A Hiscock-St. Clair Sabbath

Tonight we had our friends Damie and Jared over for dinner. Jason had offered to help Jared with his senior outline (the final papers you turn in your senior year to show you'll have completed all the requirements and qualify to march at graduation), and Jared and Damie were going to work on music with me. I had already asked Jared and Damie to do special music with me this Sabbath, and we were planning on it. Then I got a call from this week's chorister asking me to fill in. So I asked the Hiscocks and they were very happy to help. So Damie is playing piano while Jared and I lead song service and do special music. This is the song we've chosen for special music. It's number 606 in the Adventist Hymnal and it's absolutely beautiful. The words are a bit heavy, but it's a lovely song. You should give it a try. Better yet, come hear us sing it on Sabbath at the Milton Church!

Down to the Wire

Tonight was THE NIGHT I had planned on packing the hospital "go bag." I had a list that I'd printed out about two weeks ago; I'd gone though and crossed off the things I didn't want to take - things such as family photos (why the heck?!?), massage oils (just not into that), and other random stuff. So tonight I got the duffel bag, grabbed the list, and started packing. Only trouble is, I'm still using my toothbrush, so I can't pack that until we're headed out the door. Same for face wash and other misc. toiletry items. So once I'm completely done with everything I can pack ahead of time, I'll stick a note to the bag with the few remaining items that need to go in once I've started having contractions. Unfortunately I didn't finish tonight, but I have high hopes for tomorrow night! The best part of all of this will be picking out the outfit for Little Miss to wear home from the hospital. Jason and I are going to pick it out together. I'll post a picture once we decide which one it will be. First, though...Mommy and Daddy's necessities. Save the best for last, I always say!

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.