Egg-cellent!

Ella is absolutely loving her karate class.  She has already earned three stripes to her belt and that means she's half way to earning her Jr. Yellow Belt.  

At least once a week, she tells me how glad we chose this karate school and how much she enjoys the classes.  

Ella is not the only one cruising around on two wheels.  Eric has taken off on his balance bike and no longer needs his feet to keep him going.  

Gravity is his best friend now, as he cruises down the driveway with no feet!  This guy is definitely ready for a full fledged big boy bike!  You can find him jumping down the steps of our walkway, riding straight into ravines and dirt roads.  I just hope I can keep him off the half pipes for a few years!

We finally found a weekend we were home to put together a small garage sale, before the cold weather really set in.  The kids kept themselves entertained and enjoyed announcing when shoppers arrived.  "Mom, people are coming!" I think I need to work on their sales skills.  We managed to sell quite a bit and decided to use the money to buy Ella a pair of skis for the winter and Eric a play kitchen.

Ella and Eric's cafe is open for business on a daily basis now. 

Ella doesn't need to play kitchen much these days, as she is enjoying cooking right alongside me in the mornings.  Ella cooks some great scrambled eggs in the morning.  

Occasionally, she needs help reaching a bowl or cooking spray.  However, she does all the cooking and it's so fun to watch her feeling so at ease in the kitchen.

Speaking of eggs, we awoke to a wonderful surprise this morning!  Our hens are starting to lay their first eggs!  I found a small perfectly smooth brown egg, laying so nicely in the nesting box this am.  

Ella had scrambled eggs and said they were the best eggs ever!

In anticipation of eggs, we put the boxes in just a couple weeks ago.  Looks like we put them in, just in time!  Even better, we found a second brown egg this evening too!  Can't wait to see what color eggs we get next!

Fun with Friends!

We enjoyed a wonderfully cool Labor Day weekend in Colorado Springs, camping with our friends the Hightower's.  We had a great time showing them some of the attractions and visiting Santa's Workshop.

The kids especially loved the Candy Cane Coaster, braving the bumpy ride twice.

I think Ella could of ridden it all day!  It's always amazing to me that Ella can go round and round in circles all day without getting the least bit sick.  However, put her in a car for a few hours and she's car sick.  Go Figure!

Eric liked all the vehicles (planes, traines, boats, motorcycles).  We always love our visit to Santa's Workshop for all the rides even the youngest kids can enjoy by themselves.  

The little kids feel like big kids at Santa's Workshop!

We ventured back to the campground for some much needed downtime and followed up dinner with an Ice Cream Social at the clubhouse.  We really enjoyed our stay at the Mountaindale RV Park, even though it was a bit farther from town.

Ella had been wanting to make it to the top of Pikes Peak, since we moved back to Colorado.  Well, we finally decided to give it a go.  A long ride up, but the kids did awesome!  Ella even commented that it was a nice relaxing ride, she really enjoyed the views.  

I could definitely see Ella and Eric climbing Pikes Peak some day.  

We had to stop at Balance Rock in Garden of the Gods. 

Our kids are fearless!  They wanted to climb every rock, even ones that made my knees weak.  Luckily, Ken was there to assist.  Amazingly, no one was severely injured on this trip.  However, Eric met rock after he was running down a dirt/rock hill while heading to the car.  Scraped up his knee pretty good, but the boy is tough and kept on going.

The kids didn't get quite enough climbing in at Garden of the Gods, so they were climbing dirt piles all evening long at the campground.  They were caked in dirt!  Eric kept up with the big kids and seemed to have forgotten all about his early brush with the rocks.  I even caught him tossing his bike over a dirt hill!  Boys will be boys!

After a long day, we were happy to unwind with a campfire and smore's.

It was so nice camping with friends!  The kids even had their first trailer sleepover, as 6yr old Blake spent the night in our trailer so his Mom and Dad could enjoy an Anniversary night to themselves.  The kids had fun and chatted for quite awhile, but eventually drifted off to sleep.  They awoke early, but kept themselves busy playing in their bunk room.

