Return of the River Rats!

This past weekend, the Red Sock River Rats were out in full force!

We haven't spent as much time there this year as we have in the past...

We had that huge tree fall and destroying much of our dock...

 

Requiring heavy equipment to remove...

 

And the flood this past winter/spring...

The boys' busy schedule...

Me getting to spend so much time with Locklan...

There is much work to be done, and to be honest, some of it will not happen this year,

we haven't even put the boat in the water yet.

But last weekend...we were ready to play!

Mr. K and I were the first to get there...

Well, not the very first, someone (who likes corn) got there first...

 

If you look carefully, you can see the handprint of the culprit!

 

 

Yes, someone with  thumbs!

 

Tony and Mindy came with their dogs...

 

 

 

Since we didn't have the boat in the water,

Tony and Mindy have been floating on rafts and kayaking.

 

I wanted to join in, so I ordered a raft of my own.

 

Mindy helped me

did all the work and got it blown up!

Of course, she had help...

 

It was pretty heavy...

 

And BIG!

 

As in VERY BIG!

I couldn't wait to try it out!

 

 

Yes, the river was ugly, the water was high...

But we still had a great time!

On Sunday, everyone headed back to the river, but Mr. K and I had tickets to see Mama Mia, and Ashley had to work.

 but Andy and Locklan, Tony and Mindy, and My brother-in-law, Mike and his son Tyler were there.

Locklan and Mindy enjoyed 'Grandma's Duck' ...

But he didn't last long...

 

Nap time!

 

But floating on the water does that to me too!

 

Tyler pitched in and cut the grass...

 

Which earned him the right to a float on the swan.

He declined, but did test it out on land...

He also brought his drone and took these dynamite photos of camp...

 

 

You can see that our dock (short dock in center of photo) isn't all done...

 

But we'll take what we can get!  I love our camp on the river!

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

 

 

Miracle on Ice!

It was a big day at Robert Morris University's Island Sports Center...

 

 

 

It seems that after the Colonial youth league won the championship last week...they couldn't get enough hockey...

 

So they challenged the parents!

 

Fortunately, the powers that be declared that it wouldn't be a kid vs. game, but instead divided the talent into two teams;

 

black shirts vs. white shirts!

 

The excitement was palpable...the crowd, including the very stylish Miss M...

 

 

could not wait to view the carnage!

 

In goal for the black team was the formidable Tyler M...

 

 

 

In goal for the white team was...

 

 

THE OTHER GOALIE!

 

It seemed like an easy victory for the black team...

 

 

 

They drove the white goalie crazy...

 

He dropped to his knees...

 

 

 

 

Was he praying, or merely getting ready to surrender?

 

The white team seemed to be waiting for something, someone..

 

when suddenly the ref seemed to be waving at someone.

 

Who could he be greeting?

 

 

Could it be, or were our eyes playing tricks on us?

 

It seems to be...

 

 

 

Mighty Manfred!

 

It was! 

 

 Mighty Manfred has come out of retirement to aid the floundering white team...

 

He calmly skates out onto the ice...

 

 

Over to the bench where he assures his team mates that 'he got this!'

 

 

And he did!

 

He skates...

 

 

He waits...

 

He intimidates!

 

 

A hush falls over the crowd as he bullies those kids half his age...

 

He's a selfless player, however...and he offers to act as a human Zamboni and dusts off the ice...

 

 

 

And he leads his team mates in a fearless attempt to dominate the ice...

 

During a much needed rest between periods, he graciously greets his fans...

 

 

(AKA a little kid who hung out on the bench and offered to clean the ice off his skates)

 

And back on the ice...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick glance down the ice...

 

There he is, the goalie for the black team!

 

 

Tyler the Terror!

 

 

Oh no!

 

 

 

Looking like the handsome little devil that he is,

but what he is not is prepared for the skilled players on the other team...

 

 

Suddenly, he realizes...his worst nightmare is coming to life...

 

 

Oh no!

