We had such a fun weekend! As I mentioned in my last post, Jimmy surprised me by taking the day off work on Friday. We got coffee as a family, went swimming, and took the kids to a pet store.

We had a great time splashing around at our local YMCA. I think Sadie was amazed that she could do everything she does in our hot tub but with so. much. more. space.! Oh, and Mordecai? He loved the water. Like, he cried when we took him out! Too funny.

We popped into a specialty pet store to see axolotls. Sadie is fascinated by them and loved seeing them in person. I didn’t know what they were until she started talking about them a few months ago. I love that she keeps me learning and growing!

On Saturday, we had a slow morning of baking cinnamon rolls, packing up the kids, and dropping Niva off at boarding because Jimmy booked us a night at the Fairmont in Downtown Pittsburgh and got tickets to the Trans Siberian Orchestra. What a treat!

We dropped the kids off at my mom and dad’s house (thank you mom and dad!) and headed downtown. The hotel was the same one we stayed at in 2021 during the holiday season and it was lovely.

Our room overlooked Market Square, which is an area downtown that has a holiday market and ice skating rink during the month of December.

We checked in and then headed out to browse around Market Square. I picked up a candle from a local vendor and we stopped into Nicholas Coffee and bought a bag of coffee, a chocolate for Sadie, and… peanut butter. Because if I see peanut butter somewhere, I will be buying it 😜

We watched people ice skating and took a picture by the huge Christmas tree. The atmosphere was so lively! The weather was pretty warm for Pittsburgh in December–like 50 degrees?! I was definitely happy about that, lol.

After hanging out for a bit, we headed back to our room for dinner and got ready to head to the concert. We kept it simple and ordered DoorDash from a local steakhouse. I enjoyed lobster and Jimmy had steak. A classic “us” dinner–he’s all about land and I’m all about the sea.

Meanwhile, Sadie and Mordecai went to see Christmas lights with my mom and dad!

We headed out to the Trans Siberian Orchestra and thankfully were close enough to walk to the concert venue from our hotel. No sitting in Pittsburgh traffic, no paid parking, and warm(ish) weather; it was glorious!

For the concert, I had no idea what to expect. I have listened to the Trans Siberian Orchestra on the radio around Christmastime each year, but knew nothing about it. I thought the experience would be like a symphony-type show since the band has the word “orchestra” in its name.

Imagine my surprise when the performers busted out with electric guitars, fire, and lasers, LOL. I was like “Whoa! So *this* is the type of concert the Trans Siberian Orchestra puts on!” 😂 

What an experience. They put on such a great show. If you ever get a chance to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra, go. It’s really cool! The performers are incredibly talented and the show itself is really remarkable.

I started losing steam by 9:30, so we walked back to our hotel, I pumped, and then we crashed. We were up and at ’em for church the next morning after coffee and a lovely room service breakfast with a view of the city!

At church, Jimmy and I taught the elementary-aged kids and got to sneak a peek of their practice for the Christmas Eve service. I can’t wait to see them sing again this year!

Sadie was really into the music and hand motions. She has been practicing at home all the time and I just love it.

Now we are headed home from church and getting back into the groove of family life. I need to pick up Niva girl from boarding, unload a grocery delivery, and head back to church in the evening!

What did you do this weekend?

Have you ever been to a concert?