First day of School

Here we are at the beginning of another school year. Caleb is starting all over at a new school, having to make new friends...I think that was the hardest thing for me because we were so comfortable at his old school. It certainly didn't phase Caleb though, he was excited and ready to go...

Here he is with his teacher Miss Beltz...she seems really nice and he likes her. He made a new friend, Zach, who wrote him a note today with a picture of Caleb and himself playing together....I knew Caleb would do great...

Chloe is doing PM Kindergarten and today was her first day....She did FABULOUS....I am so proud of her. It is amazing how she has come out of her shell in the past few years....She picked out this outfit and immediately said, "Carly would like this shirt"...she thinks of other people...what a sweetheart.

Here is her teacher Miss Korte...very sweet. She had a great first day and is looking forward to the rest of the year....

A whole new year....Caleb started karate tonight and is doing that for at least 6 weeks...I wasn't too impressed with the first class, so we will see if he continues after 6 weeks (already paid for it). Chloe is starting soccer in a few weeks, but will also be doing gymnastics soon. Josh and I are playing co-ed softball (against my will) on Monday nights - that should be interesting.....So we will be busy, but we will be having fun!

Air Force Academy

Monday morning we got up and decided to go to the Garden of the Gods....well, there was this big bike race and we would have had to hike in to the park which would have been fine, but it was kind of hot and most of us had the wrong shoes on to walk that far (like 1 1/2 miles just to get to the opening). So we decided to go to the air force academy....it was pretty cool and we got to see the cadets do their formations which apparently they don't do all the time, so we were lucky....

this was in the museum....not sure if I would call it a true museum, but it was there nonetheless...

we then "hiked" 1/3 mile to where the formations were to be taking place...we saw the marching band

here is the chapel that looked really cool....apparently they try to cater to all types of belief systems.

view from the AFA

turned out that the AFA was pretty cool, so next time mom and dad come to visit, we will make sure to hit the Garden of the Gods.....so much to do here, that you can come several times and never do the same thing once...

Campfire and the North Pole....

So, the people we are renting from left us this little fire pit....perfect for smores....So, one night we had smores...it was actually the same night the wild fire was in our backyard (okay...probably about 6 miles away give or take a few)...kindof felt guilty trying to make a fire while the firemen were trying to put it out....Anyway, the kids had fun, and I took only one not so great picture....

Saturday we ventured out to the North Pole, Colorado....lots of fun, the kids LOVED it...the adults quickly got sick of the circle rides....but all in all, it was fun.

the sky ride - good start...

peppermint slide....great fun watching the kids....they went down several times...

the cars...still haven't hit the circle rides, so all is well..

the train....

the ferris wheel

circle rides...you will notice the adults refrained from these unless Keira needed an adult in order to ride....then we had to take turns. Love that she is sucking her fingers while driving her plane...

We found out that the north pole is actually cold....the kids liked putting their belly on the pole...Caleb wanted to lick it, but we decided that would not have been in his best interest..

While Grandpa and Grandma rested (high elevation, lots of hills, we all needed a rest, except the kids of course), Caleb and his dad hit the arcade, Chloe, Keira and I went to feed the deer and llamas...they were really brave.

And we ended with Ice cream.....

Twas a fun day and the kids had a blast, that is what it's all about, right???? (we had fun too)

Pikes Peak

On Friday, we headed out to Pikes Peak....I doubt I will ever tire of this view.....if I do, please hit me upside the head....

the 1/4 way point...

notice the build a bunny, bear, and cat came with us...

this is the only sighting we had of big foot.....thank goodness....

On a tall rock...scared me so I volunteered to take the picture...

At the top with the mountain man...

Eating a doughnut at the top of the mountain...the highest doughnut shop in the world... (ok, I know it is high, but not sure about that last stat...

these doughnuts look tasty.....

it sleeted a bit while we were there, we decided to head out before that storm came, didn't feel like getting stuck at the top where we had to share what little oxygen there was with all the people there...

Can't wait to have more visitors so we can come back...

Grandpa and Grandma are here!!!

So, my parents came for the weekend. It was so nice to see them and get to show them around our new house. They arrived on Wednesday night and no sooner did one of my children (won't name any names.....) asked if we could go to build a bear.....So, Grandma being the sucker that she is - of course said yes....So, here is our day on Thursday....a wonderfully fun day....

Here we are outside the workshop....

After they picked out their "bear" (Chloe picked a bunny, and Keira a kitten)

Stuffing their bear, bunny, and kitty

giving love to the heart...

putting the heart in the bunny, bear, and kitty

giving them a bath, cuz you know right after anyone is born, they immediately need a bath.

getting dressed

new born build a bears.....

naming them....

all ready to go in their new homes....which are always fun to have laying around the house :)

Taking them to the playground at the mall...

Eating lunch at the mall

After lunch, we headed to Focus on the Family. Here we are getting on the elevator...

Posing with the infamous Dr. Whitaker...

notice two of the build a bears made it in the picture

lots of fun things to do ...

movie room where Adventures in Odyssey movies play

A-Bend-A-Go slide that the two older kids LOVE

and of course, getting ice cream at Whit's End....

after dinner we took a drive up the mountain behind our house, here is some of the scenery....

It was getting dark, but this rock just stands up in the middle of the trails and it looks weird, but very cool..

That was day one....stay tuned for more adventures from today!!!