WHERE DID OCTOBER GO?

Wow, today is Halloween and I can't for the life of me figure out what happened to the month of October! I knew the time would pass quickly once I got back from Montana and it has! We're on the "GOODBYE TOUR" as I like to call it. Our church, Cross Timbers honored us with an open house send off. I was amazed at how many people made time to be a part of that! There was tons of food including a gorgeous cake our friend Charli had ordered with a picture of the Mountainview Hideaway on it! The picture was taken from our friend Fabrizzio's artwork that he did for us; Dave had made note cards for me with his picture on it and I had sent one to her earlier this year. Charli and her husband Conley put a lot of love and effort into making this special for us!!

Charlie and I, she's a native Montana gal!

Dave and Conley, the "King of the Grill"!

Our sweet friend Martha and I...

Jerry, Martha's hubby is quite a character!

We've had a final get together with our Life Group which was hard for me. We are 4 couples that have been "Doing Life" together for over 12 years and we have seen lots of changes during that time; all of us have lost loved ones, celebrated marriages and promotions as well as shared in life's trials and Dave's cancer journey. This is a group that is as close as any family and whenever there is a need, they are right there to roll up their sleeves...I will miss these wonderful people so very much!

We've also gone out to dinner, lunch and brunch with many people and have a few more on the calendar. Tomorrow and Wednesday the BNSF will honor Dave as well.

I spent some time back in St Charles this month as well. I enjoyed a good visit with my father and stepmother with some of my siblings one Saturday...

Some people say I look like him but I don't know about that.

I took Pop to the country where we spent the afternoon with our life long friends Dennis and Lois. I enjoyed seeing our oldest daughter Jennifer and her family several times, including our grand-daughter Alyson's musical with Pop and a movie and lunch one day of their Fall Break.

I always make time to visit my Mutti's grave at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, as I pulled up, the chapel bells were playing the National Anthem.

I spent the day with my best friend Brenda where we celebrated her birthday in Kimmswick, MO.

Of course I HAD to spend time with my Peggy....

I always make my Pop a priority; we spent a lot of time together just chatting, watching World War 2 documentaries as well as his favorite, "Sanford & Son". I enjoyed his cooking for us (memories from my childhood came flooding back) and I listened to him share memories, all the while giving thanks I still have him in my life... I am incredibly blessed!

WRAPPING UP

After Dave flew back to Texas, Peggy and I balanced our time with soul talks, drives and work projects. One of our favorite places is the Izzak Walton Inn in Essex which started out as lodging for employees of the Great Northern Railroad and is now open to the public. They have engines, cabooses and hotel rooms available as well as a nice dining room. If you come for a visit, there's a really good chance that Dave and I will bring you here for lunch where you can still see an active train yard; our favorite railroad's, the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe!

Stopping at Goat Lick, no mountain goats but beautiful fall colors!

Peggy volunteered for some "dirty jobs" like cleaning out the wood stove, stacking wood and learning how to use the log splitter.

One day we decided to grab some snacks and enjoyed a drive through Glacier, our backyard!

Logan Pass was socked in with fog and clouds but it was still pretty cool!

More Fall colors and raining in the Two Medicine area.

The big project that Peggy and I worked on was surprising Dave by decorating the house for Christmas! I want him to be totally caught off guard when he walks through the door. Except for hanging porch lights and getting a live tree, everything is done! It took a lot longer since this is the first time and I didn't have a reference from previous years on where to put stuff. Here's a sneak peek:

Those three weeks flew by but it won't be long now!

SHENANIGANS

A few months ago Dave and I decided that our sister-in-law Peggy could use a little therapy, the best kind of therapy, the Montana kind! She flew in on the 12th and stayed for two weeks with us. It was a combination of work, relaxation and play time. We picked her up at the airport and waited for the shenanigans to begin!

After we got home we got her settled in and then we had a nice pot roast dinner I had been cooking in the crockpot.

Peggy helped me with getting a lot more stuff purged and organized. One morning we went to Montana Coffee Traders for breakfast.

One night I went to bed before 9 PM and had chills and fever all night long. I "slept" almost twelve hours! I was pretty run down that whole day but Peggy and I just took it easy. Originally, the three of us were going to hike in the Two Medicine area and then meet our Contractor Randy and Chris for dinner at the Glacier Park Lodge. Peggy urged Dave to go on and that she really didn't mind just relaxing at the house with me. There's always the next time:

I also got to visit my new Chiropractor for the first time. Our Son in Law Corey had an issue last summer when they drove up for a visit and I got him a referral from our friends (Corey ended up giving them a good review!) It seems that all of the loading of boxes and furniture into the U Haul truck, 1,800 miles on the road, unloading the truck and moving boxes made my hip problem flare up. I go to my Chiropractor here in Texas every month for maintenance since undergoing PT and numerous adjustments back in 2011. As a result, I didn't do any hiking on this trip since I didn't want to make it worse. One day, we took a drive to Many Glacier (inside the Park) going on the "Going To The Sun Road" and we enjoyed the Fall colors all along the way!

Peggy and I decided we would hang out at the Many Glacier Hotel reading and I was going to do some crochet work while Dave hiked to Iceberg Lake. We forgot that the MGH is undergoing renovations and the giant lobby and fireplace are closed. We found a nice spot to sit and relax and eventually went into the Ptarmigan Dining Room for lunch.

When Dave got back he decided to go have a bowl of chili in the dining room and he told us that for the first time ever, there wasn't any ice on the lake. This is one of our favorite hikes and I hope that winter restores the "icebergs" we are accustomed to seeing!

Of course we also made time for going to the Huckleberry Patch and having our Huck Pie with Huck ice cream and drooling over a vintage T-Bird!

We went to the Lodge at Whitefish and celebrated my 56th birthday over dinner.

Peggy's first week zipped by and soon we had to say goodbye to Dave since he had only taken two weeks vacation. She and I still had another week together but time spent with loving family is always the best time!!