Thursday, July 22, 2010

Up, Up & Away!

Sorry for the lack of posts!  Our internet has been down for over a week now.  Finally had a tech out today.  All better now!

A couple weeks ago, the girls and I went to the Rogue Valley Balloon Rally.  It was the first time the girls had been that close to hot balloons.  They were so excited!


This is what we saw as we drove at 6:30 AM.  Drive faster!


Did I mention that we had to get up at 5:30 AM?!  Five!  Thirty!!  AM!!!  AM = in the morning!!!!


This balloon was J's favorite.



They offered a ride in a tether balloon for a charitable donation.  So we had to do it!  It was for a good cause!


Getting higher!


It was amazing!  It was a very gentle, quiet ride. 


So fun!  Only problem is, now we all want to go on a real, longer ride!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a pretty big deal here in Ashland.  The downtown celebration is over 100 years old!  It starts the day before the holiday with people marking their viewing spots along the parade route.  They put out their chairs and blankets.  Some even go as far as marking with duct tape.  It's crazy!

The celebration starts early on the Fourth with a run, followed by the parade and then activities, food  and entertainment in the park downtown.  Later that night is more entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display.

J & B were in the Ashland parade.  They were very excited to do this since it was their first holiday here.  Barbarian's sister was dancing in the parade with her belly dancing troupe.  They invited their children to pass out candy and flyers along the route as they danced. 

This photo is right before the parade started. Look at that crowd!

Barbarian and I lucked out and found a nice shady spot to watch from.

 
Here comes J! See the little tutu she's wearing? We made it. So cute! Okay, so she looks a little more like a Material Girl than a Belly Dancer. But she's still adorable!

 
And that hand in the middle of the photo? That would be Barbarian waving to her.

And there are the belly dancers!  Their parade entry received first place in their division!

After the parade we found some entertainment and lunch.

This band from TX was great!  I can't remember their name...

Anyone that knows me, knows I am a self-proclaimed, people watcher.  One of my favorite things about Ashland is the awesome variety of people.  If you didn't know better, you might think you were watching a music video being filmed!

These gals were one of our favorite sites that day.  These living statues would hold their position until someone tipped them.  Then they would reposition themselves.  This went on for hours!  Do you think that metallic paint on their skins is healthy or, at the very least, extremely hard to remove?!

Barbarian and I watched the fireworks from our deck.  They were beautiful! 

Can't wait for the next holiday here!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Bears? Oh My!

So a few weeks ago Barbarian woke up to a noise outside our bedroom window.  He looked out but couldn't see anything.  He then moved into our bathroom.  By then the motion sensor light had been triggered.  When he looked out, he saw it.  A black bear.  Though he says it was a smaller one.  By the time he woke me up, it was gone.

Last week, we heard a loud crashing noise through the back yard.  Sounded like a horse running through.  Whatever it was, was growling at some sort of prey it was chasing.  We didn't see anything but it sure was scary!

And then yesterday, we found this...  (warning, not for the weak!)
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This?  This is fresh bear scat!  We found it in our side yard, about 30 feet from the house.  It appears we have a resident bear.  Ugh.  Now what do we do?

P.S. - Please don't tell my mom about this!  She may never come visit or she may order me home immediately!