The Rest

Okay, okay, I'll tell you the rest... don't twist my arm (...to be said in a sarcastic voice, since I only got 1 Comment on my last vacation post... sad).

One of the best parts about our vacation was that it was not stressful. Briant and I always make it a point not to really plan too much until we get there. We don't like to rush to the next activity. If we want to do something we will... if we are in the mood to just chillax, than we do.
Monday, we went shopping in Lancaster. Nope, we didn't see any Amish. I guess they are on the other side of the city, but we had a great time shopping. Briant got some new shoes. They had one of my favorite stores - New York and Company. When we got back to Hershey, Briant and I went to see a movie. I know you may think that isn't something you would do on your vacation cuz you can just go see the same movie at home... right? In reality, we don't go out to see movies very often anymore, so we thought, why not?
Tuesday we went hiking with Briant's dad. We hiked on a little portion of the Appalachian Trail. The trees are amazing back there. I learned what a whole bunch of different plants and trees were... even Poison Ivy. I've never seen it before, cuz it doesn't really grow in Idaho very much. We hiked up Peter's Mountain.
From the top we could see the Susquehanna River, butterflies, deer, vultures, and we even saw a toad eat a caterpillar (I got it on tape!) It was a beautiful day, and a very nice hike. I found my first tick (ever!) when we got home (don't worry, it didn't get me).
That night, we went into Harrisburg to watch the BYU Ballroom Dance team. IT WAS SO COOL! If you ever get a chance to go, than do it! There was one number where they danced to 'If You Could Hie to Kolob' and there were a lot of really neat lifts. I think that was my favorite, but they were all terrific! It was nice to see some really neat dancing for once with fun, clean dancing and modest outfits!
Wednesday, we spent the morning visiting friends and leaders that Briant grew up with. In the afternoon, Briant's dad took us to see Gettysburg. I've decided that you can't really understand a place until you visit it. Well, this holds true for me anyway. Being there just makes it so much easier to learn the story, instead of trying to imagine it in your head.
From this look out tower you can see the treeline (underneath us) that the Confederate army(the South) waited in before starting the famous Pickett's Charge. You can also see Little and Big Round top behind us (on the Union's side).

Here is the Union (the North) Line on top of Little Round Top.

Here we are in the Devil's Den. The South hid here in these rocks, and their sharp shooters shot at the North on Little Round Top (behind us).

Gettysburg was a very educational place to visit. I did learn about the Civil War in school history classes, but I'm afraid it didn't stick very well. I'm sure this visit will help me retain this portion of our Nation's history a little better.
Thursday, we went to Hershey Park. There were some pretty AWESOME rides there, and we had a blast! Briant was happy he wasn't working there because he worked there for a few summers during high school.
First we went on a warm up ride (The Comet - an old wooden one that is one of the orignal rides at the park), then on to the Great Bear which was so fun I cried (you know cuz of the wind in my face).
Next, we stood in line for like an hour and a half for the new Fahrenheit ride. All I can say is WOW! So fun! That drop is 97 degrees, and we sat in the front!

We spent the next hour or so riding all the scary loopy wacky rides that make your head spin and your brain rattle inside. On the Sidewinder you go forward through twists and two loops , then when you reach the end, you go backwards through it all again. The Lightning Racer is a wooden roller coaster with two trains that race one another on similar tracks. There was one ride that looked really awesome because it launches you out from 0 to 72 mph in a second or two, and I wanted to go on it, but it was closed. Darn! We even went on the little Tilt-A-Whirl. I got a video, but it might make you sick. Anyway, by the end of the hour our heads hurt (what we must be getting older), and we were hungry.

After lunch, we went on the more calm rides like the Ferris Wheel (which Briant does not like) the Train, and the Swings.We took one more go on The Great Bear,
then we raced on the Merry-Go-Round, and got our picture taken
(I'm a "Jolly Rancher". That means I get to go on all the rides)
and had a snack (Chocolate covered pretzel with Reese's Pieces).
Then, it was time to go. But not before we said "Hi" to Mr. Milton Hershey.
What fun!

Friday, we went back to the place where it all began. I love Chocolate World. Then we went for a bike ride on a trail by Briant's neighborhood, and up the big hill again to his house.... wshew! We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and playing Frisbee.

That night Briant's little brother went to his Senior Prom, so we dropped by to take some pictures before it began.

Pretty handsome guy, huh! And his date looked great!

I took some pictures of his parents in the Rose Gardens, and then we went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. Mmmmm.
The next day we flew home. We had a great trip. Thanks to MIL & FIL (pronounced Phil) for all that they did for us while we were visiting, and all they do for us even when we are at home. We love you guys. Thanks for a fun and relaxing trip! See you in September!

Washington DC

The first days of our vacation adventures were spent in Washington DC. We knew we were flying into DC so we planned to stay and see some of the sights. Briant's parents drove down from Hershey and meet us there. Our luggage didn't make it on our plane from our layover flight. I was so mad; I was sitting right next to the window and I could see our bag just sitting there. The pilot came on the intercom and said they were just doing some last minute paperwork and we would be off shortly. Well, shortly ended up being 20 minutes! Plenty of time in my opinion to load my bag... so I was a little upset for those 20 minutes. Anyway, the next flight in, turned out to be only like 1 hour later, so we just went to get some dinner then went back to get our luggage. Dumb airlines!
Anyway, we wanted to go to the Washington DC temple that night and we did end up making it to the last session. This temple is a beautiful one! I first saw it driving on the turnpike... interstate... whatever it was, in 2004 when we went out to visit my brother. Ever since then I've wanted to go. Sorry, it was dark when we got out so this picture isn't very good.
The next day we went into the city and saw the sights! First, we went to the Smithsonian - Air and Space Museum. Honestly you could spend like 3 days there. Here are some of the cool stuff we saw:

The Wright Brothers First Plane
(yes this is the ACTUAL one)


The Spirit of St Louis!
You guys all remember this one from history: The first plane to fly over the Atlantic Ocean with Charles A. Lindbergh as the pilot.

