Thousand Steps

Sunday afternoon we decided to hike the Thousand Steps since it was just barely warm enough.  I'm sure there won't be many more days where we can enjoy being outside.  The last time we did this hike was several years ago and I carried Will the last few steps up and about half the way down.  This time he ran ahead of us the whole time and I asked if he could carry me!

I hadn't realized it before, but the trail continues a bit higher past the old
building at the top.  We followed it and reached a nice scenic overlook before we
turned around.

Penguins in Pittsburgh

Jerry planned a special trip to Pittsburgh over Veteran's Day weekend.  He and Will both had the day off Tuesday so we decided to take Monday too and make it a long weekend. 

As a side note, this was the first time I really encountered the attendance policy here in PA.  I will say I'm less than impressed.  In Virginia, I kept Will out of school when I wanted to and it wasn't an issue until the number of days became excessive.  I'm not sure what constitutes "excessive," but we never reached that point even after two or three whole days, a late arrival, and several early releases.  Here in PA however, we have to write a detailed letter requesting an excused absence at least 5 days in advance detailing the educational value the vacation day will provide.  Then, if the day is excused, the student is responsible to make up any missed work and also write about their experience.  Only 5 of these "excused absences" are allowed per year.  Any other absences require a signed doctor's note.  Any unexcused absences beyond I think 3 or 5 result in nasty letters home followed by fines and referrals to child welfare!   If you know me, you know this whole policy makes me furious because I firmly believe it should be my responsibility to decide whether my child is best served by being in school for the day or participating in another activity of my choosing!!!  I don't know how anyone ever voted for such an invasive policy but I cringe every time it infringes on my rights as a parent!  But enough of my ranting since this post is about Pittsburgh, not the school system.  : )

Anyway, since we were granted an excused absence, we had a great time visiting the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Science Center, and the National Aviary.  The aviary was mostly for me since Jerry planned a special penguin encounter for us!! 

A local ski resort set up a snowboarding demonstration in front of the
Children's Museum.

This was the water play area complete with a snow table.

Will could have played with the snow and built dams all day!

He also enjoyed trying out the electrical circuit display.

We rode the Duquesne Incline.  Will loved it but wouldn't smile for a picture,
as usual.  I got the last laugh here though because after I cropped
out half of his face it looks like a grin rather than a grimace!

The view of Pittsburgh from the top of the incline.

We took a self guided tour of the machine room for the incline.
Very impressive!!

Penguins at the aviary!!

Will recognized the burrowing owl thanks to the Wild Kratts
show on PBS.

The tub of white rats in the food prep area is evidence of the birds of prey they kept.
My stomach got a little weak after we spotted this right around the corner
from the cafeteria where we had just eaten lunch!  I hoped that wasn't a
shared kitchen!

This is Disco, the penguin we got to pet!  : )

Will isn't quite as enthusiastic about penguins as I am.

Jerry also bought us a penguin painting.  You choose your colors of tempera paint and end up with some cute
penguin tracks after he waddles through the paint and
across the canvas.  : )

Evidently Disco was not interested in painting with gold that day.  : )

Isn't he CUTE!!!!!

 

Here was my son's favorite part of the penguins - their poo!!!  He even took this
picture of it.  He thought it was hilarious.  And they did it every 10 to 15 minutes so
he got a few good laughs. 

Jerry found a really cool carpet skating facility.  Will strapped on a helmet and some plastic
sliders over his shoes and was ready to go.  After wiping out a few times
he got the hang of it and had a blast trying to imitate the older kids in there.

One of the exhibits at the Science Center was the USS Requin, a submarine used
during World War II.  It was renovated and open for display.

 

It was really amazing to crawl through the hatches and see the
spaces where the crew lived and worked.

I thought of my dad the whole time.  He served on a submarine as a
navigator during his time in the service.  I wish he was
here to tell Will all about it.

It was almost impossible to imagine men sleeping in these tiny bunks!

Will enjoyed the earthquake simulator at the Science Center.  What's not
to love about knocking stuff over!

Most of all though he enjoyed the sports center there.  They had
exhibits that timed you in a race, measured your jumping, taught you
about hockey, baseball, basketball, and even turned you into a human yo-yo.
Here Will tried out flips on the trampoline.  : ) 

I loved these life-size building blocks made out of some type
of dense foam.  I could have played with them all day!
Will built this tower then had me seal him up inside.

The Sweetest Voice in the World

Mom surprised us with a visit this weekend!  She pulled in right beside me as I was parking the car to pick Will up from school Friday afternoon!  I was so excited, and so was Will!  She walked up along side and hugged him as he and I were walking to the car.  He isn't one to show much surprise, so I asked him later if he knew that was grandma hugging him, or when he recognized it was her.  He said, "I knew it was grandma when I heard her voice.  I would recognize her voice anywhere.  It's the sweetest voice in the world!"

We had such a nice visit!  Friday afternoon we went to play at Lindsay's house, then we went to Altoona on Saturday.  Mom even found a stool for granddad that he had been wanting for his hunting shack - and we managed to fit it in her trunk!  Will was excited to share his room with grandma and sleep in the cot so she could have the bed.  We only have two bedrooms right now, but it worked out great since there was no school the next day.  Surprise us again soon mom!  : )