In spite of the crisis...

Thank you to all who offered sympathy and chocolate. It has helped!

Even with Dad gone all the time, we're trying to keep processing food storage during the harvest season. The Crooks and Maloufs shared some delicious home-grown corn with us. The children helped husk it, eat some of it, and entertain Dallin while Mom blanched, cut, and froze about 7 lbs. worth. We recently got a small chest freezer from a friend who moved, and we are busy filling it. (Albertson's ice cream sales have helped with that too.)

Dad took the children fishing last Saturday when he was home,

and Erin was the lucky one to catch a German brown trout.

Comet, our orange tabby cat, has left offerings of dead wild voles and mice near our front doorstep in the mornings. Although we have plenty of domestic mice to feed our snakes, we didn't want a good fresh vole to go to waste. Our gopher snake was very pleased to ingest it.

Ian earned his Bear Award in Cub Scouts in August! He has awesome den leaders who keep the boys motivated and actively working on their projects. Pack meeting was a water party, hence the lack of uniforms (plus our photo of Ian receiving his award didn't turn out due to lighting issues). The children carved boats out of summer squash, then then played in the water. Each family brought a favorite treat made from zucchini. It was a fun night!

Ian didn't mess around with extra amenities! His boat was simple.

Erin embellished hers a bit more.

And speaking of Erin, she has had a lot of fun making arts and crafts for school.
This is her egg-carton grasshopper:

Here is her pencil holder, made with shells she collected
from our family vacation to the beach: