Met Philipp and Sandra at the airport on Friday.  Kirby brought them fishing in the boat on Hauser Lake.

Saturday, after a leisurely breakfast of bagels and eggs, we drove to Montana.  Sandra and I talked the whole way, discussing similarities and differences in U.S. and Germany.  (They have sincerely lazy people there, too, and people who are frustrated by having to support them with tax dollars.)  We drove through the Bison Range; we made it to the top of the drive and all the wildlife we'd seen was a squirrel.  We ate our picnic lunch and enjoyed the view:

Just when I thought we weren't going to see anything, there were two obliging bison just within sight of the road.

Back on the flats, we saw several antelope, two of them on the road next to us.  Then... the elk were just where I expected them, on the bank of the river.  Even a large bull who stood still for us, turning his head from side to side for pictures:

We drove past Jim and Barbara's old house, where Philipp lived back in his student days.  He didn't want to knock on the door to ask to walk inside; instead, Sandra took pictures from the road.  Dinner at the Murphys'; Havilah was there to see Philipp; I mostly left her to visit with Philipp and Sandra.  I talked with Jessica, then Rachel, then Betty.  Betty sent home a few acrostic puzzles.  Made it to Mom and Dad's at about 10-ish...

Sunday:  Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Mmmm.  Community Fellowship.  It has changed much since the days Philipp remembers.  For that matter, it has changed much since the days I remember.  Still beloved people.  I was disappointed that the Dotys weren't there -- if I had known, I would have stopped at their house yesterday afternoon.

Sandra made her pasta salad for lunch: rotini, diced cucumbers, diced pickles, corn, yellow peppers, Miracle Whip, chopped ham, pickle juice, mustard, dill weed.  Dad grilled pork, beef, bratwurst; Bri sliced apples for applesauce.  Philipp and Sandra thought it was odd that I put applesauce on my chops; to them, applesauce is a dessert.  Ben came for a while with a few of his friends, and brought Philipp and Sandra up to the ponds, etc...  Ann, Jemimah, Connor, Shannon came for a while...  Gramma Betty came for a while...  Kendric and Myra played Uno Attack and The Farming Game with Philipp and Sandra.  Mom and I stayed up laaaate talking.

Monday:  A leisurely morning.  We all slept in, then sat around over breakfast and coffee.  Sliced and fried some leftover baked potatoes for breakfast.  Mmmmm.  Waited for Kendric to finish helping Grandpa Rick stack wood before we left.  Said goodbye to Bri, who is staying to help Gramma Betty after her surgery...

We were all a little sleepy, and stopped talking altogether by the time we reached the Fourth of July Pass.  Kirby, Mari and Wilson welcomed us home, and we all took off for naps and quiet time.  Sandra made authentic weinerschnitzel for supper; we were surprised to realize that it's basically just breaded pork.

today:  Kirby brought Philip and Sandra to the airport on his way to work.  We spent a slow, quiet day recuperating from our busy weekend.  I didn't even have to cook, thanks to all the leftover weinerschnitzel. 

Currently Watching: Robin Hood

Sunday:  At 10:10 am, Mari's Sunday School class got up and danced around the room.  No sooner had they returned to their seats than Leigh knocked on their door, "Guess what, guys?  It's 10:10, 10/10/10!"

Monday:  I brought Mari to the Ronningens' to help Nicole with the boys and baby Addy on Erik's first day back at work.

The rest of us watched Ken Burns' Corp of Discovery.  The kids had enjoyed the comparatively short National Geographic documentary; they thought Ken Burns' version was painfully long.  Still we gleaned lots of new, interesting details -- and will all scream and hide if we ever meet a Teton Souix.  : )

Currently Reading: Tailor Made, Trail Worn, Undaunted Courage

Tuesday:  Bri's turn to help at the Ronningens'.

