Feelings...

Those who know me really well know that I'm not generally comfortable sharing my feelings with others. In real life, I'm shy like that. But. The internet and the beauty of words let me be more of an extrovert than I otherwise am...which makes it possible for me to share this:

For a wee bit more of the story behind this layout, check out the Good Grief Blog, where I'm the featured contributor today. Thanks. :)

ps

My dandy fellow homeschooling and scrapbooking friend, Kelli, has a cool giveaway up on her blog to help spread the word about the Good Grief Blog. Three cheers for Kelli!!

New challenge up!

Please go take a look at the heartfelt (and sometimes heart-wrenching) layouts over on the Good Grief Blog today! A new challenge just went up...

August in review...

Okay, okay, I know I've been promising pictures forever and haven't really been good about that. I apologize. Truly. :) Here, then, is my review of the month in pictures...

We started out in Steamboat Springs with Nathan's parents for a fabulous week away. As I've already shared, the first morning of vacation found Nathan and I above Steamboat in a hot air balloon:

Later that afternoon, we all took the gondola up to the top of a nearby ridge:

We did lunch at the top, took some pictures and then returned to town. The boys enjoyed the ride so much, though, they rode around another time, LOL!

The next day, we found Fish Creek Falls. Though the falls weren't hugely impressive, the boys had a blast tossing rocks in the water and just playing:

We then returned the the unit we were staying at for some of our daily time in the pool:

Yes, btw, I have LOADS more pictures from each and every one of the things mentioned in this post. I'm trying to keep it under control, though... ;) Anyhow, the next day, we relented and took the boys to the amusement park type place they'd seen and begged for. It turned out to be a blast! First, we played the requisite round of miniature golf. Then we explored this cool maze thing they had:

Do you see Asher in the light green shirt and beige hat? Yeah, Nancy and I had fun watching all the boys try to find their way through the maze from our higher vantage point. The "point" was to find all the letters to the word "MAZE" and then get back out as quick as you could. To start with, though, we just did a round where the guys just wandered.

Later in the day, after a short break, we came back (we had all day passes) so the guys could partake in the "squirt gun fun" portion of the maze:

Yup, each guy got a huge water gun that could be filled at various stations throughout the maze and then were just let loose inside (the water eventually turned off to signal you were done). Considering the heat that afternoon, it was perfect:

(Yes, the guns were really that big...Nathan had to help Micah hold his up when it was full, lol.) After that, we took advantage of the little "mining" activity similar to one we'd done in Colorado Springs last summer (so the boys knew exactly what to do):

After finding all the hidden treasures in the bags provided by the management, we played another round of miniature golf before heading back to the unit. The next morning, we went back (it was a 24 hour pass) for one more round and a quick run through the maze...this time timed. Asher, surprisingly, emerged victorious, as he found all the letter stations for the word "MAZE" and made his way back out in just 6 minutes! 

The afternoon, then, was spent at the Yampa Botanic Gardens listening to live music and wandering among the gorgeous flowers (click to view larger):

Afternoon showers cut our visit short, so we headed back the next morning to take a few more shots:

I love this one of Asher and his Grandpa John! (And, yes, obviously, I had tons of other photos from the gardens...you'll have to wait till I get around to doing a layout to see more, lol.) There was also a little park just outside the gardens that the boys enjoyed playing at:

After all that, we grabbed lunch and headed to the Continental Divide (via an incredibly bumpy road) where we took a lovely hike, partially in celebration of Grandma Nancy's birthday. 

And that, pretty much, was our trip to Steamboat. ;) 

The following week was spent catching up...and getting the Good Grief Blog off the ground...and buying the boys new shoes for the fall...and celebrating Nathan's birthday with dinner out (had already done the hot air balloon thing, too)...and going to Ali's birthday party (she's 10 and lives across the street and the boys adore her...of course, the boys declared afterward that girl parties have too much shrieking, LOL!). That weekend, Nathan took the boys for a hike up around the Poudre River area:

The next week started the fall soccer season. Here's Micah at his very first soccer practice ever (he insisted on wearing the jersey because he was just delighted to have one, lol):

That weekend, I had an all day crop with some fabulous ladies while Nathan took the boys to an airshow down in Denver:

(He really took some goregous shots! This is just one example and is pretty much straight out of the camera.) 

The next week was full of trying to get ready for the school year and sorting out soccer practices. Friday (8/29), though, the boys and I met up with friends for an awesome afternoon along the Poudre River:

This past Saturday brought the boys' first soccer games of the season. Due to overlap (which is pretty much inevitable with three boys in soccer, LOL), Nathan took Asher to his game while I took Noah and Micah. All three boys won their games (officially, of course, they don't keep score at Micah's age) so were happy. Nathan and Asher made it over in time to see the last half of Micah's game, and we all had to chuckle at the difference in watching U8 and U9 games as compared to U5 games:

Aren't they just adorable?! (U5 is co-ed, btw, but Micah's team ended up not having any girls...which made him happy since little girls freak him out, LOL!) Much easier, too, to photograph the considerably smaller field for U5 games. ;) And, here are all three of my guys after the end of Micah's game:

Then, yesterday (Sunday), we headed up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park for some family time...hiked to Alberta Falls. The boys and I had done this trail before with John & Nancy, but Nathan hadn't been on it. 

This time around, the boys got to do a bit more venturing and rock climbing such that Asher declared this "the most awesome waterfall ever!" On the way back out, we saw squirrels, elk, deer (and fawns), coyotes and even wild turkeys:

All in all, it was a lovely day that ended with tuckered boys...which is always good, lol!

And that, my friends, brings us to today...the last day of August. We have Open House for our Options program this afternoon (just to pick up schedules and meet teachers...first day of class isn't until Sept 14)...and then, I suppose, I'll need to face the fact that September starts tomorrow... ;)

Sharing...

Just a couple quick thoughts to share...

First, came across this blog post/article recently and thought it offered some good insights for homeschool families. Mine aren't quite old enough yet for this to be a concern, but it's definitely something to keep in mind for the coming years (the testing more than the sciences...as I'm pretty sure we'll have that covered since that's where the boys' main interests are, lol).

Second, for any who love Legos or know people who do, have you tried out the Lego Digital Designer program? It's free and really pretty dang cool. With it, you can build and create your own Lego inventions using the pieces on their list (pretty extensive, though not complete). Noah's done this twice now...he's built a fighter jet (because, he says, not enough of the existing kits come with good fighter jets) then ordered it from Lego (prices were actually fairly reasonable considering what you get and that it's custom).

All the pieces then come in a nice box and you follow the instructions you used to create it in the first place to put it together. The software saves all this information for you...and you can totally just build for the sake of building without having to buy the item. (Asher's been having fun with that but is still reluctant to buy any of his creations since he's saving for other things.) Anyhow, thought I'd share because the boys have really enjoyed this, and I think the spacial awareness practice on the computer in addition to building things with actual Legos is good. And, I find it pretty cool that I can mess around and build things without having to hunt down all the little pieces in the boys' "Lego" room upstairs, LOL!

Okay, come back tomorrow for loads of pictures from the entire month...the rest of that vacation in Steamboat all the way up to the boys' first soccer games yesterday!