day 3: Pittsburgh. Finally!

Freshly bathed & showered, we went for a bite to eat at Primanti's in Cranberry Township -this location is a bar/restaraunt. I've only ever been to the original location in the Strip (as seen on Food Network), the Oakland location & the Southside one. I have to say that Primanti's in the Strip makes a tastier sandwich. Could be the atmosphere, could be that I wasn't eating my buzz away at 2am after leaving Metropol (that was ages ago!) No, I took my parents there last year for lunch, & it was just as tasty as at 2am. Looking over the menu, I saw that there are, like, 20 locations now -Primanti's has become a chain!

Anyway, we stayed that night & the next with our good friend (& Maddie's Godmother) Chris. Unfortunately she had to work the days we were there but we enjoyed our short visits in the evenings. Maddie and Olivia discovered the humor of I Love Lucy -a marathon on TVland was enough to keep them awake & on mountain time.

day two: St Louis, MO

We decided to stop at the Arch b/c I found out the week b4 that we could actually go up to the top. 630 ft up to be exact. Pricey ($30) for the short length of time it lasted (~30 mins bottom to top & back down) but it was a fun experience. The museum was free & very nice. Would have been better to explore w/o pre-schoolers & had Nikki not been tired & ready to get back on the road. Patting a horse named Jed (with carriage) at the riverside was a great way to end the day (and free!) as the girls then pretended to be horses all the walk/run back to the car.







Lib enjoyed shimmying up the wall of the observation deck by herself to look out the windows

the tram door was about the height of Snick when she stood on the threshold -see, here she is standing down from the threshold as we wait our turn to ride back down

the tram up to the top was comprised of separate 5 seat pods that looked like something straight out of Space Odyssey
"Don't touch the statue!" speaks the voice of authority from a nearby ranger after I jokingly tell Snick to get cozy w/ Thomas Jefferson & she starts to link her arm through his.

flashback

What can I say, I'm a sucker for 80's hair bands (or any era, really). Why did long hair on guys go out of style? (sigh) Isn't it time for a renaissance? Surely others than just me are tired of the neo-conservative short hair look. If tattoos & piercings are becoming more mainstream acceptable, long hair can't be far behind. Mwahahaha! All styles come back around again. It's just a matter of time. Any day now. I'll be waiting....

Must be really far away...

"Mommy, I love you all the way to Mexico & back", says FiFi yesterday



Today it was "all the way to London". I suppose that one she knows from experience is far from here. Mexico? Don't know where that came from.

super soaker

breakin' out the big guns
stop, daddy!

nanny nanny boo boo you can't get me!

more slip n slide

a girl with a mission
not quite
fixin' to?
fi thinks she'll give it a whirl but then wouldn't go down the slide(notice Lib in the background? this is in response to Maddie freaking out b/c "dad said not to do that")
just a little outgrown the slide she's had since '99

success!

a little slip n slide fun

here I go again on my own...

So here's a lost cause. I was pondering the exercise dilemma with some friends last week at a daytime knitting playdate. I don't understand -& it's quite frustrating- how my life has become so sedentary. Five years ago I was running once & sometimes 2X/day, walking everywhere when I wasn't on my bike, working out 3X/week, yoga or aerobics 3X week, hiking frequently, snowboarding, rock climbing, etc etc etc. Now I'm lucky if I get out to walk the dog. Sad but true. I had this epiphany on the drive home from Arvada that the difference in my life is that then I had daycare. Sitting here typing this out, I realize there is more to it than that. Six years ago I was living in Boulder & didn't need to drive anywhere. I was surrounded by equally active people. My downhill slide into lack of exercise started when I moved to Longmont. Oh, I was still quite active, but it wasn't the same level of intensity. Moving to Denver cemented the lifestyle change. And the crappy food addition to my diet? Yeah, that stated about the same time as the Denver move. So now what? I suppose I could reign in my lack of self control when it comes to food. Making time for exercise would be a wise decision. Changing my sleeping pattern so that I go to bed earlier & wake earlier than anyone else would probably make for more time spent in physical activity. These are all things I know & don't need a book to tell me about. I just have to figure out how to regain control of my self-discipline & motivate myself to do these things. hmmmmm.