End of Summer and the Start of Much

This summer has been pretty eventful for us. Thankfully we were able to escape the July heat for a week and take a trip to Colorado. We stopped on the way in Canyon, TX at Palo Duro Canyon. It was very hot, but breathtakingly beautiful. The pictures really don't do it justice.

This is one of my favorites. Also this one. It was taken by mistake, but turned out beautiful.

Then on to Colorado. We stayed in a campground outside Westcliffe, CO, a small mountain town of around 300 people. We basically had the whole side of the mountain to ourselves. It was wonderful. And you just can't beat the view.

Joshua turned 30 on July 29th and I managed to throw a mostly surprise party for him. I was so impressed with my surprise party throwing ability, I forgot to take pictures! It was fun anyway. The end of summer also means Ben's birthday. He has been waiting 364 days for this day to arrive. He finally understood what this whole birthday thing was last year and he couldn't wait to have another one. He has been going around the house all day telling me all the things he can do now that he is 4.

He is "all boy" with a love for dirt, taking things apart and anything with wheels. He is also just plain fun to be around. His enthusiasm is contagous and the joy he finds in the small things is something we could all learn from. Oh, and he instists on wearing his hat like that.

We are also venturing into a new phase for our family. Joshua starts his teaching internship in September (YEA!!!). And, after passing some huge test of some kind, should be eligable to teach in the Spring. He has been working toward this for a long time and it is nice to see all the pieces falling in place. I am so proud of him!

Another thing we are starting is Kindergarten! My sweet Caleb is starting school at The Hughes School of Arts and Sciences at 9am tomorrow. Well we don't offically have a name I guess, but I will be attempting to homeschool this year. He has been excited about homeschooling since we mentioned the idea to him and I was only partially considering it. It will be an adventure for sure and I hope it will be some good quality time spent with my little boy before he gets too big.

Well hold on! Fall here we come!