elevenyears!

September 23, 2000; 6 p.m.

September 23, 2011; 12:02 a.m.

September 23, 2011; 6 p.m.

In the Trenches!

Uhhh.... Someone cut a trench in my driveway!!

It's kinda deep. I tried parking next to it yesterday but I got my work shoes pretty dusty...and a girl's gotta earn a living!

My husband cautioned me to not accidentally drive the Cooper into it and get it stuck in the trench. Good advice.

We hope to get rid of that ridiculous bed-framey looking thing in the landscaping efforts.

Based on my research, the bedframe thingy used to be a handrail on our concrete steps. Ultimately we have big landscaping plans, but for now, this trench is designed to extricate water from the area which was previously experiencing a bit o' the moldiness. Hooray!

Women's Division Golf Tournament Champs!

The company golf tournament has come and gone...and here's your 2011 women's division champs!! Well...ok...there were no other all women teams... but Team Bedazzle gave the guys a run for their money!

We dubbed ourselves Team Bedazzle after we all decided to use my rhinestone gun and affix sparkles to our hats! Mine are hard to see in the pic above, so here's a terrible pic of me but a good pic of the hat and my myriad rhinestones!! [Sister: scent of the day: "Play" for Her by Givenchy....hahahahahah!]

Golf carts and cheap domestic beers all around...what! That's really all you could get with your drink tickets! ;) And you know my stance on golf carts. Thankfully I had a designated driver to cart me all over the course! (Check out that rhinestoney handiwork!!)

We played like pros!

You kinda knew I'd be playing with a pink "Flying Lady," didn't you?

We even had the longest ladies' drive...at least for a little while.

The barbecue afterwards was new this year, and a really fun addition! Three cheers for Team Bedazzle!!

Fire Gear

The reason my husband was unable to attend the balloon festival in the wee hours was that he was off on a fire for a hot (hee hee) minute. Left on Saturday and returned on Wednesday, but did some good while he was away, and returned safely...fire boots intact.

Nectarine Jam!

One of my coworkers grew these gorgeous nectarines. Who grows nectarines? It's mind-boggling.

Despite trying my best, I didn't eat every single one, and left some for...jam!! Tho they look like pumpkins here...

Just a small batch. But enough!

I suspect my fruit chunks are too big. But they are frozen now, so we'll see.

And I did something I swore I'd never ever do in a million years. Once I mixed up the jam I realized that my nice Ball jam containers (see above) were all full of grape jelly from last year....so I had to resort to using...a leftover plastic container. My frugal and clever grandmother was especially good at doing this (as was my mother, on occasion), and I was always a little disgusted to try to eat her delicious blackberry jam from an old tub labeled "clam dip." I guess the nectarine doesn't fall far from the tree.

Deflation

I couldn't help but shoot this tiny fungus enjoying the morning dew!

On the way back to the car we did encounter a balloon that had touched down and was waiting for its pick up truck. Carolyn chatted with the driver for a bit, and we learned this balloon had come from Bellingham for the festival!

It was pretty interesting to watch them prepare it for transport....

And it actually looked smaller here than they did in the park earlier in the day. Thanks for the Ballon Festival fun, Carolyn! :)

Burning Up in the Sun

The next morning only the girls were able to muster making it down to the festival before sunrise. But worth it as usual!

Carolyn made this face pretty much the entire time. :)

Such fun to watch them inflate and take off!

Perfectly Boise: a little lax on the safety precautions! ;)

Whenever Carolyn would ask about one of the balloons over here, I would remind her that they obviously had burned up in the sun.

Night Glow!

The in-laws popped over for Labor Day forwhat has to be the quickest visit ever...! It was lovely to see them, and Carolyn was finally able to attend the Spirit of Boise hot air balloon festival and competition.

My husband, being all gangsta in the park.

The giant Coke bottle balloon!

And the happiest balloon on earth... ;)

They can't fly the balloons at night...

But they can fire them up and have them burn off and on at intervals in tune with the music! It's the Night Glow event! It was our first time, I'm so glad we went!

Like Water Off a Duck's Back

We seemed to pass a lot of our equipment back and forth. Successfully!

Shelby showcasing perfect form from kneeling...

...to jumping with both feet to standing...without falling in!

Like water off a duck's....bill?

More proof I was there. :)

WhatssssSUP....

Since my husband was off briefly working the Black Canyon fire, I was single...! So single Amy was out livin' large...MORE PADDLEBOARDING!!! Shelby's like a pro these days...

We brought a newbie along this time, and Jess picked it up like she's been doing for years!

We were SUPpin' up a storm!

Plus, QUACKERS!

Proof that I was there! I took this in case I forgot to pass off the camera, which of course, I did.

2011 Marmot "Float and Bloat"

I participated in Marmots annual end-of-season "Float and Bloat," floating of the river and subsequent potluck and barbecue...tho regretfully, my own Marmot chose to not participate this year. Someone's taking me to float and play in the water? I'm so in. Of course we started with the all-important pre-float safety chat.

And then promptly engaged in Stop Number 1: a good old-fashioned water fight. I am taking pix from safely across the river with my zoom camera...I was unarmed!!

"The Boss" thought she could stay dry with her froggy parasol...to no avail....

"The Mothership," captained by Coach Jeb and full of the young Marmots.

Is there anything better than recumbent on the river? I think not.

Stop Number 2: organized jumping from a log. Such spectacular form!

Lastly, Stop Number 3: Jumping out of a tree. See ya next year, Marmot floaters!!