The Aftermath

The Unthinkable...

The rain never stopped.  Our evacuation story and the events of the next several days will follow as soon as we are in a more stable location and maybe have internet service.

 

We've Sprung a Leak

On the premise that I may someday want to remember the ugly along with the good, I will share the nightmare that was last night.  It actually started yesterday around 2 in the afternoon.  For a wonderful change, it was much cooler.  The clouds rolled in and it started raining.  Like really raining.  It didn't stop.  In fact in the middle of the night, I may or may not have mentioned building an ark.  When we went to bed we noticed a great deal of wetness along the rim of the bed in our bedroom.  Uh oh, there was a leak.  An impossible to catch or seal in the moment leak.  The only solution was towels....lots of towels.  Oh yeah and maybe some tears.  The wetness made it freezing and it's not like there was really anywhere else to go.  In even worse news it is still raining today and there is no way to really fix it until it has a chance to dry!  Looks like I will be sleeping in my bathing suit tonight....

Fall Kickoff

Today was the fall kickoff/bbq at our new church.  It was the first event we have attended as a family since we started the church in late April.  This summer the little girls went to VBS and Chiggie has attended youth group on most Thursday nights.  There is always a transition when you move, but when you move churches, I think it can be even more difficult.  Had we not moved, we still would not have stayed at our previous church due to some changes they were making and the direction we felt they were heading, but moving on is never easy.  Today's gathering was nice but it was also lonely.  We are used to being surrounded in fellowship by people that we have known and loved for a very long time.  I know new relationships take time, but I don't know how much time we have and that adds to the complication.  That being said, I am glad that we went and there were many friendly faces.

Learning

I have never been good with hair.  Like...ever.  So God thought it would be hilarious to bless me with 4 daughters.  All of whom love to have their hair done.  Up until now, I have been so busy with little bitty kids that I just did the best I could.  The older they have all gotten, the more time I have, and the more elaborate their requests have become.  We can call this, "the summer I really learned to do hair."  I have been practicing on Chiggie (per her request) every chance I get.  She loves french braids and I have finally mastered several versions of them!  It has truly been a reminder to me how "seasonal" every aspect of our lives truly is!

Museum and Science and Nature

Two weeks into the school year and we took our first field trip.  The King was home, so it was the perfect opportunity to go somewhere bigger where we could all play and learn.  We settled on the Museum of Science and Nature and were not disappointed.  This is our first year using The Story of the World curriculum and our current unit focuses on ancient Egypt.  The museum had an entire room dedicated to this topic and it was so cool for the kids to see a real mummy! 

They all really enjoyed our tour through expedition health as well.  The each got a card and their information was stored from each exhibit they visited.  In the end it printed out a picture of them and all of their information.  They thought that was really neat.  Overall the animal and habitat exhibits were my favorite.  I am continually amazed by God's creation.  I am so glad that we got to go on such and fun and informative trip.  Unfortunately my cameral batteries died so I have no photographic proof.

This Moment

Where else could you possibly do your school work in a bathing suit and your cowgirl boots?

Estes Park

A couple of weeks after school started we made the trip up to Estes Park for a treat.  We had so much fun walking around, shopping, and seeing th sites.

 We had lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant and were lucky enough to get a table on the 3rd floor deck.  Boo liked looking over the ledge, seeing how high up we were, and people shopping.

 Midge liked this hat, but unfortunately was not persuasive enough and it stayed at the store.

 What could possibly be better than an apple dipped in caramel?  An apple dipped in caramel and rolled in M&M's!

 

 Can anybody name this famous (haunted) hotel?  Haunted or not, it's beautiful!

 Several of the kids wanted to ride the super tall slide.  Others waited patiently and worked on their suckers.

It was a really fun day.  One of those where you just want to freeze time and stay in that very moment.

River Play

We are very fortunate that the R.V. park we are staying at, is right on the Big Thompson River.  Many hours have been spent wading, splashing, and fishing in this river.  Buster has learned to cast and real in and has watched the King bring in many fish.  The girls have collected toads and bugs of all kinds.  Now that school has started we usually walk down to the bank in the afternoons and cool off.  

First Day of School

We started school on August 19th.  A week earlier than we had originally planned.  Nearly three weeks ago and I am just now beginning to feel the familiarity of the routine.  The first week, I primarily worked with the older two.  I helped get them adjusted to their new program and polish up their notetaking skills.  The next week the little girls (and sometimes boy) jumped in full swing.  I am so excited for everything we will all learn this year!

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