Saturday, July 31, 2010

Weekend at West Branch



We just got home from a little mini camping trip to West Branch. As Helena would say, "I like it!" We had a good time fishing and even caught some whoppers as you'll see in the pictures. We spent a big part of yesterday playing at the beach and some of us even got to go for a boat ride. Katie didn't like it too much, she preferred to stay back and play in the sand with Clay and Drew instead. We did some shopping and got new shoes for the trio. Seamus got to ride his bike with the big boys to the playground, which he loved. Tomorrow is the corn roast at Aunt Kathy's and we're all looking forward to that. It's almost August... where is this summer going???


Katie going fishing


Helena telling me how she likes camping


Seamus tired out from all of the monsters we're catching


Grandpa's fish


Daddy's fish


Mommy's fish

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Road Trip

After five days on the road with the kids we finally all got to sleep in our own beds last night. We had been thinking about taking a couple of day trips into Ohio this summer, but due to a death in the family in Pennsylvania we decided to drive down there to pay our respects and take our trips on the way there and back. We left on Thursday morning and stopped in Port Clinton, Ohio to do the drive through Safari. The kids liked looking at all the animals, but when a buffalo stuck his giant head into the back window of the van it scared the poop out of all of them. When we kept the windows rolled up they all enjoyed looking at the animals at a safe distance. After we drove through and saw all of the different kinds of cows and deer, zebras and giraffes, we went into the picnic table area for lunch. After wiping the animal slobber off the van we ate, watched a pig race and walked through their small zoo area. The next day we drove into Pittsburgh and went the Zoo to see the PPG Aquarium. The Pittsburgh Zoo is nice, but the whole thing is uphill which gets tiring when pulling a wagon with about 90 lbs of two year olds in tow. The aquarium was the kids favorite part of the zoo. They were mesmerized by the sight and I think we heard the phrase "look fish!" about a thousand times. I think they liked it. The next day we went to the Service and funeral for Mary's cousin. We attended the gathering afterward where we got to spend time with family we don't see very often. Later that day we went to the Duquesne Incline which is a trolley ride up a big hill where you can see the city from above. The next day we drove into Toledo and went to Imagination Station where there are a lot of hands-on exploring things that kids can play with. So Katie, Seamus and Helena got to pretend to be doctors, ambulance drivers, fire fighters, and paleontologists. This was probably Seamus's favorite part of the trip, he had a smile so big it's what we call his "Muppet Face." The next day was Monday, and before we drove back home we checked out the Toledo Zoo because we have heard good things about it. The zoo was big, and we spent about 4 hours there and saw just about every animal imaginable. Then we all slept in our own beds for the first time in four days. The whole trip I slept with Katie and Mary slept with Seamus and Helena after we pushed her bed up against the wall. Today we had excitement too because they kids had their first trip to the dentist. Katie was the best behaved and didn't even cry when she got her teeth cleaned. Seamus and Helena did good too, but Katie wins the "Big Girl Prize" of the day. The good news is none of them had cavities, and they all got toys and balloons. Tomorrow we're going to see Grandma Murphy for her birthday. Below are some of the pictures from the road trip.


The Buffalo that scared Katie


At the Pig Race at the Safari


At the top of the Duquesne Incline


Paging Dr Seamus at the Imagination Station


Katie Sliding at the Imagination Station


Helena shopping at the Imagination Station


Digging for dinosaur bones at Imagination Station


Saying hi to the gorilla statue at the Toledo Zoo