Pittsburgh: Visiting the Schulers, Meeting Braden, Grandma's B-day, Mike's New House

We had not visited Doug’s Aunt and Uncle in quite some time, so we planned a trip to visit them during Doug, Ava and Liam’s Spring break at the beginning of April.  We were excited that Grandma and Grandpa Carey AND Aunt Tracy and Uncle Tim decided to visit the same weekend. 

It was Grandma Carey’s 66^th birthday that weekend, so we were able to celebrate with her.  I asked Ava how old she thought Grandma was, and she said “15”.  J 

We had not yet met Braden James Logan, Tracy and Tim’s first little one, who was born January 22^nd.  He wasn’t quite three months old when we met him for the first time.  He is a cutie!  Tim has Aunts and Uncles in the Pittbsurgh area, so Tracy and Tim were able to see quite a bit of family while there. 

We were also able to see Mike’s new house, which is gorgeous.  The place is pristine and has been really well-maintained, has a beautiful, flat yard (which is an anomaly for Pittsburgh) and has very nice landscaping.  Mike has done a nice job decorating it with the help of Aunt Jackie.  The kids seemed to warm up to Mike’s dog Bosley, too! 

We started driving on Friday afternoon and spent the night in a Hampton Inn in Charleston, West Virgnia.  I know I’ve been through West Virginia when I was younger, but it was nice to see again.  The hills are pretty.  When we arrived it was nighttime, so we didn’t get to see the landscape until the following day.  We arrived in the early afternoon.  Tracy, Tim, Braden, Jim, Mary and Mike were all at the Schulers’ house.  We had some dinner at the house and visited.  Tracy and Tim went to Mike’s to see his house while the Careys’ and Aunt Jackie went to church.  Uncle Bill started dinner.  I told him to help me earn my keep, so he let me help him cook.  He made a bourbon glazed pork of some kind, green beans and linguine with lemon sauce.  Aunt Jackie made a Strawberry Pretzel jello salad.  Yum. 

The next day, we had breakfast at the Schulers’ and then drove over to see Mike’s house.  The kids enjoyed exploring in Mike’s backyard.  We then made our way back to have dinner at the Schulers'.   Tracy and Tim ate with us all.  Braden ended-up falling asleep on me.  He is such a sweet baby!  We had fun perusing a family photo album, too.  The kids enjoyed some bunny cookies the Schulers bought. 

I think it was Sunday when, all in the course of a few hours, we saw the following weather: snow, rain, sleet, cloudy skies, clear skies, sun shining.  Unbelievable!  We celebrated Grandma's 66th birthday that night, going out to Longhorn Steakhouse.  The Schulers got a cake from Coldstone’s with mint chocolate chip ice cream, covered with chocolate ganache for dessert.  So good! 

Doug and I were originally going to go to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater house on Tuesday, but decided to go on Monday.  The weather ended up very nice on Monday when we visited.  I will be sure to post a blog entry on that trip alone, as there are so many pictures I’d like to include.  Our decision to go on Monday instead of Tuesday was a good one; the weather was very cold and I believe it snowed on Tuesday!  Fallingwater is less than 2 hours away from the Schulers’ house, but with us taking the 2-hour extended tour plus travel time and lunch, we were away from the kidlings for about 6 hours.  The Schulers watched the kids while we were gone.  They all faired well.  The Careys were there to help for the first part of the morning, then Mike visited and helped with the kids.  Jim and Mary had to return back to Michigan, so they said their goodbyes to everyone and started their five-hour car ride home.

Tuesday we drove downtown to do some sight-seeing with Uncle Bill and Aunt Jackie.  I thought Liam would really appreciate the Railway Incline, so we went up to the top of the hill and rode the car down the hill, then up again.  Aunt Jackie, Uncle Bill and the kids rode free (senior citizens and children’s discount).  Liam was especially geeked about riding in the railcar.  I got a really sweet picture of Liam and Uncle Bill both smiling at each other with wide grins while riding in the railway car.  It wasn’t until we walked away from the incline that I had the thought that they could’ve all ridden in the car all day for free, if they wanted to do so! 

After the railway fun, we made our way over to the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum. It was a VERY nice museum!  We saw Mr. Roger’s shoes, were able to make his trolley car move (a favorite of the kids), let the kids climb in this strange maze that was the entire length/width of a wall, get in a Smart car, play with car tracks, climb a net and slide down, put a ball up through a basket that exited onto wires (like the Mouse Trap game), get in a wind tunnel, go in a tilted room.  There were so many other things to do there!  We then met Mike for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.  The kids had fun throwing a few coins in the fountain there.  Once done with dinner, we gave Mike a hug goodbye and went back to the Schulers’ house.  We packed and made the trip home the next day.

It was a nice, enjoyable trip!  We enjoyed seeing everyone and meeting Braden!

Thank you, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Bill and Mike, for your hospitality!

Peace, love and adding PA to Ava & Liam’s “states visited” list,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Aunt Tracy and "Tank's" Shower

Doug’s "BABY" sister Tracy is pregnant with their first child. We are SO happy for them! Tracy is due January 19th. While in Michigan, we were able to attend the baby shower for Tracy and Tank (I will explain later), held at the Red Run Golf Club the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tracy’s Mom (Mary), Tim’s Mom (Maureen) and Tim’s Stepmom (Linda) were the gracious hosts for the event. It was beautiful.

The room in which the shower was held overlooked the green of the golf course. The brunch food was served buffet-style, in a room adjacent to our seating area. Food served included:  French toast, pastries, eggs, bacon, muffins, Eggs Benedict, fresh fruit. Very yummy food!  A family friend, Shannon Winsted, made cookies shaped and decorated like lambs. (Tracy is decorating the baby’s room with lambs). Shannon also made cupcakes that were decorated with edible pearls and were served with elegant lacy wrappers (from http://www.fancyflours.com/) atop a cupcake stand (at each table). http://shannons-sweet-endings.com/home.html Maureen's friend made some honey-almond soap to give out as party favors.  Everything was absolutely adorable!

Tim, Tracy, Maureen, Mary and Linda

We played “My water broke!”, a cute shower game. Tiny plastic babies were frozen in ice cubes and one given to each guest attending a shower. Whoever had their baby melt / break-free from the ice cube first would yell “My water broke!” to win a prize.

Tim, the Daddy-To-Be, also attended the event. Tim requested there be some additional testosterone represented at the shower, so Doug and Liam also attended. Jen Logan’s little girl (Kiera), who is five, attended and sat next to Ava. When it was time for Tim and Tracy to open gifts, I moved to the side so other attendees could see Tim and Tracy directly. I originally moved Liam with me to a different chair, but he ended-up back in the chair next to Tim, watching the gifts being opened. It was a hoot, watching him sitting (all by himself) next to Tim! Liam was a one-man peanut gallery, dressed in his red sweater vest, commenting “That’s a duck!” when he saw a bath-toy shower gift opened. :- )

Mommy-to-be: Tracy

The one-man peanut gallery

All in all, the kids did really well and enjoyed celebrating with the rest of us. Some other shower attendees commented on well the kids behaved.  Tim and Tracy were showered with so many gifts and a children’s book from each guest. Tracy and Tim haven’t yet found out the gender of the baby and hope to be surprised when the baby is born. They have been so blessed through Tracy’s continued healthy pregnancy and the many, many people who love them, and this sweet baby!


Either Tim or Tracy (I forget which one) had a dream before they were married that they were having a baby and naming it “Tank”. So, this baby has ALREADY earned the nickname “Tank”. :-) We can’t wait to meet you, Tank!


Peace, love and all-things-baby!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam