Horses....part 2

The boys enjoyed their horseback riding lesson so much that we took them back for a second one. Tanner was so excited to see Pearl again! They were fast friends.
Carter and Stretch.
Parker rode a different horse this time around, but I can't remember his name.
It was a bit hotter this day, so Tanner gave up a bit early. He got to help Sarah give Pearl a bath. He really enjoyed it!
Pearl seemed to enjoy the attention!

Falconry

One of the highlights of our trip to The Greenbrier was participating in a falconry lesson. The boys really enjoyed learning about birds of prey and watching the demonstration. They each got a chance to hold the falcon as well. The interesting part of this story was my chance to get reacquainted with some friends of mine from high school, Duane and Darlene Zobrist. Actually, junior high, I guess. I met Duane and Darlene (Salin, back then) the summer I was 14, while visiting my cousins in California. We used to visit a lot since my mom and aunt were very close. Duane and Darlene went on to get married and have since settled in West Virginia bringing the falconry program to The Greenbrier. It was great to catch up after all these years and very fun to participate in the program that they started.
Here is Tanner holding the falcon.

In the center of this picture is the falcon coming in for a landing.
Carter gets his turn.
This is Cameron Zobrist holding the falcon.
Chase Zobrist.

Some kind of hawk and our instructor, Cody.
Parker finally gets his turn. After we finished with the falconry demonstration, we went back to the Greenbrier indoor pool and spent a couple more hours swimming. The kids all got along great! It was such a fun afternoon. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of Darlene and I. Oh well, maybe next time!

4th of July

These pictures are really in the wrong order....but you get the idea. There were lots of activities on the 4th of July at the Greenbrier. We ran from one thing to the next trying to get it all in. Here we are wrapping up the night with a GREAT fireworks show over the golf course. The weather was beautiful our entire stay. Well, I say beautiful because it wasn't hot, sticky and humid. It was mostly overcast and cool with some rain showers. But, I'll take that over the alternative. Here are our cute boys all dressed for dinner. Another part of staying at the Greenbrier is having dinner in the Main Dining Hall (i.e. a formal restaurant with linens and a four course dinner). Quite the change from McDonald's. Part of the "requirement" is dressing for dinner. Women had to wear dresses, men and boys over 10 were supposed to be in coat and tie. We forgot the tie for Parker, but got two boys in suit coats. We managed to make it through dinner without any incidents and Parker actually seemed to enjoy the experience.

Another activity provided by the hotel was a craft for the kids to make a hat or some kind of patriotic gizmo. Tanner models his creation.
A sandcastle in progress....yeah, we are a really talented bunch, aren't we???


Golfing on the putting green.

Wow! Confederate soldiers....we really are in the South!


The Greenbrier 4th of July Parade. It was a lot of fun.

The Greenbrier

Part of the reason for our trip to the East Coast was the IADC Conference at "The Greenbrier" in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It was conveniently located an hour from Chris' parents. Chris and I went over on Thursday evening for the opening social and then the whole clan drove over on July 4th to check in. This resort is amazing. I felt like we had stepped back in time. As you can see from the above picture, it looks like the White House! The Greenbrier has an amazing history, including being the sight of a top secret underground bunker that was large enough to house all of Congress plus their aides in the case of a nuclear attack. It was never used, but stood ready for 30 years until it was exposed in the early 1990's. Parker and I got to take a tour of the bunker and it was very fascinating!
Another interesting thing about The Greenbrier is the decor. During World War II it was used as an army hospital. After the war, the hotel hired a famous interior designer from New York named Dorothy Draper. Her concept to revitalize the hotel was to infuse COLOR! As you can see from these pictures.....it was very colorful. There is floral print everywhere! I am sure there must have been a shortage of floral wallpaper in the U.S. after this place was renovated. They even wallpapered the ceilings!!!
Chris took the boys up to the room while I was parking the car. When I got up to the room the kids came running up to me and said, "Mom, Mom, you have to check this out! We have a bum washer!!!!" Carter dragged me into the bathroom to show me that our bathroom had a bidet. Chris had tried to explain to them what a bidet was, but they never really grasped the word, "bidet." So, for there on out it became the "bum washer!"
Here is Carter demonstrating how the bum washer works.....notice the floral wallpaper!

Trying to catch up...

As you can see it has been awhile since I have attended to my blog. We have been out of town for almost the entire month of July. I think we spent 6 full days in Las Vegas during July. Now that most of the laundry is done and put away, I will try to get caught up. I have a lot of great pictures to download and share....so keep checking back!