Yes... It is another concert selfie... If you are really observant (and know the Moda Center) you can surmise we were in the "nose bleed" seats for this one. |
That's Patrick Monahan (lead singer for Train) autographing a Trail Blazer's jersey before giving it to someone in the audience (we were much too far away to be in the running.) |
That's Patrick again, singing with Hall and Oates this time (you didn't think we would go to a concert that didn't involve old people did you?) |
BC turned 5 so we had to humiliate her in addition to giving her presents. |
Mom took me and my friends to the beach! Not everyone enjoyed it, but I dragged most of them into the brisk, refreshing waters of the Pacific... |
In the end we all (Syd, me, Jody, Zoe, Alexis, and Micaela) enjoyed the warm, sunny weather... |
BC is trying to impress Lulu with her ability to levitate a ball... |
More dogs and fewer friends? Mom and I drove down to southern Oregon and met up with Aunt Maggie and her "children". |
Buttercup enjoyed the beach even if no one else did... |
While we were on a cool, overcast beach Dad was sweating at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Arizona taking pictures of the wildlife... |
and the cacti... |
Can you believe there was this much water in Phoenix? (Water Ranch is an artifical wetlands made with reclaimed water...) |
Dad swears there was no Photoshop manipulation to get these colors... |
But this one required piecing together eight separate pictures to get this view... |
Back in Oregon, Mom just needed one to capture this view. |
Of course, Dad had to play with Mom's pictures - but I think the black and white looks good. |
BC got to enjoy the beach some more - fortunately she didn't get washed away by that surf... |
But I had to throw the ball the other way and keep her more on the sand. |
As you can see... 1) Mom just can't help herself with the group selfies and 2) it was another beautiful, warm, clear day at the Oregon coast. |
Aunt Maggie just can't help herself so all the kids had to suffer through birthday party pictures. |
Dad just wanted to show off - on the left is his car's engine right after they pulled it out - on the right is the partially rebuilt version... |
And that is what it looks like after they put it all back together and put it back in the car. |
New body work - new brakes - a rebuilt engine - it is like a brand new 28 year old car... |
Look at me! All growed up and going to high school... I are going to be edumacated real good this year! |
I didn't get my car back by Friday... it was Saturday... two weeks later than the original Friday I was hoping for... Hopefully I won't have anything to say about my car next month...
August turned into quite the busy month for us: we saw Train and Hall & Oates in concert (no one got sick and the date didn't have to be rescheduled) and I had to make a trip to Arizona for work so Lucie and Caroline made a trip to southern Oregon to meet up with Aunt Maggie and enjoy the smoke filled skies due to California and Oregon forest fires. Then we got to enjoy our own smoke filled skies when we had a short lived brush fire right here in Gales Creek. Actually this year has not been good at all fire-wise: the Hillside Bible Church burned to the ground in June, the brush fire burned four structures, and a house right up the street suffered damage in addition to 3 cars in the driveway being destroyed by a fire that is still under investigation...
But enough happiness and good cheer...
Merriam Webster defines "high school" as simply "a school especially in the U.S. usually including grades 9-12 or 10-12". The urban dictionary has a little more to say, defining "high school" as "a place where everyone acts like their lives are great but are really dead inside" or "all the worlds horrors, all the things and people you despise and dread most, compacted into one building" or "a failed experiment in preparing young people for the adult world. All high schools in the country were built around 1960 and were designed to hold about half as many students as they currently do. High school is also the place where the stress of growing up and the stress of fitting in join forces to destroy even the strongest among us. Most of high school is not spent learning but involves trying to find friends who aren't complete douche bags..." but then it kind of goes into a downhill rant from there... I'm sure Lucie will have a great time!
As you know, August was originally the sixth month in the yearly calendar and thus was known as Sextilis. It was renamed in 8 BC to honor the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. It was also lengthened from 30 days to 31 so that it wouldn't be shorter than July, named for Julius Caesar... Thank goodness we no longer have such petty leaders that focus on trivial things like who has the longest month or the biggest inauguration crowd... In any case, regardless of its name August became the eighth month of the year when we switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, but despite its tremendous popularity since about 5000 BC, it was not until 1998 that we began to celebrate National Goat Cheese Month. A lot of people celebrate simply with a cheese ball, but we like to go out with a big party complete with goat jugglers...
If that isn't your thing then perhaps you'll want to visit New Orleans. The city celebrated its tricentenial this year. In 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded the southeastern Louisiana city, naming it after Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, who was Regent of France at the time. Though preparations began earlier, most consider August 25th the true establishment of the city, when hundreds of French colonists arrived to settle in New Orleans and surrounding areas. Too late to celebrate that now, but maybe you can go for Mardi Gras and party on Fat Tuesday on March 5th next year.
Right now though you can enjoy the August pictures on the web site...