Aunt Mauray's Birthday

We threw a birthday party for Aunt Mauray with Dan and Becky on October 11th at our house. I made her a "Too Much Chocolate Cake" which in my opinion is the best chocolate cake on the planet! She brought her Fry Daddy for making onion rings (!) and put me in charge of them. They are so good, I tend to eat more than I should....I learned it the hard way that night when my stomach felt like it was full of oil, ugh! The kids love Aunt Mauray so much, they blew out the candles for her...how nice. :/

Aunt Mauray and Becky.

No, Aunt Mauray is not 11, but her birthday is on the 11th. :) This year it was on 10-11-12!!

Fiona and Aunt Mauray.

"You know you are getting older when the candles cost more than the cake."  ~Bob Hope (1903-2003), American Actor and Comedian.~

All the kids are right there to "help"!

Looking at Tilly, this card must have been very exciting!

 

 Dan and Becky gave her this hat and Fiona made sure it was worthy of wearing. :)

Playing "drums" on the new canning jars (common birthday present in MT).

I think it passed the test of being cute enough...

~More Macro~

I love taking close up pictures of little things you can't really see...and as you may know, that is why I love to use the macro setting on my camera. Once I buy a DSLR camera, macro pictures will be even better. :)

Clouds and sky.

I love this one...Montana wheat and Devil's Slide!

Dad and Bennett installing the last window...in the garage. Bennett "accidentally" threw a hatchet through the only window in our house that we hadn't replaced yet.  So....Bennett not only had to help install the window, he had to buy it too!

                           

                                        

From the (enormous!) wood pile.

Angel sighting! ;)

Tilly loves to play on the swing set.

A ring on the swingset and Devil's Slide.

My favorite.

You think Tilly likes paint that bad to want to eat it?? :)  She was water coloring when I caught her!

Bridger Bowl Raptor Festival

On October 6th, we traveled to Livingston for Preston's last soccer game. A cold and windy one. We were told about the "Raptor Festival" at Bridger Bowl.  The festival, which is free to the public, centers around a raptor migration count of the largest known Golden Eagle migration in the United States which takes place at the Bridger Bowl ski area in the Gallatin National Forest just north of Bozeman. We didn't get to see the migration, but we just took a walk on the ski hill that we usually ski down...without any snow (for a while)! It was very cold up there, so we were all in our down jackets. :) There were lots of people and we got to see a couple of birds...

On our way to Livingston...fresh snowy mountaintops.

Walking up the hill (Virginia City ski run).

Fiona.

At the top of the hill.

More portraits...

 Some raptors.

The ski lifts.

Walking back down.

Making apple pie and apple sauce from fresh apples!

80°!!