Happy birthday, Belinda!

Birthday girl and Mo

Yum!

Loving the cake!

Doing the birthday dance

Today is Belinda's birthday and we celebrated it in style tonight at the home of Mickey & Becky, members of the Stevi UMC.  

On the menu tonight was delicious Papa Murphy's pizza, a fabulous chocolate cake, and assorted locally made chocolate treats.  And to add to the festivities were two bottles of white wine, one from our trip to San Marino and the other from one of our trips to Wales.

Life on College Street

Watching the leaves fall is exhausting

Autumn on College Street

Ready for the next church event

We've had a wonderful week so far!  With Belinda's brother, Rob, in town over the weekend we were able to have a min-family reunion and show off our wonderful community.  With overcast skies bringing some always-appreciated rain, it truly feels and looks like a small town should look at this time of year!

Monday visit - pt. 2

Idaho!

It's chilly in Idaho

Snowball and a Texas gal!

Back to Montana

A last game of Skip-bo

After leaving Stevensville, Belinda, Rob, and "Mo" headed north to Missoula.  A quick detour into Idaho (a first for both Mo and Rob) took them into a winter wonderland as Lolo Pass (Idaho-Montana border) is quite a bit higher in elevation (5,233 ft.) than Stevensville (3,323 ft.)

After a celebratory dinner at the Missoula Cracker Barrel, it was time for a few quick games of Skip-bo at Rob's hotel.  It was a quick trip for Rob but we know he'll be back!

Monday visit - pt. 1

Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge

Lots of "photo ops"

Awesome chocolate made right here in Stevensville

Ready to roll!

To cap off our visit with Belinda's brother, Rob, we did a wee bit of sight-seeing in town including a quick visit to the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refugee (just to the north of Stevensville).  

A stop at the Montana Chocolate Co. and at the Bitterroot B&B (to check out this delightful place) was next before lunch and the drive to Missoula and Rob's hotel.

Before leaving for Missoula, Rob got to see Belinda's mother try out her three-wheel trike, a good way to get around town, if the weather is just-right!

Belinda's Visit with Her Mama and Brother

That's some might-fine soup Rob is holding!!!

Wesley deals with the post-bazaar excitement in his own way

After the flurry of activity this past week surrounding the bazaar held at our church it was nice to have a 'slow' day! 

It was nice to have Belinda's mom and her brother, Rob, visiting and the soup they brought home from the post-bazaar sale was fantastic on a damp Sunday afternoon!

Great day in Stevensville!

A grey morning on College Street

The view of St. Mary's this afternoon

Belinda enjoys a family reunion with her mother and brother

Charles got a cutting from a 127-year old Christmas cactus

Charles visits with our District Superintendent this afternoon

It was quite the day for us as the annual bazaar offered by the United Methodist Women (from Stevensville UMC) was held. 

We were involved from 8 am - 4 pm and were tired when we got home! Belinda's brother, Rob, arrived for a visit today and pitched in during the clean-up phase of the bazaar to everyone's appreciation.

It was a great day, from soup to nuts!

Rainy day in Stevensville

Ready to go on Main Street

Mo helping this afternoon

 We've had a bonus amount of rain this week which is very much appreciated.  Much of today was given over to helping set-up the church bazaar (organized by the Stevensville United Methodist Women).  A side-trip for Belinda and her mother to Missoula was the only break in an otherwise busy day!

More art!

Found objects project

Charles' workspace in the basement

Charles continues to learn about making art at the University as the pictures above show.  

The sticks were from a 3-D Foundations course where the project was to use 'found objects' and lines in creating a piece.  Charles was inspired by the old game of "pick-up sticks."  Using scrap pieces of various length that were found a hardware store and applying spray paint, the project turned out very well with an infinite array of possibilities. 

The basement is turning into a great workspace for art projects, who knows what will emerge from the basement!

Autumn on College Street

With some much needed rain today it feels like autumn has arrived at long last in the Bitterroot Valley!  Before that the rain though we had some delightful days!!!

The weekend in review

           

Happy to be at Stevi UMC!

Mo and Wesley relax on Saturday night

Wesley enjoys the last romp of the season

We continued our busy week into the weekend with a funeral yesterday for a friend of the church who was one month shy of his 104th birthday. 

Today we had a full slate of activity with the regular church activities accented with the annual celebration of the commitments being made for the church ministries.  We had a lot of fun, sharing in the provided good eats!

This afternoon we rested before Belinda and her mother ventured once more to Missoula for some supplies (for the upcoming bazaar on the 25th and Trunk or Treat on the 31st).

Wesley was treated to one more outdoor experience in the backyard.  He likes his romps but he is sometimes a handful to corral back inside!

From morn to night

Helping serve lunch at the Habitat for Humanity site

Peek-a-boo!

Fabric art at the university

Friday night game night at the church

A busy, busy day was in store for us on Friday with something happening church-wise from early morning to late at night. 

To recap: A Bible study this morning - helping provide lunch at the local Habitat for Humanity site - office work for Charles and an errand in Missoula for Belinda and her mom - a church meeting this evening - and to wrap up the day, an evening of board games at the church!

A busy day to be sure but it was wonderful to be part of such an active community!

Our week

Wesley gets an outdoor reprieve

Lunch at the senior center

Wednesday evening study group

Wednesday morning study at the church

Belinda & Mo @ Montana Chocolate

It has been a very busy week for us here in Stevensville!  

Back from capital city!

St. Paul's on a Saturday 

Holter Museum of Art

Charles returned from Helena today after the conclusion of the presentations by Dianna Eck but first he stopped by the Holter Museum of Art for a look-around.  Some really cool stuff on display and it was across the street from St. Paul's UMC!