Mist

I must share this wonderful thing that happens in the morning. Most mornings I have gotten up to a mist covering the field behind the house. It is very magical. It also makes morning walks with the puppies a bit hard because they get wet and then cold. Speaking of the puppies they are doing really well with our training them to follow us around. We are still working on potty training though.

The boys have caught two raccoons within days of each other. The last one was in a trap in the back fields. It looked so scared and innocent I felt so awful when my boys were talking about killing it. I know people around here like hunting and all but I don't think I will ever like it. I like my meat in packages thank you very much. Apparently these creature , like the armadillo's, are a nuisance to the farm. I have heard bad stories about raccoons and chickens. Oh speaking of chickens our chickens are starting to lay eggs. We got our first egg yesterday morning. I was so overjoyed as we have had them over a month and were wondering if we were doing something wrong. I am still looking for a good movable pen for the chickens so I can get them to clean up some of the yard.

Chris went back home(Colorado springs) to get his truck. I miss him terribly and am very worried as the weather there has been in the 30's and was supposed to be getting much worse today. This prompted him to leave early, so he wants to get out of there sometime this morning. Yeah. I had him bring the camera because as crazy as it sounds I wanted some pic's of home. For some reason I never took pictures of the town we lived in for so long and the town I think of as home. I can't wait to see what he got. With him gone today will be especially crazy. Conner has a game at 10:30. Them Austin and Colin have pictures at 12:30 and their game at 1:30. I still need to make a couple of dishes for Sunday dinner with the extended family. I am trying to decide between goulash and schnitzel. Colin wants a green bean casserole. I also want to make a desert.



Our work with connections academy is keeping me on my toes. It is just not a user friendly site. They need major work in that area. Unfortunately our Internet connection is also part of that problem. Hughes Net is not what it says it is . It is very slow and truly not much faster then dial up. We keep getting timed out and alot of things don't show up that the boys need to read in order to do the assignments and it is causing alot of frustration. I have some ideas about how to fix this problem. I will share them at a later date if it comes to fruition. On this note if you have a great christian curriculum that you love tell me about it please.

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I the last post. I'm so sorry for keeping you all out of the loop but things have been just cuh-razy. We had to wait a week and a half for our movers along with a home phone. We are discovering people around here don't seem to move quite as quickly as I am used to. LOL. It has been frustrating but we finally have everything. I am still unpacking but I got most of the things where they need to be now its down to organizing. We have had a steady crop of people stopping by and that has been nice although it has ruined some nice plans we have had on occasion.

I have been lost in trying to get the house the way I want it and it has been just about the only thing on my mind. The boys are getting situated as well. We got a four wheeler that they have been having a blast with but it will definitely be very helpful around here. We also got a riding lawnmower as our yard is now much bigger then before. There were several bigger branches in the yard we had to cut up but are going to come in handy for firewood. Also the old house was put into two piles out behind the house. One is as much of the wood and the other as much of the bricks as possible. That has been interesting. I was surprised to see how easily the mortar (sp?) came off of most of the bricks from the old fireplace's of the old house that had burned down. I don't know if it was because the house had been about a hundred years old or if the fire that burned it down just has that affect on mortar but it sure has made my job easier to get the bricks sorted. I want to use them for something since they are going to be the only thing remaining of the old house. There are vines all over the ground that I hope will start going away as we cut and live here. The boys also saw and shot their first armadillo. I had no idea how fast those things can move. I know everyone here says they are a pest but I would love to find out more about them, mostly we were told they would dig holes around the yard and in our outbuildings essentially creating a lovely way to brake your ankle. Needless to say we don't need that.

I haven't managed to get out all that much because of all that has been going on. Also Dh's condition has him tired and in alot of pain which has also had us miss out on some things. But it is the way our life has been for some time so we are used to it. Other then obviously being concerned for dh I find myself apologizing alot for things we have missed. I also found that unless you have dealt with chronic illness people either don't understand and look at us as if we are making it up or they make Dh feel like he is completely incompetent. Other than that I have officially signed the kids up for Connections Academy (public virtual school) since dh will be taking over most of the schooling. Austin is still requesting ps and dh and I are considering it for high school. I hope the boys get their stuff soon so we can start. Once that is done I am sure things will be getting into the swing of things.

I am also trying to take some pic's for you guys so you can see our new digs. I can't wait to share. Please update me on what's been up with you guys. I can't wait to check your blogs and see what you all have been up to. Hopefully I will start to have more time for my blogging soon. Have a great week everyone.

Got him

Thought I would let ya'll know that we found kenai, some really nice people took care of him for the night. We are grasping at straws for what else to pack. So we just need to get all the stuff we need for the trip and load up the car. Other then that I will be up to my elbows in hot sudsy water-in my opinion still the best enviormentally friendly cleaner with a bit of old fashioned elbow grease. The movers will be here in a few hours. I must run again.