Bri and Myra had checkups -- Myra's first trip to the dentist.  Dr. Hintz was impressed with the condition of their teeth; said he could tell they'd sucked their thumbs.  They had one little cavity each; any pain Myra's experiencing is from her adult teeth nagging her baby teeth to get a move on.

Natalie came over for her first non-family sleepover.  Only they didn't actually sleep.  Yessirreebob, I gave them permission to try for an all nighter.  My only stipulations were 1) a quiet consideration for the rest of us sleeping people, 2) and they couldn't go outside.

today:  I was wakened at nearly-six in the morning when Bri closed my bedroom door.  She was coming downstairs for dress-ups and didn't want to bother me with the laundry room light.

We're cleaning house in preparation for Philipp and Sandra's visit.

After the firewood, we brought the boat to Fernan Lake.  It's October.  And the kids went swimming.  Yikes.

I built a doghouse today.  I've been thinking about it lately, with nothing in mind beyond the fact that I should do it -- before winter.  After lunch, I raided our stockpile of wood and threw one together.  Wilson helped tack the lath to the sides and did a remarkably good job; I don't think he bent but two brads.  The sun went down before we got the roof on, but we filled it with pine needles and Wendy jumped right in.

Logan's tooth is coming in! 

All summer, I've been wanting to ride the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.  Turns out, early fall is the perfect time to ride; cool weather, not a lot of traffic, and the fall colors give depth to the scenery.  So... yay! for life working out better than my plans.

Kirby drove us up to the trailhead in Mullan:

We stopped to break open the trail mix under the interstate between Wallace and Osborne...

The muddy moose tracks didn't show up in the picture I took.  We also saw lots of bear poo... but no animals.

Those last five or six miles were the hardest.  Bri and I agreed our legs and lungs could go on for days, but our knees were begging for mercy.  My rear, too, was complaining.  Owww.

We left the Trail at Bull Run Road and pulled out my hand-drawn map / directions.  The Trail we'd been riding on was built on an old railroad bed, so it's pretty much flat, even on the initial "downhill."  Now, at the end of our ride, we were riding on the rough shoulder of a narrow road -- not flat.  Good thing I'd studied the surrounding area -- the road on our directions to the lake was closed, blocked with a bulldozed mound of dirt.  We continued up that miserable hill, trying between breaths to remember how far to the next lake access road.  ...  There!  Watson Road!

We'd been over it more than once about our meeting place.  Still, it was a delightful surprise to see them waiting, right where they said they'd be:

According to the timestamps on the pictures, we made it in five hours, fifteen minutes.  Not bad, considering Bri made potty stops every fifty feet.

We stayed to enjoy Rose Lake a little while before heading for home:
 

The fishing boat from Grandpa Kent was accompanied by an old Sea King outboard motor.  All Kirby had to do was get it to run.  So this morning, Kirby tore the thing apart and put it back together:

...then took the kids for a test run on Hauser Lake:

Meanwhile, at home, I crocheted a doll for Summer:

I finished it JUST in time to make it to her birthday party.  Pizza, four-wheeler, mini-bike, hammock, cake and ice cream, Kick the Can: good times with the Loutzenhisers.

Our house came with fruit trees: one pear, one apple, and one plum; they've thrived in spite of relative neglect.  Before the boys used ALL the plums as projectile weapons, Bri salvaged just enough ripe fruit to make plum cobbler:

It was so scrumptious, so perfectly autumn-y, I had visions of filling the freezer with enough plums to have cobbler once a week through the winter. (Mmmmm!)

In search of plums, Bri, Kendric, Wilson and I drove to a U Pick orchard in Green Bluff, WA:

Bri and Mari helped pit one box of plums and pack them into freezer bags, then finished their math in time to go skating with Jarom and Sam:

I read somewhere that pine needles make a great cover for garden paths.  I'd prefer paving stones, but they don't grow on trees.  Pine needles, however...

Checking up on my flower garden.  My hope was that they'd take root in time to come back next spring. Even better: they're blooming: