September and October have been full for us. We're into the swing of things for school. We added Cub Scouts to our "life-education" curriculum and while it's not as structured as I remember my brother's being 20 years ago, we think it will still be beneficial and we're going to give it a go. Only Evan is allowed right now, but Drew can go with him and participate alongside and that's been great. We also added a STEM-type extracurricular to our schooling: Jr FIRST Lego League -- a lot less about the legos than the name suggests, and a lot more teamwork exercises and engineering type lessons. We've had one official class of that, but it was a lot of fun and we're excited for the "season".
Let's see...Scot is working a lot of days out of the month right now, but he's able to be home earlier in the evening which makes it bearable. We do make the most of his home days, though, with hikes and family time. We were able to get down to the springs for the annual Hot Air Balloon fest they have, which is always a treat! And...we were able to get up into the mountains on PEAK weekend for the Aspens...it was a gorgeous hike and we are so thankful we were able to get up there to enjoy the bright and brilliant yellows and oranges. No, nothing like a North-east autumn, but it's Colorado's own type of beauty.
I went and visited my dear friend, Rebecca, out in a little Midwest farming town the beginning of the month and it was wonderful. Sweet times of fellowship, long walks, breathing in the clean air, and just slowing life down a little. My mom kept the boys, so they had a blast while I was gone -- we called it their fall-break. Needless to say, I came back feeling rejuvenated and rested. Which is a good thing, because our church hosted a women's conference for a nationally known speaker/author just a few days after I landed, and I ended up being the point person for it all...so...all that rest was really needed and put to good use.
Now it's almost the last week of October and there's nothing much on the horizon. Just the regular schedule and I can't tell you how thankful I am for it!
Now for a few pictures...
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| At the balloons...we get there early to see them all start getting blown up! We bring our breakfast and hot cocoa along...the boys love it! |
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| Evan, the Tiger-Cub |
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| Oh, and Drew broke his wrist. I told him to not test gravity, but he did. (The cast is off now after 4 weeks and he's doing great!) |
A family hike on a Sunday afternoon exploring our wonderful state!
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| My dear friend, Rebecca! |
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| Another hike, this one up near Boulder. It was foggy that morning... |
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| ...but it burned off and we were able to see this view and the Flatirons! |
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| Each month, Scot or I take each boy on a "date" -- October was my month and Evan chose to bake cookies and play a game for his date. My, do I love the sweet nature the Lord has given this guy! |
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| This guy chose for his date an "adventure walk", which landed us at the park all by ourselves. We played and then walked, skipped, sang, and even stopped to "explore" a huge tow truck that was parked near a semi with a bad radiator! |
