Our Summer Trip to Pittsburgh

Since we had just gotten back from an extended weekend in Illinois, we decided to make our trip during shut-down week (over the Fourth of July) a bit shorter.  We spent a couple of days working at work (Peg) and around the house (Jon).  It was a good chance to get our pool fixed and back up and usable after a elusive leak put it out of commission for the first month of our hot summer.  It ended up being a pretty costly repair, but the kids sure to love it.  We've gotten their agreement that they will continue to use and enjoy it for all of the adolescent and teenage years…so that we can get our return on investment.

We took off on July 4th and drove to Ohio to spend a couple of days with Grandma and Grandpa Shibata.  We enjoyed watching and flying Grandpa's remote control helicopter and airplane and a dip in the pool.  Of course it wouldn't be a trip to Grandpa's house without a couple of rides on his golf cart.

On Thursday night, we drove over to Pittsburgh to stay with Aunt Jess and get ready for the rest of the Pittsburgh activities.  We spent Friday with Aunt Jess and Uncle James' family.  We took a Ducky Tour of Pittsburgh.  It was pretty interesting, driving around downtown Pittsburgh learning about all the history and then going out on the river (just the Ohio river, not the Allegheny or Monongahela) for a short boat ride.  The kids even enjoyed it and JJ got to drive the boat!  He was the only one brave enough.  That evening we had a cookout with the cousins and Joey had his very first sleepover!  We were a bit surprised that he wanted to stay even though Marie didn't, but it turns out that he did great!  We are so blessed to have wonderful family and cousins that our kids can be close with!

On Saturday we headed back over to Uncle James' for Gracie's 3rd birthday party.  There was lots more playing (thank goodness for water toys), visiting, eating, to go with the cake and presents.  We learned that Stevie is VERY fond of Joy (age 6 months) and we think just likes babies in general.  He was actually upset with me when I gave Joy a reprieve from sitting on his lap.  She tolerated him very well, but a girl can only take so much!  We were also pleasantly surprised that Uncle Joel, Aunt Jen, and TJ made the trip over right after their return to the States from Kazakhstan.  It's not all that often that we have ALL the Shibata's together and our time flew by quickly.

Our drive back to Michigan on Sunday went smoothly and quickly.  We stopped again in Ohio and had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Shibata and made a quick trip to a park.  Overall, it was another successful and enjoyable shut-down week trip. 

June Recap

It's hard to believe that August is almost upon us!  I would ponder how fast time flies by, wonder how it has been so long since our last post, and give my excuse for how busy we've been, but I'm sure you are all in the same boat.  Nuff said.

The first weekend of June, Marie went on her first "date."  She and Jon attended the Daddy Daughter Dance at our church.  The theme was Little House on the Prairie and all were encouraged to dress in appropriate attire.  This gave me an excuse to brush off my sewing machine and make a dress for Marie.  I don't often get to sew and it seems like a project is the perfect excuse for me to get my fix.  It ended up being a bit rushed, but I thought the finished product turned out well.  I think Marie and Jon both had a good time since there were quite a few of their friends, both dads and daughters, that also went.

Marie no sooner finished her kindergarten year than we started full steam ahead into our summer activities.  (Stevie was also recovering from a fairly bad case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, so a change of pace was warmly welcomed!)  The kids got to go on their annual trip to the strawberry patch, where we picked both berries and sugar snap peas.  All three of the kids did some picking this year.  It didn't take Stevie too long to realize that the little red ones were yummy!  It just so happened that Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart were also visiting, so that made things all the more fun and much easier on me!

Both Marie and Joey also started their soccer league the second weekend of June.  This was our first experience with our kids playing "organized" sports.  It was a bit comical at times watching the pack of 3-4 year-olds congregate around the ball.  Both the kids learned a bit and we did see some improvement in both skill and basic understanding of the game.  We will see if their interest is maintained and whether we try another season sometime.

Our trip for the month of June was a visit to Illinois, coordinated around the wedding of my cousin, Kelly.  We had been looking forward to this wedding for some time.  I used to babysit for Kel and her siblings and she married the nephew of one of my dear friends from high school.  We made the trip worth it and took a few days of vacation to spend down there.  Uncle Mark, Aunt Sarah, and Ella as well as Uncle Matt and Liz were also there.  The kids had a blast with all the family, putting up Grandpa's tent (that they never ended up sleeping in), going fishing, making and eating s'mores, taking care of the kitties, not to mention going to the wedding.  As usual, it was a wonderful, packed full of fun, trip and a great time to catch up with family.