Not ready to say so long

...to summer, that is.  Way back around Father's Day, we got Kip airshow tickets as a gift, something we had never really done but wanted to.  It came around and it was an adventure, for sure!  I got super-duper-fancy VIP tickets since it was his gift, and that was kinda fun - a special tent, a catered dinner, seats, and we didn't even know this, but also all the free ice cream, cotton candy, and popcorn you could eat.

We finally banned the kids from going back to the refreshment area - NO more treats. :)  They were SO wired.  But we had a good time, there were all kinds of cool stunt pilots and a formation team or two.

There were even PIPERS!  The kids were excited and wanted to know if Grandpa M was there, but I had to tell them no, these were Colorado pipers and grandpa is an Oklahoma piper. :)

Our only regret was the the F-22s did not fly until the next day, when Kip was working.  That's OK though, it just means we have to go to another one!

School was interrupted last week by an extremely exciting event...snakes (plural) in our backyard.  Apparently they love our garden.  I sort of totally freaked out because they were big (2 feet?  2 1/2?); one was black and one was sandy color, and I had all these visions of  my children playing in the yard, getting bitten by a snake, and dying.  I tend to be a little dramatic at times.  So I called animal control (free) and they sent out an officer.  Of course, when she was here we could not find the snakes anywhere (this was the second time we had seen them).  But she put my mind at ease by assuring me that the only dangerous snakes in our area are rattlesnakes, and I know they weren't rattlers, so they must just be big harmless gardner snakes.  Still gross.  They probably talked about me back at the office - the sissy lady afraid of gardner snakes that don't actually exist.  Oh well.  The neighbors were very curious about the animal control truck in front of our house, thinking maybe one of the kids got bitten by a dog, but thankfully that was not the case.  

Anyhoo, after all the excitement, Caleb and I were brainstorming story ideas, talking about how they can come from everyday life...like our snakes.  So he got excited about writing up a little something about the snakes and what had happened.  He thought they should be pirate snakes (since stories don't have to be totally true).   Well, think about it...what do pirate snakes say?   AARRRRR-SSSSSSS.  (Hahahahaha!)  I burst out laughing after we said it and the kids were totally confused about why I thought that was so hilarious.  Some day, kids, when you are older and reading this, you will get it.  Arrsss.  hahahahaha. :)

Over Labor Day weekend we did oodles of hiking, finally taking some time to explore more area around here.  We hiked another 14er, although this one was much easier than the one last summer, since you drive pretty much clear to the top.  It is the highest paved road in North America - true story!  It is Mount Evans, and at one time there was a restaurant up there, it was sort of a "destination." But that burned down a while back, so now the summit and the ruins are the "destination." :)  The kids did great!  By the way, there is a dog in our hiking pictures - we did not get a dog, he is a loaner we dog-sit sometimes for our friends.

 Going up!

 View from the top of Mount Evans

 Ella

We also saw mountain goats and big horn sheep (these are the mommas and babies)

Monday we went south and explored part of Colorado Springs, hiking up a trail with seven bridges - we made it to the last bridge!  It was beautiful.

 Kip (checking our location with his fancy smartphone - there's an app for that!) & McKinley

 Rachel was excited because we got to see "blueberry" birds.

 

 

 Ella exploring the stream and waterfall at the end of our hike.

 

The 7th bridge!  It was a perfect hike, the kids did great, and the photo is not bad considering the camera's sitting on a rock and we used the timer.

The kids start Monday Orchard Options classes tomorrow, should be fun.  Our homeschooling has been going great, but I am excited to have a little bit of time to focus on the little girls.  And Caleb can't WAIT to start learning all his karate moves - that's his 6th period.  Karate.  I'm already praying he doesn't feel a need to try it on his sisters.  Side note: when we went to meet his teachers, she asked if he already had done karate before, and he answered, "Yeah, I know a lot of it."  She said, "Oh great, what area did you do before (karate, tae-kwon-do, etc)?"  Then she looked at me...and I just had to shake my head and say he had not actually done any, except for what he imitated from Kung Fu Panda and Power Rangers.  Reminded me of Karate Kid..."Learn from book?"  "Yeah, and I took a few classes at the Y back in Encinidas."  :)  I am excited to see how he does.