Go Bengals!

We're enjoying being back in the basketball gym. Liz (#34) is a freshman this year and starting for the sophomore team. She plays with a great group of girls, so she's having tons of fun. She also has a wonderful coach. Many of the schools we play are two hours or more away, so thankfully, they take a charter bus on those trips. Last night we travelled to Kalispell. It took the bus 4 1/2 hours to make the trip. We got home about 2:15 this morning, so everyone has been a bit tired today. We did have a good night, though, as it was the first win of the season for the sophomore team. Liz was the high scorer with 16 points and also had the most rebounds.

A Family Tradition

It has become a tradition at the Hartley home to make a gingerbread house for Christmas. This year, we were honored to have Flat Kerisa help us!

Flat Kerisa comes to Montana

We are so excited to have a guest from MS. Her name is Flat Kerisa. She is a delight to have around! She arrived this past Monday afternoon and couldn't wait to get out of that mailbox to meet everyone. It was a nice warm day-55 degrees-when she arrived, but things changed quickly. It has snowed twice since she's been here. Snow fell all day yesterday. We have about 4 or 5 inches of snow so far with more likely over the next few days! Kerisa has been very helpful. She's helped me cook for Bible study, fed the dog, helped Grant chop wood, and much more! With all the snow, we haven't been able to do a lot of sight seeing out of town, but we did go to the Montana Capitol yesterday-yes, in the heavy snowfall!!! Stay tuned for more adventures of Flat Kerisa in Montana...

Wood

Parish has been busy getting ready for the cold weather. He and a friend have cut 10 cords of wood. He and Grant have worked almost daily to get ours all split! They are making quite a dent in the pile, but have a ways to go yet. Our temperature will be in the teens BELOW zero in a couple of days, so I'm very glad to have plenty of wood!

Halloween Costumes

the woodcutter


















Snow White



















the good witch

Pumpkin Fun

Yesterday...







Today...


Carving pumpkins is always a fun Halloween activity at the Hartley house. Elizabeth, Grant and I took knives in hand yesterday afternoon. It was too cold to be outside, so we carved them in the kitchen. We were quite proud of our work! We displayed them outside to greet the Halloween visitors. When we woke up this morning, our display wasn't as we had left it. It was 14 degrees and our pumpkins were covered in snow. With the temps predicted to be 11 degrees on Halloween night, the trick or treating will probably not take very long in Helena!

Montana Weather

This weekend we saw a drastic contrast in the weather. On Saturday, we woke up to snow clouds. About 9:30 it began to snow. Within a couple of hours we had a winter wonderland outside. However, as quickly as it came ... it left. The rest of the day was cold and dreary. The temperature hovered around freezing most of the day.










This morning we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Grant played his last soccer game of the season this afternoon. By then it was 50 degrees - beautiful weather for a soccer game. You would never know it snowed yesterday! Montana weather---go figure!! Oh yes, Grant's soccer team was undefeated this season. He had some great guys on his team, and they all had lots of fun!

Winter Snow Storm...

in October!! As you can see on the ruler, we have received 3 1/4 inches of snow since yesterday about noon. It is still snowing a little and more is expected this afternoon. Grant was so excited. He bought a sled at the thrift store last week, and he couldn't wait to try it out after Bible study last night. He says it goes FAST! Hopefully I'll get some pictures of him riding after school. Today was my day to help with music at Grant's school. When I left the kids were at recess. They were building snowmen and sliding down the hills as fast as they could!







Grant decided not to ride his bike to school today!

STOP

Parish recently volunteered to be the crossing guard in the mornings for Grant's school . Many kids walk or ride their bike to school in the mornings (including our own) and have to cross Montana Ave. It's a busy road, especially in the mornings with people rushing to work. Some of us had talked about the need for a crossing guard there, but the school didn't have the resources to cover it, so Parish agreed to do it. He loves it! He enjoys talking to the kids and has also met several parents that walk with their children. When you are driving by your kid's school, remember to drive safely and stop if you see a man in an orange vest hold up a stop sign!!

