PA and VA Vacation

There is never a complaint from anyone in my house when we make the suggestion to go back east for vacation. The kids know all our trips back east will include time at Mom Mom an Pop Pop Herr's farm in Pennsylvania, visits to historic sights and fun adventures. So, here's what we did over the 4th of July holiday. (Most of these pictures are NOT on my fb page.)



The Herr Farm
Everett, PA


Mom Mom and Pop Pop Herr love company. I sometimes wonder if they ever get a weekend to themselves because there always seems to be a visitor at the farm. True to family tradition, this 4th of July on the farm was packed with people from all over. There where over 70 people for about 4 days over the 4th of July. Where do all those people sleep? Well, there where lots of campers, tents, people in the bunk house out in the barn, the loft area and Akido mats in the garage and of course in the two houses. Families are assigned meals together to feed this massive crew and no one goes hungry.

Hiking up to the rappelling spot.

There are always lots of activities at the farm. Mom Mom decided to do an Easter egg hunt for all the younger grand kids because she never gets to do that at Easter for them. The eggs where filled with MONEY! The kids did Survivor again this year and played lots of games. There where hikes and lots of exploring.

Carp helping Mason at rappelling.

Carp brought his climbing gear and took people rappelling almost everyday. Young and old enjoyed the fun. The fun thing I learned to play this year was corn hole. I think I'm going to get myself one of those games!

Brandon, Heather, Sam, Autumn, Carson and Sadie hanging out by the pool.

The pool is always a treat in the humid, hot heat of summer. It was nice to have so many older grand kids to watch the younger ones. It was also cool to see all these teenage and older grand kids hanging out and chatting so much. They really do get along so well!





It is always a treat to spend time with Carp's family. We all enjoyed the conversation and laughing. It was really fun.



Air and Space Museum
Washington, D.C.


We decided to spend a couple days in Washington D.C. because we heard we could catch the worst heat wave of the year down there. Well, we didn't mean to, but we just happened to tour parts of D.C. when it was extremely hot. Like 105 degrees and humid hot. So the museums were a draw for us. They are air conditioned!



Lanette met up with us and explored Washington D.C. and Philadelphia with our family. We rode the metro in both days. That was an experience in and of itself. I think that's the Apollo 11 space craft behind everyone.


Carson was basically a kid in a candy store at this museum. He had taken a class through UVU called aviation science and pretty much knew what all these space crafts were and information about each of them. He and Nathan eventually went off by themselves for a while so they could explore he museum more in depth. Did I mention how nice and cool the museums where?

Just in case you wanted to know . . . these are the machines you use to go to the loo in space. They have a matching pair for him and her.


The Air and Space Museum is very family friendly. There are sections completely hands on for kids to explore all aspects of space related topics. Here is one that took your weights and transposed it into what you would weigh on different planets. The museum had lots of stuff like this.

That's Capitol Hill behind us. I included this specific picture to illustrate how dry the grass in the national mall was. It was brown everywhere because the heat had been so bad.

The Washington Monument was pretty interesting. Check out the difference in the color of stone about a third of the way up. It probably came from a different quarry.


Next we went to the World War II Monument. It is beautiful. There is a water feature in the middle and 50 individual markers with wreaths surrounding it. Each marker has a state name on it. There is also a beautiful WWII bronze maker inside.

The Vietnam Memorial is surrounded by a beautiful park and had what little green grass we could find in the area. I absolutely love this picture. The reflection of people against all the names of people who lost there lives is quite touching.

This memorial has always been one of my favorites. It is the Lincoln Memorial. The kids where overheating by the time we got here. We walked up the steps, took some pictures and let the kids rest on the marble floor inside.

Lincoln was an interesting character in American history. It feels like home for me walking into this monument.

Museum of Natural History

Washington D.C.

This is another kid friendly museum to visit. Oh, and by the way, all the museums and monuments we visited in D.C. were free. They are some that cost money (the Spy Museum for example) but after spending so much on parking and metro fairs, it was not going to happen. They have different levels and sections to the museum so you can check out all types of natural history. We toured a whole area of just stones and gems. It was actually quite beautiful.

