman-themed party. Activities were decorating Bat planes (thanks Chris and Jessica for making them) then throwing them at the Bat target and freeze dancing to music. Pizza, cake and ice cream and presents rounded out the fun. Alec thoroughly enjoyed his party.

Mondays are our busiest day of the week, so we celebrated in the midst of the activity. Alec picked all three meals (Breakfast: French toast; Lunch: P,B,&J; Dinner: Hot dogs). As you can see from the picture above, he was very excited to get to use the red birthday plate. Happy Birthday, Alec!
Above, Ann-Marie got lots of baby time with Haddie (only three weeks old!)

Western PA fun with Dad and Mary....come back soon - we had a blast!

Texas pictures

Proof that we were in San Antonio....Mariachi band, Armadillo races, the Alamo and our precious friend, Kathy. Bottom picture is the New York Life dinner.....thousands of people in attendance.

Chicago pictures

Thank you to April! It worked, I can upload pictures.....only one or two at a time, but that is an improvement from none. So here are the pictures from Chicago.....Willis tower, Field museum and Millennium park.

Update and Blog problems

Well, I'm still not able to post our trip pictures, and I may have to switch to a new site for our family blog if I can't get these problems resolved soon. So that, among the busyness of life, is why I haven't updated our blog.

We had a great time with Dad and Mary while they were in western PA. We were sad to see them head back to Iowa, but it was good to get back into the swing of things after a week and a half of vacationing. Evan started a Martial Arts class near our house...we're doing a trial month to see if he likes it. Ann-Marie is back into gymnastics. We've been taking a lot of fun and educational field trips. Life continues to be busy......

Upcoming, Alec's birthday party tomorrow (Saturday) and his fourth birthday on Monday! My baby is turning four...where does the time go? Then onto Thanksgiving and on December 2nd, my sister, Sheila, and her family from Colorado will be visiting us for a week! Exciting stuff!

I will update everyone soon as to whether this blog will stay here or move to another blogging site.