Pikes Peak

A few weeks ago, we made the drive up to Pikes Peak. David offered to drive, which was great, since it's pretty serious mountain driving (you know, hairpin turns, not all of which have guardrails near the loooong drop offs). He drove expertly, and it was quite an adventure winding our way up to the 14,000+ peak. When we got out of the car at the top, we could really feel the lack of oxygen -- we all felt a little lightheaded and tired from just existing up there. It was also cold -- like there was unmelted snow. So, we spend a little while up there, took pictures, and read the plaques that said that the song "America the Beautiful" was written by a lady who had just visited Pikes Peak and was so inspired by it. It's funny, because at certain times of the day, I've noticed that the mountains around here can have a purplish tint, and sure enough, she was talking about Colorado mountains when she wrote "purple mountains majesty"!

The boys have their last T-ball games this Saturday morning, and then Thomas's team has a little team party right after. I volutnteered to bring baseball cupcakes (the tops are just decorated like baseballs), so I think the kids will enjoy that. On Monday, Jack and Thomas are picking back up on swimming lessons -- 2 weeks of lessons, 4 days per week. It should be intense, but I hope they'll be more confident afterward.

The week after swim lessons, we're going to start homeschooling again. There's a Catholic homeschooling co-op here (parents sign up as teachers for various "extra" subjects, like neat science classes, language classes, etc.). It's a really neat idea! The co-op meets once a week from the middle of August until November (so we'll miss the last couple of weeks when we move). I'm not teaching anything (everyone pitches in, so I'm sure I'll be helping out in some other way) -- and it's a great opportunity to get Jack and Thomas together with other homeschooled kids. They even have a preschool session that Thomas can be in, and a nursery for littler kids.

Anyway, Blogger is having trouble uploading my Pikes Peak photos, so I'll post this text and will try and put up the photos later.