The bone section was my favorite. We started off just checking out skeletons of all different kinds of creatures. You name it and we probably saw it. However, my favorite section was the part to use bones to figure out how people dies and what their lives where like. They found bones from back in Jamestown, Virginia of a boy slave and could map out what his life was probably like and how he died. There was also more modern detective work like you would find on the T.V. show Bones. It was fascinating!

The section with all the animals was pretty cool too. I like this picture of the tiger leaping from above. Many of the animals were positioned around this section in areas that would be their natural habitat. Cool stuff. Or, cool stuffed animals.

In this section where all the dinosaurs and caveman stuff. Yep, they depicted a caveman and cavewoman in there. This area was mostly bones. Again, cool. We saw areas about earthquakes, insects, snakes, you name it . . . . it's there. We didn't get to see the whole museum. That's okay though, next time there will be something else to see.

Museum of American History

Washington D.C.

This is one of the coolest museums EVER!!! It shows all aspects of American history, including Pop culture. This costume of C3P0 was used in the third movie of Star Wars. Seth was so excited to see it! They have all kinds of fun stuff like that there.

This section of the museum chronologically depicted the wars America has been involved in. It was called the Price of Freedom: Americans at War. There were actual red coats from the British Army and an entire outfit of George Washington. There were camps set up just like in the Civil War and uniforms and propaganda from WWI and WWII. The Korean and Vietnam war had a jeep and helicopter.


Some of the more modern wars or military actions our nation has been involved in were also depicted. This is a replica of a piece of the Berlin Wall. There is a real piece inset in it.

These are pieces from the Twin Towers. We where out of time and were being rushed out of the museum at the end of the day so I didn't get to take any more pictures. Sad.

We also saw the original Star Spangled Banner. It's kept in a dark area with low lighting and we were not allowed to take pictures. It's quite impressive in size and worn out. It was a neat thing to see.

Kings Dominion Amusement Park

Doswell, VA

This was a pretty impressive amusement park. We split up almost from the beginning. Carp, Carson, Nathan and Lanette started hitting all the rides for insane people and I took those who were left and rode the ride normal people would be attracted to.

Sammy was the only one small enough to enjoy the little kid rides in Kidville. Ironically, she is an adventure seeker and the only reason she was hanging with me was because she wasn't big enough to ride the crazy people rides. She didn't get my genes on this one.

We did a few rides together. This was our ferris wheel ride.

We also rode the carousel together. It's classic. It's a must do.

Seth is not a thrill ride fan. He did however love this El Dorado ride in a car that went up high. I could hear him laughing the whole time. He rode it 4 times.

Snoopy and friends were found in Snoppyland. We rode a few rides here, but the waterworks area was the best part of it.

Seth had to pay extra money to drive the go carts on the Thunder Raceway. Carp went as a passenger. Seth driving. Um, yeah.

The Shenandoah Log flume was quite fun. Well, not so much for Gabby. She doesn't like scary ride and this one is considered scary to her. She screamed the entire way. But, if you look real close at Sammy, you can see delight written all over her face.

There was a water park at Kings Dominion. However, we never got there. We did run around in the water works area in Snoopyland. It cooled us off enough to take in some more rides.

All in all, I think Kings Dominion was really fun. The kids really enjoyed themselves even though they were dog tired from walking around in Washington D.C. the two days before.

Philadelphia, PA

Here are Seth, Sam and Gabby with one of the fellas that dress up and walk around the visitor center area.

We headed up to Philly the day after we went to Kings Dominion. The kids were good sports walking around and checking out historic buildings in Liberty Square after dealing with all the head and walking around in Virginia.


We got to the visitor center too late to get tickets to tour Independence Hall. They open it up to walk though between 5 and 7 p.m. each night. We just happened to go through when a history fanatic park ranger was there and got a better tour than we would have otherwise.

Out in front of Independence Hall (the actual name is the Pennsylvania State House) the kids found this water pump and pretended they were pumping water for Nathan. It's kindof a cute picture.

We were on our way over to Carpenter Hall when I shot this picture. It is just so GREEN in Pennsylvania. I love it!

