A 3rd Birthday Adventure

For Jack's 3rd birthday we took a trip to see his favorite trains, Thomas and Percy! We drove about 4 hours east of Pittsburgh to the Strasburg Railroad. We were so excited to find out that the railroad hosts a Day Out with Thomas & Friends about 4 times a year. What luck it was to have the November dates fall on Jack's actual birthday! As obsessed as I am with party planning, I think this trip was better than any Thomas party I could have thrown!

My parents and sister, plus the Ginger's dad traveled with us for the adventure! We stayed at the Fulton Steamboat Inn in Lancaster for the night and it certainly added to the experience! The hotel was laid out just like an old-fashioned steamboat, with Victorian touches! It was great fun and we even snuck a late night swim in!

              

But the real fun started the next day when we arrived at the railroad. As soon as we got there we had to stop at a railroad crossing and we saw Percy riding down the tracks! Jack was beyond thrilled! I knew then that this was going to be the best day! From there we got to ride on Thomas and have our photo taken with him. Then we rode on Percy, shopped in the many stores at the station and drank hot chocolate to keep warm. Our final ride was a on the real Strasburg train, but after a very full day it was one train too many. Everyone ended up falling asleep on the ride! We finished the day at a Pennsylvania Dutch family-style restaurant and then headed home.

It was so special to be able to plan something like this for Jack. I hope to always be able to provide little adventures for the boys that really show that I understand their interests and passions. I am so glad we got to experience this together! It's not every day you get to ride on your favorite toy in real life!

A real shock was how much I loved Lancaster! There seemed to be so much to do with outlet shopping, amusement parks, learning about the Amish and much more! I hope we will return since it's not a far drive from Pittsburgh!

THIS MOMENT

I never want to forget these perfectly imperfect moments. With Ezra's slippers on his hand, big brother Jack gives Ezra a little kiss without warning while I try to take a staged photo in matching outfits on Ben's late Grandmother's blue chair that we somehow ripped in our many moves. It's these moments I want to remember when I'm ninety.

Champions!

Despite growing up in Pittsburgh, sports were never a big thing in my family. I can remember watching a Steeler game only one time in my entire childhood, the Superbowl against the Cowboys. My mom screamed like a lunatic, probably the only reason for the memory! So when I started to work in sports it was a big shock for everyone, including me! 

In high school I took a communication class and knew that I wanted to work in TV, which led me to major in broadcast journalism in college. In my sophomore year of college I was recommended for a small part time job at a local TV station to work on a sports call in show and that same year I started freelancing, starting with high school football. That was all in 2007 and now almost 10 years later I'm still working in sports broadcasting! One of my favorite freelance jobs is working for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I run graphics for the jumbotron and it's truly a blessing! I learn more and more about sports every job, every year. And I almost think that not getting caught up in the emotion of a game helps me perform better! So instead of blaming my parents constantly (which I often do) I guess I should thank them for my lack of interest in sports! 

So last year I worked the whole Penguins season until playoffs when I was in the hospital off and on with preeclampsia! Actually, every time there was a game when I was in the hospital the Pens won! I like to think my consistency has a little to do with the wins, superstitions and all! Anyways a couple weeks ago we got to see the Stanley Cup in person! I was thrilled to bring my boys to my work place (PPG Paints Arena) and show them it! And putting Ezra in the cup was icing on the cake! It was perfect! I'll never forget it and I hope that the boys will be just as excited when they're older to see photos of them with the legendary cup!