We wrapped up our trip on Monday, with lunch at The Airplane Restaurant. The kids had so much fun getting to sit in a real cockpit!  

We sure are going to miss camping this winter.  However, Ella and Ken are already talking about skiing.  Eric will be starting ski school this year as well, so they can't wait!  We hope to have at least one more opportunity to break the trailer out before the cold weather really sets in, so stay tuned.

Kids in Motion!

We have been so busy with our camping trips, that I haven't had time to really write about what the kids have been up to this summer.

In an effort to stay cool this summer, we enrolled Ella in another Ice Skating class (level 3).  We had to miss a few classes, due to camping so we'll have to retry the level again.  However, she absolutely loves to skate and did very well.  

A perfect sunny Colorado day, seemed like a great time this summer to break out the bikes for the kids. No wind and an early morning bike ride was just what the kids needed to burn some energy. Ella had been wondering when she would be able to ride a two-wheeler, so we decided it was time for those training wheels to come off.  We arrived at the park and turf, not a soul in sight.  Perfect!  Ella hopped right on, I gave a good push and immediately she was off.  First just a few feet, but she never gave up and kept on trying! 

The end of our outing and she was already riding back and forth across the field.  Ella is quite determined when she puts her mind to something!  

I know she can be determined, but we have been wanting to find an activity to help build her confidence.  I spent many years in the martial arts as a child and thought this would be really good for Ella.  We visited four different karate schools, spoke with many more.  We finally decided on a local Kempo Karate school, where Cousin Seth attends.  This school offered the best class to help teach discipline, focus, and confidence with a fun spin.  It's great that Ella already has a short term goal to look forward to (White Belt, Yellow Stripe).  She really loves this class as it's a blend of traditional martial arts, focus and following direction drills, as well as self-control.  

Just tonight, Ella earned her first stripe.  She had to demonstrate her basic knowledge of blocks, stances, and classroom etiquette.  She was so excited and very proud of her accomplishment!!

Eric has really been interested in Karate as well and throws a pretty good front kick.  However, he has to be 4 to join.  In the mean time, Ella has been teaching Eric everything she learns.  

In my quest to find Ella a good Karate school, I realized how much I had missed the martial arts myself.  I found a wonderful Christian based traditional karate school, in the same style I learned years ago (over 20 years ago).  I started training just a week ago, meeting just twice a week in the evening. I am so glad to have found this school and an added bonus, I encouraged my father to join with me.  I hope Ella and Eric will be able to join us, when they are a bit older (they have to be 7).  

After Labor Day, the kids will be picking up even more classes.  Ella will also start a homeschool Dance and PE class, while Eric will be attending The Little Gym once a week.  The kids are definitely moving in all sorts of directions, keeping me moving as well!

This past weekend, Ella enjoyed a Daddy day at Elitches.  Actually, our friends the Hightower's invited Ella on their company outing to Elitches (they had two extra tickets).  Ken had been gone that week, so I thought it would be a good opportunity for them to spend some quality Daddy and daughter time.  They had a blast!  The kids couldn't get enough of the roller coasters!

Ella & Blake giving a Thumbs Up

The kids road the roller coast three times, each time they gave a thumbs up indicating they wanted to ride again!  Although, she would tell you her favorite ride was the Lazy River at the Water Park.  She definitely enjoyed her day with Daddy.

Eric and I invited Mimi and Pa out for the morning and we ventured over to Southland's Outdoor Mall, where he could play and run through the sprinklers.

He had so much fun, just full of energy and loved the freedom to run and play in the water to his little heart's content.  I even caught him dancing and singing, "You can't see me, I'm in the water fall!"  Too Cute!

We wrapped up the morning with a much needed haircut, which he loves as well.

What can I say, our boy loves the attention!

We had a great time and enjoyed spending some quality time with the kids that are always keeping us moving!

Wrapping up Summer

We have been slowly rearranging our daily routine, as we have been getting accustomed to our school schedule again. We took a much longer summer break from school than I anticipated, but Ella was definitely ready and asking to start school again. You can read more about our homeschool adventures here: The Swift Schoolhouse.

