My handsome hubby and I had such a fabulous time spending a couple of days away from Pittsburgh this past weekend! When we first learned that our hopes for a last-minute "adults only" getaway could actually become reality, we talked about going to Washington D.C. or Niagara Falls, which are both a 3-4 hour drive from here. However, over Brett's birthday weekend I realized that he was suffering from severe Sooner football withdrawl, especially since we've cut our cable. (I'm so thankful we made it down to Dallas for OU/TX last year; we gave thought to skipping the game, but I remember saying then that we might not make this year's if I happened to be pregnant!) Anyway, Brett had said something about OU coming up to play the University of Cincinnati, which, as I'm sure you can guess, was scheduled for the weekend we had free. I suggested that we head there to hang out and go to the game, but he seemed hesitant, wanting me to have a little more relaxing getaway before baby. I finally convinced him that it was a great idea and would make for a fun weekend (although I didn't have to twist his arm too much), and he got our hotel reserved and tickets purchased.
Everything worked out perfectly on Friday, the day we planned to leave. One of Brett's awesome chiefs offered to round for Brett, so he had the entire day off (completely unheard of!) and was able to help me with last-minute things that morning, such as dropping Berkeley off at "doggie camp" for the weekend. I had my 37 week appointment scheduled that morning at 10:20am, which he was able to attend with me, too. Before going to the doctor, we dropped off Kaiser at Miss Meaghan's house. She was so thrilled that she, Mark, and Austin got to hang with him for the weekend, and he just adores their family, so even though it was hard for us to leave town without our son for the first time ever, we couldn't help but be excited for the fun we knew they'd have!
Saying goodbye to our big boy.
"See you on Sunday!"
After a pleasant visit with my OB and a quick stop back at home, the two of us set out a bit after noon for the almost 5-hour drive to Cincinnati. I have to say, it was so bizarre being in the car for that long alone! We had kind of forgotten what it's like to have that much uninterrupted time together. I was afraid I would totally pass out, but managed to stay awake (I think!) so as not to be a horrible passenger. We started out talking a lot about work and Kaiser, which was no surprise, but eventually worked our way to other subjects, too. Brett also got to listen to lots of his music, and I brought along a small crafty project that kept me busy during part of the drive.
By the time we pulled into the city, this preggo was more than ready to be out of the car! We chose to stay at the Westin downtown, which put us very close to the stadium where the game would be the next night. We were surprised and excited upon getting to the hotel to see so much crimson and cream! (I realize that I am, at heart, an OSU Cowboy, but since moving north I will take whatever Oklahoma I can get, so I root for the entire state!) In addition to all of the fans, the team was also staying in our hotel. So even though we were still hundreds of miles away, it made us feel so close to home! Sigh.
We got checked into our room and freshened up a bit, then checked our email and found this video that Meaghan sent us of Kaiser and Austin playing in his ball maze. Mommy and Daddy were so glad to see that he was his happy self and having a blast! (Not that we ever doubted he would!)
Then we took a shuttle across the Ohio River into Kentucky to hang out for the evening at a place called Newport on the Levee. After walking around the eating and shopping area to look at our options, we decided on dinner at Bulldogs Roadhouse. Brett was excited to see that they offered Schlafly beer, which is made in St. Louis and whose brewery we toured last time we were there.
My man and his Schlafly pumpkin ale.
After our meal, we needed to move around, so we walked to Barnes & Noble, where we each got a new book (The Secret Speech for Brett and The Girl Who Played with Fire for me), and then took another stroll down by the river. By then it was dark, and the city's night lights on the water were pretty.
Downtown Cincinnati.
Showing how well they will work together in the future!
Then there was a group of German dancers to provide some entertainment.
The teenage boy on the left looked like he'd rather be out doing things regular teenage boys do on Friday nights! Ha!
Of course, there were also all types of foods and beers to be had under the tent. I passed on this, but had to take a picture of the sign, because I am a natural proofreader and typo freak. Can you spot the mistake?
I did, however, succumb to the temptation that is the funnel cake. I told Brett I'm always talking about how good they sound, but I never actually let myself get one. Not this time. Brett and I shared, and it was de-lish.
Oh yes we did.
(For the record, though I enjoyed every bite, I paid dearly for this choice with an upset tummy that woke me in the middle of the night. Ugh.)
Oh yeah, as we sat out in the nice weather and enjoyed the sound of German music nearby, here is what we got to gaze at: the "USS Nightmare", some kind of haunted house boat/ride. Lovely.
Reminiscent of Halloween lawn decorations in Pittsburgh.
Just bein' cool.
Me and my belly waitin' for our ride.
Some random scary flyer speaking out against the police?
Right outside our hotel, there was a neat area called Fountain Square, where Mid Point Music Festival was being held that weekend. We hung out down there for a bit and enjoyed the music before heading up to our room and to bed.
Beautiful fountain.
Another typo spotted... :)
Brett really liked this band from Atlanta.
Looking back down at the square from our window.