 

 

The Mighty Manfred, AKA his cousin Tony, scores for the white team!

 

It ended up a tie game, which resulted in a shoot out.

 

To be honest, I don't know who won,

 

I don't know if the teams know...

 

All I know is that at the end of the game,

the fans saw, for possibly the first time ever...

the competing cousins,

 

~Manfred and Manfred~

leaving the ice!

 

 

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's the dynamic duo of

 Manfred and Manfred!

 

 

 

 After the ice chips settled...

 

 

 Even top notch goalies needs a little help...

What fun!
 

 

 

Running a what?

As all y'all know, Sunday the toned, trained and terrific athletes flocked to Pittsburgh to run the Pittsburgh marathon.

The very special got to run on Saturday.  That's when they held the children's marathon:  1.5 miles, from the North Shore, across the Sixth Street Bridge, through town.  

For security, to encourage family physical activity, to add to the masses, each child running had to be accompanied by an adult wearing a matching bib.

I was asked to accompany Tyler and Ryan, Morgan's step brothers.  

I ran steady, cherishing the cow bells, cheering, whistles and shouts ( something I don't usually have when I run on local city streets).  Ty and Ry sprinted, lagged, walked, skipped and jogged but somehow we all crossed the finish line together.

All kids finishing got medals.  They wore them with pride!  

What fun!

Here's Team Jan:

---

 

Inlaws on Ice!

We took 'da burgh' by storm!

When Mark's siblings get together, you never know what will happen.  When there is a crisis, they band together and rise to the challenge, but when it's playtime...look out!

Our niece, Tori, wanted to go ice skating but sadly, Tori got hit during a basketball game and has a concussion, so she wasn't able to join us.  Maybe next time, Tori!

It's always exciting to go to Pittsburgh during the holidays, everything is decorated and looks so pretty!

Andy seemed happy to be there...

PPG Plaza is all set up for holidays. 

Santa is coming!

 

Everyone was there when we got there.  We were late (grrrr) because Andy had to stop at the cycle shop and buy a motorcycle helmet.

 

There was already a line to get in, but I made the most of the wait by warming up,   I practiced my pirouettes and other French sounding things while I waited...

 

 

I hate to admit it, but it really didn't help...

Well, it MIGHT have if I could let go of the hand rail...

 

~sigh~

But I never did...

 

The rest of the family?

 

My niece, Kayla, thought all she had to do was look pretty...

 

 

Or tease poor Tyler...

 

 

Kevin and Chelsea started out slowly...

 

 

And stopped to pose for the camera.  Aren't they cute?

 

 

 

Grandma Marsha was the first to go down, but out of respect, or because I was laughing so hard, there are no photos of this event..



 

I will say, those cute guys with the yellow shirts are quick to rescue grandmothers in distress!

 

Mike and Tyler found a new way to get in trouble, they ducked under Kevin and Chelsea's hands as they skated...

 

 

 

Ashley and I watched very carefully...

 

 

For photo opportunities!

 

 

Whew!  There were quite a few, this family is very photogenic!

Donna kept watch from the left side of the rink...

 

Mike strikes a pose!  He's down the equivalent of several bags of sugar and a few bags of flour...

doesn't he look great?

 

 

 

 After well all got tired, we sat down to plan our next move...

 

 

 

 And took a picture of our reflection...

 

 

 

And some tall buildings...

 

 

 

Finally we headed off towards Macy's but instead we ended up at

S.W. Randalls 

 

(this is how it looks in spring - I didn't take any pictures of this part of our day, I was too busy eating the delicious cookies Ashley baked and brought,)

 

We went to see the Pittsburgh Creche, which was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

After that, we discovered that Ashley and Kayla had never done something EVERYONE who grew up in the area has done over and over,,,so off we went...

 

Where?  Well, you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out.  I'm tired of typing and have tons of things to get done...

 

Hey, stay safe, stay warm and be a blessing to someone!

 

Love,

Jan