We are still trying to take advantage of the beautiful weather, while it's around though. The joys of homeschooling allows us to be flexible in our plans and enjoy the times we can spend as a family more. This past weekend we took a a long weekend trip up to Gunnison and Taylor Canyon. Ella was still recuperating from a cold, so we a little more limited on our outings. Regardless, we all had fun being together and away from all the house work. An extra bonus, the kids were able to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Swift as they are traveling the Colorado mountains in their motorhome (AKA "The Buggy").

We visited "Tin Cup," an old mining town where the kids were able to visit one of the oldest cemeteries in Colorado. I think it was a bit eye opening for Ella to see tombstones and graves of young children and entire families. It even reminded me to be thankful for all the time we have together and cherish each moment.

We ventured over to Abbeyville, an old gold mining town from 1880-1886.

We took Grandma and Grandpa's Jeep Liberty and went 4 wheeling up the dirt road and rocks to see what was left of the mine. 

Eric and Ella was thrilled to see the old railroad tracks and was fascinated by all the big structures and machines left by the mine workers.

The kids fished at a small pond (for kids only),

 Ella caught her first trout. I missed getting a picture, as he was a bit small to keep and Ken threw him back in the water before I could get the camera out. Nevertheless, Ella caught the only fish this weekend. She was so happy!

We tried fishing by the river, but we just watched the schools of fish swim right by our bait!

We spent much of the rest of our trip relaxing at our campsite, riding bikes, coloring, and visiting with Grandma and Grandpa. A wonderfully relaxing trip!

What a beautiful view to take in, as we stepped out to stretch our legs on the way home!

 We weren't expecting to purchase a travel trailer this year, but we are sure happy we did!  We've had some wonderful times together as a family, been able to see some beautiful views throughout Colorado, and are already making plans for next year.  We couldn't of asked for a better family gift and are so blessed!

Taking in Nature

I can't believe how fast these summer months are passing us by! We have enjoyed some great times outside, butt with the heat wave these last few weeks have been looking for ways to stay a bit cooler.

We decided to head to the Nature and Science Museum, since we hadn't visited in awhile.

The kids had a great time and were happy that our friends the Hightowers could join us. We checked out the new Sesame Street Planetarium show, which was great for the kids. They enjoyed learning about the stars and constellations. The entire space exhibit is always a big hit, as the kids try and navigate their own space shuttle. Unfortunately, chasing two kids around a very busy museum means no real time to break the camera out for pictures. Hopefully, I'll catch some next time.

Ella's love and interest in horses has really grown this past summer. I'm sure our time at the rodeo's and new riding instructor has really helped with that. The art school which she has attended in the past was holding a summer camp with a horse theme, so I thought it would be perfect for her.

She had a great time and came home with some wonderful drawings!

Her last day, she even made a clay piece which we can't wait to pick up (they still have to put in the kiln, which will really add a nice shine to it).

Last week, Ella noticed a Butterfly injured and left in the grass. Running inside she asked Ken to help. The wings were eaten off, probably by a bird. She tried to fly but could not leave the ground. Instead of leaving her to become bird food, Ken made a makeshift cage for "Beauty" and she became our class project for the next couple days.

We studied about the Swallow Tail Butterfly, which she was and what she needed to eat. We were able to get up close and notice the different features and parts, Ella drew many butterfly pictures; depicting others to try and make our little Butterfly at home.

Unfortunately, we learned pretty quickly that God did not intend for these beautiful creatures to live in captivity as she only lived a couple days in her make shift cage, within our school room. A hard life lesson and one I don't think Ella will forget.

Ella has a passion for animals and nature.  She has such a soft spot for both.  Ella and I had some fun one on one time and decided to head to the neighborhood park.  We were just finishing at the swings and heading to the car, when she saw how weed infested the sand box had become and decided to spend her time with Mom pulling weeds, instead of playing. I'm not sure how many 5 year olds would choose such a chore, but I was very proud of our girl.  She didn't think twice, just kept working to make the park cleaner for others to play.  What an awesome kid!  

The summer has quickly come to an end for us, as we dusted off (literally) our old school books and headed back to the school room for the year. We took a rather longer vacation than planned, but it seems we learned a lot this summer. We learned about the world around us and that God is everywhere, that we were put here on this earth to protect this beautiful land and all the wonderful animals. 

