Academic Achievement

Look who received a Personal Success Award for Academic Achievement! One student receives this award from each class and we have the first quarter winner in our house!

Halloween 2013

We survived another year! This time around we had a Dinosaur, Angelina Ballerina, and the Emperor. I had a lot of fun with the Emperor's makeup but by the time we took pictures he had rubbed most of it off goofing around with his friend.

As we have for the last several years we also had friends over to trick-or-treat with us. Darth Vader and Captain Rex helped round out our Star Wars trio and Super Girl helped save the day.

Happy Halloween

For weeks now the constant conversation has revolved around Halloween costumes. There have been some creative ideas but none was as creative as New Kid. She marched into the bathroom and emerged with her 

declarative cry, "I'm going as a step stool!"

Have a great Halloween!

Cuchara Wildlife

This was a great year for seeing wildlife in Cuchara. We were treated to several deer visits to the cabin and a large bear even strolled by on the hillside for an afternoon snack. JP and I spotted a couple of foxes on the road and we were also lucky enough to see a Mama Bear and her cub cross the highway. 

The day we climbed the peak we also saw several Ptarmigan and Marmots; the latter were very entertaining. We always see many chipmunks but we had one on our climb that day that followed my sister-in-law and I very closely as we went down the mountain. JP took this picture of an interesting butterfly on our climb as well.

Ptarmigan

The best surprise on our trip was seeing this regal Big Horn Sheep which we have never seen before in this particular area. We briefly saw him on our way to town that day but were not able to stop and investigate. When we saw him again on the way back in the exact same spot we were sure he was a fake and just a ruse to trick the tourists, but we took the time to stop and watch and photograph and did see him move his head to know he was real.

Cuchara: Favorite Photos

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from our Colorado trip last month:

This One . . .

This one is three (and all that comes with that).

This one had her first day back at school too (about 3 weeks ago).

This one does not like to follow bedtime rules (and will come out of her room to share things like how to hula hoop).

This one knows how to fight back (and sister has the marks to prove it).

This one started "sandpaper letters" this past week at school (but already thinks she can read).

This one has many stories to tell (but few are true).

This one wants to do whatever her sister is doing (and sister likes bossing her around).

This one is a sweet, loving, caring child who is quick to say I love you and ask about your day. She is a snuggle bug and lap-sitter and even though she is in her "trying three-yr-old" stage, she is a joy.

First Day of School 2013

     Once again, and too early I might add, the younglings have returned to school. This year is another pretty big year as The Boy has been joined at the local elementary school by Pickle. Yes, she has moved on up to first grade! She is pumped about it, too. It was hard to hold her back from running out the door this morning after she got dressed. The Boy was not so excited.
     After a fine breakfast of waffles we tied our shoes and headed out. We were joined on our walk by 2 of Pickle's past and present classmates. We thought it would be nice for the three of them to head into the unknown of a new school with the known of some old friends. It helped a great deal. About 4 houses from school Pickle reached down and took the little boy's hand and held it all the way onto the playground. In fact, she was still holding it as the bell rang and they walked into the building.
    I walked down to meet the kids after school and found two very pleased little ones. One was just glad to be out of school for the day and the other just couldn't wait to go back. After a snack of fresh lemon squares a little paperwork was completed and a paragraph about summer vacation written and then the bags were packed for another day.