Colorado Railroad Museum...

Can't think of a more perfect place for a homeschool field trip day with 4 boys than a railroad museum where you are allowed to climb aboard!

Shrine Pass Hike...

The shrine pass hike is a gentler hike through some open fields and up to the ridge.
We made it to the ridge and enjoyed a rest!
From the parking lot you can see the rock formations you will hike to and JJ made it his goal to get to them that day.

Flag football 2010...

Some pictures from our flag football year! Chad, Zeke, JJ, and Noah participated this year while Seth and I watched. Each week we gazed faithfully into the sun.

Homeschool Olympics

A friend of ours was studying the Olympics in her homeschool and decided to organize a homeschool Olympics for us.

We started off by assigning each student a country and then having a parade of countries.

Then we learned that in the original Olympics the athletes would oil themselves up to show off their muscles and that they competed without clothing. So several of the boys removed their shirts for the festivities.
Then the festivities began.

We had several races...
A Javelin and Discus Throw...

A long jump...And ended with an awards ceremony...

Fall Hike...

We anticipate that our hiking weather will soon be gone and so we are enjoying what we can now. Today we did a hike through the remnants of 10th Mountain Division training area.

A trip to Denver...

Every couple of months Chad has a circuit meeting down in Denver. This month we decided to go along. We spent our morning being tourists at:

The Mother Cabrini Shrine

And Buffalo Bill's Gravesite and museum

Where the kids and Dad got to play cowboy!

Then we took Chad to his meeting and we went to explore the Nature center (sorry, for some reason I left my camera in the car for that one).

Holy Cross City...

About a week ago we were out for a drive and we found a side road and took it... While we wound around for a while, we saw signs for a hike to another Ghost Town - Holy Cross City. It is named that because it is at the base of the Mount of the Holy Cross. We wanted to hike it that day, but upon inspection of our gas tank and the light left in the day, we decided we had better turn around and go home...

Today we got up and decided to give it a try again... We filled up the tank (important detail since we almost didn't make it home last time) and set out. It is a 3.5 mile hike from where we parked the car. We did the 3.5 miles up in about 2 1/2 hours. When we got to the top it was well worth the hike!

The boys pose for a picture in front of the sign explaining the mining town behind us. Noah and Seth climb around on one of the less maintained buildings...Zeke pauses for a rest inside an old miners shack.
Chad and I pose for a picture in front of another miner's shack.
JJ and Chad stop for a look around...

What always amazes me about these ghost towns is the reality that people once lived in these homes. Their elevations are higher than even Leadville and, while we haven't experienced one yet, we are told the winters can be long and snowy! It is a fun lesson in history for us as we imagine what life in these Ghost Towns was once like!

Fall Colors...

Pictures really don't do it justice, but the fall colors on the mountains are amazing... All the beautiful Green and Gold and we have had perfect weather for getting out and enjoying it too!

Church Picnic

The churches of Breckenridge and Leadville had a joint church picnic. Chad helped to lead the games and there was, of course, great food for the afternoon!

Semi Pro Football...

The Denver Titans took on the Colorado All Stars at a fund raising game for the Lake County Panthers in Leadville! Of course with a couple of football lovers in our family we spent our evening at the game!

Apple Fest...

We attended the Apple Fest in Buena Vista today... Located on an old farmstead we had the opportunity to:

Participate in a cake walk (Noah was the winner)

Take pony rides

Make leather crafts

Pick vegetables in the garden

as well as make applesauce, watch the apple cider making process and pick apples off the trees... Along with lots of samples.

Labor Day...

After a busy few weeks we took our Labor Day Monday a little slower. We went exploring, looking for this place...Chad and I hiked up for a good view of this on our honeymoon and the plan is to do this again come June when snow fills the crevices and leaves a picture of a cross on the mountain... At this time of the year it is pretty hard to see, but if you look closely it is there.The rest of the day was spent on a couple of short hikes and great views along the way! Chad and the boys practiced their river crossing skills during the day, while I sat on a rock and took pictures!
After a fun and relaxing day, we stopped on the way home at a trailhead that really isn't next to anything. Here we got the boys out of the van just to look up! It was pretty amazing to see all the stars! Of course the picture shows none... If you want to see them, you will just have to come for a visit!