November 2012 Round-Up

November is done - we had a great month full of exploring and learning about our new town.

At the start of the month, I finished unpacking the house and we resumed our normal family life - including lots of board games that were finally unpacked and available.

We hiked as a family at Castlewood Canyon, which is very close to our house. It's one of the most beautiful places we've ever hiked.

Dad spent a few nights out of town this month, so the boys insist on sleeping with me even though they're honestly way too large to share a bed with anyone anymore.

We've also spent a good deal of time at the park down the street. It's connected to the school playground, so we all love to go down there to play. The boys even love to ride their bikes down there by themselves to play - there are usually lots of kids there to hang out with too.

Another benefit of unpacking - everything old is new again. The boys have rediscovered Rock Band and have been playing nonstop.

Mid-month, I helped organize a PTO event for their school - Turkey Game Night. It was a free bingo game night for the kids and families to win prizes and have fun. The boys had a great time - but they weren't happy that they never got a bingo.

We spent Thanksgiving at our home this year, just the 4 of us. Our dinner was great (if I do say so myself) with turkey, stuffing, 2 types of mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, biscuits, and cranberry sauce, plus 3 pies.

The next day, we hiked at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. If possible, this place was even more beautiful than Castlewood Canyon...

Then, we decorated for Christmas. So glad to have our holiday stuff up to enjoy for the month.

The last week of the month, the boys started swim lessons at the rec center. They love swimming there - the pool is amazing.

And finally, on the 29th, my mom came to town to visit, making her the first guest in our new home. We had a great time shopping and doing stuff with the boys.

That's it for November - can't wait for all the fun of December...

October 2012 Round-Up

As I said on my MightyCrafty round-up, October has just gotten away from me so fast. It was our first month living in Colorado and we are loving it so far. Everyone has been very welcoming - and we especially love the boys' new school.

So the very first day of October started us out with moving-in day...

We spent the next few weeks unpacking a zillion boxes. It seemed never-ending, but we finally got the house into shape where we could find most of the things we needed. The boys' playroom was the very last room I had to get unpacked - and I admit that it took me until this past weekend to get that one done.

Our new neighborhood is great with the school just down the block from our house - and a wonderful park just next door.

As we unpacked everything, the boys re-discovered Lego Rock Band and have been playing it nearly everyday. They have created a band called The Hydras and are growing their world domination one stage at a time.

October 11 was Harvest Day at their new school. Each class was assigned a fruit or vegetable and brought treats to sell at an all-day farmer's market in gym. The kids worked the tables to sell their items and brought money to school to buy treats. It was a fun way to celebrate the fall season.

Nathan's class item was pears...

Jack's class item was strawberries...

We had been exploring the hiking trails near our house. So many amazing hiking experiences so close by - it's hard to choose where to go. Our first excursion was to the Gateway Mesa Open Space.

We spent another weekend day at Pope Farms for a day at the pumpkin patch. The boys enjoyed the potato cannon and the pumpkin launcher - and we seriously almost got lost in the corn maze. It was the biggest maze we had ever been in.

On October 23, I went with the boys on their 3rd grade field trip to the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora. I was the leader of this fun group of 3rd graders...

We learned all about the Colorado homesteaders and Native Americans during our field trip.

And I fell in love with these guys - they are everywhere out here! I know they are considered a nuisance by most of the residents here but I just love them.

Two days later, we had our first snow in Castle Rock...Not enough for a snow day but still beautiful.

To celebrate Halloween, we went to the school for Spookfest. This year, Jack was Hawkeye from The Avengers and Nathan was a zombie ninja.

The boys had a great time playing with their friends and were brave enough to go through the haunted house too. There were actually quite a few ninjas in 3rd grade - but none were zombie ninjas like Nathan...

We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins...

And trick-or-treating as well...

I'm already afraid that this will be the last year the boys will want us to go with them. :( They are getting so big...

So that was our October. We are really enjoying Colorado and our new house. More adventures to come soon, I'm sure...