Weekend Update

Natalie won 2nd place with her character pumpkin at school. Her pumpkin is "Violet" from the Boxcar Children series of books. I thought she did a great job!

See the "M", just to the left of the tallest green tree? This was taken from the Univ. of Montana campus. And below is a pic of us sitting on the "M". Notice the steep angle? Yeesh.

We hiked the "M" yesterday and I lived to see another day.
And that is a miracle in itself! Hiking the "M" (Mount Sentinel) is something I've wanted to do for months and we finally managed to round up the gang & cruised to the University of Montana to get to the trailhead. This is one amazing hike in town....as you can see from the pictures, you really get a birds-eye view very quickly.

Needless to say, the girls & their dad scampered up the steep trail (with 13 switchbacks) like mountain goats. Alas, I, did not. Gotta work on these lungs (and other parts). I made a horrible mistake at switchback # 11.....there was a bench...I thought a few minutes resting on the bench would be just the ticket...NOT! Big mistake for me. I immediately got nauseous, faint & clammy. Once I figured out that I needed to lay down & stretch out, I felt better. I told myself that I was going to touch the "M" or die trying. And truthfully I wasn't quite sure which way it was going! ha! But I lived to make it to the top & now I'm inspired to make it a regular hike. Although I don't think I'll ever be able to run up (and down!) this trail like some nuts do.

The Grizzly stadium is really nice, although a far cry from the size of the "Swamp" ;-)

The snow will be falling soon & the weekend hikes like this will be over for awhile. Next up...learning to sled pictures! And COLD Halloween photos (where we won't all be SWEATING and batting away mosquitoes!) I've become one with my new ice scraper/snow brush. And I'm learning just how long it takes to defrost & scrape the windows before heading out to drop the kids off for school! The first few times was slow, but boy can I scape like a pro now! I even scraped Roger's truck windows for him this morning! Aren't I the sweet wife?

For Kathryn...

This post is for dear Kathryn.....whom I wouldn't want to go into labor while living vicariously thru us! Kat, I hope this finds you doing well...I think of you often!!

As usual, there is no good excuse for not blogging more often, so I won't even attempt to explain.

We are all doing fine and I've been happily anticipating colder weather....which I'm sure I will regret immensly once it is here! The weather has finally started cooling off (50's for highs & 30-40's at night).....and later this week will bring highs only into the 40's. Hmmmm.....what was I thinking??? It snowed up on Lolo Peak again this weekend and it is so pretty so see. I have been buying lots of winter duds for all of us.....QUITE different than what we would wear on the Gulf Coast during the winter! ha!

Natalie is really doing well in 4th grade & loves her new school & classmates! She's in a great class & she'll be starting basketball next month. Anna is in preschool & also loving it.....she has lots of friends & love to run and play all day there.

Roger has been working & enjoying the new people he meets (and also stocking up on winter clothes!) And I've been busy for the past few weeks trying to find a job. Not the easiest thing in the world, but I have a 3rd interview with a local company this afternoon.

I really miss my friends and co-workers in Alabama....and I wish you would just move here! But I do love the Montana lifestyle & the scenery is so amazing...I still feel like I'm on vacation.

Kat, you'll need to get that baby bundled up for a trip to visit us next year in Montana....but I warn you.....you will never want to leave! xxooo