Celebrations and Parade Time!

And so, it was time to shave......

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It was also time for everyone to celebrate for the Penguins and Pittburgh exploded. I guess alot of energy tends to build up over 17 years, but the excitement in Pittsburgh came to a head.....pretty much the entire weekend haha. Last week, Ben and I even got to experience the high-priced magic that is attending the first home game, game 3, of the Stanley Cup Finals. Was it worth it?........................................ ........I guess that answers that.

On the day of Game 7, the city as a collective whole was quiet, nervous, and waiting for the manner in which we'd all be crying by 11 p.m. that night. After the game ended in rather dramatic fashion, fans including myself took to the streets of Oakland and the Sah'Side. Oakland was fun but otherwise unimpressive, but the Southside another matter. I've never experience anything quite like it. To get the best image of this scene, imagine Mardi Gras in New Orleans spontaneously breaking out on East Carson St. with everyone sporting Pens gear and 40 different models of the Stanley Cup being passed around for everyone to lift/kiss. I've never received as many high-fives from strangers nor have I seen as many piles of horse dung or piles of barf in my life. I was surprized, yet not very much, by the inordinate level of rudeness displayed by the Pittsburgh Police. In general, the cops actually caused the majority of the problems while everyone mostly wanted to have a good time. After the craziness of the night, I retired to wait for what became the Pens celebration concert the next night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHiqf8QNm0I

On saturday, we saw The Sounds, Paramore, and No Doubt at the PostGazette Pavillion which was an absolute blast. We wore our Pens stuff and a good chunk of the crowd did as well. Abby and I talked between acts to a couple from Cleveland who wanted to congradulate us for all of Pittsburgh's success in the past year, and we in turn congradulated them for having their own version of the Pirates otherwise known as the Cleveland Browns. The bands made many shout outs during the show to the Penguins and their fans which drew many long and loud cheers, screams......and squeels from the teenage girls. During their encore, two members of No Doubt even wore Malkin and Crosby jerseys on stage which they afterwars threw into the crowd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8aIV2hq1GM

On sunday we visited with Grandma and Grandpa to rest a bit before the parade monday....but there was no rest for the weary as I stayed up through the night to get a good spot. I arrived downtown at about 5:40 a.m. for the 12 p.m. parade and waited on the corner of Stanwix St. it to start. Mom and I got some really good shots of the team and the crowd as the day went on. The non-cup related highlight of the day occured when the crowd began trying to throw a football to a priest in the this fourth story window above our heads. One man, now a myth and a legend answered the call that countless other could not...........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6cG-k_DGQ

Upon waiting for hours and hours....the parade began and here are our highlight pics from the day:

School's almost over!

Is everybody else done with school, and only Rhode Island keeps them in this long? The kids have one more week. Kelly is gearing up for finals, and Brett is coasting. Looks like they don't have to make up the swine flu days after all.

Here's a photo of Brett getting his first hit of the baseball season (I didn't take this - in fact, you can see Herb and me in the background). For some reason, he just couldn't make contact this year. Then suddenly, yesterday, he got 2 hits and 2 RBI's. The night before that he was given the game ball for making two spectacular defensive plays, one in left field and one from third base. Luckily, Kelly and I had arrived from her tournament game in time to see his awesome play from 3rd. He's had a great coach this season and a good group of boys, so although they haven't won many games, it's been a positive experience. It's probably his last season of baseball, but we're glad it's ending well!

OK Penguin fans, we're expecting some celebrating! What's happening in the Burgh?

Family Visits in May

Dad and I took a couple trips in May, so I'm sending along a few family photos.  We enjoyed a couple days in Fort Wayne in early May, and went on to Green Bay for Mother's Day with Grandma Pierre.  Later, Memorial Day weekend, we went to Gun Lake for a visit with the Vaughans.  I'm sending along a few photos.  Love to all. 

Next Sunday Bob & I are leaving on vacation for a week.  We are going to Sequoia National Park for a couple of days, and then Yosemite for 4 nights.  We have been hiking to get in training for a possible attempt at climbing Half Dome, which is a big challenging rock.

This past Tuesday we took a tram from Palm Springs at the desert floor up to the Mount San Jacinto State Park.  (www.pstramway.com)  Then we climbed 6 miles to San Jacinto Peak.  Our friend Dave took this picture of me at the top.  I really enjoyed the 6 miles up, but the 6 miles down were killer at the end.  I'm doubtful for Half Dome now, but the hiking we have done this year has been really fun and challenging.

Lily at 12 weeks

This little girl just keeps growing! Here are some recent pictures of Lily during and after bathtime. We both think that she is looking more "Mutschler" now--especially when she is sleepy. She is wowing us with her 9.5 hour sleep strechtes.

Love to All,
Luke, Ashley, and Lily

Star Trek

OK, who saw the new Star Trek movie and what did you think?

I took Brett and a friend of his to see it on Saturday, and we really enjoyed it. It was interesting to watch it with someone who didn't know anything about the old Star Trek series.

Let's hear the reviews...

Kelly's prom and Block Island

Here are the latest weekend photos: Kelly and her friend Matt acting silly while the umpteenth photo was taken of their group getting ready to go to the Junior Prom. They fit 14 people into that limo! And you should have seen the crowd of parents standing around taking pictures.

The other one is Brett and some buddies waiting for the ferry to take them for a weekend of biking on Block Island with their Scout troop. Strangely, both Stevens kids are in blue.