My brother Phil and his wife Tricia picked up their beautiful little girl yesterday in China. She is just too cute and I can’t wait to hug on her at Christmas time.

Well today I got to experience the wonder of Kennywood, not to be confused with Dollywood which is a whole different place…and not in Pittsburgh. Kennywood is kind of like a mini Disneyland. Kristen had promised her girls a trip sometime this summer (they close in the off season) but it requires two adults because of the girls different taste in rides, height requirements, etc. So I got to be the extra adult. I was pretty impressed with the park actually – well at least the rides. They had some pretty good roller coasters including an old wooden one where you actually come up out of your seat slightly on at least one of the hills.

Lots of spiny rides which Kaity loves but neither Kristen and I can tolerate. Fortunately she’s tall enough to ride them on her own.

The highlight of the trip…eating deep fried Oreos I love my oreos and was intrigued. They were not what I had imagined – a crispier outside and the normal crunch inside. Instead it was a soft batter which then turned the oreo soft. So it was kind of like eating a chocolate chip cookie but Oreo flavored. And of course sprinkled with some powdered sugar. It was heavenly. Lunch was bacon and cheddar fries. (Yes, the diet pretty much went out the window yesterday.)

Then last night Kristen and I went out for dinner. It’s kind of our tradition to go out and eat a really nice meal on our visits. She’s got lots of experience working in the restaurant business and picks some great restaurants. Last night was no exception. We ate at Eleven. Warm medallion tomato appetizer (with cheese and mushrooms). I had the Elysian Fields Farm Lamb for dinner (sweet corn polenta,summer squash, tomatoes, oregano, vin cotto). It was incredible!!! Kristen had the tuna.

And of course you can’t pass up dessert. Especially when they have something called Chocolate-Pretzel Candy Bar (peanut butter-milk chocolate-pretzel ice cream, peanut brittle, chocolate-pretzel cookie). Because pretty much anytime you see the words peanut butter and chocolate in the same sentence you know it’s going to be good. And it was. The perfect combination of sweet and salty.

Also got to meet Kristen’s friend Erin and had a great time hanging out. My saving grace has been the time change. So staying up til 2 a.m. is really only like 11 p.m. AZ time. Right?

Thought I’d coin a new term there. What do you think? Momcation. I like it!

I’m off on my annual trip to see my BF Kristen in Pittsburgh. We try to see each other at least once a year, sometimes twice. Because she’s a single mom with 3 kids, she doesn’t get to come West very often but she and the kids came to Phx in March and we had a blast.

So I’ve got 5 days of girl fun in this crazy city filled with Steeler fans. I’m not sure what it is about the Steelers but their fans kind of transcend description.

I arrived last night in the middle of their first regular season game. There was a sea of black and gold at the airport. The airport restaurants were closed, gates down but TVs were on and small groups of airport employees were gathered around catching a few minutes of the game. We even got score updates on the plane from the pilot.

Today at the grocery store I got a chuckle over this:

Really?????

I cooked up an Ethiopian dinner for Kristen, her parents and the girls. It was fun to let them experience it. Tomorrow we’re off to Kennywood with the girls.

Well yippee, turns out it is NOT chicken pox but something called Pityriasis lichenoides. Antibiotics and some ointment and we are good. It’s deemed not contagious so he is back to school tomorrow which both he and dad are excited about.

Mom is excited that I’m not leaving a possibly pox infected house. I would have felt bad…for a little bit at least.

Today is World Water Day and Brian Cooper of A Glimmer Foundation is donating one penny for every view that this video gets on YouTube today.

GO WATCH IT!

1 million views = $10,000 = 2 water wells = clean drinking water for 1,000 – 2,000 people for 15 – 20 years

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

4,500 children will die today from waterborne diseases.

Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under 5 years old.

I honestly can’t remember how I found out about the Riggs familly – I think a link from another adoption blog. They are a beautiful family with seven kids, 3 of whom are adopted (2 from Guatemala, 1 from Ethiopia). Four year old Abby was diagnosed with Leukema in July and this family has been such a blessing to watch as they struggle through this illness and rely on God. They are an incredible witness.

Brent Riggs publishes a very cool online magazine called Serious.Life.Magazine. They just published the February issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a fantastic magazine and I know a lot of my readers would love to check it out.

The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content.  The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries.  Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

Again, the subscription is free, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues.  www.seriouslifemagazine.com

Well, now that the kids are home I find it difficult to figure out what to post here vs. on the “adoption” blog. But since I have a lot of other adoptive parents or prospective adoptive parents that follow the Four Plus More blog I have decided to ONLY continue to post over there.

I will leave this site online so that people can find the content but all our new family news will be posted on www.fourplusmore.com

If you are linked to this blog on your blog, please change the link to www.fourplusmore.com

Thanks so much!