Pennsylvania Trip Part 2

Mom and I decided it was probably prudent to minimize the amount of awake time that the kids spent at my grandparents house. We opted to fill up their day with fun activities instead of worrying about them smashing a family heirloom. The kids are always up for a new adventure, so we headed off on our second morning to the natural history museum. We visited the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which was founded by Andrew Carnegie. He was a philanthropist who is responsible for founding the public library system in this country. The museum was AWESOME and the kids were so excited to see...DINOSAURS!! They are so into dinosaurs right now. Even Tristan can name most of the common dinos. They were so excited to see the dino bones, especially the T. Rex! They couldn't believe how big he was.

Maura could have stood in those giant jaws! Bennett was excited about his first trip to a museum--can you tell. Once again, he was the world's best baby. He made barely a peep the whole time we were in Pittsburgh.

Grammy loved hanging out with her dino lovin' boys. They had some cool interactive exhibits, but mostly we had to be really careful with the kids to keep them from running, spinning around or touching anything. Maura was too cool for words while hanging out by the aquatic dino exhibit.

Imagine running into this guy while you were taking a dip in the ocean! Tristan viewed the wide open galleries as his own personal playground, so we had to carry him or keep hold of his hand. He wasn't thrilled about it! My girl, on the other hand, was just pretty excited to be there and see all of her favorite dinosaurs. Maybe we have a future paleontologist on our hands.

Mom and I quickly decided that maybe the Discovery Room was more our speed. It was awesome and the kids were allowed to touch almost everything. Tristan got up close and personal with some hermit crabs. Bennett just got up close and personal with Grammy. She didn't seem to mind!

Maura gravitated to all the dinosaur paraphernalia and fossils they had on display for the kids to touch. I especially loved when she became interested in this coprolite--basically petrified dinosaur poop. She was VERY interested when she learned it was poop!

After the museum, we headed down the street to The Original Hotdog Shop. I had no idea what to expect. This restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I'm going to have to say that I'd categorized this one as a dive, but the food was PRETTY awesome. My Uncle Michael met us for lunch there. He asked me if I thought a large fry would be too much for all of us to eat and of course I said I thought it would be fine. I just didn't realized that it would be the entire fry basket of fries on a plate. Yum... That's Tristan's hand in the background so that you can get some perspective. Uncle Michael and Maura got acquainted at lunch. Maura has met Uncle Michael on several occasions, but all when she was young. Uncle Michael hadn't met either of my boys, though, so it was fun to get to introduce my growing family to him. I'm not sure if he knew what to make of my wild crew!

After lunch, we headed to a nearby park for a carousel ride. You'd think we would have gotten our fill of rides the day before, but NOPE, we wanted some carousel action! Tristan wanted to ride on the Triceratops. Maura opted for a dragon, Grammy for a seahorse.

Saying goodbye to Uncle Michael. Hopefully it won't be another three years before I see him again!! As you can see, Maura was really ready for a nap. These kids were troopers, but we went three whole days without naps and it started to show after awhile!

Great-Grandma and Great Grandpap with their newest great! They'll gain three great grandchildren in the course of this year. Pretty amazing!

On our third morning, we took the kids to a local park to meet an old friend and neighbor. I just had to snap this photo of my blue eyed boy--the shirt is just too appropriate for him. My grandpap saw it when he came out in the morning and said, "Mischief Maker! You got that right!" My mom and Paula, our former neighbor, loved hanging out with the baby and gabbing away. We had such great neighbors when we lived in PA! I loved catching up with Paula and showing off my sweet family. It's weird to be all grown up with kids when you're visiting someone you've known forever. Paula has literally known me from birth. She and my mom were hospital roommates when I was born. Her son, Brett, was my best friend growing up. So, there's just something funny about being at the same place in life that she was when I knew her so many years ago.

One last photo with the greats. I know that Grandma and Pappap appreciated the chance to visit the kids and see Bennett and I'm glad we were able to make it up for our annual visit. Maura, Grandma, Aunt Barb and Bennett. I love Aunt Barb like she's another grandmother to me and I feel blessed to have her and Uncle Art in my life.

Pappap always comments about how many photos I take, but I know I'll treasure these photos of my grandparents and the kids someday. The fun was not yet over on the PA trip. Before we left, we stopped in at a surprise party for my cousin's wife. It was at a local park and it was HOT, but I was glad we went. The place was tree covered and we tried to stay as cool as possible.

Bennett and I enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Nancy and cousin Mason. Mason is my kid's second cousin, but I hope they'll be able to grow up to be close. Right now it looks like Mason could eat Bennett for dinner, but they'll close the gap next year. These two will be double trouble. Happy Birthday Amanda!! I was really glad we were able to celebrate with her before we left.

Soon after, we piled back in the car for our exhausting trip back to Kentucky. Home sweet home!! I was so glad to sleep in my own bed!