The Lazy Girl's Trip to Philadelphia

If you get lost, just look for the William Penn statue

So, I am recently back from a trip with the boy to Philadelphia.  Surprise!  We went to attend the Budweiser Made in America music festival and stayed a few extra days to do tourist-y stuff.  Seeing as how I'm really terrible at reading maps on the computer and figuring out which way is up and what distances are actually walk-able, I did next to none 'pre-planning'.

The concert had quite a few people I like but wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to see a show.  I was mostly in it for Beyonce, Imagine Dragons, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.  We enjoyed ourselves even though it felt ridiculously hot and humid to us desert rats. 

We passed the time between bands we actually knew people watching.  It might have been the highlight of the concert really.  This small town girl did not know that high waisted shortie shorts and fanny packs were back in style.  We saw too many to count.

A few months ago, when I flew out to my sister's house in Illinois, I missed out on a 5K bagelfest run and getting free bagels and a fabulous neon green shirt.  Why?  Because I didn't know.  Who knew really that such a thing existed and would be happening the exact weekend I would be in Illinois.  I was really kind of bummed.  And I don't even eat bagels!  So two days before we left I googled runs and Philadelphia and found this: http://www.cityrunningtours.com/philadelphia.html

We picked the 10K strictly based on starting location in relation to our hotel.  Quite possibly the best impulsive decision we made on the whole trip (that didn't involve food or beer in an way).  Our running guide was a local teacher.  We got a good tour of the city along with brief histories of most of the historical sites along the way.  It also allowed us to see what the options were and what we wanted to go back and spend more time at later in our trip.

This was one of the statues we ran past.  Created with the help of old keys and 1.8 million pennies collected from local schools.  We also ran past Ben Franklin's for profit fire house, the cemetery where he is buried, and the first bank of the United States.

We went back and checked out Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, too.

While we were at the concert I made a random Canadian friend.  He had this to say:  That we as Americans take a lot of our freedoms and our treasures for granted.  That at the end of the day, everyone else still wants to come and visit America and we should be prouder of what we have.

I left Philadelphia feeling the same way.  How could people live this close to all this history, the history of our country at its very beginning and go about their day without appreciating it?  I will admit that when I think of American history my first thought is Washington D.C.    I had forgotten that before the White House, there was Philadelphia.  And it's begging for us to appreciate it.

And then we went was camping

Seems like the new school year snuck right up on us this year.  In an effort to cram as much fun as possible into the fading hours of summer we tacked on a camping trip to our way home from Disneyland.  
Have you ever tried to pack for two very different environments into one suitcase?  It was challenging.  Thankfully, Grandma decided to meet us at the campground and so we were able to send a lot of the things we needed only for camping with her.

We camped with only  half of our extended family but we still had a good visit and the cousins got in some quality mischief making time.  We took turns basking in the morning sunshine on the logs.  It was a lot colder at 10,000 ft that we have become accustomed to for August.

The littles did a pretty great job hiking to see the Bristlecone Pines at Great Basin National Park.  We made a day of it and hiked up to the glacier too.  Better put it high on your to-do list if you want to see it.  They said in 20 years the glacier will probably be gone for good.  The last time I saw it was probably 20 years ago (that makes me feel old!) and I was surprised by how much smaller it is today.

 

 

 

Bob and I agreed, the mornings were too chilly for our liking.  I definitely should have packed more layers.

 

 

 

 The deer wandered in and out of camp fairly regularly.  That's one of my favorite memories from camping here as a kid.  It's not uncommon to find one in the trail on the way to the camp bathrooms. 

 

 

 

Someone gave Bob a flashlight and an official job on the cave tour.  That's a brave park ranger right there!  I stayed behind to be sure that Bob wouldn't abuse his privileges.  We took the 60 minute tour of Lehman Caves since we had the littles with us.  Everyone loved it and no one got restless.  Next time we'll do the longer one for sure!

 

 

 

MmmmmMmmmm....cave bacon 

 

MmmmmMmmmm....even better, real bacon!  Cooked over the campfire of course :)

Poor husband always has to fish with the pink, barbie pole.  But he caught a fish and we got to eat it so that's all that really matters right?

Emma was crashing through the woods on her way to the creek and she almost ran smack into these does.   We sat and watched them for a long time before they spotted the dog we had with us and trotted off into the trees.

 

Bob found a triangle shaped rock and immediately took it as a sign that we should go home so he could play Zelda.  Silly boy.  And that is why we go camping...

Disneyland in the summer time

Next time I come here and say, oh hey I'm thinking about going to Disneyland in August, please allow a moment of silence and give me that look.  There is a reason why the last time we went to Disneyland in August was 11 years ago. 

It.
was.
hot.
and.
crowded.

But to be fair.  Even a hot crowded day at Disneyland is better than not being at Disneyland.  And you know what?  The line for the Winnie-the-Pooh ride....still just 5 minutes.

 

As a kid, I might have ranked the Jungle Cruise ride right next to the Tiki Room at the bottom of my favorites list.  Judging by the kids faces as they listen to the guide, I'd guess they feel the same way.  But the older I get the more I love it.  I "get" every one of their jokes now.

By the last day, Bob was pretty sure he should get to decide which rides we go on and in what order.  Turns out no one else felt the same way.  So the burrito and I hung out in the shade of the carousel while everyone else rode Pinocchio. 

And then we did some street dancing and scored some beads.  It's the little things I love the most about being here.

We also repeated the Medieval Times show (Not Disneyland I know, but close-ish!).  We got yellow knight, again.

 

 

The kids were so taken with the show they ate zero bites of their dinner, again.

But it was worth it.

