1.18.2011

Long Weekend

Adam's brother, Alex, and his fiance, Kate, came to visit us this weekend! They are both in graduate school at Indiana University - Alex is getting his master's in public policy and Kate is getting her PhD in religious studies.

When they arrived on Friday evening, we met up with another of Adam's brothers, Steve, and his wife, Elizabeth. Oh yeah, did I mention their childhood friend, Josh, drove up from West Virginia?

I'm guessing you're a little confused about Adam's family. I sure was when Adam and I first started dating. He kept telling me stories about "his brother," but I'd only met one brother, Alex. I was really confused about how Alex could have done so many things!

Turns out, he actually has three older brothers. The oldest, Jeff, is 29. He's been married to Jenn for almost two years. They live in Houston, where Jeff works for a software company and Jenn works in the medical center. Next is Steve, who's almost 27. He married Elizabeth in September. They live here in Pittsburgh and both work at Pitt. Finally, there's Alex, who's 23. As you know, he's in grad school at Indiana. He and Kate are getting married in August. The baby of the family is their little sister, Katie, who's a sophomore in high school.

Now that's taken care of, let's get back to the weekend. On Friday night, Steve took us to a pretty grotto overlooking the city. It may have been in someone's backyard...

The Grotto

Then we played a massive game of Settler's of Catan, by smooshing two boards together.

Settlers of Catan

On Saturday morning, we had brunch at Pamela's Diner. Adam and I shared our usual strawberry pancakes with a side of potatoes and bacon.

Our Usual at Pamela's

We played our other favorite game, Ticket to Ride.

The Train Game

We got ice cream at Dave & Andy's.

Dave & Andy's

So Many Choices

Our Selections

And we checked out a great view of the Pittsburgh skyline.

Not Quite Ready

Pittsburgh Skyline

Pittsburgh Skyline

The Whole Gang

After church on Sunday, we went to the National Aviary. We saw some amazing birds! My favorites were the flamingos {because they're pink, obviously} and the penguins.

Pretty Parrot

Pretty Parrot

One-Winged Bald Eagle

Weirdest Bird Ever

Flamingos!

With the Flamingos

With the Flamingos

Feeding Time

Hanging with the Penguins

Hanging with the Penguins

Swimming Penguin

We ended the weekend with dinner at the Church Brew Works, an abandoned church turned restaurant.

Dinner at the Church Breworks

The best part was their homemade cream soda and root beer.

Homemade Cream Soda & Rootbeer

We love having guests and showing family our favorite spots around the city. I can't wait for my family to come up this spring!