Well, there aren't many pictures this week. The kids are all out of school for Thanksgiving, and Rachel took them down to Utah to see family. I will drive down a little later this week to meet them for the weekend. In the meantime, I have been keeping myself busy with books, live theater, work, and rock climbing. To be honest, I enjoy these times of pure self-indulgence, although they also help me to appreciate how much I actually enjoy the family lifestyle that we usually have.

Three different shows. "This is Our Youth" is a delightfully depressing cross section of young adulthood in well-to-do Manhattan, and was performed in the round. "Jesus Christ Superstar" is...well...it is what it is. It's been around forever and was worth the time spent re-watching it. "Venus in Furs" is one I hadn't heard of before, and was a jaunting intellectual excursion as fiction and reality are played with in fun, if sometimes disturbing ways. All good shows. The only thing that could have made them better is if Rachel was with me to see them.

Earlier this week we hosted a couple of families at our home for a meet-up. We had a bunch of kids running around, made some new friends, and reconnected with some old ones. I'd say it was a successful evening. Rachel and I also went out to a fun show at the Lake City Theater called "Open Relationships," which had us laughing most of the night. Finally, we went out Ax throwing with Jessica (who I work with) and her husband, Jeff. It had been a while since I had honed the important skill of hucking sharp instruments through the air, but I now feel sufficiently practiced in the case that I am called upon to defend my life in a dark alley using axes. After all, you can never be too prepared for these things.

It's been a fun week and we are all looking forward to catching up with extended family for Thanksgiving.

Have a good week!

14 years ago, when we were first married and living in a dingy little four-plex in Provo across from the cemetery, Rachel saw an ad for a "Sherlock Holmes mystery dinner." One of those affairs where you get to play a part and dress up and solve mysteries and stuff. At the time, we had no money, and this dinner wasn't cheap. This was convenient, since I really wasn't too into the idea in the first place. We simply couldn't justify it to ourselves. But ever since then, the topic has come up from time-to-time, and is then "forgotten" until Rachel remembers to bring it up again.

Well, this time she didn't just bring it up. Instead she came to me and said "Logan, you need to get a costume. I booked us for a thing, and you, my love, are the esteemed 'Lord Winston Eversol.' It will be fun!"

Here I am as "Lord Eversol," a jaded politician. As for Rachel, she is "Priscilla Prescott," a wealthy horse breeder.

And actually, the night did end up being a lot of fun. We went to a large mansion where we were led to a parlor with the other guests, who were also in costume. There was a fantastic multi-course dinner, followed by a staged murder, and then a series of clues to discover the culprit. Rach and I ended up being the ones to finally solve it (not that we're competitive or anything), and then we capped off the night with pleasant conversation and dessert. It was a good time, and we might even do it again someday.

This was Rachel's favorite picture of the night. I think I took her a little by surprise ;)

Besides our evening out together, Rachel and I got to spend some time outdoors with the kids. The days are getting shorter and colder, but not yet cold enough for snow sports. It's kind of a tough time of year to find things to do, so when the weather is even just a little bit nice we take full advantage.

The girls found a log and made a "raft." It was all fun and games until they started inviting other kids to hop on as well. Let's just say that some people went home a little bit colder than expected.

I also have to include this lovely candid picture of Jackson playing in his room. I love the style!

Have a good week!

Halloween is better shared in pictures. Here you go:

Here we are getting ready for the big night.

So, Evelyn actually had 3 different Halloween "Outfits." This first one is not a costume, but the clothes she wore to her very first school dance. The theme was "Black-and-White." She had lots of fun and said afterwords that her feet would probably be sore from dancing so much. As it should be.

Here is her second costume that she wore for the downtown trick-or-treating booth that her youth group did (in conjunction with a bunch of other local businesses).

I really wish that I had a picture of the whole group and the set-up and everything. Ev has really made herself a part of this crew, and has fun doing things with them.

And then her third costume that she used for trick-or-treating into the wee hours of the night. Her and Addy had mapped their route out weeks ahead of time, including various pit-stops at our house to empty out their overflowing bags of candy. So, so much candy. Ugh.

Addy was the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

Jack was a ninja

Maren is Alice

And Lindsey is Belle. I think.

All the kids had Halloween parties at school.

Trick-or-treating downtown is something we have always done (Ev wasn't there because she was doing the booth). We then go home, have a quick dinner, and then let the kids loose out into the neighborhood. Did I say how much candy we have now? Oh man.

Besides Halloween, our week itself was pretty good. After work on Friday I went out to a celebratory dinner with my team for my 5-year "workiversary" in Post Falls. I really couldn't ask for better people to work with, a more loyal patient base, or a better place to live. Things are great.

On Saturday, we went to the Silver Mountain resort. We'll be headed up there pretty much every weekend to ski here in a little bit, but for now we just went to the water park. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

As for Rach and I, we went to the Reel Rock film festival in Spokane. Drinks, tamales, a bunch of climbers, and some pretty awesome videos made for a fun scene. Rach won some items at a silent auction, helping to fund a memorial for a local climber who died earlier this year in an avalanche. I have started breaking more and more into 5.13 grades lately, and it is rewarding to be a part of this community. I'm pretty sure that climbing will be a part of my life for a good long while.

Well...Have a good week!