Running around

In three months I am planning on running a half marathon.  The first half marathon since my ACL reconstruction.  In three months time.  That's 12 short weeks away.  The internal debate is do I just go out with a goal to finish it? Do I dare even think about setting a time goal?  Can I (or more directly) HOW do I use crossfit to train for this so that I'm not running too many miles on my knee?  And speaking of miles....what should the longest, long run in the training program be?

I've been running with a group on the weekends lately.  They keep me motivate, accountable, and best of all, introduce me to new running paths.

 



I found this little guy on the new route last weekend.  I think I'm in love!  I scratched his head till my hands smelled of lanolin and then was on my way.

 

 

I'm not much of a morning person but the early morning sun on these cheerful sunflowers was just what I needed to put a smile on my face.  I'm not one to run with my phone usually, but that morning my ipod battery was dead.  I was so thankful to have my camera with me so I could take these pictures.

For the love of a horse

Emma inherited the horse lover gene from her aunt Jacko.  I like to ride but I do not have much interest in professional riding of any kind.  I prefer the lets take the horses out and pack some snacks for a picnic lunch somewhere kind of rides.

Emma and Tux

So we packed the girlchild off to favorite auntie's house for nearly 3 weeks so she could get her fix for the year.  There has been talk about just signing over the custody papers and letting her stay forever.  But word got out that we are going to disneyland next week, so the girlchild decided maybe she'd move next summer instead.

As part of my "MOM watch!" duty, at least I can tell she is making progress from last year.  We are still working on balance but at least we've moved onto the trot.

 

 

 

Along with the riding, the girlchild got to help with the routine chores.  They let the horses out to pasture every morning.  She got gates while Auntie cleaned pens.  The gave the horses their daily afternoon beer to cool them down.  And did bed checks at 10pm just to make sure everyone was still standing.

 

I'm glad for this opportunity but equally glad to have her home. We missed her silliness!

 

Be very, very quiet

So I spent a good part of last weekend hunting crawdads with a certain little girlchild.   I don't know about you, but when I think about hunting crawdads I think:

A) some kind of trap
B) set down in some kind of water
C) filled with some kind of bait (a.k.a. bologna).

Not walking out into the yard and shining a flashlight down a hole.

And yet we ended up out in the front yard shining flashlights down 1 inch round holes looking for claws or the shine of those beady, little eyes.

 

 

 

 

I don't know about you but the fact that the crawdads live in the lawn (I assume because the water table is so high there) kind of freaks me out.  In the it's okay to visit but I could never live there kind of way.

 

 

Sorry Illinois!  You are not the state for me.



Round up in Pictures

My sister came to visit.  I had intended to take lots of pictures and put some on the blog.  But, as evidenced by the crickets here, that did not happen.

We have been busy!  Here are the highlights in pictures.



We have had a lot to celebrate latey, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.



Turns out Bobbo is not so very good at back flips

Everybody say hello to Georgia.  She is a jumper...this is new for us.
And she is also named after the beloved bartender of the Silver Spur Saloon
who lost her fight with cancer a few weeks ago.

I made patriotic jello.  You should be impressed.
 Most of the time I epic fail at jello.

We had some flash flooding on 4th of July
Turns out watching the greased pig contest is not so much fun in the rain.

Emmers wanted to ride the 4-H float in the parade.
I did not.
I think it's clear who won here.

Scenes from Last Week

Last week I was both sick. sick. sick. and away at a work conference.  Two things that go so very nicely together.  Okay, they don't.  But I survived.

Here are the good highlights....as opposed to the nerdy-work related ones.

Drinking Minnesota beer and visiting with the Germans....it doesn't happen every day

Bob (that's the guy in red) won the lumberjack contest.  And we love all people named Bob around here.

Someone told me there was a giant spoon with a cherry on it at the park behind our hotel.  But all I could find was this dandelion....

The gift I got my mom from the vendor show.  You know, to remember the time she really had MRSA.
Just in case she forgot.

I remember now why we avoid the carnival at all costs. 
But the kids had a good time.

The boy got a jeep for Father's Day. 
I think Emmers and Bob are going for best kids ever award or something.

A day at the lake

Paddle Boating with the little man -
 turns out he's more in it for the joy ride and not so much the pedaling part

Emmers doing what she does best

Emma is desperate to be a lizard whisperer someday

It's going to be a good summer

While to boys run to the hardware store for the 5th time,

the girls will fish.

We are trying to catch the giant goldfish.

Maybe he will grant us a wish if we throw him back.

Sharing the Abundance

Thanks to last year's mild winter, there were blossoms and tiny fruit on both the peach and cherry tree in our backyard this spring.  And then one week in June we had a few very blustery days and the wind blew all of the peaches off of the tree.

It was a sad day.

But thanks to my sister we get to enjoy peaches after all.

We spent the afternoon in Smith Valley, picking peaches, visiting cousins, and enjoying ribs.

A perfect day if you ask me.

What to do with all the peaches that came home?

I quite like this

If ever you liked upside down cake you must try this (we left the almonds out)

We tried two different grilled peaches recipes that both were pretty tasty, but I still want to try this one



Tut Tut It Looks Like Rain

The best part of these 100 degree days is the afternoon thunderstorms they bring.

It calls for taking a break from weeding and riding bikes

and running for shelter on the porch.

They never last long,

which is probably why they are my favorite.

Things you might miss

Some things are in plain sight

and you still might just float on by

without ever really seeing them

Growing Girlchild

I sent the girlchild on a road trip without me.  She traveled 2,000 miles and 30-something hours in the car to soak up some good old fashioned, midwest fun. 

So this is what it's like to be six and on summer vacation, away from home.