Back to Virginia

I downloaded the Andy Griffith show for Elijah on the plane ride home from CO; he enjoyed it. 

We came home to the AC having gone out again and 99 degree days. JD had bypassed the Home Warranty system because they took forever and a day last year to fix it. The first ordered part was overnighted and arrived faulty. The second part was overnighted and got lost in Fed Ex land somewhere. The third part arrived and fixed the fairly simple repair and yet the whole thing took two full weeks. If you are building a house and looking at Geothermal; I may talk you out of it!

Some big news is that Tori went to high school this year. We honestly agonized and prayed about the decision all summer and decided to let her try it. I'm not sure it's as wonderful as she hoped, but she is sticking with it for now. She is welcome to join our homeschool ranks at any point if she so chooses!

Teaching a homeschooler to open a locker requires a training session - I was sweating by the time we finished!

This is Tori and I in our normal Algebra homework/study session that seems to occur 5 out of 7 nights a week. This night it was major storming and we sat out in the screened in porch admiring the lightning....and staying cool. 

Thought I'd show the cute sign Tori bought me - I do throw my hair into a messy bun and get things done! It is displayed with my favorite Mimi and Unicorn mug collection from my daughters and son.

It's hard to leave Nathan and Samuel! Thankfully we came home to a prompt visit from our chunck, Oliver. He really enjoys the kids at four months!

Well, school time has come and I have spent about two weeks with the table and counter looking like this most days - 

The children are tackling their new subjects with enthusiasm, well at least most of them. 

I'm looking forward to cooler weather to tackle many outside jobs. 

Carmelle and Claudia - our 2019 babies

Of course, I rescued a litter of four kitties this year in downtown that had been dumped. Three are sweet and tame, Edward on the right isn't appreciating our company! Thankfully the two girls are outside kitties at my friend.s house, and Thomas and Edward are now neutered and released in our barn. Thomas is a super sweet cat and would be great as an indoor/outdoor kitty. Edward and my old barn cat, Kaden, aren't sure if they are going to be able to successfully share a barn yet!

One day, during Algebra, Tori complained that she had glitter on her new jeans. We found out why, although Bella put a good and fair warning right on the paper on the coffee table!

Colorado Springs - Ghost Town

 Our last stop in Colorado Springs, before our barbeque dinner, was a old west town set up in an old railroad station. It housed a main street, with shops along the walls filled with actual items from the 1800s. 

25 shots for 50 cents provided everyone a few turns. 

I have seen a two headed cow stuffed in an old west town in SD, so this isn't the only one. I laughed at the sign that gives credit to the farmer that owned the farm where it was born. 

At the end, we got to pan for gold. It was the end of the day and the sign said 18 small fools golds were placed in each morning. Our party found five total, but Bella found two of the five!

Colorado Springs - Manitou and Garden of the Gods

In the evening, we hit Manitou Springs area and saw where Gabriel attended Summit Ministries for a 3 week summer training 10 years ago. This is also where Pike Peak's train usually allows you to ride up the mountain, but it's closed for updating all year. Manitou is a thriving old town with walking shops and restaurants. 

We got pizza and headed to the hotel. While the plan was for everyone to swim, Alayna and Alei ended up taking Nathan to have his forehead glued when he missed the bed and hit the table. 

The next morning, we hit the walking trail around Garden of the Gods. It was spectacular!

This was taken driving out of the park so is through glass, but we truly enjoyed our visit there. 

Colorado Springs - Cliff Dwellings

 After Focus on the Family, we headed to an Anasazi village built in the side of cliffs. It was 1,000 years old, but moved to this area in 1907. It was really cool for us because the kids and I had studied them with History a few times and we don't have anything like them in the east. 

It allowed the kids to climb through the homes and explore.

Samuel was just cute as always - 

This was just amazing - cooler inside and the homes were much like apartments, some had inner ladders to their upstairs. 

Colorado Springs - Focus on the Family

We headed from Denver area to Colorado Springs for two days. Our first stop, after Chick Fil A, was Focus on the Family. I have always wanted to go and the kids really enjoyed the Adventures in Odyssey area. Their book store was amazing also!

Samuel really enjoyed having some crawling time under Jason Whittaker's airplane. 

We enjoyed Whit's End soda shop - the ice cream was delicious.