Gone Fishin'

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com I signed us up in advance (there is no way I would voluntarily have gone to a story/craft/hike program outside today) for the Fish Follies at the Metroparks today. It was hot. Really hot. But the kids, Aunt Deb, and I had fun doing something they have never done before, fishing! Granted it was with a home-made fishing "pole" made from a pop can, fishing line, and a paper clip, but that didn't matter. They had a great time. A boy that was fishing on the pier had a large bass in a bucket and he was showing it to all the kids. When Reagan looked in the bucket, she yelled, "He needs help!" We might have a future PETA member on our hands here people.

Wet & Wild

From sprayground to backyard water fun and the jungle gym, the twinadoes really know how to have fun :)

Happy Father's Day

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com Happy Father's Day, Daddy! You "build so hard" for us and we love you so much!! Love, Reagan & Nolan 2007

2008

Cruisin'

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Reagan, Nolan, Grammy, Aunt Deb, Shawn (our neighbor), and I headed up to the car cruise event in Downtown Willoughby. The kids enjoyed the music. Nolan asked Aunt Deb to dance several times, even to Aunt Deb & Uncle Sam's song.

It started to rain, so we headed home. Of course, we had to take the exploring route home. It was most eventful. We came upon a bunch of deer playing "deep in the woods."

This morning the kids, my mom, and I paid a visit to Papa. He was in the physical therapy room getting stretched out as his hamstrings and knees are very tight and he can't stand or walk. It was a nice visit since the kids go to be active and practice their stair-climbing on the PT steps. This past week my mom taught them The Pledge of Allegiance and the refrain from The Battle Hymn of the Republic, so they said it for Papa. He actually joined them in singing "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah." It brought a tear to my eye.

As we were leaving the nursing home, we all said goodbye to the nun who was working at the front desk (it is a catholic diocese run facility), as Nolan was getting buckled into his car seat, he yelled, "Goodbye Mister Sister!" Thanks for the laugh, buddy!

Pittsburgh Pics

Sorry that it has taken almost a week.....Pittsburgh Pics

complete set :http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25677&id=1418118548&l=be374ef63f

Did You Go To Memphis?

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Yes. Today we did. Memphis Kiddie Park,that is. It might have been a grey overcast day, but there was no stopping the twinadoes fun times. I think Grammy was the most excited when we first got there. If I hadn't held her back she might have knocked a few kids down to get in line for the rides! LOL She said she remembers being there as a kid and riding the train with her Dad. How awesome that today three generations got to ride that same train together? Reagan and Nolan really haven't been on carnival type rides yet, other than the carousel at Pittsburgh Zoo last week, so I was really surprised that they seemed to have no qualms about hopping on any of the rides. Nolan will definitely think twice about the roller coaster again though! I can't help but truly laugh out loud whenever I see this pic. While not necessary a cheap day out, it was still tons of fun. (A book of tickets is $24.50, plus another strip for $13.50, plus food. I did pack snacks in the car, but you can't take them inside. We could have gone to the car to eat, but explain that to a 2 year old....yes, honey we are leaving, but we are just going to sit in the car and eat. Yeah, right!) Guess I will take some of that change sitting in my vacation fund jar and put it towards a few trips to MKP this summer. The price is well worth the smiles and since I don't see a vacation in my future I might as well put the money to good use. This super fun day was capped off with dinner at Momocho, Nolan requested it at breakfast yesterday morning and that is one request I am always happy to oblige.

more photos from MKP: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25629&id=1418118548&l=046da4d226

A Little Splish-Splash

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com Ok, before we get to the fun part of the day let me hit you with the health reports. Grandpa....Ups and downs. He is convinced that the staff at the nursing home is starving him. He will say, "I know I have a feeding tube, but you don't understand, I'm hungry." That just sucks. I can't imagine not physically eating. Obviously, I enjoy it (too much since I've gained back almost all the weight I had lost, but that is for another beat-myself-up post) so I can't imagine not physically putting food in the mouth, chewing, tasting, etc. I don't seem him getting strong enough to have the surgery anytime soon so I think we could be flying in this holding pattern for quite some time. Me..... I need my head examined. Literally. Since Thursday I have been having this burning, pins & needles sensation inside my body. All over. Joints, muscles, etc. It comes and goes in different places. I put on my webmd hat and picked a few things it could be. Lyme disease, Lupus, or Fibromyalgia. The doctor ordered blood work today, mainly to test the thyroid so we'll see what it comes back as. If it doesn't show anything, than I will have an MRI of the brain. Good times. Not. So after the vampire technician took many tubes of blood, I met up with the kids and my mom at the spray park. My how times have changed. Last year I couldn't get Nolan out of the place. This year it took him a long time to even think about putting his toes in the water. When I asked either of them if they wanted to go back to the spray park, they said, "NO!" I'm sure we will try again, but I don't see us spending copious amounts of time at the spray park this summer. Reagan and Grammy splashing around.