This was our second attempt to take a peek in Carpenter Hall. We didn't get it! It closed 5 minutes before we got there - and it was only 4 p.m.! Needless to say, I was bummed because it was closed when Carp and I were back there a couple years ago. One of these days, Carpenter Hall. One of these days!

Check out the POOF on my head! Humidity my readers. It's not your friend! Seth took this picture of us when we were in Independence Hall. While in historic Philly we visited Independence Hall, Congress Hall, New Hall Military Museum, Old City Hall, and a building that housed original documents such as the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. If we had been there a day earlier, we would have heard someone dressed in colonial wear reading the Declaration of Independence just as they originally did over 230 years ago.

We met up with Kelly Winchester and Mason along with her exchange student from Poland, Eliza and her touring teacher Anya and also with my nephew Brandon. We visited the Liberty Bell a second time that day to get this picture. Afterward we went to south Philly to get cheese steaks. Yum!

Harrisburg, PA

We spent that night at Jeff and Judy Kellers (Carp's sister) and then headed back to the farm the next afternoon. We stopped in Harrisburg to visit with Iris Mellott. She was so sweet to let us come visit on such a short notice!

The Herr Farm

Everrett, PA

We spent a couple more days at the farm with Mom Mom and Pop Pop relaxing. The morning after we got there Carp and I let the kids sleep in as long as they wanted. They were so tired!

Nathan worked on a merit badge while we were at the farm so my camera has lots of animal, bird and insect pictures on it. I was with him on a walk when he took this picture down in the secret garden.

Brandon came back up to the farm those last couple days. He and Nate caught some crawfish and cooked them up to eat. I tried them. They were, um, different. We enjoyed spending a little more time with Geneen's girls too.

It is always a stress to plan and carry out a big vacation with so many people to keep track of. It just is so important to do occasionally. The kids will have these memories forever!

I just get giddy . . .

Yep, I get giddy over the silliest things. I know it. I own it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I is coming out in November and I can't wait! I am GIDDY with excitement! Yeah, so is Carson. I love that my son totally shares in my crazy reading habits. Gabby is just starting the series. I bet she has the series read before part II of the Deathly Hallows is released next July. Oh man! Do I really have to wait until July? Silver lining - I can read the entire series again before the final movie installment is out. I can deal. I can deal. I can deal. I'll deal.

Watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EC2tmFVNNE

Watch another clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6lUS4iG5dE

Wasatch Back Ragnar 2010

***WARNING*** LONG POST AHEAD.

This past weekend I ran in the Wasatch Back Ragnar from Logan to Park City, Utah. I love running Ragnars! It's more than a good run . . . it's an experience!

If you remember my explanation of the Ragnar I ran in Las Vegas, you get 12 crazy runners together to each run 3 legs of a long distance race. The race starts on Friday and ends on Saturday. That's right, you get to run through the night! That's where their motto of "Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat." comes from. Notice the question mark after sleep. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.

Team 454 - "Save Our Soles" - Chieko, Brenda, Dena, Alexis, Jamie (back), Annette, Ruth (back), Kellie, Libby (back), Melanie, Wendy (back), and Tifany.

We divided up into two vehicles and ran the entire race with those in our respective van cheering us on and handing us water whenever we were on the road running.

Alexis Geist, Annette Green, and Chieko Bramhall.

These three AWESOME gals where in my van. It's funny how none of them knew each other before we started. There's something about running without sleep, sweating like crazy to bring your team closer to the finish line, and lots of laughs that will make you friends for life. Like I said, it's the experience!

Brenda Dobry and Myself.

There were two BIG differences between running the Wasatch Back and running Las Vegas.

1. Overall, the race was more challenging.

2. The scenery was far superior in Utah.

Our lack of sleep was not because we didn't try! We got showers at a high school and made an attempt at getting some ZZZZZ's on the high school field. Yeah, we got some rest, but most of us didn't get sleep.

Note: My favorite memory of this race was when we were all packing up our stuff at the high school to start our middle of the night run . Someone asked if anyone had gotten any sleep. Most of us mumble a "no." Out of nowhere Chieko said, "I think I did. I saw Sponge Bob." I think we were all ready to run after that laugh session.

Libby, Annette and Alexis waiting at exchange 30.

During the Las Vegas Ragnar I was in Van 1. When our last gal ran, we were done until the last runner of Van 2 was ready to cross the finish line. This time I was in Van 2. We stayed on the road following our runner up until she was just out from the finish line. Between the two, I think I prefer Van 1. It's nice to have your part over early. However, I liked the legs I had to run in this race and wouldn't change how it all went down.

There are some peculiar sights out there on a Ragnar run. This guy was one of 12 fellas running in short shorts or speedos. Yes, I did a double take. It just ain't natural to run in a speedo. And check out his poofy wig and gigantic ear phones. That had to be HOT!

Each team has a name and many runners had added accessories to their running gear to reflect those names. Here are some of my favorite names I saw on vans during the race:

"We ARRRR Pirates Out Chasin" Booty"

"Damn Soles in Distress"

"Off Like a Prom Dress"

"CTR - Choose the Ragnar"

"Duh Agony of Duh Feet"

"Run, Run as Fast as You Can" (They dressed up as a gingerbread man and handed out gumdrops at the exchanges.)

Thing 1- (Van 1)
Thing 2 - (Van 2)

"If You Can Read This . . . NOW You are in Last Place."

"Legs, Breast and Wings" (The runners wore fairy wings)

"Gu Gu Dolls"

"The Chafers"

"Walking Wonders" (They decorated their white vans with red, yellow and blue dots)

"Runamok"

"U.F.O - Unusually Fast Offspring"

"The Fit, the Fat, and the Fossil"

"F.A.R.T. - Fastest Army Ragnar Team"

"12 Running Mega Hurts"

"Victorious Secret"

"Bling it On!" (They wore lots of bling while running)

"XLR8"

"Scrambled Eggs and Achin'"

"Another Long Distance Relationship"

"We're on the Highway to Hell"

"There is no I in Team and no F in Way"

"Go Business Socks. It's Business Time" (See Flight of the Concords on Youtube)

We had white Life Savers in baggies with a note from "Save Our Soles" on it to hand out. We would drive by cars and Libby would chuck one in an open window so runners could enjoy the treat. She made everyone of her throws except one landed on the hood of a car. When I did it I hit runners in the head or hit their cars and the treat landed on the ground. Moral of the story - don't trust my throwing ability in a tight spot. I might give you or someone you love brain damage.

Alexis spraying Libby as she slowed down for a drink during her first run.

Libby and Alexis

We had a great system going. When a runner was out, the van would go ahead of her, pull over and we would walk across the road to wait for her (with our bright orange safety flag, of course.) One person would offer her water, another would sprayer her with water, and the last would grab her water when she was done. Chieko was the self designated photographer of the van so she only got in these pictures when she was running.

Libby, Brenda and Annette

So, check out the scenery in this picture. Did I mention it totally rocked over Vegas? It was like this throughout all the runs. Even when we ran in town, the people came out to cheer us on. So many of these home in the rural areas of Utah are beautiful.


Chieko running with support from her team.

Chieko, Alexis, Wendy, Brenda and Melanie.

Melanie, Brenda, Alexis, Jamie, Tifany and Chieko

We only got to see the other half of our team at major exchanges to hand off the wrist band to the other van full of runners. It was very uplifting to see that they were having as much fun as we were. I so wish we could follow them on their runs too! Again, check out the scenery.

Running (and power walking) "Ragnar Hill." I loved being sprayed with that water!

I actually like to run hills. I know that sounds crazy, but I like the challenge. However, just because I like it doesn't mean I'm fast at it. My last leg was known as "Ragnar Hill." It started on Brenda's leg and I got to finish it on mine. On my leg alone I gained over 1600 ft. in 4 miles. It was my favorite run! It was my favorite run because I did it with a gal I met on the trail named Lisa. We talked the whole time so it went by fast and I totally enjoyed it!

With our medals - (front) Chieko, Annette, Dena, Melanie, Me, Tifany and Alexis. (back) Libby, Wendy, Jamie and Brenda. Ruth had to leave before our team got in.

