Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend
We went camping!  Jason and I, along with some friends went out to a campground in Frederika, Alcock Park.  It was a really nice place, it had showers, and two sets of bathrooms. 
And we had a spot right on the river!

Happy days!
Enjoying the fire...
I left early on Saturday morning to head down to see my cousin Sabrina in Peru, IA!  They were having their 4th annual fish boil!  If you want to see what a fish boil consists of, check out this link.
Sabrina and her mom, my aunt Donna!  Don't you just love Sabrina's baby belly!?
Were cute! :-)
See the pot...it's full of fish!

Boil over!!!!!
I had to snap a picture of Sabrina's beautiful crib and baby room!
Thanks for having me guys!!  Can't wait 'til next year!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Singing in the rain!

If the weather people are right, we are going to have a slightly rainy Memorial Day weekend. 

That would be fine and all...

If we weren't planning on being outside all weekend...

and sleeping in a tent.

Jason and I have camped over Memorial Day weekend with the same group of friends for a few years now.  We have been through rain, heat, mosquitoes, a tornado a few miles from our campsite, animals, wind, you name it, we've seen it.  We've even made our own rain shelter out of a tarp, some trees, and some large branches.  The darn thing worked!

Jason LOVES to camp.  If he could live outside, he probably would.  He likes braving the elements and he is a fire bug.  Always picking, prodding, and stoking the fire to make sure that the heat is evenly being distributed...even if we are just making smores before bed.  He laughed at me when I told him that he would pee the bed if he played with fire.  My mom always told me that.  Now I have come to realize that was a hoax to keep us away from the fire...she's good.

Jason also is an excellent cleaner/organizer when he is outside.  He's that way inside too, but outside is almost worse.  He will straighten the log piles, tidy up the cooler, and set up the garbage before you have a chance to say hello.  It's crazy I tell you! 

I also might add that he is an excellent rock skipper and prides himself on seeing how many times he can make it skip over the water.  I'm not sure what his record is, you will have to ask him to show you his mad skills if you are ever around him, some smooth stones, and a large body of water.  It's quite intriguing. 

He isn't allowed a hatchet anymore when we camp.  If you know Jason you will have most likely seen him "flipping" things.  Spoons, pop bottles, plates, ketchup bottles (this one was a funny story), and whatever else he can get his hands on, including a hatchet. I hadn't met Jason when this little mishap occurred...but let's just say he has a scar to prove that flipping a hatchet is not a cool thing to do...

Food is always a huge thing to look forward to when camping...here are some of the nessecities:

Camping food:
Smore things is a must.
Eggs-for breakfast
Cheese-for everyting
Various meats-brats, burgers, steaks, chicken.
Bacon-enough said
Bread
Potatoes
and on this years menu, Scotcheroos!

The best part about camping...

-being outside.

-on a day off from work.

-seeing and enjoying the nature around you.

-being with people.

-making memories to last a lifetime.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Proud coach!!

After only practicing a few times, these girls are really showing improvement and looking great!! I am so so soooo excited to be their coach this year and to work with them...they are so talented!!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Bluff Creek Triathlon-Jason's FIRST official Tri!

Today, Jason ran his first ever triathlon!  He participated in the Bluff Creek Triathlon, Sprint division.  He did great and loved it!
Here we are in the car on the way down, just being goofy! :)
We stayed with these guys, Titus, Cici, and baby Winny! They were great hosts! :)  Thanks Holly and Andy for lending us a bed for the night before!
This is the transition area for the bike portion of the race.  Lots of bikes, lots of athletes...
Here they are getting ready for the first leg of the race, the swim.  The water temperature was 56 degrees...and Jason did the swim WITHOUT a wetsuit.  Talk about FREEZING!!
Here are the Herrick guys getting ready for their race!  Justin, Jason, and their dad Richard...
Here is Jason as he is coming really close to being done in the water, he had to swim approx. 500 meters from a beach as shown above.

Titus and Cici are having some fun while the guys are out on their bike ride.  Jason had to ride 15 miles, while Richard and Justin had to ride approx. 26 miles.

If you looke really closely, you can see Jason and his bike with the white shirt.  He used a mountain bike for this race since it was his first one and it was short, that may need to change if he continues to do these in the future...he said he was pedaling like a madman and getting passed like crazy...a new and fancier bike may be in order...
Jason's strongest leg of the race...the run.  He had to run 3.1 miles...
Here is Justin heading out for the run, Richard and him had to run 6.2 miles.
Richard heading out to the run...almost done!!
YAY!! Great job Jason!!  You did it!  Also congrats to Richard and Justin for doing great too!!  Justin was 3rd overall for the olympic length course!  What a great accomplishment! 

