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??