Independence Day!

The weather has been extremely warm these past few weeks and what better way to stay cool than ice skating! Ella's last class was over six months ago, but that hasn't hindered her at all. She's right back on the ice and loving every minute. The skills are getting harder, but I think she loves the challenge.

Eric loves the ice rink, as there is a large indoor carnival as you walk through the facility. Since he can't skate yet, we usually hang out there as we wait for Ella's short 30 minute lesson. His favorite is riding the bus.

We have been working diligently on Eric's potty training. To say boys are harder than girls is definitely an understatement. We were off to a bumpy start, but it's slowly gaining ground. We went cold turkey and decided to forget the pull-ups during the day and go straight to big boy briefs. A good week of reminders and lots of accidents, we are finally making headway. I promised Eric that if he goes a whole week without accidents he can ride all the rides at the ice arena's indoor carnival. I think this might be well within reach. 

Ella started horse back riding again this summer. We took her to the rodeo this past month and now she has been all about riding in the rodeo. She says she wants to start competing for ribbons and wants to race around the barrels and fly the flags during intermission. She and Eric have been racing around the house on their hobby horse, pretending they are at the rodeo.

We've had to reevaluate her current riding school, as we have been concerned that her weekly lessons have turned into more of a pony ride than a riding lesson. After finding out that Ella had actually forgotten some of her earlier skills, we decided to start our search for a new riding school.

While we were at the rodeo, we met a wonderful lady who has a riding school not too far from our home. She starts children as young as 2 on the horses and seemed very knowledgeable about working with young ones. So, we tried a lesson and were thrilled with the instruction and the horse she had available for Ella to ride.

Brenner, is an older Thoroughbred and was once a show horse. He had a wonderful personality and obeyed Ella's every command. A quick tap of the heel and he was off trotting. Ella is excited about her new horse and that her instructor says she could start competing soon, but is going to miss her old horse Jubee from her old riding school.

After Ella's lesson, Brenner even gave Ella a good nuzzle. I guess he liked her too! I think they will make a great team.

Eric has been asking to ride horses too, so we hope to start him in the fall. Ella had outgrown her old boots and we found out with English riding boots, boys and girls start off in the same kind of boots. So, we passed Ella's old boots down to Eric and now he wants to wear them all the time. He put them on the first time this past week and immediately said, "Me ride too?" He is so excited to start riding, just hoping he can wait a few more months. I'm thinking this might make a good birthday gift, his first lesson on his birthday.

The Independence day weekend was beautiful in Estes Park. We spent the weekend at a county campground. We lucked out and managed to get one of the better spots in the campground, so had a nice view from at least one side of the trailer. We were met by Grandma and Grandpa Swift (Ken's parents) and staying just down the road was Aunt Teresa (Maria's sister) and her family.

We had a great time fishing, spending at least an hour on the water a day trying to catch our fish for breakfast.

The "breakfast" fish seemed to escape us every time.  However, we did manage to catch a couple of baby fish.

Rocky Mountain National Park was beautiful as always 

and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa, hiking

then finding a nice shady spot for a picnic lunch.

Ella and Eric absolutely loved being in the mountains and made excellent hikers. We couldn't keep Eric from charging down the hills with Grandpa.

We enjoyed a nice evening campfire with Cousin Seth and family. The kids had a great time eating all the s'mores, so much we had to cut them off after their third round of marshmallows.

The riverwalk was a huge hit with the kids, as they enjoyed a morning bike ride from the Visitors center to the park.

They had so much fun and especially loved going through the tunnel.

The fireworks show was beautiful!

It was nice to be able to spend the evening with The Taylor's (Maria's Sister & Family), Grandma and Grandpa Swift. The kids had a blast playing at the large playground and rock formations.

It was so cute to hear the kids talking about the fireworks as each one went off. How wonderful and blessed we were to be able to spend this holiday with extended family. We are so grateful to be able to have the freedom to celebrate!

We wrapped up our long weekend with one last hike around Bear Lake at Rocky Mountain National Park.