We had a great weekend!  Jason has plenty more of these planned for this summer...so you will be seeing a lot of him in his spandex suit! Hahaha!! 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Baby....birds! :-)

Remember back when I had this post...

http://theherrickhome.blogspot.com/2011/04/seeing-past-snow.html

Those little birdies are hatched!


Not sure on how many are in there...and in this picture they look all jumbled up, can't really tell.  They are a little up a little taller than me, so I had to hold my camera up and just push the button.  The mother robin comes around all the time with little worms for them...it's a pretty neat thing to have a front row seat to! :)

Watch out world!

 My little sister is so cool...she can drive a tractor! :)  And she is really good at it too!  But that does mean she is growing up way to fast!
You know it's summertime when the rye is cut and being raked!


These are the flowers in my bug.  Everyone always asks about them, and I thought this post needed a little color...so here you go!

I have a front view of all the goes on at the high school parking lot right out my office window.  Today, since it is the seniors last full day, they were planning a prank.  Now, I am expecting something extravagant, such as toilet papering the underclassman's cars, having a skip day, or something else crazy.  Nope, this class planned on parking in the teacher parking lot.  Hahahaha!!  Well, their plan was spoiled for some reason...maybe they have something else up their sleeve since they are in school until tomorrow at 11:00am.  When I graduated from high school, we went a little more crazy with the prank.  I, of course, had NOTHING to do with the prank, but my brother Kevin, who also graduated with me, did.  He took a GOAT, unbeknownst to my mother, and let it loose in the SCHOOL!!  Hahahahahahaha!!!  It had a small accident (it pooped) in the Senior hallway of ALL places!!  Kevin, of course, had to do some explaining when he went to pick the goat up...they almost didn't let him walk acrosst the stage to get his diploma!! 

School pranks make me laugh... :)



Friday, May 6, 2011

An assortment of thoughts:

Lately, I have been finding myself having a lot more time on my hands.  It's been nice, really nice.  The laundry doesn't pile up, the dishes don't pile up...near as much, and I have more time to clean/organize/relax. 

I have been cutting my spring flowers that are blooming in the backyard.  They really brighten up my desk at work...doesn't flowers in a Mason jar just scream country living...I love it.  :)



For Mother's Day, I got my mom a canvas that has the picture of our entire family they used for their Chritmas cards.  I found a coupon code online for a FREE one!  All I had to pay was shipping and it was like $15 for that of course, but originally without the coupon code, it would have been nearly $40! 

I have been going for walks lately after work, since I have time, at the park here in Nashua.  It is so nice to just get out and walk by the lake.  I really enjoy it after being inside all day!  Also, for you Nashua locals, one loop all the way around the park, as in down and around the volleyball nets, and through the camping area, and back to the entrance to the park by the beach is very close to a mile for each loop.  I have been walking 3 loops a night.  My shins hurt a bit.  :)

I have a new blog that I really enjoy following...thought I would share it with you.  The blogger's name is Ree and she makes all kinds of yummy food!  Her photos are amazing.  Here is the link- http://thepioneerwoman.com/  I am making a recipe from her blog called Pig Cake for Mother's Day.  It has fruit in it so it must be somewhat healthy right?? ;)

I have several friends/family that work out of town and I can't imagine how much they will be paying for gas this summer!!  It was nearly $4 a gallon last time I looked this week.  Jason and I both work in town and I am so thankful for that!  I can't imagine commuting to work EVERYDAY and paying that much to fill up your car.  Jason is thinking about taking an online summer class instead of commuting to Mason City twice a week for a class he had been looking into...makes sense to me!

I have been just ITCHING to get out to a greenhouse and get our garden in!  We have a few peas and other veggies that I may put in tonight, but I really want to get some tomato plants and flowers! :D

I just have to share this with you...my little sister, Greta...can send a picture message.  No she doesn't have a cell phone, but she sure knows how to use my mom's!!  Seriously, I was blown away when I found out it was her sending them!  I figured Jacob had gotten ahold of her phone and was just messing around...but nope...it was Greta! She is so young...yet so smart at the same time!  I can't imagine what she will be like when she is a teenager!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  I have two graduation parties to attend!  Jason is excited....free cake!! :)

Monday, May 2, 2011

My brother Jacob & the trampoline...

These pictures make me laugh...




My brother Jacob, the acrobat! :-)

Waldorf College Graduation!

Adam graduated from Waldorf College in Forest City this last Saturday!  Jason and I were in attendance to see him accept his degree. 
He's the one with the flag :-)


Happy couple!

So so cute!!

Proud Parents! 
Congrats Adam!!