Aug. 20

Our flight arrived in Pittsburgh a bit early -- just prior to 6 a.m. EDT. We collected our bags and rented four carts. Three of the four carts had rusted, uncooperative wheels! Nevertheless, we were able to make it to the ultra-convenient Hyatt Hotel which is connected by a covered walkway to the airport.

As it was only 6:25 a.m. when Peter went to the front desk, the clerk asked him, "Are you checking in for today or yesterday?" Peter assured him we were checking in early for today. (Our arrival time was listed at 7 a.m., but we were a bit ahead of schedule.) Fortunately the hotel had a room available at that early hour.

We wheeled the luggage to the elevator and then to our room. I was amazed that all four luggage carts fit! Then we had to decide our next course of action. The weather was wet and rainy and there were a lot of rush-hour related traffic jams. We Peter, Mark and I fought over the complimentary copy of The New York Times. Brian said he has never known a family (Mark, my father and myself) who are so obsessed with reading the newspaper! Peter was primarily interested because he considers The New York Times to be one of the few newspapers worth reading.

Peter, the girls and I had baths/showers and changed clothes. Mark and Brian planned to do so when they got home (as they were "just visiting" our hotel room). Then we all enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast buffet and went back to the airport terminal to rent a mini-van. Again we used Thrifty and got nearly the same vehicle but in red rather than white. We liked this model because it had two built-in car seats for the twins.

It took about 90 minutes to get from the airport to my parents' house. Many family members were waiting to meet the girls: My parents (their Granny and Pap); my older brother, Bob, and his wife, Crystal, and their children, Kayla and Randy (who all live five miles down the road); and my aunt and uncle (Brian's parents) who live next door to my parents; and my little cousin Samantha, who is the granddaughter for my aunt and uncle (and Brian's niece). With all of the presents, it seemed nearly like Christmas! (But since we weren't at Epcot, it wasn't exactly like Christmas.) Brian and Mark (now dressed for work) were there, too. I spent a little time on my computer by leveraging the wireless connection in the kitchen.

After about 90 minutes, Peter and I put the girls into the van and we drove five miles down the road (in the opposite direction as my older brother) to see my grandfather. (Mark, however, showed his dedication to his job and went in to work.) Pop was eager to meet the girls even though it was almost time for his regularly scheduled nap. The twins played blocks with Samantha and posed for a few pictures. At some point, I laid on my side and had a quick nap.

About an hour later, we drove (with Samantha) to my cousin Janey's house. She lives about four miles north of my grandfather. Janey's parents (who live within easy walking distance of my grandfather) were there, too. My parents were there as well as Janey's friend, Heidi. We feasted on pizza, cake and ice cream, and other snacks. The girls were showered with more presents. They seemed to love all of the attention! Janey encouraged the twins and Sam to jump on the bed as if it were a trampoline. Of course, they loved it!

At about 5 p.m. we realized that we needed to think about leaving for the airport hotel. The weather was dark and rainy. We contemplated the possibility of spending the night with my parents and driving in for breakfast, packing and our midday flight. Janey suggested that we have a nap in her extra bedroom. That sounded perfect! They woke us up after an hour. The weather report said there was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 9 p.m., so we went to sleep until 9 p.m.! We felt badly to abandon the party and to force our hostess into overtime, but she was all for it. Janey had been really excited about the twins from the start, so we tried not to feel guilty.

Each girl had a nap, but not at the same time. This meant that there was always at least one child to overwhelm with attention. Mark left work at 7:30 p.m. and came in to see the girls again. I'm told that they were thrilled when he walked in! (Brian had an afternoon nap and then drove to his house in West Virginia. He was scheduled to start back to work the following day.)

At 9 p.m. we got our things together and said goodbye. It was sad to be leaving, but at the same time, we were anxious to be so close to finally ending our trip and getting home! We stopped only to buy gas and were back to the airport before 11 p.m. It rained the entire way and the girls slept the entire way. We got another cart and took the girls back to our room.

The girls had a bath and went to bed. It took about 15 minutes for them to fall asleep. Meanwhile, I read my complimentary copy of The New York Times for about 30 minutes and Peter read "Emma."