Carving Pumpkins (Outside!!!)

Here we are carving pumpkins- in short sleeves- outside-in Great Falls, Montana- and it's the end of October! WooHoo!

It's like a Heat Wave!

Hi! It has been sooooooooooo warm in Great Falls the last couple of days I just had to shout it from the rooftops! Here are yesterday's Stats...This is crazy. The news is calling it a 'weather event'. We've gone Trick or Treating with snow on the ground both years we've been here and tomorrow is supposed to be 63F! Go Global Warming!

Great Falls, MT on Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday
Daily Summary

Max Temperature
70 °F / 21 °C
Average High Temperature
51 °F / 10 °C
Record High Temperature
77 °F / 25 °C (1968)

Min Temperature
46 °F / 7 °C
Average Low Temperature
29 °F / -1 °C
Record Low Temperature
-5 °F / -20 °C (1991)

Here is today's forecast...
Updated: 3:34 am MDT on October 30, 2008
TodayPartly cloudy. Highs 65 to 70...55 to 65 in the mountains. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph.

Autumn Hayride at Logging Creek

Wow! What a great time! We had so much fun last year on Outdoor Rec's Autumn Hayride that we did it again this year. We bundled up and headed to the mountains. There were two other families from our Ward there this year. We rode the haywagon up through the National Forest and then had a campfire dinner of hotdogs, grilled cheese, chips, s'mores, and hot chocolate. The weather has been really great this Fall. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Trunk or Treat

This past Friday was our Ward Trunk or Treat. It was held out at our local KOA Campground that a family in our ward manages. While it was pretty cold, I was very surprised that it wasn't freezing. They had us set up in their tent village and, as the sun set, it became a pretty spooky place. The only lights out there, I think, are solar. They weren't very bright, that's for sure. They also had donuts and hot chocolate which was fun. Because it was so cold, we were home by 7:40! Anyways, my sister almost forbid me from wearing that dress but I thought it looked great with the gloves and parasol (Goodwill finds!). I got lots of compliments regardless. I had put my hair up in hot rollers, which were borrowed from a friend, and I was suprised by how much I liked it. I think I'm gonna have to run out and get myself some. Jenna's dress is one of those pillowcase dresses. I put it together in almost no time. Come to think of it, I think we all looked great!

Rah, Rah, Rah and Spidermen!

I love to take pics of the kids in their halloween costumes. I think they look super cute and I didn't have to make a single thing. I got great deals on all three of these. Now that's a Happy Halloween!

Fun Fall Family Night

For family night this week we took a ride out to Sluice Boxes State Park for a short hike and picnic dinner. The weather has been nice lately and we thought we should take advantage of it. It was a lovely hike with all the Fall colors, although the threat of bears always make me soooo nervous. Our friends visited this same park and spotted one themselves. No bears for us, though, just a great family night. This was Dustin's idea and it was a wonderful one!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here I am warming my hands by the fire!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. Dustin was a sweetheart and asked our friend Lacie to watch our kids after we did the whole cake and presents deal. (That was our fabulous FHE activity!) After that Dustin surprised me with an appointment at the Spa in town to get my $48 pedicure! Hello. From one the cheapest people around, that's CRAZY! It sure was nice, though. He also had made an appointment for a manicure but we decided to spend that time at a nice dinner instead. So after the pedicure we went to dinner, with me in my very nice blue disposable flip flops! The restaurant was very quiet, the food good, and the service very quick. We picked our sleeping kids up at about 10 and then crashed at home. It was a very wonderful birthday!

A Couple of Firsts

Aunt DeAnne braided Jenna's hair for the first time. It looked sooooooo cute! She was pretty good about being still but I don't think there is any way I could do it by myself.

The first dusting, 10-11-08

Getting dumped on 10-12-08

It's still coming down and it's nearly 2 in the afternoon.

Hi All! We have been soooo busy. My sister DeAnne and her husband Terry and daughter Samantha came for the weekend. We didn't really do much but we had a great time just visiting. As you can see by the photos, we've had our first snow. Dustin and Henry love it, Jeff and I do not. It seems crazy to me that our last snow of last winter was June 11th and our first snow of this season was October 11th. That's only 4 months folks! Since I cannot wait to move away from Great Falls, Montana (hopefully to a much, much milder climate) I've added a countdown clock towards the bottom of the blog to help me remember that everyday we're one day closer to moving day!

Henry, the Art Museum, and Our nation's capitol...

Henry has been taking an art class at the C. M. Russell Museum of Art here in Great Falls these last few weeks. It's a great class held once a week. The museum has it in their discovery center so the kids get play time, too. My favorite part is that it's only $1 a week! The coolest thing he's done, so far, is his golden Christmas Ornament he's holding in the photo. This year the nation's capitol is getting it's Christmas trees from right here in Montana's Bitteroot Forest. They asked that children from across the state make special ornaments to go on the trees. The children in Henry's class are the only ones making them from Great Falls. They got to make one for themselves and one to send to Washington, DC. At this historic time I think that's pretty fabulous!