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Our annual Christmas cards are the stuff of legend, and as always the clock was ticking as we cruised into late November. Pepper and I bantered around a few ideas but couldn’t come up with something that stuck. Finally she suggested we put together some sort of joke about a current event or cultural phenomenon. Aha!

With an idea in mind, we embarked on a photoshoot. I needed a neutral background that would be easy to remove, and it turned out the garage was a perfect place. With a work lamp enclosed in a white garbage bag as a light source (yeah, classy), the background was just what I needed.

After a handful of image searches and a lot of work on my trusty graphics tablet, our card was ready.

A brief explanation of this: we were, of course, poking fun at the jewelry heist at the Louvre a little over a month ago. So we needed a shot of the Louvre. To make sure it’s very clear that’s where we are, I added the Mona Lisa to a frame on the left. Everyone knows that painting is actually quite small, and not displayed at all like that. And while I was editing paintings, I added Ollie on the right.

Frankly, I think I did a pretty good job editing the jewelry. It was tricky finding shots of the crowns and necklace-earring set at the right angle, but I managed to keep it from looking too fake.

To hammer the point home, the back of the card included a blueprint of the Louvre– complete with red markup indicating the crime (and date!)– as well as a couple of Polaroids of the window the thieves entered, and the lift they used. Oh, and for good measure I added a little line about stealing.

Clever? I think so. Funny? Absolutely.

But then, as we started hearing from people who’d received our card, I was amazed how many had no idea what the joke was. “Oh,” they’d say, “we loved how you look like a king and queen!” Uhh…

Those who got the joke thought it was hilarious. Those who didn’t probably just think we’re weird. C’est la vie.

After a year in California without winter, I’ve been excited for some snow and, yes, cold temperatures. Up here at the northern edge of our country it’s been unseasonably warm. I was thrilled to finally see some snow this morning!

Yesterday we had about eight inches of powder, and today we gained another eight of wetter, heavier snow. It was beautiful.

Of course that meant our driveway was troublesome… much too heavy to shovel, with a generous layer of ice beneath the white. We appreciate Todd and his work to keep it clear for us. While he worked to push the snow, I sat inside and enjoyed the view.

It’s always interesting having in-laws: one side effect is the need to juggle holidays every year. This year happens to be the year Alex and Kaitlyn will be spending time with her family in southern Utah. We love her parents– they’re great people and we make efforts to visit them when we can. So, knowing we’d only be with Kyra and Zack this year, we made plans to head south and hang out at the Villa. Hannah is living there as well, which makes it even more of a party.

We had a few days and enjoyed time together. Zack introduced us to his clay. Let me explain: on a date a few weeks ago, he and his friend bought some modeling clay and made little figurines. Afterward he ordered a whole set of multi-colored clay, and broke it out when we were there. We spent hours making little things, joking and laughing and admiring each others’ work. Here’s Kyra working on her teeny pumpkin:

She later made Shaun the Sheep from the Wallace and Gromit series, which inspired Hannah to make Feathers McGraw. Both were outstanding.

In other news, Kaitlyn had given birth to our second grandchild, William, a few days earlier. We figured she’d want to rest, and so did she, so she and Alex had made plans to basically stay home during Thanksgiving. But the urge to be with family triumphed, and she headed down to visit her parents and siblings for a few days. On her way through town, she dropped in with little William. Here he is, watching his grandma.

Pepper kept exclaiming “Isn’t he the cutest thing ever?”

To our surprise and delight, Alex decided to hang out with us while Kaitlyn continued south to be with her family. That meant we were all together after all. And of course that meant plenty of board games and card games. Hannah even agreed to learn Sheephead:

I’m pretty sure she wanted to cry afterward. That’s just how Sheephead is. Strangely, my kids absolutely love the game, which continues the Schroeder family tradition and makes their grandparents very proud.

Kyra and Hannah planned and prepared the big feast (with help from the rest of us) and we really enjoyed the opportunity to be together and reflect on all our blessings. A Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

Things became a bit too busy this fall, and Thom and I didn’t have an opportunity to meet up for our annual fall backpacking trip. One of the big factors was his new job, which actually requires him to– gasp!— be in an office five days a week. Instead of a trip, we agreed it would be fun to get our families together over a weekend. Pepper and I loaded up the car and headed west.

We haven’t seen the kids in a couple of years and at their young ages, it always feels like a lifetime has elapsed. Hadley is almost a grown-up now– or at least she talks like one. She was a hoot, and talked a lot about her favorite subject: unicorns. She even showed us how to draw a proper unicorn, and when Pepper started following her instructions she grabbed the marker because Pepper was doing it all wrong.

We went on a hike through the hills during a beautiful day. It was several miles, and Hadley managed to charm each of us into taking turns carrying her.

The view at the top was amazing, of course. It’s obvious why Thom and Katie love living here.

We had a grand time playing games (ahh, Candyland), watching movies (oh, that Garfield), learning about hydroelectric power (I didn’t know using a dishwasher was so evil), and having a delicious dinner at the same restaurant where the happy couple had their wedding reception many years ago.

At one point Sefton got a hold of my camera. This sort of sums up our weekend with him.