The race ended at the Canyons Resort in Park City. We all waited for Chieko to come in so we could run up the ramp with her. All the teams did this. It was fun to see everyone there at the same time. Afterwards, we went to dinner in Midway.

Chieko, Kellie and Brenda

Believe it or not, I already signed up to do the Las Vegas Ragnar again. You see, there is a "Saints and Sinners" medal I want real bad. If I run both races in the same year I'll get it. So, come October I will be in Las Vegas running through the night with a bunch of friends again. I can't wait!

Quiltin' Gabby

All that quilting has paid off! I now have my very own quilting protoge. Gabby asked me to teach her to quilt last year. We decided to make a doll blanket out of squares. She finished it just after Christmas and was ready for something bigger. We went through my stash and found some fabric she liked and the results are seen in this picture.

I don't know which is brighter - the gree in this quilt or the smile of accomplishment on Gabby's face. This pattern was fairly easy. Gabby pinned and sewed each block. I helped to pin the rows together and she sewed them. I put the boards on because the quilt got bulky and Gabby was unsure of her sewing. I also machine quilted it for her.

I think she did a fabulous job! She has a really good eye for a 1/4 inch seam and pays close attention to detail. We are now going go through my stash to look for the next project. I will keep you all updated.

Here's a cute picture of the girls. Sammy looks marvelous!

Dance Festival

Dance Fesitval is the best event during the last week of elementary school. I love watching all the kids totally enjoy themselves.


This year Gabby's class did "Footloose" which is a new addition to the schools dance repertory.

All the kids were asked to wear crazy socks. Check them out!

Nate was hanging with some of his friends before the dance festival started. Here is Nate with Dawson, Nick and River.


Nate's class did "The Hussle" all dressed up in their tye dye shirts. It's a classic!

I was the room mom for Nate's class this year. I got a chance to to take a picture of the class after all was done. Great kids!

Just a note: I loved the 6th grade rendition of "Thriller." I hope they keep it for next year because Nate would love to do it!

Sunday, May 16th, 2:20 p.m.

I was told by Carp this week that when he is on the road he checks out my blog to see if I've updated it yet. It never occured to me that he looked for my blog as a way to see us. So, when I saw Nathan lounging in Carps kayak a few minutes ago, I decided to take a picture of where everyone was at that specific moment. Here's what I got:

Nathan had crawled into Carps kayak to relax a bit and take in the nice weather. Notice the Lehi Roller Mills Christmas bag on Nates right foot. Nice touch!

When I was done taking the picture of Nathan, Carson walked into the yard having just finished some home teaching. I told him I wanted to take a picture and he struck a pose.


I found the girls in the backyard playing with Maggie. My sister is on vacation and we are dog sitting. This poor doggie is probably looking forward to Aunt Katie coming home so she gets a little more "alone time." The kids just love being with her.

I tracked down Seth in his bedroom taking in a movie. Of course, true to form, Seth would not let me take a picture of his face. So, we got some hands here.

I knew right where to find Carp. He was finishing up some repairs on his kayak. He has been working on the two kayaks he has for Carson and Brian to float them down the Green River next month. Carp and Seth will also be on that trip, but in different flotation devices (o.k. - boats).

And here's me. Yikes! Thanks for making that picture look a whole lot better Nathan!

So, there we were. Sunday, May 16th, at 2:20 p.m.

What are the Chances?

Nathan is in 5th grade. It's a right of passage to participate in the annual science fair when you reach the ripe old grade of five. Yep. Right. Of. Passage. Actually, it's an assignment, but I think kids kind of look forward to it because it makes them feel older.

Carp helped out this year with Nathan's project. It was a thing of beauty. I love that man. After much deliberation, Nathan decided to do a project on the probability of dice rolling. He decided to roll the dice 1,000 times to see what number was the most common roll. He used a white die and a brown die. After 1,000 rolls he added up how many times each number was rolled.

Conclusion - I will always bet on 7. It's the most common number rolled. Though, I am more impressed with snake eyes than I ever have been. It's the least common number rolled. So, I'm going with 7 because it comfortable, but I'm more taken with 2 because it's a surprise when it shows itself.

Great job Nathan!