Weekend at Nama & Gran'pop's

Bryn and I spent the weekend at Nama and Gran'pop's. We arrived late Friday night and had an action-packed day on Saturday. In the morning, we rode the Metro to the Smithsonian where we saw an absolutely wonderful exhibit on Jim Henson. In additoin to actual muppets, ranging from the most famous (Kermit, Bert, Ernie) to lesser known ones (e.g., King Goshposh), the exhibit included some of Henson's pencil sketches of muppets as well as a fascinating montage of his earliest commercials and video clips from appearances on "The Tonight Show" and the like. In a clip from one interview, Bryn enjoyed seeing a muppet's face transform in front of her as the eyes, nose and hair were removed and new ones applied. She also seemed interested in how the muppets were operated as puppets. The exhibit included some activities for kids, and Bryn tried her hand at the puppet stage that featured a television monitor so she could see what her puppets looked like to an audience. But when asked what her favorite part of the exhibit was, her response, and not to my surprise, was "the subway ride."

We ate an early dinner so we could get to the Montgomery County Fair in time for pig races. By the time we waited in an inordinately long line for a parking space, the races had just begun, and a crowd was already gathered around the ring. With Gran'pop's help, I hoisted Bryn on top of my shoulders, and she got a glimpse of races that featured, four at a time, piglets, ducks and baby billygoats. The races in sum lasted only 15 minutes but were, hands down, the highlight of the crowded fair.

Like Nana, Gran'pop isn't comfortable with heights, so just Bryn, Nama and I rode the ferris wheel. Bryn and I then went on bumper cars, but they were difficult to control, and after getting hit and jerked around, Bryn's reaction summed up my feelings, too: "This isn't fun." So we went on only the two rides at the fair, and we gave our extra tickets to another family with young children.

Nama learned the next morning that the two quilts she had entered in the annual competition both placed -- Sara's baby quilt won second prize and a queen-size quilt won the blue ribbon in its category. Congratulations, Nama!