















Before the Corn Maze we enjoyed watching Addy play basketball. She had a great cheering squad with grandparents, great grandparent, parents, auntie, uncle and brother.

Auntie Lolo got some great action shots!






Addy scored twice!


After Basketball we headed across the street to our church gym to support the homeschool craft fair. We then had lunch before we headed to the Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze.
Sunday we were all seated in a row at church and after church we headed to our place for brunch before Uncle and Auntie headed home.

Gramps cooked up Swedish Pancakes that we all devoured.

A pause in our game of Skyjo to see if Josh could help JJ by pulling out his loose tooth. We all decided although loose, it was not ready to let go.


Addy serenaded us with Amazing Grace on the piano. She’s practicing for a presentation about piano at homeschool co-op this week.
Early in the afternoon the cars left our driveway for home and we put our feet up. We were so thankful to God for the time we could spend with one another.

When we sent out a text to let our family know we were disappointed that our guests from Southern California wouldn’t be visiting for the weekend because their flight was canceled last minute by an Alaska Airlines IT debacle, Josh and Laura made an impromptu decision to jump in their car for a visit to our side of the mountains. There were some issues on I-90 after a bridge was damaged by an oversized semitruck earlier in the week so they chose roads less traveled to get to us.

On the roads they traveled they were rewarded with some beautiful views including this amazing moose! This was their first time seeing a moose up close.
They arrived later than usual on Friday evening. Soon after they arrived from their 6 hour journey the doorbell rang and our Colville kids dropped in to greet them, too. Our Colville crew was so excited to see Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo.

Saturday was a full day with Addy’s first basketball game this season, a homeschool craft fair, lunch on Bayles Mountain, a rainy trip to the Corn Maze and then back to Bayles Mountain for dinner and Skyjo.

It was so good to continue the tradition of conquering the corn maze together. Josh and Dan stepped in to keep us on track since our usual trusty guide, Katie, was not here this year. We found all 10 stations!
Once again, I have dear Auntie Lolo to thank for all the photos!







We made it! Before they picked out a couple of pumpkins, JJ and Addy fed some horses some grass that was greener on our side of the fence.








Thank you, Josh and Laura, for your trip to Colville. It was a full and fun family time with you here!
Basketball and Sunday photos will show up soon.
Oh, and we are happy to report our friends were able to get their flights changed for this coming weekend and we hope that there are no more issues and that they’ll arrive and depart smoothly!!

If it’s Wednesday it must be time for the Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce.
1. What do you like most about your family?
The different Gifts that God has given to individual members of our family and how it enhances our times together. We have peacemakers, servants, caregivers, loyal friends. We also have those who display gentleness, wisdom, discernment, faith, generosity, courage, wit, a sense of humor and above all love. We all have ongoing areas that God is sanctifying in us like humility, patience, and forgiveness, to name a few. None of us are perfect but hopefully we’ll cooperate with the Holy Spirit in growing us up in our faith and obedience to be more like Christ.


5. Let’s wrap this one up with an October this or that…
My answers are highlighted in Bold.
6. Insert your own random thought here.

These two found a huge boulder while they were digging to China!

Sunday the 5th of October we made a quick trip to Spokane after church. The scenery was spectacular with clear skies and fluffy clouds.

A neighborhood cat without a tail visited while our grandson JJ was here on Monday afternoon. This was the friendliest cat that has ever visited our yard.

On Tuesday while I pulled some weeds I noticed this garden spider. Yikes!

On Tuesday our Colville kids had us over for a belated birthday celebration for Gramps!


Addy made sure Gramps was the one to blow out the candle.

After our meal and dessert JJ was excited to launch his rocket for us to see.

The first launch was very successful and didn’t land in the trees but the second launch was not as hazard free. They will have to wait for a big wind storm to free the rocket.

On Wednesday several deer came to visit.

We had some nice warm days that started with very chilly mornings.
Friday morning started with a beautiful sunrise.

Happy Columbus Day to all in the United States of America and a very Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in Canada!
I can’t let this day pass without acknowledging this historic day!
UPDATE: Waking up to news that after 738 days all the Israeli hostages have been released. What a glorious day for the hostages and their families and friends and nation!

