An Intertuption to a current thought

I know I have been busy playing catch up. It is actually kind of fun writing about the fun things we did during the summer while it is cold and gray outside.

Most of you know of my recent diagnosis with breast cancer. I am feeling a little unsure of how I will get through this and still take care of my family, since that is my job.

Yesterday on a trip to the temple and IKEA with my mom and sister-in-law Courtney I was reminded of my first trip to IKEA by myself accompanied by my boys. Let me recap for you.

Parker was 2 and Preston was 4 months old. I really wanted to go to the zoo. Parker loves animals and so do I. IKEA is only a few exits away from the zoo exit and if I am in the area I might as well make use of the trip right?


Keep in mind that a 4 month old baby is still nursing every few hours and needs several diaper changes too. Parker was still in diapers at this point too . I brought my sling and stroller so that Parker could ride in the stroller and I could wear Preston. Just thinking about this makes me tired.

We made it to the zoo and I really enjoyed myself. It was a hot day and after pushing around the stroller, there are some big hills at the zoo, we were wiped out. Then it was time for our next adventure, IKEA. We left the zoo in the late afternoon, right about rush hour. I drove through rush hour traffic and then got on the belt way for more stop and go until we reached IKEA. All I remember is Preston crying and not being able to stop because there was so much traffic. When we finally got there Parker was asleep and I attempted to shop pushing a toddler, wearing a baby and some how holding my "stuff."

As I pondered this, I thought "What was I thinking?" And I can't believe I did this. To me this is an accomplishment. Knowing what I know now, I don't know that I would have attempted this again. We didn't get back to my folks until 11pm.

If I can handle a day of traveling with a crying baby, and toddler complete with a trip to the zoo followed by going to IKEA maybe I can figure out how to get through this cancer experience. For now this is my motivation that I CAN do this. I am going to print this picture as a reminder of this day.

The Pittsburgh Zoo

We ventured to the zoo back in March, but I am just getting around to writing about it. Once again we just set a date and Jim took off from work. It turned out to be cold and rainy day.
These are the before pictures of us leaving.

This is a classic Parker pose. He does it so often I would qualify it as normal.


Parker was so excited to be at the zoo and to ride the escalator he bolted ahead of us.


We picked a cold and rainy day to tour the zoo. This is me with my umbrella and Preston bundled up as we strolled the grounds. Notice there is no one else in the picture.

Jim took his camera and he got some great shots. I guess the tiger needed a little morning nap.

We heard this loud noise and wasn't sure what it was until we heard the lion growling.

This black fabric was there and we thought maybe this is background for pictures, so we posed.
There was a baby elephant.

This gorilla sat close to the window and appeared to be pondering the things of the day.

This gorilla was the active one of the bunch. If you notice the carrots and greens, they had recently been fed. This guy ran to pick up some of the food and then threw it in the air. It was so funny to see. I don't know if it was game or if he didn't like what they served him.

The Pittsburgh zoo offers a small aquarium as part of the zoo experience. This was part of the reason we decided to go to Pittsburgh instead of DC.

This is a jellyfish under a black light. Jim did not use a flash. Pretty cool huh.

Some day maybe we will have an aquarium and put colorful fish in it.

This sea otter knew how to entertain visitors, he would swim by and put his fin in his mouth.

This is us at the end of the day. Preston looks grumpy. I had a headache and Parker gave one of his famous goofy grins. All three of us rested on the way home while Jim drove us.