"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F Scott Fitzgerald
Here's a recap of our fall activities...
We started off fall with football, of course! Dave was able to go to Spokane over Labor Day weekend to kick off the season with the Washington State Cougars! He stayed with our good friends the Bennetts. Dave and Derek had a great time at Pig Out in the Park (they got donut burgers....yuck!!), hanging out at Home Depot, helping do some work on their house, and going to the game together. Thanks for hosting them, Bennetts! Can't say I wasn't jealous, but Dave did have an airline ticket he needed to use by the next week. Next time, the whole family will have to make the trip. He also got to visit some of our other favorite food places like Tomato Street and Cougar Country. We watched the game here and anytime we saw anyone wearing a crimson shirt who was male the kids would yell out "There's Daddy!" He did get pretty sweet seats...front row! It was a great game and the Cougars are having a great season! We also had a BYU/Utah football game BBQ and viewing party here. All of the folks here and pretty split. Dave made some yummy pulled pork and we had all kinds of sides and the kids helped me make blue and red popcorn balls. That was a hit!
Of course we were able to enjoy other fall football here in Scobey. We loved the tail gate parties and the games...even though some were quite chilly! For homecoming, Daddy was able to help decorate a window at the hospital to show support. Emma and Lizzie made some cute tie die Spartan cookies and Dad & Cal went to the game and Emma went with Ivy. It was so rainy but a good time! Another night we went it was the best large, harvest moon and gorgeous! Pictures don't do it justice. Go Spartans!
Started fall sports. Cal was glad to start gymnastics up again and Lucy is now in gymnastics (after being on the waiting list for a year). Lucy was so over the moon excited! She had a permagrin on her face the whole time and loves it! We surprised her and told her right before it was time to go to go change into a leotard we ordered. She is loving it, but says it is hard. Callahan also participated in DC soccer again. And sometimes he'd mix the two and be doing backflips on the field, but we talked about when we are at one we focus on that and things got better...) The theme for soccer was #hustlekindness and it was really taken to heart. They not only emphasize working hard, being kind, and doing their best on the field or mats, but in life also. It was a great season and Cal had fun with his friends. Thanks, Coach Betsy and Mrs. Manternach! Cov was devastated he wasn't able to start as you had to be 4 by August 1st...missed it by just a few days. So we played a lot of backyard soccer which turned into Ninja soccer. This boy cracks me up...he was jumping and karate kicking and then he'd fall on the ground in style. He's getting pretty good ball control. We also did a lot of tennis in the driveway this fall. Emma was not sad not to be doing sports, in fact, she and her 6th grade BFF Leah decided not to participate in elementary school girls volleyball ball. They decided this was their last year of recess and they were going to take advantage of it! :) Instead, Em's been working hard practicing trumpet and loves drawing and writing. She's especially been getting into making up her own cute comic strips and designing dresses lately. Future fashion designer!
There were so many wildfires here this summer and into fall. So sad and devastating in our state! This was our big sky for a few days and it looked even worse in real life. No filter on this one! It was totally eerie... all of the smoke from the Montana and Canada wildfires. Thankfully, we are safe here. But this really made me reflect today on all of the suffering going on abroad and in my own backyard, strangers and loved ones - the natural disasters, displacement of refugees, wars, death, health issues. It is so awful but at the same time, powerful as we come together to have faith and pray and lift and serve. I was reflecting on the words of the Psalmist "the Lord is my light" (Psalms 27:1) and then singing the hymn by James Nicholson - "The Lord is my light; tho clouds may arise, Faith, stronger than sight, looks up thru the skies Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign. Then how can I ever in darkness remain? The Lord is my light; He is my joy and my song. By day and by night He leads, he leads me along." What comfort these words bring! Maybe the Lord has sent us these trials to look to Him, our Light. And as He has asked us to look to Him, He has also asked that we follow Him, so we can be lights to someone somewhere and in someway. This is something I need to do better and am praying for inspiration and courage to do so.
We've had lots of sleepovers around here. Lucy had her first one over here with her buddy Brooklyn. A few weekends later, she went back to Brooklyn's house. Emma's had lots with Ivy and Leah. And Cal's had a few with Torsten & Angelo! Always good times with dance parties, face masks, painting nails, snacks, craft making, movies, and games well into the night. These kids have good friends, we're thankful for them.
We harvested our garden! Came out with lots and lots of peppers, some corn (some ears looked great, others not so much), some awesome red potatoes, and many cherry tomatoes this fall. It's been great to reap the rewards of our labors. Emma was especially excited about her personal watermelon, which we were skeptical about. It was super sweet! Cov was also happy to use the tools and dig in the dirt to get everything out!
