7-24, Pittsburgh Weekend

We were able to spend our first weekend together in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. Sven's dad's dad turned 85 and they planned a big family celebration. Dad and Mary Jo had just gotten finished remodeling their house and we stayed with them. The drive through the Pennsylvania countryside on the way to Pittsburgh was quite beautiful.

We had some time before the party to visit a nearby park and let the kids play.... I mean, let Nikolas play. =)

The vantage point for this photo (ie, Nikolas eye-level) does none of us any justice. Oh well, right?!

WAIT! Did Cadi ride on the roof all the way from Baltimore to Pittsburgh?!?! Oh...guess not--- some random cat has made itself quite comfy on our roof.

This is dad's side of the family. I'd name them off....but I don't remember all of their names! It was the first time I had met most of them.

This is the house that Sven lived in from 8th grade through his junior year in high school. When his mom and Jerry divorced, his mom moved to WV and Jerry moved to LA. Sven was invited to live with a friend's family his senior year so that he could finish high school with his friends. That's how Sven's dad came to be known as "dad"....and you'd swear by looking at them and knowing them that there's more than heart strings that joins them!

This is the athletic field at Sven's old high school in Gibsonia, PA. It was neat to finally be able to put a place with the name. I've heard so many old football stories!

Sven and his dad..... Sven's beyond his high school years now and both have much less hair than they did back then.... and thus the even wackier resemblance to each other!!

These cute pygmy goats were at the petting portion of the local nursery that Sven used to work at...... I guess I could have taken a picture of the ACTUAL nursery...but you know me.....these kids were all the rage! =) Nikolas and I had to go back repeatedly to pet and feed them.