My boy. Contemplating the water. I just love those little freckles that are popping out. Good kissing spots.

My bathing beauty.

Where did this skinny boy come from. Honestly, he eats well. Sure wish I had his metabolism!

Random kid losing his drawers at the spray park.

We continued to enjoy the beautiful day by having a picnic at a little playground far away from the spray park.

And now, they snore.

Dear Pittsburgh

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com Dear Pittsburgh, We came. We saw. We had a blast. Your zoo rocks. Your children's museum is hella cool. You actually utilize your riverfront with nice walkways and fountains. Your downtown is alive and bustling at 9am on a SATURDAY. We walked to Market Square and had a nice al fresco breakfast while enjoying watching people biking, walking, and working in the city. It was also a weird feeling to be in a city on the night their sports teams WON a championship (Go Pens!) People cheering in the streets and horns honking. Pretty cool feeling, even if you have no attachment to the team. We'll probably never feel that for any of our home teams. The only thing we have you beat on is the food. Hands down, Cleveland's restaurants are a step above. Get an Iron Chef and we'll talk. XXOO, The Pchak4 pictures coming soon

Touch A Truck

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com Since we are valued customers of Chik-A-Yeah, (the kids like the indoor playground and for fast food, it is not too horrible) we knew about the customer appreciation deals going on this week. One being touch-a-truck. There was lots of touching going on. Minds out of gutter, please. Although I have decided that touch-a-truck events are just as much for Mommy as they are for the kids. Hello, cute firemen! Reagan and Aunt Deb seeing if Reagan was as tall as the tire. The kid is part monkey. He climbs on everything. Flirty McFlirt making goo-goo eyes at the cute fireman, while Nolan dismantles the truck.

"Hello, Daddy?"

Cute Hood Ornaments

Nolan doing his Kramer impression.

Good heavens, she looks so big in this picture.

"It don't work!"

"A Flashlight!"

The Silliness Part

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com Saturday night my mom watched the kids so Bill and I could go out. Alone. Like a date. It was last minute and since Abby Normal was playing just down the road from us, we decided to stay on our side of town. We got a last minute reservation at Molinari's, a nice middle-of-the-road restaurant/wine bar. Bill had his usual touch of luck and got the parking spot right in the front of the restaurant, which is all glass windows right on the parking lot. As Bill turns the key off in the ignition, something happened and he locked us inside the car just as I was opening the door and the alarm system got triggered. Lights flashing. Horn honking. Diners staring. As we rolled out of the car with laughter, I yelled, "The Polewchaks have arrived for their 8p reservation, just in case there was any doubt!" We are still laughing about it. Maybe it's one of those had to be there things, but we haven't had a good laugh together like that in a while. It's true. Laughter is good for the soul.

Catching Up

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com As usual, life has been busy. I am, however, over my rant about baggy pants. I'm also down today since Grandpa's pneumonia is kicking his butt and when I talked to my mom she sounded so sad. I know he has lived a long life and his time is just about up, but I hate to see my mom have to go through losing her Dad. Been there, done that, don't want the t-shirt. Anyway...to catch up..... I got the gardens planted over the weekend and then the skies opened up and have drowned them for the past few days. Let's hope they survive. I'm sure the cilantro will go straight to seed since it doesn't like wet feet. The kids helped out by doing some yard work. We went to a birthday party and had fun riding the rails on Sunday.

Reagan got her first flower from a boy, Chase Thompkins. Maybe someday Ed and Bill will be related after all!

Enjoying some cupcakes.

Monday we visited with Papa. The kids don't understand, but they have been asking to see him so I took them. He is not doing well. His pneumonia is raging again and he has a high temperature, but is shivering. It was the same time of year, 20 years ago, that I lost my beloved Granny Pike. I can remember coming home from school and my mom was ironing our clothes to wear to the funeral and I knew she was gone. I watched the neighborhood kids get off the bus today and remembered those last few days of my sophmore year in high school and how miserable they were. Tuesday we met up with friends at the zoo. As always, the zoo is a fun time. It was so crowded with field trips though.

Wednesday we had a fun day with Aunt Deb at Chick-A-Yeah and the kids got some cool gifts from her recent vacation. They love their Aunt Deb, although they missed Uncle Sam. That catches us up to now. We've got a trip to Pittsburgh coming up soon so that will be an adventure.