Summer: Mon., 7/17 and Tues., 7/18
Mon., 7/17
A busy day in SWPA. We headed to Pittsburgh this morning for our annual summer visit to the Carnegie Museum. The first thing we saw was the gruesome diorama of the camel and courier being attacked by lions. L&G are absolutely mesmerized by this every year. Lucia was incredibly interested this time, while Greta was more freaked out than anything else. They asked lots of questions about why lions were attacking, how it felt to be attacked, whether we'd be attacked by lions ourselves, whether the animals in the diorama were real.
Next, Lucia requested that we see paintings, so we headed to the art wing instead of the natural history wing as usual. We all enjoyed walking through the galleries. L&G were particularly interested in how people sat so still while their portraits were being painted.
Then we went to the Hall of North American Mammals, always our favorite. Then we took a snack break, and finished off with Gems and Minerals.
We had a late lunch at Eat N' Park, and then the girls played outside for the rest of the (late) afternoon until bedtime.
Mom, Dad, and I sat outside talking to friends later that evening, and then--at 8:30pm--there was a knocking at an upstairs window. It was Greta, looking down at us. I went inside, and she was crying--her very very very loose tooth had finally fallen out, and she couldn't find it. She, Lucia, and I looked all over the beds and floor, but no luck. Then Greta said that actually she thought she'd swallowed it. She thought the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come because she couldn't find the tooth; I assured her she would still come, with a note and a gold coin. Tooth number two for Little Miss Grets.
Tues., 7/18
We started today off with a ride on the bike trail--and this time I rode as well! It was exhilarating! I can't believe I haven't ridden a bike since 2008--the last time was in Japan, when Andrew and I biked around to a few temples with borrowed bikes from the monastery we were staying in. I rode with L&G a good ways down the river trail. We ran into some problems--Lucia's training wheel flipped up, and she took a spill--and it kept loosening as we rode back. I took the girls' bikes to the bike shop a little later to get the training wheels tightened up.
Back home, we filled the pool Linda had lent us, and L&G were in the water for pretty much the rest of the day. It's a nice big pool--so much better than just a wading pool. They could really swim and play, and did, with gusto. Their Splashlings were constant companions in the water. It was a blisteringly hot day, so this was the perfect activity.
Mom and I wanted to visit Grandma and Florence but couldn't bear pulling the kids away from their fun, so we left them with Dad and made our visit. We did a quick Gabe's stop too, and I got some new sneakers for the kids. I always buy them before school starts, but there's no way we can make it through the summer--Greta's feet barely go into hers anymore. Gabe's to the rescue.
After the kids were in bed, I rode my bike all around the neighborhood. It felt like summer.
A busy day in SWPA. We headed to Pittsburgh this morning for our annual summer visit to the Carnegie Museum. The first thing we saw was the gruesome diorama of the camel and courier being attacked by lions. L&G are absolutely mesmerized by this every year. Lucia was incredibly interested this time, while Greta was more freaked out than anything else. They asked lots of questions about why lions were attacking, how it felt to be attacked, whether we'd be attacked by lions ourselves, whether the animals in the diorama were real.
Next, Lucia requested that we see paintings, so we headed to the art wing instead of the natural history wing as usual. We all enjoyed walking through the galleries. L&G were particularly interested in how people sat so still while their portraits were being painted.
Then we went to the Hall of North American Mammals, always our favorite. Then we took a snack break, and finished off with Gems and Minerals.
We had a late lunch at Eat N' Park, and then the girls played outside for the rest of the (late) afternoon until bedtime.
Mom, Dad, and I sat outside talking to friends later that evening, and then--at 8:30pm--there was a knocking at an upstairs window. It was Greta, looking down at us. I went inside, and she was crying--her very very very loose tooth had finally fallen out, and she couldn't find it. She, Lucia, and I looked all over the beds and floor, but no luck. Then Greta said that actually she thought she'd swallowed it. She thought the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come because she couldn't find the tooth; I assured her she would still come, with a note and a gold coin. Tooth number two for Little Miss Grets.
Tues., 7/18
We started today off with a ride on the bike trail--and this time I rode as well! It was exhilarating! I can't believe I haven't ridden a bike since 2008--the last time was in Japan, when Andrew and I biked around to a few temples with borrowed bikes from the monastery we were staying in. I rode with L&G a good ways down the river trail. We ran into some problems--Lucia's training wheel flipped up, and she took a spill--and it kept loosening as we rode back. I took the girls' bikes to the bike shop a little later to get the training wheels tightened up.
Back home, we filled the pool Linda had lent us, and L&G were in the water for pretty much the rest of the day. It's a nice big pool--so much better than just a wading pool. They could really swim and play, and did, with gusto. Their Splashlings were constant companions in the water. It was a blisteringly hot day, so this was the perfect activity.
Mom and I wanted to visit Grandma and Florence but couldn't bear pulling the kids away from their fun, so we left them with Dad and made our visit. We did a quick Gabe's stop too, and I got some new sneakers for the kids. I always buy them before school starts, but there's no way we can make it through the summer--Greta's feet barely go into hers anymore. Gabe's to the rescue.
After the kids were in bed, I rode my bike all around the neighborhood. It felt like summer.
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