Yep, they’re an awesome family and a ton of fun.

Dad is always good about telling me when the space weather forecast calls for a high-intensity geomagnetic storm. Inevitably I get excited to see the aurora (because the forecast always says it’ll be visible in northern Montana!) and then disappointed when it’s overcast.

Tonight, however, it wasn’t overcast and reality exceeded the forecast. The Northern Lights were absolutely spectacular. We were teaching class, and someone came in and said “I hate to interrupt class, but you all should see the aurora!” We dutifully took a break and left the building to admire the sky’s colors from the parking lot. Later, when we finished class, I told Pepper I’d love to take a drive around Flathead Lake to capture some more shots from outside of town. Although it was pretty cold, she agreed to come along.

I didn’t have my “good” camera with me for class, so on the way home I stopped to snap this with my cell phone:

Yep, it was going to be a beautiful night.

About an hour later, the colors had shifted (and I had my good camera).

We spent almost two hours driving along the lake shore, stopping at points to capture the sky in different directions. The aurora streaked overhead, basically encompassing the entire sky. It was amazing. Looking south, there was a deeper shade of red:

By midnight the colors were fading. And they’d shifted to green.

Nature can be so beautiful.

It’s been a while since we were in Missouri, and we figured it would be fun to spend Thanksgiving with Mom and Dad. When I started planning the trip, however, I discovered that the airfare was crazy expensive. Of course Thanksgiving is always a popular time to travel, but when I realized we could make the same trip a few weeks earlier for less than a fourth of the price, it seemed like an easy choice. After all, Thanksgiving is just a day on the calendar… I can be thankful any day! Why not visit at the beginning of the month instead of the end?

So we hopped aboard our flights, a little nervous about the ongoing government shutdown and steady increase in airline delays. Things worked out, though, and we made it to St Louis without incident. We enjoyed five days with Mom, Dad, Kari, and Theo. The weather was nice enough that we could take a bike ride and go on a few walks.

I also managed to grab lunch with a few yahoos I’ve known for almost forty years…

Yep, even though it wasn’t Thanksgiving proper, it was still an opportunity to reflect on how thankful I am for my family and friends.

Having missed fall colors last year (we were in the California desert), it’s been a treat to see them again this year. This morning Pepper suggested we take a drive and snap some pictures of the larch that seem to be everywhere these days. We hopped in the car and figured we’d head up to Glacier.

On the way, we decided to take a peek at Hungry Horse Reservoir instead. It’s just outside the town of (surprise!) Hungry Horse, and we’d been there a few winters ago. It turned out to be the right choice.

Our first stop was Lion Lake, which was just off the road and had beautiful calm water.

After snapping some pictures there, we continued on to the reservoir. I took a lot of pictures because it was so stunning. Here’s one showing Vernon Island just south of the dam:

And some ten miles farther along the road, another view of the snowy mountains:

The reservoir is over twenty miles long– almost as long as Flathead Lake, but much narrower. The drive was spectacular, and we kept at it for a few hours until the sun set. I’m excited to visit here again next year…

Montana summers are always amazing, but I also love the fall. There’s something magical about the crisp clear days, and I especially love when the larch turn. Their vibrant yellow hues stand out from the dark evergreen. Just driving down the highway is a treat.

Or driving through the neighborhoods…

Pepper and I were cruising along the Swan River and saw this amazing view– we actually turned around to pull off and snap a few photos:

Even back home, we have all sorts of larch on our property, and they turn our backyard into an autumn wonderland.

I think we’ll head out on a photo trip in the next few days…

As our mission was winding down, we learned that Sister Tennis loves wearing hats from restaurants. She even told us that her future husband– whoever that may be– would have to be someone not only willing to wear a goofy hat, but ideally would be the one suggesting it. We joined her in wearing some In-n-Out hats after our last district council.

Well, today we were shopping in Kalispell and I realized we had a Krispy Kreme gift card. I have no idea who gave it to us, but we were right there, so of course we had to stop in. And as everyone knows, Krispy Kreme has hats. Pepper quipped, “You know who would appreciate these hats?…”

We sent the picture to Sister Tennis and she loved it. I hope one day she finds a lucky guy who loves goofy hats.

I’ve always enjoyed my traditional board-gaming weekends with the Magnificent Seven. I have a group of friends from Longmont who used to get together fairly regularly for games, so I thought, why not make another tradition? I checked in with them back in January and suggested we all meet up in Montana for a long weekend. Everyone agreed, grabbed airline tickets, and counted down the months until the big event.

It happened this weekend: five of my good friends all flew from Colorado, and we cracked open the games. Six people can be tricky, because most games are targeted for three or four people. So at times we split up, like when Mark, Jay, and Mike played Dune Imperium while Brendan, Jason, and I spent an hour with Utu.

At other times we played “bigger” games, like this round of Power Grid.

Group games like Skull King, Coup, and even Cosmic Encounter were fun. We even play-tested a game Jay designed, and gave him some feedback.

It’s been a few years since I’ve seen these guys, and I sure miss them. I’m grateful they were all willing to make the trek to Montana for a few days. Naturally we decided to do it again next year.