Definately the Greatest Generation

Hi there everybody. I hope that everyone is doing well and having a fabulous day. Well time seems to be going by so quickly and it is getting to be so beautiful here in Missoula. All of the leaves are turning a different shade of color and the ground is blanketed with them. The weather is changing although today is very very nice. Nice enough to go jump off a rock into a river. Yes that is a picture if Lindsey jumping off the famous cliff jumping rock in Missoula and no that is not the Missoula airport at the bottom, it is just my bald head.
Well, things are going great and I have started volunteering at a nursing home here in Missoula for a service learning project for one of my classes. It has been such a neat experience so far and the elderly are such amazing people for all that they have seen and gone through as we now enjoy our daily freedoms. They have such wonderful stories to tell and seem so proud to share them. I go in about twice a week where there is a large room full of (mainly) women who are waiting for me to read the newspaper to them. It is a lot of fun and we have some interesting discussions. I have had the opportunity to visit with a couple of pretty amazing guys as well. One of which who's name is Chalkey. He graduated the University of Montana in 1939, and taught high school english for two years before enlisting in the Army and serving for 39 months. Of course being interested in history I visited with him about it and he said that he fought in the "Battle of the Bulge" while overseas. I was just amazed and before I could really ask him more about it he was off to lunch to have a dog in a bun, pasta salad, and a cookie. It was just so neat to visit with him and actually talk with someone who had been a part of history and something that we can only read about. Next time I go back I plan to visit with him and ask him which unit he was in and you never know maybe he was one of the band of brothers. I have so much respect and appreciation for these people and the lives that they have lived and the innocence from where they came. They truly are the greatest generation.
Matthew and Shanny are doing great and they continue to be the light of my life.They are doing very well in school and we are so blessed to be in a system that has helped them grow and develop. Kristen is doing good and I am so grateful for her strength, example, and cooking skills. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing my life with treasures that have made me truly happy. Oops, I almost forgot. An update of Applebees new mascot has a rather sad ending. Pepe was trapped in a cage and only got to stay with us for over a couple of weeks. I hope they gave him a nice memorial service before they sent him to the guillotine. Thank you to those who voted in the poll on what would happen to Pepe, but unfortunately the restaurant didn't burn down. On a more upbeat note, the school that I am volunteering and doing some field experience work at wants to know if I want a job. Neat huh? They want to know if I would stay on with them after my semester is over while I continue to go to school. I thought that was so neat. Anyway, I am so excited to be a teacher and based on the experience and relationship I have with the students and staff, I think that I will be an ok teacher. There is so much more too it I know, but I am excited. I love you all and am very fortunate to be a part of your lives. Have a great day and hope to hear from you soon.