Near the end of October we drove up to Spooner Lake near Lake Tahoe to take advantage of the beautiful Northern Nevada fall colors to take Hannah's Senior Class Pictures. It's hard to believe our little girl is getting this close to leaving the house and going to college. It seems like yesterday we were taking her home from the hospital.
Not too far from Spooner Lake we found this great old cabin where the dirty windows made for great indirect light.
Lisa's birthday is on October 27th and Caleb's is on the 29th, so they shared this birthday cheesecake.
But, Caleb got to blow out the candles. Happy 15th birthday, Caleb.
Caleb modeling his new winter coat.
And excited about his new "Xanathar's Guide to Everything Dungeons & Dragons."
Obviously the card he got was just right.
And showing it off.
And we Celebrated Lisa's birthday on the 27th.
Mom loves children's poetry books so Caleb hit a home run when he got her a copy of Douglas Florian's Winter Eyes.
Lisa also love classic Christian Poetry so Bob got her a copy of The Gospel in Gerard Manley Hopkins: Selections from His Poems, Letters, Journals, and Spiritual Writings.
And she loves to cook so an upgraded pepper mill was a hit.
Nothing like a "Happy Birthday Breakfast," our Potts' tradition.
The big gift in our house this year was a new car for Hannah. Well, it wasn't new, but it's pretty new. We got her a 2015 Toyota RAV4 that only had 28,000 miles on it and it's the limited version; how does she rate? Pretty good, but then she's worth it!
Now that look says it all...
A very proud Dad and a very thankful daughter. God's been good to us...
Bob went on a number of work related trips this year, including one to Tonopah, Nevada to help with a training. It worked out that Lisa could join him and she had a wonderful time staying in the historic Mizpah Hotel and enjoying all the other great things to see in this wonderful old mining town.
On another one of Bob's work related trips he had time to catch up with our good friend Debra March. Bob used to work with Debra at UNLV and she has joined us on many of our adventures including our 2015 trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Debra is now the Mayor of Henderson, the second largest city in Nevada.
The weekend of September 15th was bigger than most, as Bob received comp tickets to attend the NASCAR Playoff Races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday and the National Championship Air Races in Reno on Sunday.
Joining us both days was Bob's Uncle, Jim, who lives in Tucson. Bob only had two box seat passes for the NASCAR race, so he flew into Las Vegas where he met Uncle Jim. They went to the race and afterwards flew back together to Reno and the next day we all went to the Air Races.
This is a picture of Bob and his Uncle Jim on the roof of the owners box as the race got started.
Uncle Jim was all smiles on the flight to Reno Saturday night after having a great day at the NASCAR Races in Vegas.
Sunday, September 16th was a beautiful day at the Reno-Stead Airport where the National Championship Air Races are held. Uncle Jim is a pilot and being able to experience these races has long been on his bucket list. It was a great day for all of us.
Bob and his Uncle Jim right next to the airport apron and runway where the views and action were great.
Hannah having a great day at the Air Races.
For prop planes, these planes are really fast.
Throughout the day there were all kinds of events and demonstrations. One of our favorites was the F-16/P-51 commemorative flight recognizing aircraft veterans across the generations.
Our September 15th weekend with Uncle Jim was really great.
Bob also made a trip to see his parents in Montana in conjunction with a work related trip he had in Idaho. He had a really great time doing nothing but spending time with them in their new home on Churchill.
Bob has a long history with this community as he went through both grade school and high school at Manhattan Christian School on Churchill.
While his Dad and Mom were still sleeping early one morning he took this sunrise picture of the basketball courts he used to play on.
Bob with his Dad and Mom in the entry way of their new home.
On September 3rd our family had a great day hiking to the summit of Freel Peak. Freel, at 10,881 feet, is the highest peak in the Carson Range. The views from its summit are amazing.
For a full write up and pictures of our hike and climb to the summit of Freel Peak, make sure you visit our Freel Peak hiking page.