Pedicure and Dominoes

Annette and Kent went to Lancaster, PA on Friday, so Mom, Amanda and I decided to relax and pamper ourselves.  We took Grandma out for her first pedicure! It was a treat for all of us. Grandma said it's too bad she found out about pedicures, because she thinks she might need to go get another one...and another one....

For our last evening together we made stamped dominoes. Even Kent got into the act.

Because I know Verlene loves this craft so much, I thought I post a picture of the dominoes Annette and Kent stamped. It was a fun way to end a great visit!

Downtown and Back at the Farm

We couldn't have had nicer weather yesterday for our visit to Baltimore. Amanda didn't have to work till 3, so she was able to go with us.

The aquarium is undergoing extensive renovations, but at least was open. They don't have an official dolphin show anymore, but we got to see them in training, which was just as good.

The aquarium also has birds. These two sun conures were so pretty together!

We stopped by at Ft. McHenry afterwards. It is so great to see the exhibits and reflect on the events around the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. Mom and I sat on a park bench while the others went through the fort. Look the Star Spangled Banner is waving in the background!

After we got home we went next door to see the horses. Kent held Coco while Lenny hosed her down. She had a little swelling in her hooves. I put the halter on all by myself!

Annette and Kent had a tour of Miss Carol's 230 year old farmhouse. It, also, looks great for its age!

Mom went to bell choir with me. Mickey, who is experienced played all last year and invited Tricia and I to join the choir with her. It is so fun, if not a little scarey! I sometimes ring the wrong bell. But I try to do it in time with the music!

We finished off the day by going out to Salerno's for crabs. It was dollar crab day!

We invited June to come with us. It's nice to have a Baltimore native with us when we're eating crabs. There is a little learning curve!

We celebrated Mom's birthday while we were at Salerno's. It was her first time eating crabs like that, and she only got a couple in the time it took the rest of us to pack away 5 or 6. It wasn't very nice of us to make her go home hungry from her birthday supper. We picked up some Berger cookies on the way home to help fill her up!

Band and Dam

Wednesday was band practice leading up to our big gig on Saturday at the ward Fall Festival. We had an audience of two--Kate (in front) and Grandma, behind the camera. They were both very appreciative! We are playing a lot of our music from the spring, and are happy that we haven't lost it! It is so nice to have a repertoire to draw from. Our one additional member is Jen, (in the hot pink). We're so happy she joined. She's another member with a golden voice!

Annette and Kent went to Harper's Ferry for the day, so I took Grandma over to Liberty dam for the afternoon. We went for a nice walk down a gentle path followed by a climb up about 100 steps! I was proud of Grandma still being able to do that!!

After dinner Annette, Kent and Grandma practiced bells with me. We went through several of the songs for my choir. It was fun and they did great. If we only lived closer we could have our own family bell choir!

Washout in Baltimore

Yesterday Annette took a walk in the rain with Coda and me. We got a little exercise and just enough water to feel invigorated. It was a harbinger of things to come later.

We saw the Peabody Library in the afternoon. But, it was about the ONLY thing we saw in Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum was closed, unbeknownst to us. They close on Monday and Tuesday now. The Catholic Basilica was closed for renovations, but we were able to see the Crypts. The Enoch Pratt Free Library was open, as well as Poe's grave. Amanda and Annette saw several of the bathrooms in the few places that were open. (To be polite I'm not saying why.) Then, it started to pour rain so heavy that the windshield wipers made no difference on the car. We decided to get out of Dodge (Baltimore). We finished up the day with a tour of beautiful downtown Sykesville.

On a brighter note, we now have a tuba player in our ward! Amanda and Matt practiced for a number at the ward Fall Festival coming up this Saturday! They're going to be a surprise hit in the entertainment! Their rendition of the Veggietales Theme Song makes you smile so wide it hurts your lips!

Gettysburg

Mom, Annette and Kent are out from Utah! It's so nice to show them around Maryland. So, naturally, we started in Pennsylvania! Gettysburg is one of my favorite places. Annette said the canons reminded her of the ones we had next door to us when we were kids in Poplar, Montana. We were to old to climb on them now, however.

We enjoyed the movie and the Cyclerama presentations at the visitors center (note grandma on the left).

At Little Round Top we met some re-enactors fresh off their weekend at Antietam. It was 150 years since the battle of Antietam. Next year there will be 30,000 soldiers back to re-enact the battle of Gettysburg! It is nice they help keep the memory alive. We're doing our best by learning a little more about it each time we visit!

Last Day at the Barn

Lenny is back now, so today was our last day to feed the horses. It was a fun 10 days. Amanda went down with me everyday (at 7:30 a.m., and 4:30 p.m.), and when Ed was home he went down with us, too. Today Amanda is in New York, so Ed and I were alone on barn duty. Bali thought she'd leave us one last present in her stall. We cleaned it up to leave it nice for Lenny tomorrow.

Coda went to the barn everyday, regardless of who was on barn duty. She loved every minute of it! One day we couldn't find her and it turned out she was in Miss Carol's house eating the cat's food! It's apparently much better than that dry dog food she gets at our house!

Last Day for Shave Ice

Last night was our last chance to get one last Hawaiian Shave Ice before the store closes for the season. We couldn't resist stopping by one last time. Ed had the grape snow shake, and I had the peach. Since we're on a diet, we both had smalls. They were delicious! Can't wait till next April so we can have another one!