The view was breath-taking and it, and the runners were inspirational. T wants to run the half marathon next year. Pray that she finds a running partner, if not, I'll be running up that mountain with her next year.Pike's Peak was a very cool time and we can't wait to take friends and family up there. There is a lot of history that goes along with the mountain which makes it that much more interesting.
T's birthday was at the beginning of September so I planned a weekend for the two of us to take a little break from our jobs and house stuff and have a little fun. We went to Old Colorado City which is a little town with a lot of antique, clothing, food, arts and crafts, and etc. stores. The streets and stores were not crowded and the people that were out and about were very kind and friendly. We tried lots of candy and sat at a very nice outdoor restaurant and had a little snack. We can't wait to go back there and eat again. The town also hosts holiday events which we are very excited about, too.
The change in weather has gotten us pretty stoked for the holidays. We are already preparing pumpkins for pies and cakes and looking up holiday recipes (cause you know. . . we are all about the eats!).
BUT back to T's birthday. After we left Old Colorado City, I took her to Seven Falls. This is a hike up a mountain that has, well, water flowing through it and a few falls. You can probably guess how many falls there were. Again, this was very beautiful and we were treated to another fantastic view once we got to the top. We had to climb quite a few steps just to get to the trail at the top (200 and some steps). The trail was not long but it was steep. We could see for miles and miles and we stopped a few times and just took some time to reflect. There were not very many people there, either, so we didn't have to worry about being rushed or in anyone's way. It was very nice and relaxing. On the way down, the waterfalls were lit by different colored lights which made them look even more spectacular. It was still dusk so we didn't get to see their full potential. We will have to go back again.
We left there and then I took T out to eat. We went to The Melting Pot. This restaurant is a fondue restaurant which means they boil stuff in pots and you dip things into the pots, cook them, and enjoy. We started off with salads, then enjoyed melted cheese with veggies and bread. They then brought us a new pot to cook our steak, lobster, pork, and chicken and veggies. We were pretty stuffed at this point but it was then time for dessert. They brought out another pot with melted chocolate and caramel and marshmallows. We dipped in brownie pieces, fruit, and cakes. It was all very delicious. We rolled out of our booth and paid our waiter. Luckily, they had a loan officer on-site which allowed us to pay our bill. :) While good, we think we'll stick to fondue at home for now on.
My fav! chocolate fondue...yum!!
The next day, we went to church, relaxed and watched a couple of movies that I got T. The day of her birthday, I made her favorite dinner (lobster, artichokes, and wine). She had a really good b-day.
We are both still learning our roles and responsibilities at our jobs. T is loving teaching and mentoring her new batch of students. I love talking "teacher talk" with my wife and am very proud of her for working so hard to reach her students.
My job is getting easier and a lot more fun. Starting off, I had to learn the Colorado teaching lingo, expectations, roles and responsibilities, programs, traditions, and new ideas and techniques for teaching the younger grades. I am learning more and more everyday and am looking forward to the challenges this year brings. My coworkers are all very kind and professional and they all really care about educating students. I look forward to working with them and getting to know them better. I've gotten a chance to work with students with different needs other than the needs I usually address. This has been very beneficial and insightful.
The reading and math programs that this school utilizes have given more me more ideas on how to assist students with learning disabilities. The thing is, these ideas all have to do with the older students I used to teach. As I get used to this position and figure out how these little minds work, hopefully I can put more ideas to use with them. I have students in every grade from K-5 and everyone of them have really been working hard for me. I've been told that my school building is situated in such an area that they receive lots (and I mean lots) of snow. Sometimes they are the only school in the district to get snow, and they usually are getting hammered by it when they do get it. Last year they had something like 12 school days cancelled by snow. To combat the students missing too much school, they added more time in the school days this year. This way, if they miss a lot of school this year, they will not have to make too many of them up. Yippee.
We are both still learning our roles and responsibilities at our jobs. T is loving teaching and mentoring her new batch of students. I love talking "teacher talk" with my wife and am very proud of her for working so hard to reach her students.
My job is getting easier and a lot more fun. Starting off, I had to learn the Colorado teaching lingo, expectations, roles and responsibilities, programs, traditions, and new ideas and techniques for teaching the younger grades. I am learning more and more everyday and am looking forward to the challenges this year brings. My coworkers are all very kind and professional and they all really care about educating students. I look forward to working with them and getting to know them better. I've gotten a chance to work with students with different needs other than the needs I usually address. This has been very beneficial and insightful.
The reading and math programs that this school utilizes have given more me more ideas on how to assist students with learning disabilities. The thing is, these ideas all have to do with the older students I used to teach. As I get used to this position and figure out how these little minds work, hopefully I can put more ideas to use with them. I have students in every grade from K-5 and everyone of them have really been working hard for me. I've been told that my school building is situated in such an area that they receive lots (and I mean lots) of snow. Sometimes they are the only school in the district to get snow, and they usually are getting hammered by it when they do get it. Last year they had something like 12 school days cancelled by snow. To combat the students missing too much school, they added more time in the school days this year. This way, if they miss a lot of school this year, they will not have to make too many of them up. Yippee.
My new office at my new school...
