Fall Weather......

     Long autumns are a benefit to living in the South. Of course, autumn may not arrive until September or October but there is always a timeframe of perfect temperature. Unfortunately, this area of Texas didn't offer much in the line of gorgeous fall foliage but we managed. The last 3 years we've driven through Colorado when the leaves are in their prime so it does take a lot to impress us 😊.

     Lake Arrowhead State Park has a disc golf course and discs that we can use. We've never played before but it's a fun way to get in some exercise and family togetherness. There has been some definite improvement in our skills since we started but still room for growth. We've managed to not lose any discs yet, which is a wonder!

     Eldon had off 3 days over Thanksgiving so we left the camper here and drove the 3 hours to my parents for the holiday. We all had such a fun time! Eldon and dad did some projects in the chicken barn. Mom and I cooked and one day my sisters and I unpacked 8 boxes of decor and used a bunch of it. She's been waiting until the remodel is finished but finally gave up. A lot of it had been packed since they moved from Colorado - 8 years ago! I had a grand time pulling it out of boxes and it brought many memories with it.

Sneaking a bedtime snack. "It's like a date, grandpa, just me and you!"

The girls played doll nonstop.

Some of us went out and gathered mistletoe and hedge apples.......we never used it to decorate but it was still fun.

     Once back in Wichita Falls, it suddenly seemed as though our time here was ending very quickly. One of the places we wanted to go was the Nature Center. It was a neat place to visit. Sadly, it was run-down and could have been much nicer but we felt it well worth our time anyhow. 

The ferrets snoozing away.

Christmas decor!

Turtles.

The butterfly house was a favorite. We watched incubator where they were in numerous stages of hatching.

The man who worked here was super friendly and followed us around and gave us all sorts of information about the plants and animals. 

After touring the conservatory, we walked the nature trail. Ethan is starving (obviously), thus the long face. 

We did manage to find some leaves with color here.

     And if you need something to laugh at:

Ethan: How old are you?

Eldon: Old

Ethan: Oh. Like when the world was black and white?

*Blank stares and "Huh?" all around.*

Ethan: You know, like on old movies when the whole town is black and white. 

Wrapping up Montana

     This will be the last post about Montana for now, since we've moved south for the winter. In case you couldn't tell, we loved our summer here and are so thankful God led us back to be reunited with friends. 

Emily with her friends.

Makayla and her friends frequently planned to have the same hairstyle. 

Michael and his friends - lots of noise here!

The dirt roads are so fun to drive on!

Ethan and his beloved cat.

The church picnic was at Medicine Rocks.

It's so fun to wander around these strange formations.

Scavenger hunts for the children are always a hit.

Fall is definitely here!

Our garden is dying. We've cleaned out a lot of it.

The sunflowers did well.

Emily Maria - Age 6, grade 1 and 2

Ethan Myles - Age 4, grade preschool and play

Makayla Monica - Age 10, grade 5 and 6

Michael Eli - Age 8, grade 3

Emily with her beloved horses.

Peppers for the freezer!

Our friends gifted all the children a Montana shirt.

     It was hard to leave but like we told the children - if it's not hard to leave then you haven't had a good enough time or formed real relationships. We are currently at my mom and dad's in Texas taking care of their 20,000 chickens and 2 teenage girls while they are on a cruise to Rome. Of course we have all the vehicle inspections, Dr. appointments, and other miscellaneous things we have to do when we are back in our home state. We'll be here until the 11th of October then Eldon starts his next job in Wichita Falls, TX. Hopefully we'll survive big city life 😐😁.

Giddy-Up Junction - VBS 2019

     Our church's VBS this year was Giddy-Up Junction, taking God's love to new frontiers. The western theme made it incredibly easy to decorate and also for most of the kids to relate to! As always, the children had a great time and Eldon and I enjoyed it too :). I don't have a whole lot of pictures since I was fairly busy but here's a few. 

The entrance sign

Saddles make great decor!

     I volunteered to do crafts. It was so fun to watch individual personalities come out over the 4 days of VBS! Eldon came a few days and helped where ever he was needed. 

6 and 7's painting a picture.

8 and 9's painting. For some reason this was a hit!

10-12 year olds

The 4 and 5's were so cute and sweet! 

And there was yummy snacks every day too!

Kids at snack time.

I had a little trouble with some of my classes getting done with the craft early so one day I threw some papers on the table and told them to write their teacher a thank-you note. I even got a few!

One day they decorated a tin can and the next planted sunflower seeds. It was a little messy. 

Some of their paintings. This was a 2 day project as well. On the second day they modge-podged it to a board.

The 4 and 5 year olds made a bead snake and cactus rock instead of painting pictures. Completed crafts!

The program was fantastic. Ethan's class recited and signed John 3:16a, plus sang and signed 2 songs. Their teachers did an amazing job with them!

Michael's class recited verses and sang and signed some songs.

Emily was in that class as well. I loved watching them sign!

Makayla's class did some impressive singing and signing as well.

      At the end of the week, we were all exhausted but it was worth it. May God richly grow the seeds that were planted!