Back to Warmer Climes before Turkey Day!

We came back to the South this week to spend Thanksgiving with Josh's family near Huntsville, Alabama. The nights here are almost as cold as Pittsburgh was this week, but yesterday the sun came out and the temperature climbed up to the mid 50s! Jacob helped Grandma make biscuits AND pancakes yesterday. He had a feast! Both kids loved playing outside before nap time!

Welcome Baby Girl Newman

No name yet for this little black haired beauty. Before she was born her brother Zarni named her "baby Godiva". But her parents are mulling over a variety of Burmese names. We can't wait to meet her in person!

Happy Halloween!

Last night the kids posed for a few pictures on the front porch before we went over to Travis's neighborhood where there were fewer cars and more families "trick or treating." Casey wasn't sure about the whole enterprise at first, but she perked up when she realized lolipops "pop pops" were involved. Jacob is a total pro and remembered to say thank you at most of the houses! We saw a lot of pumpkins carved with slogans like "hope" and "vote." The kids both netted quite a return of sweets, and it's going to be hard for mom and dad to stay out of all that candy over the next month!

Kathy and Jacob go to see Obama

Last Monday Barack Obama came to Pittsburgh. I debated about whether or not to go, and, after some thought, I decided to pick Jacob up at school and take him with me. We took a crowded bus downtown and joined a throng of more that 17,000 that waited for about 4 hours (we only waited for 90 minutes) to get into the Pittsburgh Arena (where the Penguins usually play hockey). Some people had been waiting in line since 7:00 AM! Obama came on stage about 5:30 PM. Jacob turned to me and said "Borock Obamo is a star! Indeed he was. We enjoyed his talk, and some popcorn and the enthusiasm of the crowd. Then we took the bus home! Jacob liked seeing Obama, but his favorite part of the day was the two bus rides!

Where's Jacob?

Last Sunday, during a Steelers game that wasn't going very well, Jacob and I went to CMU to photocopy some readings for my class. On the way out we spied a tempting pile of leaves. Jacob hid under the leaves so well that I couldn't see him! And then he popped out!

Friends on a train

Last weekend, on October 25, Josh, Casey, Jacob and I, along with our friends Heather Arnet and Travis, drove about 50 minutes to a placed called "Kiski Junction." There are trains all around the mid-Atlantic that run special trips in the fall and in the winter for tourists. The cars were quite old, and one of the coolest things about the train was that you could change the direction of the seats in order to make the seats face each other. The kids could run around fairly safely (the train didn't go very fast) and we all enjoyed the fall leaves and the warm autumn sun.

More train pics