Saturday morning we had the luxury of sleeping in! Of course, my body naturally woke me up at 7am. Go figure. Brett, on the other hand, was able to sleep until almost 9, despite me making noise getting showered, etc. in the bathroom. Once we were both ready for the day, we went downstairs to eat breakfast. Nothing was on our agenda besides the big game that night, so from there we got in the car and went to a nearby shopping area. We stopped at Babies R Us to pick up a couple of things for our own womb child and a friend's, whose baby shower is the week after my due date. Then we drove over to the mall, where I found some awesome deals on boyfriend sweaters at Gap, and Brett picked up a couple of CDs. While we were there, I also decided to get a pedicure. (Hopefully my toes stay pretty for at least the next couple of weeks!) Once we were shopped out, we went back to the hotel to rest for a few minutes (and for Brett to check college football scores). Before going out again, we set the camera timer to get our only picture together from the weekend.
Blurry us, but us.
We joined a ton of fellow Sooner fans in eating a late lunch on the patio at Rock Bottom, then sat at table in Fountain Square and dove into our new books for a little while.
"It's hard to concentrate on reading when you're taking my picture..."
Soon it was time to start our short walk toward Paul Brown Stadium (where the Cincinnati Bengals play) for the Main Event!
I couldn't wait, but my excitement was nothing compared to that of my Sooner Sweetheart. We waited in will call to pick up our tickets, which were for seats at club level--quite a treat! We sat down in a section well-populated with people dressed in OU attire, which was comforting. Then we watched our team take the field... 
Boomer!
2nd largest crowd in history for the University of Cincinnati.
The game itself was...well...it wasn't pretty. OU, which was ranked #8, was highly favored to beat the unranked Cincinnati Bearcats. People we talked to from Cincinnati had been jokingly asking us not to whip them too badly throughout the day. I won't pretend to be a football commentator who really knows what she's talking about, but we made a lot of mistakes on our side and benefited greatly from mistakes made on theirs. Our poor bambino was probably wondering what on earth was going on, what with all the jumping up out of my seat I was doing there for a while! On several occasions, Brett and I were worried that we were going to have made the 5-hour trip only to watch the Sooners lose. At halftime, we (well, mostly Brett) decided that we needed these to keep up our energy:
Aptly-named "Monster Nachos".
I know, I know. After the previous night's experience with funnel cake, what was I thinking? But they were darn good, and fortunately didn't come back to bite me later! The second half of the game was nerve-wracking. There were a couple of ridiculous calls by the refs, and we almost witnessed a fight break out in our section between a Sooner fan and a Bearcat fan. Mercy. Needless to say, you could tell that Bob was not a happy camper.
This one's for you, Nat!
In the end, by the grace of God, OU pulled off a win, 31-29. Whew! We breathed a sigh of relief and headed out of the stadium and back to our hotel with equally relieved Sooners. Though we didn't need it after consuming that chip and cheese concoction a few hours before, Brett went on a quick sweets run and came back bearing a mint chocolate chip malt for us to share. What a perfect way to end the day! We were both wiped and crashed while watching SNL.
On Sunday morning we had breakfast delivered around 7:30am, keeping Brett from sleeping in as late as the day before. We were anxious to hit the road and get home to our boy! On the way back, though, a massive outlet mall that we had passed on Friday afternoon was calling our name, and we couldn't help but stop to take a look. A couple of hours later, Brett had some nice new dress pants and shirts for clinic from Banana Republic, and I had a couple of comfy postpartum items for me and a few fall staples for Kaiser from Gap. I was a sleepy passenger on the way home and dozed off here and there between chatting, reading, and crafting. I'm so thankful for a wonderful husband who doesn't mind being behind the wheel! Thanks for getting us home safely, Baby!
We pulled into Pittsburgh around 4:30pm, picked up our fur child from doggie camp, and dropped her and our bags off at home. Once I finally was able to get ahold of Meaghan (who had informed me that she was not giving my son back, and I was convinced was avoiding my calls!), we made our way over to the Edwardses right in time to get Kaiser up from his nap. I teared up a bit when I saw him look up at us with surprise from the pack n play. It may sound silly, but I swear he looked older to me after just two days of not seeing him! I tried to smother him with hugs and kisses, but he really just wanted to get back to playing with Baby Austin.
These two make quite a pair!
Too busy working on Meaghan's iPhone to love on Mommy. :(
We stayed to catch up on the fun they'd had while we were away. I had received pictures and texts here and there (all solicited by this momma, who missed her baby!), so I was anxious to see some more documentation of and hear stories about Kaiser's time away from us...
Playing in the front yard on Friday afternoon.
Clearly they do not own a dog. Food on the floor wouldn't be there long at our house!
Playing with playdough...which later progressed into throwing playdough at each other...
Time with "Mahk" in the backyard.
Visiting the Strip District on Saturday. Both boys look so happy. :)
Got this pic via text and laughed out loud.
Handsome guys ready to go to church!
Chipotle for lunch on Sunday.
Also got this one, along with the message, "Help Mommy! The aliens have kidnapped me!"
Clearly they didn't have trouble staying busy. :) Among other things, Mark taught Kaiser to say, "I love chockit!" and "Austin is my bud!" All in all, it sounded like they'd had a stellar weekend!
Finally the Bralys decided it was time to say goodbye, and though Kaiser was not super pumped about leaving, he perked up with the promise of eating dinner at home. We were about an hour behind his normal schedule at that point, so we took a quick dip in the bathtub and put him to bed right away. I don't think he fell asleep until after 9pm, though. Brett and I were pretty tuckered out after the weekend, too, and retired relatively early.
Edwards Family, we can't thank you enough for adopting our son for the weekend so we could enjoy some time together before our family grows. We know Kaiser was loved like crazy and in the best of hands. You guys are incredible friends, and we love you!
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