The Colors of Fall

The trees are absolutely gorgeous right now. In town, a tree in every shade of red, orange and yellow can be found. We rode out to the Great Divide, where Parish and Grant ski, to rent equipment and a locker for this season. I enjoyed seeing the colorful trees mixed in with all the evergreens. The first picture is of Grant and Parish walking up the bottom of the Mount Belmont ski slope. The elevation at the top is about 7300 ft. It's hard to believe that they'll be skiing here in just over a month! The other pictures were taken on the road up to the ski hill.

Pets

Grant loves having pets. He couldn't wait to get to Montana and get a dog. Jackson Clyde Hartley became our first pet. Or, should I say our second son! He is a huge dog, weighing in at 126 pounds at the vet a few weeks ago. However, he is a gentle, affectionate dog. He is just like one of the family, and we couldn't imagine life without him now.














Then came the bird. Grant named him Chipper Jones Hartley. (We swear that he chirps when Chipper Jones' name is called out during a Braves game.) Chipper is, how should I say this, anything but gentle and affectionate. We've grown to like him, but he's a bit on the insane side. He flies around his cage like he's being chased when we go near, and he screams at us regularly. Grant has just this past week figured out how to hold him without him going CRAZY. Maybe there's hope for him to be normal?!?

Now he's talking about wanting a fish. We'll see??

Homecoming Dance

My, how time passes. It seems like yesterday that Elizabeth would dress up in her plastic high heels, her pink satin dress up outfit (complete with feathered boa), and all the plastic jewelry she could find. Oh, yes, did I mention the crown? She loved playing dress up. She really hasn't changed that much. She still loves to dress up , but I'm not her audience any more. Tonight Elizabeth went to her first high school dance. She went to junior high dances last year, but they were low key. The Homecoming Dance is the big league. She has grown up way too fast. But, even though I miss that prissy little girl clopping around in the plastic high heels, I'm proud of the young lady she has become.

Valley View

This is a shot I took at the soccer game yesterday. The soccer fields are in the valley, so the mountains are all around. The mountains look very different as you look around. Some are brown and rocky with no vegetation. Some are covered with trees. Some are already covered in snow. I always enjoy getting to view God's handiwork from the valley.

The New Look

No, she hasn't gone crazy--It's homecoming week at Helena High! Today is mismatch day and Liz is full of school spirit. I can't wait to see what is next!

Another Victory

Despite the cold, we had a great time at the soccer game on Sunday afternoon. Grant's team won 11-3!!

Snow?? YES!!

We finally got our first snow. We were so excited when we woke up to find it snowing. Well, Parish, Grant and I were excited. The girls don't really think there should be snow in September. I don't think the tomato plants were very happy either! To celebrate the first snow, we built our first fire of the season to help us stay warm. It's hard to believe that it was in the 80s on Monday. It should be back up in the 50s in a few days, and all of this will be a memory--but what a good one!!


This guy is hiding under a tree to keep out of the snow.

The First Soccer Game

of the 2006 season has come and gone. I had never even watched a game of soccer until Grant started playing last year. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and he decided to play again this fall. Our first game went great! We won--the final score was 7 or 8 to 1.

SNOW????

Yes, we have a slight chance of snow tonight with a low of 35 degrees. I don't really expect to see any snow, but you never know around here. Everyone loves to talk about how it has snowed on the Fourth of July before. Liz has been worried that her first day of school shirt with its 3/4 length sleeve would be too warm tomorrow. Looks like she may need a jacket, too!

First Day of 5th Grade

Wow! I cannot believe school is starting again! Summer goes by so quickly. This is the first year that I did not take Grant to school on the first day. He's way too old for that, of course. This morning he was out of bed and ready for school in a flash. He then hopped on his bicycle, and off he went! I'm glad he was so excited about going back to school. I hope he's this excited tomorrow--haha!