sharp!

David's band teacher had them wear tuxes for their fall concert.  Ni-i-i-ice!

Doesn't he look sharp?

time out!

At the beginning of November, I got to go with two of my favorite people, Lennae and Whitney, to Time Out for Women.  On the way we stopped in Aurora, a delightful little town, noted for its colorful history and its antique stores.  You can read about Aurora here and here.  Next summer I want to take my family, if we do any more summer wanderings.

And of course, Time Out for Women was fabulous.  We heard from Jenny Oaks Baker, Virginia Pearce, Sheri Dew, Hilary Weeks, Mary Ellen Edmunds, DeAnne Flynn, John Hilton, Wendy Ulrich, and Laurel Christensen.  Lots of uplift, lots of tears, lots of laughs.  I was especially moved by the violin music of Jenny Oaks Baker.  Sometimes I felt a deep emotional connection, even though the music wasn't something I thought was exceptionally "pretty."

Lennae has a "thing" for old posts and architectural work.

Whitney's "thing" is diamond glass.

My "thing" is being with my friends at an interesting place.

Even "Honest Abe" was there!

What a fun pair!  (BTW, that little house to their right is a chicken coop.)

The sign warns you that the bell might ring without warning, but we heard nothing.

Mother-Daughter Duo.

a couple of silly jacks

The ward held an "Autumn Festival" (read "Halloween Party") in mid-October.  They held a pumpkin-carving contest.  Guess who won?!  Guess who submitted the only entries?! 

This is supposed to be an alien.  It didn't turn out quite like I expected...

Here's looking at you, kid!

BIG BAND SOUND...itty bitty venue

David's band was invited to play at Noodles and Company for a fund-raiser.    They sounded great.  Unfortunately, Noodles and Company is not a large restaurant, so they sounded INCREDIBLY LOUD.  WE COULDN'T HAVE A CONVERSATION.  WE HAD TO USE SIGN LANGUAGE TO ORDER OUR MEAL.  HURRAH FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL BAND!!!

They don't look as loud here as they sounded.

David does a good job on trumpet.

summer wanderings 7

Okay, okay, I know this is way late.  But I want to finish documenting our summer outings this year.  Our final outing was in August.  We took Aaron, David, and David's friend Xander to Crater Lake.  The last time David was there, he was an infant, so he doesn't really remember too much about it.  ;-)

The Buick decided to act up, and there were forest fires in the area, which made things smokey, so it was an interesting trip.  Nevertheless, we had a fun day.

Guys and their gadgets on the way up, waiting for the car to cool down.

  

On the wall around the lake.

Some nice person volunteered to take a photo of all of us.

I told you it was smokey.  The longer we stayed, the more obscured the view became.

Ranger Bob gave a lecture on the history of the lake.  Neat scale model in the center.

Even though it was August, there were patches of snow.  Look out!

David did get even.

 Our summer wanderings came to an end, but they were great memory-makers.  I'd love to do it more another summer!  There are lots of things to see here in Oregon.  Lots of quaint little towns.  Lots of amazing scenery.