Our "Maine" Attraction

Anthony came to visit from Maine in October.

We all had so much fun!

We couldn't resist a night in Moab to

see Arches. Jantzen, Ian, Ali,

Whitney,and Haley under the Sand Arch.

Jantzen, Ian, Haley, Grandma,

Ali and Whit weather the wind.

Tony, Alisa, Ian, Haley, Whit, Grandma, Ali, and Jantzen

on top of Sand Arch. It took a lot of guts and

determination for some in the party. It was really high.

Ali, Tony, Haley, Alisa, and Whit with a friendly bird.

My very cool kids were

real troopers on the hike.

Checking out holes in the rocks

along the way- (no vermon)

Haley and the kids explore the holes as I stress about the

possible slipping factors. Very slick rocks.

Me- A head in the hole is better than a hole in the head any day.

We all had a blast and saw some great sights and had some

really fun walks. The weather was great!

Some fun sights in Utah/Colorado

Echo Park was beautiful and serene.

Rock Skipping- great flat rocks.

While the kids were in school, Tony and Alisa crossed the border into Colorado,

to see the Dinosaur National Monument area.The landscape is beautiful.

We even used 4 wheel drive to do some very off road adventures.

This is my best impression of Titanic over a

few thousand foot drop.

Tony was a little too macho for Titanic poses. jk

Halloween

We had a really fun and simple Halloween this year. It was pretty cold, so the kids were done in an hour, and had enough candy, but not too much.

Ali dressed up as The Joker (?) for a party,
and at another party she just had fun looking pretty.
The Joker make up was enough for one night.











































Haley was The Corpse Bride,
which was outside the box for her.












Ian was Ninja, and went
trick or treating with a few friends.






















Whitney was Snow White.
It was neat because I had been going
through old pictures, and found a picture
of myselfas Snow White at about
the same age.
Melissa was Pippy Long Stockings that year.

Me as Snow White and Melissa as Pippy.

(with her friend Laura)

End of Summer

School has begun. It was the fastest summer we have ever had. Haley spent several weeks with Grandma, Aunt Melissa, and Aunt Amanda. We missed her a lot, especially Mark.
Whitney loves 1st grade, and reads really well. Haley loves 5th and they like their teachers. Ian is still unsure, which is typical, but he is a quick learner. Ali will do well. She has some fun classes as a Junior, and is looking forward to performances and musicals. She has been working at Arby's. We will see how long this lasts, as she has a couple of tough classes, and she has a 3.85 GPA she likes to keep up.
Mark started sports up again- so busy for him in Fall. They are under staffed, not enough therapists want to move to the Basin, and the oil field pays a lot, which means housing prices here equal the big cities now. Homes like ours are renting for $2400 per month . EEk.

The good news is that the downstairs is finished except for some Hickory cabinets on the Entertainment wall, the mantle, and carpet. It is exciting. Now we have to save up for a big TV and the furniture. We even have most of our shelves, and have our food storage getting organized.

I am mostly teaching in the computer labs this year and testing students. I love both, so I am excited. I had my 20 year class reunion, and spent some time with one of my friends from H.S. and her hubby, which is great as Mark had to work late. It was fun. I got to throw candy to the kids at the parade the next morning.

Everyone is doing really great- it will be a busy Fall, but that is the norm.

Front of our mostly finished home. Yeah!












Last room!



Ian's food storage project

Ali's 16th birthday present. D.C. is her Favorite Idol- okay mine too. Look how close- I did not zoom for this one!

20 year reunion parade. Marcie on my right, Sharon on my left.

Our Jessen Lake Hike- beautiful country in the higher elev.

Ali, Ian, Mark- Jessen Lake

Whitney, me, Ian