Wednesday Hodgepodge has rolled around again, thank you, Joyce!
1. ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ How does this saying ring true in your own family, either the one you grew up in or the one you made?
In the family I grew up in, singing was something my parents enjoyed and that has been passed down to me and most of my siblings. Singing at church and singing when we had company over was a regular thing. Singing in choirs, singing in quartets, trios, duets, singing in Russian and in English, singing for recordings, and for me, singing in a Christian ‘rock’ band. Greg and I met because of that group.
The Russian Sacred Singers of Los Angeles are a group of California young people of Russian background. They sing in English and Russian under the inspiring leadership of director Leonard Wozniuk. The unique bi-lingual choir responded to our challenge to record their selections for radio use. Today, their joyful singing is heard world-wide over several short-wave radio stations and over local broadcasts in North and South America.
I’m on the bottom right, my sister, my cousins, and best friend complete the row. Second row on the left are two more cousins. The director is my brother-in-law. The Russian Choir and the Rock band were active in the 70’s!

Greg and I are on the right end of this photo. The photo was from somewhere in England, possibly Liverpool.
2. Something you’re nuts about these days?
Time spent with family.
How about something that’s driving you nuts?
Stink bugs are in abundance this year! This is a male stink bug. The females are rounder in the body.

Stink bugs, especially brown marmorated stink bugs or BMSB, are notorious for invading homes when the weather starts to cool. And while they aren’t interested in stealing your food or sucking your blood, their offensive odor is just as annoying to homeowners.
3. What does abundance mean to you?
These words from Jesus from the Amplified Bible:
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
Jesus is my abundance and I thank God for his plan of salvation through Jesus and for the Holy Spirit who helps me have faith and belief in the triune God.
4. Caramel apple-caramel cake-caramel corn-caramel sundae-caramel macchiatto…what’s your caramel treat of choice?

5. What’s a childhood memory that always comes to mind as the leaves start to fall?

Growing up in southern California did not afford me many memories of fall, at all. We moved to Washington state in 1988 and that is when I became more familiar with fall color and having to rake leaves! Our children were young enough that they are now the ones with childhood memories of leaves!

6. Insert. your own random thought here.
Our Grands are growing up with four seasons and lots of leaves! These photos were from a few years back while helping their Granny blow the leaves into a pile for the city to pick up.



‘
I’ll (leaf) leave you here. 🙂
Every October the little town of Marcus hosts a Cider Fest that is well attended. It starts with a parade on Saturday. This year the weather was so nice it seemed the attendees and cars in the parade doubled!

We spotted Dan, Jamie and our Grands arriving in Jamie’s 1964 T-bird. Jamie’s Granny bought the car for Jamie’s Grandfather. Jamie inherited the car.

All the usual suspects were lined up to enjoy the parade, Granny Great, Granny, Dan, Jamie, Gramps, Addy and JJ. Addy and JJ were ready to gather all the candy that the parade participants threw to the kids along the parade route.

The highway is shut down for the duration of the parade.





There was a clown this year.

Royalty came from nearby communities.

Batman was unexpected.

Our state representative and his family participated, too.




The sheriff was the caboose for the parade keeping the regular traffic at bay for the duration.

I took this photo of our kids/grands in front of the t-bird. I asked Auntie Lolo if she could clean up the photo and the photo below is the result.

Isn’t that cool? Are you able to do that with your photos?

Me and my Grands!

This year one of the choices at the food stalls was smoked turkey legs. We decided on this treat.



I snapped this shot on the way home and you can see part of the area across the Columbia that was burned.

We enjoyed our caramel apple when we got home from the Fest, delicious. We also brought home a half gallon of fresh apple cider.

After church and lunch out we decided to take a drive north from our home towards where the fires had been burning.


We only stayed on the main roads and we did not drive onto smaller roads up into the fire areas. We could see some of the trees that were scorched. It was a nice drive and we were encouraged that it wasn’t smoky.
Meanwhile in the state of Texas!

Josh had business in Dallas and extended his time there to spend time with his uncles, aunts, cousins, and childhood friend. Laura flew in after Joshua’s conference was over to join him for the ‘family’ time. An early round of golf happened on Saturday with his uncles and cousin.

