The Girl Cousins
For months prior to Road Trip 2013 we had been talking with Isaac about his cousins in other parts of the country. For him, until the Road Trip, cousin=Myles or Colby. But now he was going to meet this whole array of new people, all of whom he was related to. First up were Mary and Abby, my cousin Libby's two daughters. Mike and Libby were kind enough to host us (and a large portion of the extended Sculimbrene clan) for a family reunion on Sunday afternoon. Saturday evening and Sunday morning were free and Isaac got to play with his two "girl cousins" which is much easier to say than Pennsylvania cousins.
A thousand thanks to Libby and Mike who agreed to host us and a million thanks to their two girls who were perfect with and for the I-man. We could not have asked for two better little hostess. I have to send a personal thanks out to Abby who introduced me to the complex world of Princessology (URL is, surprisingly, still unclaimed) and the all-important Princess Rankings. Without this little education I would be completely unaware of this point of vigorous and almost talmudic debate.
We arrived at Mary and Abby's house around 5 and Nanna and P-Pa were already there. The girls were wound for sound, as Isaac usually is waiting for his cousins, except Mary and Abby had never met Isaac, he was a BOY, and they waited until 5. Nanna and P-Pa were also wound for sound. We immediately went to the backyard and the girls were playing on their playset. Isaac joined in as if he knew them and was swinging and sliding instantly. I think part of it is the socialization that happens in daycare, but also Mary and Abby were incredibly sweet in general, and specifically with Isaac. They were extra careful because he was their little cousin (Abby is 4 and Mary is a very mature 6). They showed him around and introduced him to their dogs (two amazing Australian herding dogs). They took Isaac downstairs to their playroom, which was, like the rest of the house, truly spectacular. Isaac made pizza in a pretend oven while Mary scooped out ice cream and Abby did my hair. It was a great little slice of what it would be like to have girls and I can honestly say, despite a strong boy bias, it was fantastic.
Mary is so scary responsible that I felt like the kid (not an entirely new experience, but...) and Abby is my kind of onery. Together they make a great pair and Isaac absolutely loved them. If we could just collapse Central Pa into the earth, we could make the then 4 hour trip much easier.
Sunday was a whirlwind. Mike, Mary and Abby's dad, is the chairman of the board for National Aviary and we went there to see some amazing birds. Of course Isaac loved the penguins (as all kids do) but it was the Stellar's Eagle that we heard about on our 14 hour trip home ("Is that big eagle a good guy or a bad guy?" and "Would that big eagle eat me?"). Here are the three cute kids on the way to the Aviary:
After the trip to the Aviary, we went to P-Pa's childhood home, now under the steadfast care of my cousin Sammy (Libby's brother). It was glorious to see the house where I had spent so many holidays and my Dad had spent his growing years, now revived with the breath of a new family inside. Sam's garden was especially impressive, grown on the same site that Nunni's garden was. Isaac, Abby, and Mary all went to town, eating from inside as P-Pa did his P-Pa thing:
Here is another shot of all three rascals on the porch swing that Libby, Sam, Monica and I rested on many, many times:
After that we had a trip to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History which is, well spectacular. I'll do a post just on that. Then we came back and had a grand cookout with most of the Sculimbrenes worldwide. It was amazing to see everyone and their families. During the cookout we (me and the three rascals) played inside and using a small cart we invented a drag racing game. Here is a cockpit view of the drag racing, which took place and Libby and Mike's very long hallway:
After the trip to the Aviary, we went to P-Pa's childhood home, now under the steadfast care of my cousin Sammy (Libby's brother). It was glorious to see the house where I had spent so many holidays and my Dad had spent his growing years, now revived with the breath of a new family inside. Sam's garden was especially impressive, grown on the same site that Nunni's garden was. Isaac, Abby, and Mary all went to town, eating from inside as P-Pa did his P-Pa thing:
Here is another shot of all three rascals on the porch swing that Libby, Sam, Monica and I rested on many, many times:
After that we had a trip to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History which is, well spectacular. I'll do a post just on that. Then we came back and had a grand cookout with most of the Sculimbrenes worldwide. It was amazing to see everyone and their families. During the cookout we (me and the three rascals) played inside and using a small cart we invented a drag racing game. Here is a cockpit view of the drag racing, which took place and Libby and Mike's very long hallway:
A thousand thanks to Libby and Mike who agreed to host us and a million thanks to their two girls who were perfect with and for the I-man. We could not have asked for two better little hostess. I have to send a personal thanks out to Abby who introduced me to the complex world of Princessology (URL is, surprisingly, still unclaimed) and the all-important Princess Rankings. Without this little education I would be completely unaware of this point of vigorous and almost talmudic debate.