Dan and Shelley

We really didn’t do too much this weekend truthfully, but it was very nice and relaxing.   Dan was late getting out of work Friday because of the open house they had that day.  Mind you it was only about 45 minutes late so it wasn’t too bad.  He said he didn’t hit as much traffic as normal and made decent time.  I had the kids in bed by then.  Shannon hadn’t fallen quite asleep by then, but it wasn’t that long after that she did.  We had our customary pizza, conversation and then spending time just inseparable from each other.

I woke up with Nicky and let Dan and Shannon sleep in a little bit.  After some coffee was made Nicky and I woke up Dan.  Although Nicky’s way of waking up Dan is not very gentle, Dan takes it in stride and just smiles about it.  I made some breakfast and we got around to head out to McConnell’s Mill which is about an hour north of  Pittsburgh.  It also is near a lake and a covered bridge so I thought Dan would enjoy it and I knew the kids and I would as well.  We wound up getting stuck in a good bit of traffic which I have come to find out is because of the Kenny Chesney concert at Heinz Field that day so Dan came up with a brilliant idea of how to go around it all and it worked perfectly.  We even had planned a different way home because there was a Penguin game that evening as well.  So, by the time we finally got there we went ahead and had our little picnic on the lake there.  We walked for a bit, taking some pictures, then let the kids play at the little park that was nearby.  Dan even got on the swings with Shannon.  After that we made our way to the Mill part, completely parked at the wrong spot and hiked down to the actual Mill.  Dan and I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as we would have liked I think just sitting there and looking at everything, but it was still a nice time.  We even got to walk through the inside of the Mill.  The kids were more interested in a little fountain there that they could play in, although they both slipped into it getting completely wet.  That was easily predictable that they would do that though… Dan was so very nice enough to go up the steep path to get Ella so we wouldn’t have to attempt to get Nicky back up the path.  It could have happened, but it wouldn’t have been pretty.  Dan drove through the covered bridge and we thought we were on our way home, but we were apparently going the wrong way so we turned around, went back through the covered bridge and found out what happens when you meet a car on a one lane only bridge.  From there we were on our way home after one other wrong turn and a quick check on Dan’s Blackberry.  After we got home of course Shannon went to play outside for a bit and I started dinner.  We bathed Nicky and right around on time he went to bed without too much of a problem.  Shannon stayed out with her friends a bit later because the one other girl was having a little birthday party and they were putting on these little fake nails.  While she did that Dan and I relaxed while he started to teach me php.  I have come to realize that it’s not as difficult as I once thought, but I credit that mostly to Dan and his way of explaining things to me.  He certainly has a lot of patience for my abundance of questions.  Shannon was late getting to bed and so were we that night.

Sunday was just one of those relaxing days and I loved it truthfully.  We all slept in a bit, some more than others and just played around the house.  We talked a lot, making different plans and talking about different ideas.  Nicky did take a bit of a nap so that was nice because he was so very grumpy.  Shannon was in and out all day as she usually is it seems now that it’s summer.  All too soon it was time for Dan to head back and none of us liked it.  It seems to be getting harder and harder for us to be apart even though we know it’s necessary.  I know I don’t feel as complete without him and I truly wish to spend an eternity with him.  I love you Dan and you will always carry my heart with you and I know it is in safe hands.