This one is the first to break the sound barrier

Really, there are so many planes there. We saw the cockpit for a 747 (the whole plane wouldn't have fit into the museum). We saw tons of war planes; WWI & WWII! We saw space shuttles, and lots of missiles. We even got to go see a movie about fighter pilots at the I MAX theater (that was awesome). I think we spent a good 3 hours there.

After a quick lunch (HOT DOGS!) We headed over to the Lincoln Memorial (another one I've always wanted to see). One the way we passed lots of other memorials:

The Washington Memorial

The WWII Memorial
Of coarse we each had to represent our own

We also saw the Vietnam Memorial and the White House from a distance too.
We loved the little ducklings in the Reflection Pool. AWW!

And finally, we made it to the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln was an amazing man, whom I truly respect. I read his Gettysburg address and I get goosebumps (Now I wish that I would have memorized it). I know the Lord's hand was in his works and words.

It is so fun to see our nations history. It's amazing to see our progress over the years and the new things our country has learned. It's also very humbling to see all who fought and died for our nation. People just like you and me in every aspect, except their overwhelming courage. I look up to these people and their selflessness. I hope and strive to make them proud, and to not let their achievements be in vain.

Oh, but that is not were this day ends. We hurried back up to Hershey for a Hockey Game. The Bears ended up losing in the end, but it was still a fun experience. LETS GO BEARS!

Tribute to a Wonderful Friend

Before I get started with all the vacationing, I wanted to pay tribute to a really great friend that passed away last week while we were gone.

Her name was April.

She was born on my brothers bed on April 18, 1993. Her mother, Holly, was given to us by my Aunt Pam. She had four brothers and she was the only girl, so I immediately felt a connection with her. She and I had so much fun together. She really liked Mahon too, as you can tell... When I got my first cameras, April was my subject. Nobody would let me take their picture, except her. When I went to find some pictures of her in my archives (film mostly, because I didn't have a digital when I was taking the majority of her pictures) I found a picture of her in almost every roll.I watched her grow up, learn tricks, and comfort those in need. She always loved it whenever one of us came home to visit.April passed away on May 21, 2009 from being old and warn out. She was blind, deaf, and had arthritis. She couldn't get up that morning and she wasn't drinking water, so my Mom and Dad felt it was the right thing to do to put her to sleep. We were all sort of preparing ourselves for that day to come, because she has shown signs of extreme aging for the past couple years. But still the news was sad when I heard it. She was such a good little dog. Thank you April, for being my friend. Thank you for your cute little perked up ears, and your friendly tail wagging whenever I came home. I love you little April puppy-dog! God be with you till we meet again.

Vacationing in PA

Don't you just love vacations? Well I do. We had a wonderful time in PA this last week. We spent the week with Briant's family in Hershey, and beings that it is in such a good central location, we also went on a couple day trips to other places too.
It is getting late, so I will give you all the vacation details in the next few days but here is a little picture appetizer from our trip:

Spent some time in Washington DC and saw some awesome stuff
(really Briant WAS having fun too)

Went on a little hike


Visited Gettysburg


Had a great time at Hershey Park


Of coarse, had to go back to this place and the SPOT where it all began.

But really our vacation was awesome. It was fun filled, but relaxing to, and just what we needed.
Please, stay tuned to MORE TO COME...

Finally! A Beautiful Day!

It was definitely a beautiful day in our neighborhood today. I baked sweets this morning at the GH and when I got off at 12:30 the weather was incredible. When I got home, Briant was mowing our lawn. Isn't he wonderful!?!I usually go take a nap when I get home after baking but I just didn't want to because it was so nice. So I walked around with my camera and took a few pictures.

These orange-ish looking ones just bloomed today!

This is seriously the best part of growing anything!

I love these purple flowers, but I don't know what they are.

Wait, stop! Do you see those dandelions in the middle of all my flowers? Well, so did I while I was taking pictures, and it bothered me. I was over at my Aunt's house the other day and she was telling me about pulling dandelions. She said that as long as you get the crown, then they won't come back. So I went and got my little hand shovel and started pulling weeds. Briant came over (while mowing) and asked me if I knew that we had a dandelion picker? I was like, "HUH?" And he was like, "Yeah, my dad got one for us while he was out here." So I went and looked and sure enough I found it. I tried it... and I went crazy! This is such a cool tool!

Seriously, I can pick like 6 dandelions in like one minute. And yes, they even get the crown! I was having so much fun, I filled one garbage can half full with dandelions! Thanks again to my FIL for such an awesome and effective tool!
And thank you also to my Aunt Pam. The other day while I was over there she gave me a really cool book with lots of gardening tips (that I have been reading a lot) and a big bouquet of tulips. We are looking forward to next week when we go to PA to spend the week with his family and have tons of fun while we are back there! We'll be sure to take pictures.
I'm also looking forward to Memorial Weekend. That is when we have planned to til the back yard and start planting the garden! I got some pots for our front porch and plan to plant some flowers in it too. It is so exciting to finally get some warm weather!