Kathmandu anyone??

Hello all!

It has been too long since the Herberts reunited!!! (To those of you who either missed or were too cool for the Wales trip in '05 or Haydenville in '07... your loss).

We need a date and a plan for the next large get together.... I'm thinking: The Himalayas, Summer 2010. But I'm open to suggestions. If anyone is interested feel free to check out this website:

http://www.geckosadventures.com/default.aspx

Gecko's is a tour operator group that specializes in multi-country trips through different regions all over the world. They were given the Responsible Travel Award for Best Tour Operator of 2007 (I included this little factoid just for you, Mom). They cater to solo and small group travelers, but I contacted them about the idea of a family reunion and they LOVED it (even though I warned them they'd be both in love with and extraordinarily sick of us by the end of the trip).

If no one else is feeling the Himalayas, we could go for Latin America, Africa, or even Antarctica. Don't you worry -- I'm sure Diana can sniff out some Herbert ancestors on any continent...

Hey everyone!

Many thanks to Jenni for starting this blog. I think it's a great way for everyone to stay in touch :) I'm not great at blogging, even being one of the youngest here, but this is something that I can get on board with.

I hope everyone is doing well and it's so exciting to see what everyone is up to these days. As for me, I recently moved to Colorado and have started a nursing program here. I'll be graduating next summer, and from there have no idea where I'll be moving. I'm excited about it nevertheless. As a recap for my family, Suzie and Scott are still making it in Birmingham, with only Allie left living there. Allie will be starting her senior year in August and then she'll be heading to college somewhere. Josh and Will are still doing their thing in L.A. and loving it. Hopefully we'll be able to get the rest of them into posting here as well. The internet is certainly a great resource. I'm off to work on some homework for the evening. Take care! Talk to you all soon!

Swimming to Shore

Thanks, Andy, for getting me started. It is yet another example of your leadership and courage as the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Herbertians.

I have done a little research on this business of blogging, and confess it perplexes me a bit. But I found a definition that attracts me: a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page. Oooh...blogging is right up my alley. I have many thoughts, and while sometimes not linear, they are most certainly are chronological.

So here's one of my thoughts for the day: will Chip and I actually jump off the barge at Alcatraz on June 28 and swim 1-1/2 miles to shore?

In celebration of our 7th wedding anniversary, we're participating in the 16th Annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim, which honors the "swim the Anglin Brothers and Frank Lee Morris successfully attempted in their escape from Alcatraz on the night of June 12, 1962. Who knows where they are now? Who cares?!!". Herberts around the world can check it out at http://www.envirosports.com/events/event.php?eventid=2190

Today as I look out over the farmlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, sipping my coffee with our dog at my feet, I'm thinking: YIKES.

The Picture at the Top

This will be Diana's first official post (with help from Andy) until she figures out how to blog... blog, lets think about that word... as an aside: I love it when nouns are turned into verbs in the English language... I am going to try out some new ones... how about this one.... "I am going to finish couching here before I car my way over to the bar to beer it up a little." Works pretty well! Try it with your neighbors and friends. I bet you'll get some strange looks followed by sudden understanding. Anyway, copied below is Diana's email explaining the photo we attached at the top of the blog. Thanks for your help Diana!

By the way, Diana (and Rod, Pat, Rob, Steve, Scott, our newest member Andrew, and everyone else to whom this applies), I will be creating a sub-section of this blog that will be password protected for only those indoctrinated into the Herbertian group. This is where those of us who married into this wild Welsh family can spout about all the strange things and odd commonalities peculiar to the Herbert Clan. Diana, we should try to recreate the initial list of things we came up with in Wales...

Okay, so none of the above was Diana's first official post yet... sorry Diana. So far, it's all been my post, so below will be Diana's first blog entry.

Andy B.

Attached is a picture of the sons of Thomas and Elizabeth (Davies), who are also grandsons of John and Jane (Jones) Herbert. John T. Herbert (in the picture, far right) is your great-grandfather, and the father of our Thomas the
Governor.

Most of the Herberts we know, including the Gills, Millns, Stevers, Morrows, Grangers et al, are descended from the John T. Herbert in this picture. The other folks with whom I've corresponded, like Jenni in Wales and Jim in Texas, are descended from cousins of John T.

And I'm still trying to figure out what a blog is, even though, in true Ukrainian style, I jumped on the bandwagon and am participating enthusiastically.

Aaron was right (it took me 4 hours)

Hello all! yes, i know its taken me a while but,...well, I'm just not as cool as my son Ben (who is currently typing this for me) ^_^ if it wasn't for him i would be dead on the streets hoping & begging for technological help...but anyways...wow theres so much to talk about yet so little space & i have used up a good amount of it already. So!...donut give up on me i will try to input as frequently as Ben (the one who's typing) is available! I'm heading off to Maggie's graduation this weekend & then Ben & Hallie are going to camp the following weeks so chances are i won't be able to type on this thing considering i don't know how... but oh well! maybe i will surprise you all! or even myself...

XX Kisses!

