The Underground World!

On Saturday, one of my supervisors (Heather) and I drove the 90 miles or so to Luray Caverns, in Luray Virginia.  It was a cool place!  If you've never been there, it's worth it to go.

 At the entrance to the building to get into the caverns. 

Thanks to Heather for many of the following pictures! 

 The fish scales. The wet and slimy ones mean they are still growing.  

 Look how cool it looks!  It's so otherworldly!

A cool looking column!

 Heather!

 An almost see-through stalactite.

 This was at the lowest point of the caverns which I believe was 16 stories below the ground.  I got lightheaded so far under the ground.

It kind of looks alienish. 

Oooohhhhhh!

Awesomeness!

I loved this part of the caves.  It looks like there are stalactites and stalagmites. Right?!  Of course right, but actually there are only stalactites and the ones on the bottom are a reflection of the stalactites from the water! I was seriously fascinated by this and had to look at it from different angles to realize it was very shallow but clear and still water and the ones below were just reflection.  It was awesome!

Another picture of the reflection. 

I thought this looked like an ear and decided to take a picture of it.

I believe the rest of the pictures are taken by me except the full body picture of me. 

The draperies.  They are very thin and look like draperies, hence the name. 

This is a stalactite that fell down thousands of years ago. Water that used to fill the cave prevented the stalactite from shattering into millions of pieces when it fell. 

I really liked these columns. 

The stalacpipe organ.  They searched 3.5 acres of the cave to make notes from the stalactites. They found 37 notes. Although no one was actually at the organ, they had an automatic song play for us and it was pretty awesome! 

One of the notes from the organ.

The Wishing Well!  Here you could throw coins (or dollar bills, in the case of some people) into the water and make a wish. They clean the coins out once a year (the bills more frequently) and then donate the money to various charities.   The sign has the names of the charities they donate to.

  They get about 2 feet of coins out each year. (This picture is from Heather.)

A self portrait :)

Part of the walk in the caves was a little narrower and lower.

From the beginning of the cave to the end, we walked a 1-1/4 mile.

Fried eggs.  

Me again.

A random memorial of those who died during World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War and the Vietnam War from Page County. 

I really liked the caves! It is so beautiful and otherworldly in the underground!  

 We did more after the caves, but that will have to wait for another post...

Random Post of Pictures of My Hair :)

 My hair after I let it air dry. 

My hair after I straighten it. 

 

 My hair when I curl it.

 Here's a poem I found online that pretty much sums up my feelings about my hair. 

The hair is frizzy
It will not stay straight
And nyther have
I means to fix it
Give me a straightener
That will last all day
And both my hair
And I will play

I laid my hopes
Upon my hair
Thinking it was
A trusty friend
But first it curled
And then it fuzzed
And my straight hair
Came to an end

Oh hair is soft
When freshly washed
Soft as a cloud
Up in the sky
But then it dries
And drives me nuts
And so my hair
Will ne're be straight!

Written by Mariah and Cheree

http://www.geocities.ws/mremmers814/frizzyhairsong.html

Family Reunion!

This post is a little late in coming, but here are some pictures from our family reunion in June.  All 8 siblings, all siblings-in-law, all nieces and nephews, and Mom and Dad were there! 

 

My cute little nephew, Davin, who has awesome hand-eye coordination already. 

 Beautiful brown-eyed Madeline.

 Kristinichka and I!

 Cupcake making Cami!

 Silly Lauren!

 I love this picture of Spence and Madeline!

 Sisters!  Kristina, Me, Heather and Lara. (Side note: Kristina is not that much taller than me. She just happens to be wearing heels:)

 Tim, Mom and Nate!

 I love this picture of Papachka and Madeline! 

 All of my adorable nieces and nephews!  Could they be any cuter?! I don't think so :)

 Mamachka and I!

 Reading time! 

 I went downtown a couple of times with Kristina and her kiddos.  One of the times we did the paddle boating at the Tidal Basin.  It was pretty awesome!  

 A cool shot from the paddle boat! 

 We went to some of the most popular attractions since Madeline and Andrew had never been here before. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War 2 Memorial, the White House, the Capital building, the Natural History Museum, the Jefferson Memorial (from the paddle boats), the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.  It was fun to do some of the popular touristy things again! 

What post of mine would be complete without a self-portrait?! 

 We happened upon this Einstein statue as we were wandering back to the metro one of the times we went downtown.  I think the statue is awesome! 

 Mom, Dad, Lara, Matt, and I went to the temple one day and afterwards went to a Kosher cafeteria nearby. What did we eat at the cafeteria, you ask?

 Well falafel and shwarma of course :)

Tim, Mom, me and Dad on the day they started their drive back to Utah.

The reunion was full of awesome company, good food, a little drama, good conversations, and fond memories!  Here's a link to Lara's blog which has more pictures and stories about the reunion.

Music! Music! Music!

I love music.  It has always been a part of me.  It speaks to my soul at times when spoken or written word does not or can not.  I listen to music in the car.  I listen to music when I exercise.  I occasionally listen to music when I am at work.  I am listening to music right now (Conquest of Paradise by Vangelis).  

I love to sing.  I sing in the car.  I sing at home. I sing at church. I may not be very good at it, but I do it any way :)  I like this scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 25:
  
12 "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

I am so grateful for music.  I am grateful that music can encourage me, can express what I am feeling in a way that I never could say in words, can pump me up, can entertain me, and can bring peace to my soul. Some of the many faces of music.  

