Off to Eugene for Graduation!

So...all that hard work...how about a little celebration! AND and opportunity to meet my peeps and instructors from this all-online program. It's settled, then! Off to Eugene to walk in the summer graduation ceremonies! However, my husband could not wait for Eugene to bestow this graduation gift. Hee hee! Green and yellow! He said its like a class ring...only much bigger. ;) I LOVE it!

Once in Eugene, we picked up regalia and made our way to the big house on the hill. At the bookstore counter I told the young man I needed regalia. He said, "Faculty?" COME ON MAN! Education knows no age!! ;) It seriously took Mom and Dad and I 20 minutes to figure out how to don the academic hood. We should have checked out the instructional video on Youtube like he suggested.

Mom's funniest slippers ever!

The great backyard! Not sure if these guys were playing Simon Says without me or what...
Sister and Carolyn had fun musing on toasts for the evening's soiree.

And then we were off to the ceremony!

Zooming Around in Golf Carts

OK...let's see, been playing catch-up for the past 6 weeks....so let's see..where was I? Oh yes! A while back I was at the CH golf tournament! It was hot hot hot, so we got carts this year! Carts are the BEST!

Brandy and Larry the repro guy rounded out our foursome.

We all offered multiple contributions to the best-ball scramble, but my husband offered the most to our scorecard. He's a really good golfer.

Brandy had the tournament record on "ladies long drive"...for a little while anyway...

My husband had the tournament record for "closest to the hole"...for a while anyway...

I get the award for "best editing on a golf course." Closet? What the hell is closet to the pin?

Zooming around in carts is the best ever. I wish to be driven around in a golf cart by my husband everywhere we go.

We also spied this...uh...lady...man... golfer... Naw! That's Coach Jeb again, amusing us with his antics. Our foursome was not a contenter in the competition, but we had a good ol' time on the course. :)

Inlaws: Bugs

Most everyone has a "thing" that gives 'em the willies. For me, it's worms. Many of you know there's likely a reason for that. But they give me the creeps. Rats, snakes, spiders, don't really bug me. And I've realized lately, I have a bit of a fascination with insects. And I LOVE insect jewelry! Anyway, this fellow made me wait for quite a while before he would open his wings like this. Looks like someone munched his lower wing. Probably a back-alley moth fight.

Flora and fauna? Check out the ants on the stem.

There were butterflies everywhere on our adventure!
Leftover carcasses of caddis flies. They get up on that rock, get hot in the sun, and bust out of their creepy insect shells.

Farewell, inlaws!

Inlaws: Fishin'!

On our big adventure, we also hunted the mighty trouts... On the South Fork of the Boise River...

The elusive beast: Easy to shoot. Hard to catch. ;)

Art, the cowboy fisherman. ;)

My husband ended up catchin' two! I think we are on the Middle Fork by this picture...

Carolyn, with her toes in the water. The ladies hiked for a couple hours, and also enjoyed sitting beside the river reading.
My favorite fisherman. :)

Inlaws: 'Splorin' and Trout-huntin'

Well, there isn't a weekend in a summer month when my husband doesn't wanna get in his truck and go 'sploring. So we were off! We had an ice chest full o' Gatorade and sandwiches before the sun was gettin' serious!

As soon as I shot this one, I knew it would be the best of my day's shooting efforts. I love the weird effect on the water, likely resulting from this pic being shot from the window of a moving truck. ;)

OK, I don't know these people, but they were on the river, and I shot this from the same distance as the above pic was taken. And soon I will be starting my part-time P.I. career...

Dirt roads and trees as far as the eye could see...

Speaking of spying, everywhere we went, this red truck was following us!! Hee hee! We took two trucks so everyone was comfortable.

And we outlasted the sun... and didn't get home until after midnight! Phew!!

Inlaws: Potato Race!

OK, if I go to the Stampede for the mutton-busting, I go to baseball for the Tater Race! Three folks from the audience get to don these awesome potato-themed get-ups: Spud, Fry, and Gem (which is Idah0-speak for a Tot).

They have to race from first base, round second, and third base is the finish line!

I think the Fry outfit is probably the hardest to compete in.

Inevitably someone falls, and hilarity ensues.

But I think their goofy expressions are the funniest. I always root for the gem (what with my love of jewelry).

Inlaws: Baseball!

OK, I think these are the first blog shots that use my new camera!! We were off to see the Boise Hawks take on the Vancouver B.C. Canadians! I'd like to say "Take that, canucks!!" ...but they won...

Despite the rather low-energy game, we had fun. Carolyn and Humphrey Hawk!

Check out the spying capacity! I was able to capture this guy in the audience... Naw! That's Coach Jeb from softball!

I'm pretty sure this was the result of a mix-up at Ellis island, and we are likely related. ;)

We actually had front row seats! I like it when the lights come on at a baseball game. Feels fancier.

I like this gritty crowd shot. :)

Inlaws: Rodeo and Play!

Luckily the inlaws arrived just in time for the Snake River Stampede! The bull-riding... The calf-roping...

The mutton-busting!! I love the mutton-busting!! None of my pix of the youngesters on the mad sheep were any good, but as much fun as the kids are, the dude with the herding dog came in a second close. As Carolyn said, that guy and that dog could have probably moved that pack o sheeps by the inch if they wanted!

Awww! :)

We also went to see Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" at the Shakespeare Festival. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is my fave play ever, so I thought this one would be right up my alley, but I didn't find the writing or the performance nearly as tight. Still good fun though!

And good company! AND the amphitheatre is right by the Boise river, which lead to a mid-show visit by a curious skunk! Luckily he wandered off after a bit of exploration.

In-laws: Reservoir Fun!

My in-laws came to Boise last week on a house-sitting and dog-sitting errand! They were here for about 10 days, and we were able to pack all sorts of good times into their visit...despite it being about 95 degrees everyday! How to cool off in that? A trip to the reservoir for a picnic and swimming!!

My husband (right) and mother-in-law (left) and I were into the water in a matter of minutes!

Art is more of a "man of leisure." :)

That morning my husband had found another gem on Craigslist -- this inflatable kayak! So we took it with us to try it out. I was able to muster getting myself from the water, back into the kayak! This was no easy feat for someone who has been typing 16 hours a day for the past four months. I feel like a Tyrannasaurus Rex with tiny, relatively unusable forearms...

Guest photography by my husband! Love the spray of water off my toe that he captured just as I was about to go under. Someone else got a new camera recently too! Our family is currently camera-rich!

I spent about a half and hour trying to surf in the inflatable kayak, which was nearly impossible, given its shape. Here I have successfully jumped from the vessel, landed, come up for air, and still have my hat and glasses! Whoo-hoo!

My very resourceful father-in-law forgot watershoes, but somehow he had the universe send him protection from the sharp rocks. Seems like some good karma to me.