We had such a wonderful time and are excited to come back again, before the season ends.

A Beautiful View!

There are days I wake up and realize what a beautiful place it is we live in. The tall trees, sounds of wildlife, and smell of flowers just wows the senses and really reminds us of the blessings God has given all of his people to enjoy and to care for. Each morning I awaken to this beautiful view.

I had heard the dogs barking one morning, rather aggressively. Rather put off, I ran outside to gather up the dogs and bring them inside and see what the commotion was all about. I was completely surprised to find two baby fawns sitting behind our fence. Apparently, Mama deer thought it was safe to leave these little ones laying here.

I ran inside and grabbed the kids in their pj's to see this beautiful sight too!

We all wanted to pet and hold the deer, but I knew it was against the laws of nature to intervene. We told Ken about the deer, but just a few minutes after we came inside they had already been taken away by their Mama's.

A beautiful sight to see, was my little princess in her dance recital. She had been practicing all year for her ballet and tap performances in her recital, entitled "Thumbelina." Her favorite was her ballet dance to the music, "Thumbelina." (She is the little one on the far left).

She absolutely loved being on stage!

Her "Fish" tap number was just darling!

She sure made a beautiful princess!

The kids have been enjoying lots outdoor playtime lately, as the weather has been just hot and dry. Even the swim spa, has been rather warm to swim in at 85 degrees. It has been so hot, we broke down and purchased a dual slip and slide for the kids.

They enjoyed the cool water, but were a bit apprehensive about sliding. They had more fun running through the sprinklers.

We had our weekend trip planned for Buena Vista and anticipated leaving mid afternoon, after we attended a birthday party. Well, we arrived home and Ken was under the trailer (not a good sign). Four stops and five hours later, Ken figured out that a fuse was out. A quick replacement fuse, a stop over at Maria's parents for dinner and we were finally on our way.

We arrived around midnight and were awakened to highway traffic. Apparently, being the last ones to check in at the campground left us with a less than ideal camp site. Regardless, we had a great time. Kids were up early as usual, ready to go. We enjoyed a relaxing morning, before we decided to head into town for a picnic lunch at the park.

Just this week, Ella mastered swinging all by herself. She was quick to show us how high she could go!

Eric met another little boy at the park and they had fun playing through the tunnels.

What a fun afternoon, but we were still all tired from our long evening the day before. So, we headed back for an afternoon nap. While Eric and Ken were sleeping, Ella and I had a fun time playing outside. We played a little "UNO" at our picnic table and took pictures by the tree on our campsite.  There was a perfect place for her to sit in the tree and she enjoyed playing for the camera.

We ventured over to the campground park, where they had a huge wooden pirate boat to play on.

We woke up the boys for the ice cream social, that was held for all the campers. Ella enjoyed chocolate, while Eric downed his Vanilla with Chocolate chip. They scarfed it down in time to head out a trip to the nearby Goat Dairy Farm, "Jumpin Good Goat Dairy." We learned all about the cheese making process, different breeds of goats, and goat milk. We visited an underground cheese aging cave.

The kids were not afraid to pet the goats and left thinking goats need to be our next pet. (Don't worry, we'd have to move to Denver to have goats).

We were even able to see day old kids, hold and cuddle them.

Of course, there was lots of cheese tasting at the end of the tour. The kids absolutely loved the cheese and asked if they could try goat's milk too. We just might have to give it a try, as they didn't have any available for us to try. I was amazed at how many different cheeses and spreads there were available. I even learned that I like goat cheese too!

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing. The kids were able to ride their bikes and we took in the beautiful music and campfire put on for all the campers. A nice relaxing day, it's exactly what we needed.

We left the campground prior to checkout as we were hoping to stop at Fairplay to do some fishing. However, in search of a rest area for lunch we ended up heading toward Breckenridge. The detour turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as we were able to stop for lunch at Hoosier Pass and even enjoyed a hike with all the "kids."

Ella and Eric were excited to see snow on the hike up.

God sure knew what he was doing when he created this beautiful view!

What a blessings to be able to enjoy such a sight and share it with the kids!