Some of my favorite songs currently (pop, classical, and church) (in no particular order): "Conquest of Paradise" by Vangelis, "The Story" by Brandi Carlile, "We are Young" by Fun, "Here in Your Arms" by Hellogoodbye, "Gassenhauer" by Carl Orff, "What Child is This" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "He Hears Me" by Hilary Weeks, "Without You" by David Guetta, "If You Could Hie to Kolob" arrangement by Lex de Azevedo, Suo Gan (as sung in Empire of the Sun), "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" arranged by Mark Geslison and Geoff Groberg (from their Come Ye Children of the Lord cd).

OK, so I know that's a lot and that's not even all of them :)  I love music.

Here are some quotes about music that I found online. 

Music's the medicine of the mind.  ~John A. Logan  

Music is the universal language of mankind.  ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Outre-Mer

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.  ~Victor Hugo

This picture has nothing to do with music, but I wanted to post it... because I like it :) Lara, Dad, Mom, Matt and I at the temple when everyone was here for the family reunion.

The Merchant of Venice!

Yesterday some friends and I returned to Staunton, Virginia to the Blackfriar's Shakespeare Playhouse.  (Last year we also went to this theater and watched Hamlet and The Importance of Being Earnest. You can read about my experience last year by clicking here.)

 This time we did it a little differently.  We got there earlier so that we could take a tour of the theater before anyone was there and then we saw the matinee showing of The Merchant of Venice.  It was pretty awesome!  Don't worry I took lots of pictures during the tour ;) 

 Me on the balcony of the theater.  Look how small the theater is.  Pretty much anywhere you sat you had a good seat.  This is about where we sat for The Merchant of Venice.

Looking at the side seats from the other side.  Look at the cool lights that look like candlesticks but lit by electricity.  For the play, they kept all of the lights on (even the ones on the audience), which is the way they would have done it in Shakespeare's time. 

 The men's dressing room.

 The ladies' dressing room.

 We got to hang out on stage while our our guide talked about the theater some more.

 Looking up at the balcony where we sat from the stage. 

 See that brown door on the ceiling?!  Well it's the trap door on the ceiling.  The tour guide said they have ever only used it once because they ran out of money before they could finish making all of the equipment to make it safe to use. 

Listening intently to our tour guide.  (The guy in the green shirt is the tour guide.)  The tour was very interesting. We learned about the history of the theater and about Shakespeare and about the Blackfriar's theater in London as well as the Globe in London.

 Annie, Chelsey, Rachel, Diana (the one who organized the trip), and Mandy.  They are sitting on the chairs on the stage, which people sat on during the actual performance.  The actors would occasionally interact with the people in the chairs.  It was pretty funny :)

 During the play they don't use backdrops and they use very minimal props.  (Like it would have been in Shakespeare's time.) 

Our whole group.  Rachel, Annie, Mandy, Chelsey, Diana, Kara, Jessica, Whitney, Austin, Emma, and me. 
Overall the day was awesome! Awesome play, awesome theater, awesome friends!  I am so glad I was able to go again this year :)

P.S. I had never read nor seen The Merchant of Venice before and it was fascinating.  It was funny and sad and interesting.  I hope to do a post about my thoughts on one speech in particular from the play.  

Independence Day and My 200th Post!

Independence day has always been one of my favorite holidays. The music, the fireworks, the colors, the social gatherings, the food, and most important of all... the reason we celebrate.

I am so grateful to live in America.  I am grateful that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am grateful that we can worship as we please. I am grateful we can choose where and what to study and where to work. I am grateful that we can participate in selecting the leaders of our country by voting.   I am so grateful for the sacrifice of those men and women who fight to keep our country safe and free and for those who serve our country in other ways to make it a better place. 

"And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me."
~Lee Greenwood

"It is sweet to serve one's country by deeds, and it is not absurd to serve her by words." ~Sallust


P.S. This is my 200th blogpost.  Crazy.

P.P.S.  Here's a link to one of the best versions of God Bless America.  Sung by Celine Dion. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LSarhZpnMs

Here's one more link to some famous actors reciting the Declaration of Independence.  It's actually really cool! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyttEu_NLU

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY yesterday!    

 My adorable niece, Madeline and I, on Independence Day!

Pirates of Penzance + Thunderstorm + Friends = An Adventurous Night!

My family grew up watching the 80's version of Pirates of Penzance.  My siblings and I grew to love the music. So when I heard that Pirates of Penzance was coming to Wolftrap, I knew I had to go. 

On Friday night, I drove to Wolftrap with Emma and staked out our lawn seats.  We waited there for some of our family members and a couple of my friends.  It was super hot that night. But it is summertime so I can't really complain.

We watched the show and I may have sung a long with some of the songs and my feet were dancing with the beat of the music. The policemen in the second half of the show were hilarious!  I thought the major general did a good job with his "I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General"

The play was awesome but I might have been a little distracted by the lightning flashing in the distance throughout the second half. But no thunder and no rain. The play ended and literally 2 minutes later, thunder boomed and the wind picked up.  My friends and I  started up the hill to exit, the lights flickered off and on.  Then the rain started and the lights went off completely.  (I must admit I was a little scared).  But we continued on our way to our cars.  Remember it was pouring rain, the wind was howling (winds got up to 70 miles/hour that night), the lights were out, and it was thundering and lightning. 

By the time I got to my car, I was drenched.  It looked like I had jumped into a pool with all of my clothes.  And when I got to my car I could not find my keys in my purse.  I was scared. But I got in my car and prayed then waited for about 10 or 15 minutes for traffic to die down and the storm to calm a bit.

Although the storm really did not last all that long, on the way home there were many huge branches in the road that we all had to dodge. I was driving slowly, but everyone on the road was doing the same.  It took me quite a while to drive home that night, but thankfully my friends, family and I all got home safely and I said a little prayer of gratitude after arriving home safely to my pitch black and air conditionless house.

It was quite the way to end an awesome evening at Wolftrap!