Later on Saturday my sister, Lana and her hubby Steve, arranged for this get together, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and friends!

Laura with cousin, Hope (who is in her senior year of high school!). Josh with Nikki, my best friend’s daughter who lives in Texas now with her family. My brother and sister, the twins, who both live in the Dallas area. Nikki and her brother grew up with our kids in southern California. Nikki’s mom, me, Lana and Leonard were all part of the Russian Baptist church in L.A. growing up and into our college years.

Before Josh and Laura flew home on Sunday Steve and Lana treated them to a trip to the Dallas Arboretum.

It’s Fall y’all!
Thank you to Josh and Laura for sharing their time in Dallas with us through their photos! Thank you, to my sister and hubby, who opened up their home to them!
Hope y’all had a good Fall weekend, too.

Autumn is beginning and so are some Autumn hues on our property. Fall is a favorite of mine. Do you tend to say Autumn or Fall when talking about this glorious season?

Our weekend started with an early trip to Spokane to pick up Greg’s new eye glasses with his new correction that is appreciated. On the road to Spokane we pass this bill board in Clayton.

They change up the message about twice a year and I always keep an eye out for it.

On Sunday after our church service we watched the Memorial for Charlie Kirk. We appreciated several of the speakers. Erika Kirk, his widow, was an inspiration to listen to. It was a beautiful service with the Gospel of Jesus Christ shared more than once. Many shared it well. The music was beautiful and worshipful. It must have been amazing to sing with 70,000+ voices together.
Our Westside family sent photos of their experiences in California and Scotland on the weekend!

Josh and Laura were in Southern California. Our Laura and my nieces and grandniece along with my sister Kathy enjoyed a Sound of Music sing along at the Hollywood Bowl! That was epic and fun for all. They were celebrating birthdays, especially Avery’s Sixteenth!

Further birthday celebrations were enjoyed with my other sister, Vera, with nephews and grand nephew and our son, Josh.
And then all the way across the Pond in Scotland, Katie and Andrew enjoyed dinner at the same restaurant Josh, Laura, Greg and I enjoyed a year ago in Stonehaven, Scotland.

It brought back so many good memories.

Today they will be hiking to Dunnottar Castle. We’ll be waiting to hear how they survived the climb there and back again.
It’s time to pull out my Autumn/Fall swag. How was your weekend?

Day Two of the Feis was Deirdre Haran Abeid Day.
The Haran School of Irish Dance was founded in Kettle Falls by Deirdre Abeid over 45 years ago. Her daughters Caitlin Trusler and Claire Worley have continued in her footsteps, running the Kettle Falls and Spokane branches of Haran for the past 25 years.

All signed in and ready to dance



There are breaks between the soft shoe dances and hard shoe dances.


Both Addy and JJ appreciated Uncle and Auntie being at the Feis on Sunday. I appreciated it, too, as Laura could get up close and take photos and videos that I was not able to.









Soft shoe, hard shoe and then it was time for another soft shoe competition.

There is a trick to lacing the soft shoes!
When all the traditional jigs and reels and treble and Hornpipe were completed it was time for the creative water/sea dance. The dancers who wanted to participate in this dance had to come up with their own costume and dance.

This is the outfit conception that Addy came up with thinking about water, ‘under the sea’. Here was the completed outfit Addy and her Mom created.




It is so good to have the support team of mom and dad in the dancers corner.



Waiting for their solo performances. I wish I could share the video Auntie Lolo took of Addy’s dance but I’m unable to on my blog. It was a wonderful performance and we found out while we were out to lunch that Addy had received a 1st place for her outfit and dance!


We gathered for lunch before taking Uncle and Auntie back to the airport for their flight home.


After lunch on their way home Dan and Jamie stopped by the convention center to pick up Addy’s prize for her creative under the sea dance and costume.

Her 1st place trophy!

After getting home Addy donned all her awards from her first Feis!

Well done, Addy. Your hard work was rewarded. Hmmm, I wonder if she’ll want to sign up for another Feis?
Thanks for coming along and for all your kind comments.