10/18/07
T and I went to Manitou Springs (another small town just south of us) with lots of shops and food stores. We went there to do some hiking and to get away from the hustle and bustle of our jobs. Again, the town was very quaint and not very busy. It reminded us of Yellow Springs in Ohio except everybody here had shoes on and were not suffering from the munchies.
We went into toy shops, western shops, Native American shops, candy shops, and they even had a block of the town set up for kids. They had video games and rides. It was really fun. We hiked up part of the Barr Trail up Pike's peak (the one we'll be running up next year for the Ascent) before we walked around the town. The view was spectacular, but of course we forgot our camera in the car. The leaves had changed along the trail and had also changed on the other mountains beside us which provided us with wonderful glimpses of beautiful mosiacs of oranges, yellows, reds, and greens. Below all of this beauty was the Manitou Springs that looked like something from a miniature train set. Of all the times to forget our camera! We hiked up for an hour and then turned around and came down. It was a fun time. We hope to head up the trail again and maybe try to get all the way to the top. That way we'll be more prepared to run it next year :)
We lit our fireplace, for the first time, a couple of nights ago. After turning off all 4 (yes, I said 4) smoke detectors, opening some windows to let in the 30 degree air from outside, and fiddling around with our flue, we enjoyed a nice fire inside the house.
We are very excited about the holidays. We are planning a pumpkin carving party in a week and we can't wait to begin decorating for Christmas. T has begun storing up on pumpkin mush to use for her delicious breads and pies and I am gearing up to light up the house so bright, planes from the USAFA will be landing on our street. We can't wait! Giggady, Giggady! Giggady Goo!
Until next time, we hope all is well with everyone. We miss you and love you and will talk to you soon. Have a good one.
T and I went to Manitou Springs (another small town just south of us) with lots of shops and food stores. We went there to do some hiking and to get away from the hustle and bustle of our jobs. Again, the town was very quaint and not very busy. It reminded us of Yellow Springs in Ohio except everybody here had shoes on and were not suffering from the munchies.
We went into toy shops, western shops, Native American shops, candy shops, and they even had a block of the town set up for kids. They had video games and rides. It was really fun. We hiked up part of the Barr Trail up Pike's peak (the one we'll be running up next year for the Ascent) before we walked around the town. The view was spectacular, but of course we forgot our camera in the car. The leaves had changed along the trail and had also changed on the other mountains beside us which provided us with wonderful glimpses of beautiful mosiacs of oranges, yellows, reds, and greens. Below all of this beauty was the Manitou Springs that looked like something from a miniature train set. Of all the times to forget our camera! We hiked up for an hour and then turned around and came down. It was a fun time. We hope to head up the trail again and maybe try to get all the way to the top. That way we'll be more prepared to run it next year :)
We lit our fireplace, for the first time, a couple of nights ago. After turning off all 4 (yes, I said 4) smoke detectors, opening some windows to let in the 30 degree air from outside, and fiddling around with our flue, we enjoyed a nice fire inside the house.
We are very excited about the holidays. We are planning a pumpkin carving party in a week and we can't wait to begin decorating for Christmas. T has begun storing up on pumpkin mush to use for her delicious breads and pies and I am gearing up to light up the house so bright, planes from the USAFA will be landing on our street. We can't wait! Giggady, Giggady! Giggady Goo!
Until next time, we hope all is well with everyone. We miss you and love you and will talk to you soon. Have a good one.
1 comment:
You must've finally decided to update the day after I quit checking! I'm behind on these things! :)
It's SOOOO good to hear from & see youall and get caught up on everything! You sound like you're having an AWESOME time and I can SO hear you saying what you've written!!! :-D
I, too, am getting a fireplace in my house, and, Lord willing, will not have to turn off the five smoke detectors in my home. I plan be posting some of the house updates on my site in the next month, so if/when I do, I'll let you know. :)
Good luck on the running up the mountain thing. I can say for certain that I WON'T be joining you! :) I ran for 28 weeks, two days, until my back decided to slip a disc on Friday at school, and now I'm home, in bed on the floor for a week. I'm praying that I can get back to running asap...but it's not going to be the 30 weeks in a row I'd hoped.
I've heard of the melting pot, and it sounds like lots of fun, and I can say for certain that Shill, Ryan, Kris, Dan, Di & I had a BLAST doing fondue at their house...and it was *very* inexpensive. You should get the seasonings that Kris used on the chicken & steak...yummy! :) And, for YEARS, now, I've had a DELICIOUS FUDGE SAUCE that makes an excellent fondue. You should've spoken up. :-P :-D
We miss you TONS at school...it truly is NOT the same without you...and I feel like I've been abandoned in the sixth grade. Wait. I have been. :-D Talk about not knowing how good you have it till it's all gone... Please come back for a visit soon...SS&I plan to get together for dinner at least once a month as soon as SW's class is finished...we had lunch together at the inservice last week and it was *heavenly* to sit with friends and laugh...I honestly don't think I've done that (in a school capacity) since June. *sigh* I must say, though, it's been a GREAT year kids-wise...probably the best kid year since my first...I've *really* been enjoying that aspect of it. :)
Okay! This is turning into a book almost as long as your post. Enough for now. I'll have to read the other posts and now that I know you're back to regular updating, I'll be sure to check in.
So glad youall are having a great time out there...enjoy it immensely! :)
~Deborah! :)
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