I ♥ Faces ~ Vacation Story

So, my sister decided that she needs a “vacation” from I ♥ Faces.  I just don’t know why.  It’s not like she has been spending hour after hour working on the site and making what equates to pennies per hour for the amount of work she does.  What a whiner!  ☺  Actually, I’m thrilled that Angie is taking a “break”.  (I don’t really consider it a break because I happen to know that she and Amy have tons of things planned this week.)  Angie and Amy have created an awesome site, and we all appreciate what a neat forum they have given photographers to learn, share and grow!

The plan this week is to tell a story through pictures with the theme of vacation.  My vacation experience is nothing like my brother’s, but here goes! 

Stop #1 – Pittsburgh

Our last vacation was kind of like a road trip.  It was taken in August of 2008 basically on a whim.  Mark had to go to Pittsburgh for a business meeting, and we decided we might as well have a mini-vacation before school started up again.  There was one small issue of me being stuck in a hotel room for an entire evening with 3 little kids while Mark was at the meeting.  I had the brilliant idea to grab the GPS and head off to Walmart “only” 8 miles away.  That trip was the most terrifying drive of my life. 

Roads in Pittsburgh are majorly confusing and super steep.  I ended up going up an awful hill that was on such an incline that I couldn’t get out into traffic.  I finally decided to back down the hill blind because it was so steep I couldn’t see anything  behind me.  My 4 year old (at the time) wisely did his best to convince me that we should go back to the hotel.  I continued on only to find an abandoned building where the GPS told me a Walmart should be.  We ended up finding a mall that I stayed at as long as I could because I was terrified of the drive back. 

When we finally got back to the hotel, Nathan decided to flood the bathroom when I was giving him a bath.  My nerves were absolutely frayed by the end of the evening.

We left the next morning accidentally leaving the cherished Bumbo seat behind.  Needless to say, Pittsburgh does not hold fond memories for me.

  

Bye, bye, Bumbo!

 

 

 

Stop #2 – Idlewild

 

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Looks like Ben took over in the photos above.  There are tons more in the full album.  Idlewild was awesome!   It’s basically an amusement park that caters to families.  There were plenty of activities to keep young children busy.  We plan on heading back there again…definitely worth the trip!

 

Stop #3 – Flight 93 Memorial

We headed off to visit Mark’s sister who lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.  Along the way, we came across signs for the memorial for the September 11th Pennsylvania plane crash.  Even though it was late at night and pitch dark, we decided to visit the site.

It was a sobering experience.  I’m glad we decided to stop.

 

Stop #4 – Aunt Cori’s house in Chesapeake, Virginia

Aunt Cori has an in-ground pool which spells P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E for Nathan.  We really didn’t have to leave the house.

We did end up leaving paradise for awhile to visit the Children’s Museum. 

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I also got to visit my best friend from high school and see her very first home.  Her husband is in the military.  They have moved several times and lived overseas for most of their marriage.  They were thrilled when they finally got the opportunity to settle in a place of their own. 

Even though Shona was exhausted from a hard day of working out (she’s a personal trainer), she and her kiddos came over for awhile and played Wii with us.  (Note the dreaded flash shadows!  I just didn’t know any better! ☺)   

So there are the highlights of our totally impromptu vacation.  Can’t wait to see what other people share on I ♥ Faces!