Well, hello, there

We had an interesting summer. Busy. I had the opportunity to go to work with Bud in his world. Reflecting on it, I've rarely had a traditionally female job: manage a Radio Shack, own a screen printing shop, drive a Hy-Rail railroad truck. I drove a school bus for a few years, not sure whether that's a woman's job or not.

It's different on the railroad, though. These are guys whose jobs really aren't that safe. Not as risky as say, coal miners, but trains are big. Really big and fast. And the rail bed (ballast) is not soft or forgiving. There's really nothing gentle about the environment. My job was about as cushy as it gets out there but I still had to wear steel-toed boots, safety glasses and a hard hat.
It was good working with Bud. We had a lot of one-on-one time to chat and think. We saw so many beautiful places that are tucked away from plain sight accessible by plane or train or foot.

Carolynne was our Nanny and Cym helped until she went home to go to school. The boys did some school work through the summer - a little Latin, Dave studied some Greek. They read lots of books and kept up their math under the tutelage of the Nanny.

We travelled from Galveston Bay to Miles City, Mt to Minneapolis (and the amazing Mall of America) to Lincoln, NE to Hannibal, MO and then to Keokuk, IA with dozens of stops in between in 2 months. We stopped for a couple weeks in Keokuk, IA while Bud worked on a different machine and I cleaned the camper and visited with the kids, then suddenly we had to be in Kansas City - wait, no change that to North Platte, NE.
We had just enough time to pop in at St Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, KS and visit with Father Justin Damien. He will always be Father Dean to us. Check out Fr Dean making Benedict's Brittle in the Abbey kitchen, scroll down a little and click on the video. Order some and support the monks - they are making a difference in the world by separating themselves from the world to pray for us.

We worked for a little while in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming last month. And now we are in Glendive, Montana. Bud is working on one of the really monstrous machines and getting dirty. The kids and I are cleaning out cubbies and baking a pumpkin for pie. And of course,we'll be roasting the seeds. Dave has picked up what he thinks may be some amber! Pictures? OK, I'll try but not now. We have a trip planned to the Dinosaur museum here and we can walk to several interesting sites and parks.

Oh! We are getting things ready for the cold, too. By this time last year, we had seen several snow storms, but this year, we are being treated to changing leaves and warm, summer-like days. Even way up north here in Montana.

Carolynne is studying Shakespeare and Poetry and Film Criticism and History and Anthropology. Anthropology is a trial for her. She's so happy to have finished her requirements. And she's enjoying that she doesn't have nanny duties for a while.

We are supposed to head out to Pueblo, CO later this month. The kids are hoping we end up there in time for the Emma Crawford Coffin Races in Manitou Springs. That was a blast last year!

Friends of ours have children receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at the FSSP church in Lincoln on November 5th and we are hoping that we can all go there then, but I may have to go alone. Those are the kinds of details we let the Lord work out!

After that, who knows?