Have a good day.

A quick note

The boxes are packed and we are down to the nitty gritty. The movers are on their way. There is so much to do . I know I haven't posted much latley but it looks as if I may need to take a quick break. I won't have internet for a little bit. I'm not sure when but since we are moving to the sticks the only way I could get high speed internet was to go with Hughes Net. And they are not cheap.

I think Chris's cousin has some chickens for us. We have to put up fences since those are long gone, then we can get a cow. Chris and the boys plan on doing some deer hunting on our property. The land has been rented out to hunters for years. So I guess there must be some there. I have as of yet to see all of the property. I am super terrified. The what if's are dancing around me in circles. I will be on the hunt for a job, I will attempt to make sure we still won't have to file bankruptcy. The past year has not been pretty to my bank account. All those copay's add up quick and when you have to see that many specialist (higher copay)it gets a bit crazy. Other then that I need to learn as much as I can about being farmer jane. LOL> Oh yeah that's my new nickname, lol. I wonder who all will show and how it all will turn out. I keep hearing that there may be quite a few people there when we finally appear. I will be sure to update.

So know that for the next week or two I am packing, moving, driving to our new home, unpacking, job hunting and a slew of goodness knows what else. We are going to have our husky, two dachshund's, one cat, Austin's bird, Colin and Conner's turtle (its itty bitty and we brought it up here from our trip to south Carolina so really we are just bringing him home). We will have us and our three boys and all the basic necessities for about a week and a half. That is alot for one mini van. We have a top thing (name is escaping me).

Tuesday we went to say goodbye to my grandparents. They are taking care of my nephew who happens to be the same age as Colin and the boys and him get along fabulously. My grandpy cooked out on the grill. It was a great meal and I tried hard not to think that this was the last time I would see them for a while. I know we can't come here for the holiday's this year as we will just have moved. So it is going to be extremely difficult for me and the boys. We had a good time and I of course took pictures. Grandmy fixed up a plate to take back with me to Chris, who had stayed behind to pack. My in-laws had been helping us pack up that day. The boys and I felt pretty guilty rolling into the house at 9 ish at night knowing full well we weren't getting much accomplished that evening. Chris had bad news, Kenai got loose . We are desperately trying to find him. We are leaving on Friday and I don't intend to leave without that dog. The boys are very upset and I am so scared for him as he needs medication (he has epilepsy).

Half the house is packed. Colin got his haircute ,ahem I mean haircut. I hated cutting all those curls off but he really needed it. You should have seen all the hair under his chair. The hairdresser even mentioned it. He has pretty much the haircut he used to have before he started growing it out. He looks very nice, he lucked out with fabulous hair that seems to look great no matter what length. I dropped off two of my cats with my mom to watch for us till October when Chris will come back and drive his truck down to South Carolina. We have said our goodbyes to just about everyone. My mom is coming over today or tomorrow for coffee and goodbye. I am trying not to be sad, I know I will come back to visit as much as I am able.

I must now tell you a little secret of mine. When we moved here to Pueblo I hated it. There were no sidewalks, no parks in our neighborhood, and no decent kids around. We found a small brand new hs group that helped me find others but practically all the kids were preschoolers. I more recently found a wonderful christian group that has plenty of boys my boys ages and my boys started to make friends. But , and here is the secret, I still don't like it here. It's all so dead looking. Even the yards because most of those are nothing but rocks, ahem I mean xeriscape. Although I still feel as though I am moving to the moon there is something really great about where I am going. I can have the small town where I live. 45 min South and I have a huge town at my disposal. Savannah is 45 min south of me and it's huge. I wonder if it's bigger then Denver, which by the way should I mention is a 2 hour drive for me right now. So going to Savannah will be like going to fountain (where we used to live and about 10 min from almost all relatives). There is a huge hs group that is very active. I am excited to meet them and get the kids situated. MY MIL said only for the 5 time that we should probably put the boys in ps down there, you know just to make some friends. Umm here's a newsflash I am almost positive those are not the kind of friends I would prefer my kids to have. Kwim?

Well I should really go. I need to keep packing and cleaning, I also need to prowl the neighborhood for my dog, I need to call the pound and see if he is there. Not sure if this is my last post for a while but if so I will be back soon . I hope.

Summer smiles

Today we took our friends to Glenn Eyrie. This place is the coolest. William Palmer Jackson founded the city of Colorado Springs and Glen Eyrie's Castle was his home. This place is smack next to Garden of the Gods. OH by the way I think this place would be perfect for a letterbox. You can hike on the grounds, take a tour of the castle or have proper English tea in the castle. They have retreats and conventions and speakers that I would love to see and hear.It is run by the Navigators. Navigator's is similar to Awana if you are more familiar with Awana's as we are. They run summer camps for kids as well and you can actually stay there too. I think its' not much more then a hotel would cost. All of the grounds are exquisite. There is a rose garden I have yet to see, perhaps one day. A couple of years ago my sister and I took my mom there for mother's day tea, it was fun and fancy and we had a fabulous time. The boys and I have hiked the back forest several times over.

