Putting on Miles

The last half of our summer was all about travel, and what a blast we had!

First, while Daddy's away, the rest will play. Grandpa Doug was getting back from a trip to the doctors in New York, and we wanted to see him and help he and Grandma Vivie if possible.  So, one night mommy packed up the car and the next day we drove to Virginia Beach.  The timing of our trip was hopefully helpful, but it also corresponded with Papa's birthday. So he got a cake decorated by four of his six grandkids.  Here they are hard a work:

 Wanna know how it turned out?  Voila!

 We also squeezed in trips to the beach and the aquarium.  Seb loves fish just as much as birds, turns out.

When we got back from Virginia Beach, Eli had another summer camp.  This one was at the Natural History Museum and was yet another hit.  "Splish, Splash" camp focused on life in and around the water.  Fitting, since once Daddy got home from Delaware, we were in full swing preparing for our next trip to the Outer Banks.

We rented a whole house right on the beach with Aunt Mary, Uncle Chris, and cute cousin Ila.  Our house was in Salvo and man did we luck out with perfect weather the whole time.  We also got many fun visitors, including Grandma Vivie and Grandpa Doug for four days, Grammy and Papa for three days, and Kelly, Jason and Henry, our friends from Tuscaloosa who made the OBX a stop on their move from the Deep South to Boston, Mass.  Here Henry instructs us on how to eat a big frozen ball of peas.

Uncle Chris and Aunt Mary's friends also came down to surf.  Tony is a tattoo artist and he was kind enough to "ink up" Eli.  Don't worry, Eli made sure that the tattoo would be temporary and wouldn't hurt.  That Tony is quite an artist, though!

The kids all had such a great time on the beach together!

We made a lot of memories.  Mommy and Daddy got to see meteors in the middle of the night from the hot tub.  And Seb and Mommy got to see three sunrises in a row.  Here they are:

One

What's with the look?  This was your idea, little guy.

Two

Isn't it pretty, mommy?

Three (pretty, but we were ready for some better sleep!)

 Still, the bestest part of our trip was time with Daddy and seeing Grandpa Doug doing so well!  

Yup, we had a great time!  But our summer was not yet over...

Those long, hazy days of summer

Summer began for us the first week of June, once Eli was out of school and Mommy got back from Canada.  And what a long, long summer it seemed like it would be... 

But we had some plans to make the time pass more quickly.  Mommy had enough foresight to schedule five different camps.  That meant that pretty much every other week, Eli spent mornings or afternoons doing something new and fun at one of the many venues that make Pittsburgh so great.  First up was Lego Camp.  It was in the South Hills, so Mommy, Seb, and Eli got a chance to explore new neighborhoods.  Eli loved Snapology!  First camp was a huge hit.  Score one for Mommy!  

After Lego camp was bug camp at the Phipps Conservatory (much closer to home).  But before Eli started that, we all got an impromptu visit from Papa and Grammy Candie.  Highlights from that visit:  the National Aviary where we discovered Seb's love of birds.  Here are the kids, Pop, and some new friends.  

So, as I said, next came Bug camp.  Another huge hit. Eli got to plant parsley seeds, a flower, and learn all about ants, bees, and other great things.  Score another for Mommy.

We also got another visit... this time for over a week!  Gramma Jaye and Grandpa Marty drove from Salt Lake for a big adventure, and included us in on the fun.  We went all over, including to the long-awaited Altoona Horseshoe, where real trains make an almost 270-degree turn and we got to sit in the center of the action.  Eli LOVED it.  Sebastian HATED it.  Turns out the youngest member of our family is not a huge fan of real trains.  As Seb loves to say, "Uh ohhhh."

Turns out the Altoona Railroad Museum is also wonderful!

Another adventure with "the Grandpeople" (Eli's words) took us to Fort Ligonier.  Let's call this French and Indian War Day.  It was a beautiful day, as you can see below

And then there was Pittsburgh Pirates Day. A baseball game made a great last full day of their fun visit. And the home team won!

Eli at PNC Park with Pittsburgh in the background

Once Gramma and Grandpa left, we had only a couple more days with Daddy before he left on his own big adventure - two weeks in Wilmington, DE working on an arbitration. While he began his business trip, Eli did another week-long camp, this time an "Art Adventure" at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Eli returned each day with stories, a newly stamped "passport", and a full portfolio of art.  Another success.

But Mommy was beginning to get a bit antsy what with Daddy out of town and all.  Perhaps it was time for a change of scenery?