Memorial Day Weekend 2008

Thank you, Jenni, for creating a Herbert blog! I love that all the cousins are keeping in touch -- so many stories and accomplishments to share. Thought I'd follow Judd's tuxedo tease... it's true... brother John and I spent a day in January unearthing old uniforms and other treasures... including a book of Byron's Poems that was presented to J.T. Herbert in 1886 by his students, one of Kathy Granger's girl scout notebooks, the plaid tuxedo -- which John claims to have worn back in the 60's -- and more.

Chip, Diana, Jeannie & Walt are celebrating this weekend together in Pittsburgh -- Rod and I are catching up on the homefront, and sending best wishes out to all the Herbert 2008 graduates -- and to Matt as he completes basic training in the U.S. Army. Our love to all... rht

(Now let's see if I can actually post my first ever blog!)

MASTER...of the universe!

HOLA!!!!
hope everyone is awesome-town!














I have WHOLEHEARTEDLY rejected social network sites but this bad boy is something I can hang with. Heeeeeeeey Cuz(s) (Aunts/Uncles/Amigos!)

So, Monday afternoon I defended my thesis. Im proud to tell you all that I now have my Master's in Spanish. Que bien!! In three short weeks Im off to NYC to begin my training as a Teaching Fellow. Im in the process of finding a summer place...I heart Craigslist.

In other news. I'm a dad.

Host dad. My roommates and I have adopted a charming Saudi Arabian boy. His name is Abet, he's 25, and he is in the states to learn English. We are giving him a room, making three meals a day and showing him around. So far, my roommate Brandon and I have quite disagreed on the peanut butter to grape jelly ratio for Abet's lunchtime sandwhiches. :::Sigh::: parenthood.

Love you All!!

Oh...the photo. My roomies and I hosted "Millenium Prom" at our place. It was our last hoorah before graduation. The plaid tuxedo I am wearing (hard to see in the pic) is a Herbert family heirloom. No joke!

Besos y Abrazos!

my sister rocks

Yay for the blog and for an easier way to stay in touch since it seems we are all so busy!

I'm still living it up in San Diego for the summer, and then probably heading to the bay area in August. I just spent a couple of nights camping in Utah and hiking with some of my girlfriends at Zion and Bryce Canyons -- good times. Am very excited for my next travel weekend - a visit to Ohio in June....

Also, I just want to say I'm glad that the Herberts have a collectively high IQ [it's e when you're b!]. Bloggers with bad grammar and spelling (or those who don't understand homophones) are not permitted to post on our family blog :)

Much love to you all!!

Hey everyone! So, this is a blog huh? I've never been a part of one...nice. Great work on the blog Jenni! And of course, a shout out to Katie for coming up with the idea and persuading Jenni to get it done. I'm a huge slacker.

So, I've gotten to chat with a good amount of you over the past few months since I joined FB in Jan. A lot of you are up to some pretty fun stuff. I think the only cousins that are not on FB are the Haydens (Ben and Haley are def not old enough, but Matt is just slacking here) and my sister Megan. Everyone else has a pretty good showing though, which is awesome. Seems like everyone is doing really well too.

As for me, in March I flew out to Louisville to visit Megan and Mom for Easter. We had fun but it was cold. And of course, we made it to the Woodford Reserve Distillery for a little tour and taste test (my fav part of course). Here's the picture of us right before our taste! I bought a bottle too, so drinks on me next time any of you come to visit.

I've been busy with the Air Force mostly over the past few months. I became an Aircraft Commander in January and that has been fun. For those of you that don't know, I fly the C-17. It's been a busy year and I think I've been out of town almost 90 days so far. So, it's nice to be in Seattle and enjoy my city. This weekend I'm actually going to Sasquatch, a big music festival that should be a blast. My friends and I are camping out all weekend, which is always an adventure. I'm also training for the Seafair Marathon right now. It's on June 29 and will be my 3rd, so hopefully I'll get some good runs in this weekend on mornings before the shows start.

If anybody needs a call out from a live show, lemme know and I'll do my best.

Finally, if anyone can shed light on picture placement on blogs...that would be nice.

Aaron

Herberts on the Web

Since Kate has been in San Diego (she left in February), I have promised, on more than one occasion, to create a blog - mostly, I think, she wants to see photos of Celia. I am not especially technically savvy, but I hope to give this a try - and I hope you'll join me. Please help us keep each other "posted" by adding to this blog when you have time. (If you don't have a Google account, you'll need to create one in order to post. It's relatively easy. If you have trouble, e-mail us: jbetz1383@wideopenwest.com) As creator of the blog, I'll need to add e-mail addresses as "team members" in order for others to post -- I've added some, but please send me other family e-mail addresses so I can add them... I have not intentionally left anyone out, but I'm afraid I don't have everyone's e-mail.


And for Kate, and the extended family, here's a Celia update!

Celia's 14 months old now. She loves to read books, and to put toys "in" bowls and buckets, etc. She'll eat just about anything, but is especially fond of cottage cheese. Her favorite word, currently, is "shoe." She likes to swing at the park, wave "hi" and bye, and give super-slobbery kisses.