Kennywood Story

In a moment of weakness, I decided to take the kids to Kennywood. It was "Moms Rule" day, where moms get in free with a paid admission. Actually, I got in free without paying, because I took Ruby with me and she is free. Miles and his buddy William got in on a BOGO deal, two for $20.99, and my friend Tanya got in free with her 18-mo. old, Ruby's friend Gavrie. So at least admission wasn't expensive. Miles has refused most rides at the various places we've encountered them--including the train at the zoo. So I didn't expect him to be excited about the rides, but I thought maybe he'd be brave enough to try some, especially with William's encouragement. He did ride the train, so that was a breakthrough of sorts. He liked it so much (as did all the kids) that we rode it three times. During the ride, we heard the "story of Kennywood" about the park's long history and changes through the years. Lovely, relaxing, and educational! Miles also was hoping to get a toy at Kennywood. Specifically a set of toy light sabers (like his friend Wil, not William, has). So after we tried unsuccessfully to get Miles interested in riding motorcyles, cars, boats, etc...and watched William, Tanya, and Gavrie as they pursued thrill after thrill, we found the gift shop with the light up swords, and Miles' dream was realized! We also ate some ice cream along the way and tried to stay hydrated with water, water, water. It was a hot day! Miles cheered up when he finally got his toys, and was excited to give one to William as well. When we got home I asked him what his favorite thing about Kennywood was, expecting he'd say getting the light-up swords. He surprised me though when he very matter-of-factly reported that his favorite thing was the story of Kennywood. He also has said he'd like to go back "once each day" to ride the train!

"It's too hard being a son."

This is what Miles is muttering to himself right now, along with "I just want to be a grown-up," and "I just want to be free from my parents, my mom and dad and sister." He's actually being kind of still...he must be tired. I sure am! George is working this weekend, and going away all week...Miles and I are spending too much time together, I think. He took all his dresser drawers out, emptied them, and lined them up on the floor. Now he doesn't like it that I'm making him put all the stuff back. We did have a nice break this morning when we walked down to Wil's house and played there for about an hour. Ruby was once again a target for the boys, but Wil's big sis helped defend her.
Not much of a Father's Day celebration, though I tried to have a somewhat civil breakfast. At least George got to sleep in and read the paper for a bit before going off to work. Maybe dinner will be better...
On a happier note, Miles is ready for a dressy occasion. He decided he wanted his own tie after seeing George wear one last week. We found him one yesterday while we were out shopping for Father's Day, and got him a nice belt too. He's been wearing them (in his own unique style), and taking them off for outside playtime and meals. He's hoping he'll be invited to a wedding (or that he can be the groom), or maybe a ball. I'll try to get some photos up soon.

Capon (K-pin) Springs

We had a nice, relaxing stay at Capon Springs resort in West Virginia this week. Miles and Ruby loved playing and chilling with their cousins, Uncle Rob, Aunt Erika, and Oma and Opa. One of the highlights for me was the dining room--where all we had to do was show up, sit down, and eat as much as we cared to. Three square meals a day, same table, same time every day...all included in the cost of our stay! They even ring a bell at meal time to remind everyone to "come and get it." No meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, or cleaning. That's what I call a vacation!'
The other highlight was the soaking bath George and I took at the spa. Thirty minutes of pure relaxation in our private hot tub filled with steaming spring water and bath salts. Ahhh.
The kids spent lots of time in the playground/giant sand box and also tagged along while the older kids played shuffleboard, badmitton, and ping pong, and went fishing with Opa. Things got a little tense on our one rainy day, when the portable electronics came in handy! We chilled out, literally, at the pool on our last day. The kids were shivering but didn't seem to mind.

not that you asked....

Miles is not usually shy, but last Saturday he was in an especially out-going mood. We went to storytime at the bookstore, and the poor girl reading the story didn't have a chance. The book was Madeline and as soon as he saw it Miles told her that he knew all the words so if she had any trouble reading, he would tell her the words. When she got to the part of the story where Madeline gets a scar, he first asked what that was, then went on to explain how he has a scar on the back of his head from when he hit the coffee table when he was a baby and the doctors "sewed his head back together with needle and thread." Finally, when the story was over, he noticed the reader was wearing a cross pendant on her necklace. He said "look, you have the symbol of Jesus on your necklace." She did not seem amused, though some of the other parents were. One dad called our son "Awesome." So there you go.
Here are some random photos from the last few weeks--Ruby and friend Gavrie at our friend's garden party, Miles and buddies on the porch, Miles with his face painted, Ruby being Ruby.

Pray for Peace

Peace between siblings, in this case. Since Miles has been out of school we've been spending more time at home, the three of us...so I've been spending a lot of time mediating the little battles between Miles and Ruby. They each know how to push the other's buttons, and often do.
This morning Miles had some questions about God and Jesus. Like, where are they? are they dead? did they live in olden times? etc. I explained that Jesus lived a long time ago, and that God is everywhere, like a spirit. He is in us, and in everything. "Even in our digestive juices," as Miles concluded. I told him that Jesus lived a long time ago to be an example to all of us about how we should live. That we should be kind to each other, even when others are mean to us. Miles accepted this, but said that sometimes "Jesus fades away" in him, and that is when he is not so nice to Ruby. Specifically, we can count on this to happen whenever one of his friends come over. For some reason, their favorite game is "attack Ruby." Luckily, she doesn't seem to care, and usually keeps her distance from them. For her, getting pushed or picked on by her brother has a silver lining. She loves the hugs she gets from him afterward (when I intervene and make him apologize) and goes back for more, which usually starts the cycle all over again! Ahh summer!

Jack and Annie

The new background music around our house is all about Jack and Annie and their adventures with the Magic Treehouse. (For the uninitiated, this is the name of a series of chapter books for kids.) I borrowed some books on CD for Miles to listen to at bedtime, since he was having a hard time staying in bed and going to sleep. Well, he took to them right away and now puts the CDs on in the morning, at Ruby's naptime, and pretty much anytime he isn't getting enough attention from me. He also likes to have an adult sit down to listen with him. Mostly he shuts himself up in his room, goes up to his "Lego Loft" and plays and listens to the lovely voice of the author, Mary Pope Osborne, as she reads her books--telling reality-based adventure tales about interesting places and things, like Vikings in ancient Ireland, dolphins, polar bears, lions, volcanoes, the Roman Empire, ancient China, and ancient Greece.
Sometimes I feel like I have a teenager in the house. He wears his PJs all day, stays in his room for long periods of time, and tries to keep his sister out of his room as much as possible. She doesn't know what to think, although she has learned to say "jack and annie," much to his delight!

Summer Fun

We're enjoying our school-free (Mommy's summer camp) time so far, and have been on three hikes in the past week, with another one scheduled for tomorrow. Miles should be in good hiking shape for nature camp next week! We've also visited the penguins in their new digs at the Aviary, watered the plants in the kid's garden at Phipps, and had friends over for a make-over/pool party!

Today Miles built a "hobbit home" out of chair cushions and Ruby acted as delivery person, taking things to him. This worked well for a while, until his little house collapsed. The next attempt at building involved putting a child's chair on the coffee table--to serve as chimney, which I quickly had to remove, before Ruby got a chance to discover this new and exciting climbing challenge. It was a rainy day in Pittsburgh today so not a lot of time outside. They were getting a little stir crazy, but we survived without any injuries.







Sink Update: The sink toy went back to Costco. They didn't have any more in stock though so we're sink-less at the moment. I may get another one somewhere else. The kids certainly loved playing with it when it worked! And George and I loved sitting down for a while to watch them play peacefully together!