Dave's been out of town a lot. All over the state and in Nashville between Montana Health Network, the Medical Legal Panel, interpretive leadership conference and Billings Clinic CEO circle. Oh, and can we just talk about what he does during the nights when he's not doing work related stuff? Haha! When Dave goes wild. He really had fun checking out these animatronic Halloween things at the Home Depot and tried on a bunch of masks at the Halloween store/Walmart. What a cute guy. The kids love getting his random pictures. And he always sends pictures to make me drool...too bad he can't bring some of the yummy food home on his carry on. The kids always miss him so much, as do I! And they look forward not only to his return but what he brings them back as a surprise! The eyeball glitter bouncy balls were a hit, as was this Guardians of the Galaxy puzzle he picked up at the Disney store in Nashville. I look forward to not hearing "I miss Daddy!" and snuggling with him again.
We had our Hospital foundation dinner that Dave and I helped with. I was on the committee to plan, organize, set up and carry out and Dave helped set up, run and spoke at the event also. The theme was "The Wonderful World of Disney" and it turned out so fun! We decorated the tables and walls and it ended up looking pretty great! We had the Scobey Mouseketeers (including Emma), a choir of kids from music classes and played Disney Scene It for the entertainment. The dinner was all around the Disney theme, too. Dave dressed as Prince Charming, I was Cinderella, and we dragged along Sydnie since all our regular babysitters were at volleyball or out of town.
We participated in the 1st annual Anti-Bullying/Suicide Awareness walk/run. Cal and our Cub Scouts made a bunch of signs to place all around. They had t-shirts for all, and some guest speakers speak on the importance of this topic. There were about 300 show up! I love this community! The three olders even all finished the 5K - way to go, kids! It was a great time and cause!
We were able to participate in the local "Zombie Walk". We started out doing makeup and Lucy was the only one who wanted to do that or dress up. Emma made Lucy's clothes out of some of our old clothes she cut up. We got some funny signs like "Zombies have Rights, too" and then we took to the street. We stopped at the funeral home, then went to the Nursing Home, then to the library for brain cupcakes and a prize drawing, then the radio station for some glow sticks and goodies for the kids, then back to the senior center for cookies and hot chocolate. Forget humans...sugar was what it was about, hehe! The kids enjoyed themselves and being with their friends! Who says there's nothing to do in small towns?
We had our Primary program here in October. This was Emma's last, which is hard to believe. She was the narrator, along with our other oldest boy in our Primary. She did great! She accompanied her friend Ivy on the violin and Cal & Roxi who sang "Keep the Commandments". And she gave a talk on how obeying her parents has blessed her life. This was Cov's first Primary program and he also did great! He did his part all by himself. Usually when the Primary sings or something, he doesn't want to go but he did so well and sang lots of the songs. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be in Primary with these little ones. Truly, there is safety for the soul and peace of mind in choosing the right!
The last weekend of October, it was beautiful and warm and sunny. We went and raked played in the leaves. Leaves all around! We made leaf nests, had leaf fights, and made the biggest pile of leaves we could. Then we bagged up 12 huge bags full! It was fun and a lot of work!
From raking leaves one weekend, to snow and single digit temps the next weekend! Starting on Halloween, it just started snowing and getting cold almost every day for about a week and then all of November! And it's expected to be a colder than normal. Which means longer than normal. But we're looking forward to a great winter now.
We went to our first "Lutefisk" dinner. Accoding to Merriam Webster Dictionary, lutefisk is "dried codfish that has been soaked in a water and lye solution before cooking". Yum, right? It has a gelatinous consistency. This is a popular thing in this area as it is a Scaney told us to make sure
One day, we held our own "Mascot Bowl". The kids came up with their own charactr, designed their own mascot costume, we had competitions on who could get the crowd the most excited, dance off, best stunts, best fan selfie, best slam dunk and touch down contest and more. They had a blast, though these pictures aren't very great!
At the end of November, the girls participated in Missoula Children's Theatre production of Cinderella here at the school. They had rehearsals all week every night until 7:30. It was tiring for them, but such a good experience! Emma got to be assistant director - she got to help with the sets and costumes and makeup, help others learn their lines, get the little ones where they needed to be and when. It was right down her alley and she loved it! Lucy was cast as a pumpkin. "Pumpkin pie...nothing suits my tummy like a pumpkin pie!" was the song we all sang for weeks after the performance. The musical was great - it was amazing what they accomplished in one week! Lucy said she always wanted to be in plays and musicals since we've been to quite a few and now she's accomplished that and thinks an acting career might be in her future. She was exhausted by week's end. They had 3 performances at the school that weekend and so many came out.