So with my boys, my friend, her son and one additional friend we headed off this morning to go hike at Glenn Eyrie. We got there about 11 ish and my friend was astounded at the grandness of the grounds. I bet they have over 50 acres back there and all of it is just breathtaking. OH and I think it would be such a great place to put our very first letterbox, I have been looking for a spot to put it. We drive all the way to the last parking lot as it is the closest to the hike.

We cross bridges, streams and riverbeds. Along the way a group of visitor's spotted some mountain goats and we managed a picture. About an hour or so we finally get to the end where there is a wonderful waterfall. At this point we decide to stop and enjoy that we got there and eat some lunch. I knew there were some punch bowls at the top of the mountain. Technically we were at the bottom of the waterfall but not the top of the mountain. The last time we were there I didn't feel comfortable hiking up to the punch bowls but this time my boys were more then capable so we did. The trail is rocky and slippery and you are at about a 80* angle to the top. About a quarter to half a mile through some incredibly rocky and slippery terrain we finally made it although not without a few extra scratches and bumps along the way.

What is a punch bowl? I didn't really know to be truthful. Appearntly it is a part of a stream where the water has created a sort of bowl that you can take a dip in. All the kids at first chickened out and I knew how cold that water would be (really we were in the mountains of course it will be freezing). Well the dominoes fell-one took the plunge and they all followed suit. After that it was next to impossible to keep them out of the punch bowls. They were like little monkeys crawling around and getting out and egging each other on. It was a wonderful time. It took me about 15 minutes to get them to finally stay out of the water and start going back. I actually had to start going on the trail to really let them know it was time. There was so much fun chatter among the boys all the way back to the trail about the punch bowls.

I am including a little slide show of our trip. I hope you enjoy.

Letterboxing 101

Have you ever letterboxed?? If not you are missing out. I discovered letterboxing some years ago. I was reading one of those smaller newsletter type papers that some cities have. You know the free ones. Anyway this article caught my eye. Being the mom of three boys the idea of treasure hunting in nature definitely seemed like our cup of tea, or whatever the boy equivalent is. So what is letterboxing you say? Well let me inform you. Letterboxing is AWESOME. LOL. Seriously though, letterboxing involves

1. going to the letterboxing website

2. Finding letterboxes in your area

3. Getting the clues

4. Follow the clues to find a hidden box

What is inside this box??At the very least you will find

~a stamp

~a logbook

and possibly

~a pen

~an ink pad

So what do you do? Well you have your own log book. Ours is about 5 by 7 ,spiral bound, hard cover notebook. You will also want a stamp. You can go to your local hobby store and grab one that is meaningful to your family. I had one professionally made with my dh's family crest for one of his father's day presents. It is special to us and has meaning. Next you stamp their stamp in your logbook and your stamp in their logbook. You can write a small note and the date you found it. You may also go back to the letterboxing website to tell the owner that their box is still there and in good shape, this helps them immensely in the keep up of the letterbox. And that is it lady's and gent's. These boxes are hidden everywhere.

One such box led us to our favorite family hike. The trail is called "Seven Bridges" and it is gorgeous. It is about four miles of kick butt hiking. At the right time of year there are wild raspberries that my boys LOVE. Trust me I cannot emphasize that enough. We hadn't been there for almost 2 years, due to dh getting sick. A friend of mine wanted to go letterboxing since she hadn't been and I raved so much about it. So we all gathered up and headed out on thursday. It was the perfect day for a hike. We had 7 kids ranging in ages from 4-13. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the box. My friends and I had a great time and they are officially hooked on letterboxing now.

We love the fact that our kids had a great time in nature. No T.V., video games, computer, mall, park. Just plain outdoors. Beautiful, wonderful, magnificent Nature. The kids had a terrific time and even the 13 yr olds admitted they were tuckered out. Half the kids fell asleep on the way back. We ended our day with me taking them to the German Deli I love. Both my friends are military and had been in Germany not too long ago. Here are some pic's of our hike.

Austin, Conner and Josh go in the river. The ice cold river. Can you see Conner's open mouth? That is him gasping at the coldness. Their feet turned pink and numb in a matter of 2 min. tops. It was quite funny and of course a great lesson in hipothermia.

Lindsey, her son, Colin, Lindsey's daughter and Brenda. This is our last bridge, Bridge # 7. We hung out, ate lunch and caught our breath. The boys spotted some small fish trying to swim upstream and attempted to catch them. Unfortunatly you had to get in the water to do it. So they got wet and a bit cold. The weather was hot so it just cooled them off.

Conner finds a spot to hang out in.

Austin Climbs up this hill. It is quite tall and he is far up there. That is why he is so small.

Colin loves nature and he does very well in it.