Thanksgiving 2011

We had a great family Thanksgiving. Aunt Annie came up from Arizona, leaving a rather idyllic November climate for the winter of Montana. Grandpa & Grandma McVay came all the way from New Hampshire, and we had a great time. Lots of hikes, eating, drinking and board games. I guess that is Thanksgiving! We skied on Sunday for the first time this season, and Annie and Jake easily picked up where they left off. Hopefully we'll be going lots in the months to come!

Halloween & Griz Game

Here are some pictures from Halloween! It was a fun night and the kids got lots of candy. We went to the Day of the Dead parade downtown the next evening, and I was remiss not bring my camera. The 2nd graders made a block print and walked it in the parade. I thought the parade was more for college kids and would be scary, but it was much more of a community event. We also went to the University of Montana football game and got to see the Grizzlies stomp on their opponent. Before the game, they have skydivers land on the field; except this time, one got blown off course, hit a tree and slammed into the stadium. That was a bit hard for the kids to watch. The skydiver was flown to Seattle, and he is badly hurt, but living.

Video from Birthday Party

The corn maze, where Jake had his party, is held at a former school, and it still had the old-fashioned teeter-totters. You don't see them very often, as they are no longer put on playgrounds: too dangerous. But, they sure are fun. Little Annie is in the yellow sweatshirt; Jake is wearing his birthday crown and maroon fleece. Thanks Pum for taking the video!

Jake's Birthday & Other

Just a few pictures to upload. Jake has his 8th birthday at the Missoula Corn Maze, which was a lot of fun. It is a pretty extensive maze made out of hay bales and also cut into a corn field. We also went to a local fishing lake, Beavertail Pond, and had a nice fall afternoon. Jake caught a large trout and one small pumpkin seed. Annie and I talked, read, wrote and enjoyed the sun.

September 2011

It has been about a month since I've posted and a lot has happened since then. The kids went back to school, and I've gone back to work, also at their school. That in itself has kept us hopping, but cub scouts and soccer has also started up. We went camping two weekends ago to Holland Lake with a rented canoe. Fishing, fall weather and peace & quiet characterized the trip. Quite nice, really. This weekend we went with the cub scouts for a camping night and Lewis & Clark Caverns tour. Another 'little sister' joined the group, so Annie & Anna ran around together hunting rocks and other adventures. The wild pack of boys played boogey-man tag and generally ran around at full steam. The adults sat around the campfire and enjoyed the Indian summer weather and the impressive star-filled sky. The boys all slept in a mega-tent, and we heard them about 6 am screaming about a bear, of which existed only in their imagination. The caverns were like another planet, and a bit spooky. It would make a terrifying haunted house. We descended down, and down, and then down some more, all through crevices and dripping rocks. Uncle Kevin was in town for work this past week, and he got to visit with us for a few day. It was good to see him, and we hope his work brings him by again.

Forest Fire Season

I had never truly appreciated forest fires until I moved to Montana a decade ago. I now have a true respect for their power. Last summer was pretty much flame-free, but just a few days ago we had a fire flare up one or two stops over on I-90. When this one popped up, we thought it was just over Mt. Jumbo and coming our way. The pictures are views from our street. It was quite the neigborhood affair watching the plumes of smoke and glow of flames. It spread to the east (away from our house), but it was still something to watch.

Annie's Birthday & Biking/Fishing Blackfoot

Annie has turned 6! I was so busy running around at her party, that I didn't have a chance to take pictures. I'm going to ask another mom for a copy of some pics, and I'll try to get them posted. It was a great celebration, and thanks for the many well-wishes. The other pictures are from a bike ride & fishing along the Blackfoot River. The bike ride was an old railway road, called Going to the Buffalo, which followed the banks of the river. We rode for a bit, until the kiddos got grumpy and hot. Then we fished, played around, and watched the multitudinous floaters - you can tell the college kids are back. Brian, of course, caught some fish, but the prize of the day goes to Jacob. He caught a cut-throat trout, and he kept the floaters entertained with his excitement. He found a small pool, and could watch the fish checking out his bait through the clear water. He has learned that trout are trickier than perch and pumpkin seeds.