Back to the 'Burgh

Okay, so mid-November, the kids and I headed back to my hometown for a week-long visit with my parents. Although I originally dreaded the travelling alone with two kids, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they both were there and back. It was nice to spend time with my parents, cousin, half-brother and his family.

The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave Pittsburgh...here they are with my parents...
They don't make parks in Florida like they do in Mt. Lebanon. Okay, maybe they do, but we never have as much fun at our parks as we do at this one...we were blessed with nice weather, so we could go a few times while we were there.

Falling leaves? What's that? I definitely miss the various seasons. Do I want to live in SNOW? Not really, but I love seeing the leaves change color and apparently, my children thoroughly enjoy playing in them once they've fallen.

If you know me, you know I've let loose a little since Riley's birth. Never in a million years would I have let them roam wild among the leaves where there could have been doggie droppings hidden...but I did and as you can tell, they had so much fun. The pictures were worth it.

Okay, so the quest for a Primanti Brothers Cheesesteak. Oy vey. You know you want something bad when you drive all over, sit in traffic, walk blocks in the cold (holding your sleeping son who happens to weigh 30 pounds) in heels, and get treated like crap by the staff at the very place you spent 3 hours getting to...

We tried to go to the one at the Strip District. The line was around the block. No thanks. We drove to Market Square, only to find the massive amount of construction going on...but did I want to turn around and eat at McDonald's? No way. We drove around and around until we could find a parking garage and walked around lots of construction to get here:

Was it worth the wait? Uhhhh, not really once I found out there was one somewhere else with ample seating... I couldn't believe how rude the staff was there. It was as if my being in the building was an inconvenience for them. $25 later, I had my sandwiches...but a place to sit? Nope. No seating, inside or out. So, as a family, we walked back to the parking garage and because we didn't have drinks, had to figure out where to go. No joke, we ended up going to a McDonalds in the Strip District and ate our sandwiches there.

But, at least we got to see some Christmas decorations in our journey dahn-tahn (downtown for you non-Pittsburghers).

And here are the kids just chillin' at the parentals house...

Our trip was filled with seeing great friends and spending time with family...and it was so sad to leave. We are so lucky to have these people in our lives and dare I say it, we can't wait to go back for another visit.