Lazy Day

Today we did nothing but be lazy. We slept in since we were up late for fireworks last night, and then we hung out in our PJs for a couple of hours. Finally, we washed and dressed ourselves, but went right back to being lazy - we read, played computer games, napped, ate some lunch, read some more, and ended the day with dinner and a movie. It was a stupid movie that just happened to be on TV - "Cruel Intentions" with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon. Basically, it's a teenage/high school sex movie. And it has a stupid ending. If you get the chance to watch this movie, pick something else.

There was also a storm today in La Grande. The wind came up (I heard 70 mph gusts) and it rained, though not terribly hard. There was plenty of lightning and thunder, though, which was awesome. Above is a photo of the sky after the biggest part of the storm had passed. Here is a shot Jason took of the sky as we were driving home this evening:

Independence Day

Today we went to church and then quickly changed, grabbed an ice chest or two full of food, and began the 1 1/2 hour drive to Enterprise, Oregon. There we had a delicious BBQ lunch at - pay attention now - Jason's sister's mother-in-law's house. For those of you who know names, that would be Rolie's mom. She lives in a beautiful little house out in the forest about five minutes from Wallowa Lake. It was nice and cool, and it was a quiet, beautiful little spot for a picnic 4th of July lunch. (Even if we did have to make a run for it indoors shortly after starting our burgers because the rain came pouring out of the sky as if someone were dumping buckets!) Here's a picture of the backyard where we started our corn and burger/hot dog BBQ:

After lunch we all kind of lounged around and relaxed...and then around 6 we headed up to the lake to reserve spots for the fireworks show. The scenery in the Wallowa Lake area is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Here's some of what we saw just on the 5-minute drive to the lake from Rolie's mom's house.

Since we got there and settled in around 6:30, we had quite a time to wait before the show started. (It didn't begin until 10 p.m.) So I enjoyed watching the scenery, people-watching (quite entertaining), and shooting some photos. The people next to us had the most adorable little puppy. Somehow I managed to catch him looking at me after he'd climbed up into one of their chairs.
Of course, before the real fireworks started, everyone had to shoot off their personal ones. Jason, his mom and I ended up moving to higher ground, because we were choking on fireworks smoke as well as cigarette smoke, and it was super loud. Before it got too bad, though, I snapped a shot I really like (except it's a bit blurry) of some kids enjoying their fireworks.

And here is one of my favourites, taken shortly before the show began (you might want to click on it and view it full-size):

The fireworks show was supposed to be "unique" - something never before done in North America. I'm not sure what was so fabulous about it - it was a good fireworks show, but there was nothing phenomenal about it. The show was about 20 minutes long and was quite beautiful. Here's my attempt at capturing some of it:

Old Times, Good Friends

This is Brindle. He's a Boston Terrier with quite a bit of energy, but he knows how to be quiet and he obeys orders. He's four years old.

Today Jason and I visited with some old friends of his from La Grande: Trish, Jasen, and Caitlin. We had dinner with them at Denny's (not my choice, but good anyway), and then we went over to Trish and Jasen's house to see his shop. Jasen is a woodworker and does amazing stuff. Since the shop is on property zoned residential, they also live at the shop, in an upstairs area remodeled just for them. It's very nice. While there, we also met and played with Brindle, as well as his 2-year-old "brother," Boo-Boo. Here's a hilarious picture of Boo, though I'm not sure how you can get a NOT hilarious photo of a pug:

Boo is a rare brindle-coated pug, and is a breeder. Though why anyone would pay hundreds of dollars for a pug is beyond me. They're noisy and obnoxious, and not even cute to make up for it. But some people love them, so at least they've got some friends, even if I'm not really one of them.

Brindle, though misnamed because his coat is clearly not brindle, was pretty fun. He would play fetch, and he would even play soccer. He could also sing. Here's a picture of him "singing" with Trish. (Believe me, you'll enjoy the picture more than you would a video - it was loud!)

We Passed!

Tonight we finished our childbirth class! It was our sixth week of taking the free class at St. Mary's Medical Center in Walla Walla, and we learned a lot. From left to right: Me, Jason, Sharon (nurse/instructor), Jacob, Merrie. The first night there were six couples, but by the second time we were down to four, and eventually it was just these two and us. Jacob and Merrie are due August 1. They also plan to deliver at St. Mary's, are expecting a girl, and have a lot of the same ideas as us about how they'd like labour to go (pain management, etc.). It was fun taking the class with them. If you look in Jacob's left hand, you'll see a pair of forceps. He was fascinated with them. It was kind of funny. At any rate, we're done with childbirth classes...now on to the actual child birthing...and then being parents. Yikes!

Tennis Court #2

Yes, I know...it's a terrible picture. But it was supposed to be a fairly cool shot of where Jason and I ate lunch today. We packed sandwiches, crackers, and fruit, with the idea of picnicking today. Since we wanted to pick up a movie at Whitman College, we decided to eat there on their campus. We were short on time, so we grabbed the first unoccupied bench we could find, which happened to be facing the tennis courts. It was partially shaded, but fortunately it wasn't a terribly miserable-hot day. So we enjoyed our picnic lunch away from the norm, and then headed to my doctor's appointment.

Haystacks and a Yo-Yo

Tonight we went over to our friends' house. Damie and Jared are expecting their first (also a little girl!) in November, and since Damie started working in Jason's office, we've been doing a lot more together. They've invited us over several times, and we haven't had a chance to return the favour, but they're a lot of fun. Tonight was haystack night, and it was delicious! Aside from us, there was also Ryan, a 2009 WWU grad, there (a former photographer of mine), and Will, whose wife was out of town, and his two daughters, Lydia and Charlotte.

After dinner, Jared kept the girls entertained with all sorts of toys...though they were perfectly capable of entertaining themselves with the cat's plastic jingle bell balls they found all over the apartment. In the above photo he is testing the yo-yo out before giving the girls a lesson in how to make it work. Though Lydia (the older girl) tried for about 10 minutes to make it work, she couldn't get the hang of just letting it fall. She always tried to catch it! Yo-yos are complicated! Who knew?

And here's Jared giving a demonstration as Lydia and Charlotte look on in fascination. (They adore Jared, and it's so cute to watch him with them. He'll be a great dad.)

El Fin

Today they removed the last of the big tree near my office. They chopped it down last week, and I showed you pictures of the beautiful decades-old giant being torn down in a matter of hours. The size of this trunk illustrates just how strong a hold this tree had on the area. It was no youngster, that's for sure. Here's a photo of the hole they pulled it from:

Though it's kind of hard to tell, I'm hoping the backhoe there will give you an idea of the perspective on this huge hole in the ground. That tree is very missed already. I'm still so sad they had to tear it out.