missed a few...

And what to our wondering eyes did appear?

A nice surprise on our way home from camping! Noah was so happy!

Green Mountain Falls, Colorado

Campground Kitty, Lone Duck Campground

Green Mtn Falls

Lone Duck Campground, Green Mtn Falls, Colorado

Noah and I went camping for a couple of days at the Lone Duck Campground. It's in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado at the base of Pikes Peak. I caught my first trout in 15 years. While I was cleaning it, all Noah wanted to know was if Jesus was in it's heart!

This is what I saw for about 4 hours that day. We rode our bikes all around the base of Pike's Peak and Noah never wanted to stop! If he got tired, he would take a quick break and start again. He's a great biker!

Happy Birthday, Conner & Shawna!

2 and 32! We celebrated both birthdays on Conner's b-day.

Mount Falcon Ruins, Morrison, Colorado

The story of Mount Falcon is largely the story of John Brisben Walker, who once owned over 4,000 acres of land in this area. During the early 1900's Walker lived in an elaborate stone house on Mount Falcon while planning the construction of a summer home for the Presidents of the United States, which was to have been located on a ridge to the east of his home. Walker's home burned in 1918, and all that remains of this once splendid edifice are the massive stone walls and numerous fireplaces of a unique mountain castle.
On this site the crumbling remnants of a broken dream and the views of the plains to the east and mountains to the west combine to create an inspirational setting. The construction of the Summer White House never proceeded beyond the laying of the foundation and cornerstone, though thousands of Colorado school children each donated 10 cents toward Walker's dream. American involvement in W.W. I, combined with a waning of Walker's good fortunes, brought an end to this project. From the site of the Summer White House one may look down on Red Rocks Park, one of Walker's dreams come true.

John Brisben Walker was a man of many visions. He made fortunes on land speculation in West Virginia and his purchase of Cosmopolitan Magazine, but other ventures were less successful. Walker's purchase of the Stanley Steamer Company was a losing bet against Henry Ford's internal combustion engine. Although he held vast fortunes at various times in his life, Walker died penniless in 1931 at the age of 83.

The Mount Falcon ruins are the remains of the summer home of John Brisben Walker. Located on a 1,490 acre site, the ruins dominate a property which is totally untouched since the mansion burned in 1918. In 1909, John Brisben Walker built Mount Falcon, a handsome sandstone mansion, as a summer home for his family and as a place to entertain his friends. The mansion was situated on a spectacular location of over 7,000 feet overlooking a vast unspoiled acreage including a canyon that plummeted 1,500 feet below. The basic plan of the building consisted of two one-story wings flanking a courtyard that faced south. Many of the design elements of the structure were similar to Frank Lloyd Wright's "Prairie" style of architecture. Although the property was never landscaped, there were stables, a racetrack, a lookout tower, and green space for games. The grounds surrounding the mansion also contained Italian marble benches and other garden furniture in addition to a well head with elaborate wrought iron decoration.

This is the proposed site of the Presidential Summer Home. It's a beautiful spot, only a dream of John Walker, nothing was ever built.

Denver Zoo, Feeding the Lorikeets

We went to the Denver Zoo today for COVAs School day. We saw our friends Kegan and Kya and got to feed some cute birds.

Not Back to School Party!

A lot of the Common Ground Homeschoolers, but not ALL of them, then add parents. We're a big group! I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of the cake! It was HUGE!

Make your own solar oven

This was a cool class on the intensity of the sun and how to "catch some rays"--literally! We were able to back cookies in this box, it took an hour, but it baked! :o)

Jumbo, Extra-large, Large and Medium

Fort, Fun-o, Bok and Shimmer (respectively) and I don't know why April's egg wasn't in here, but her's are in between the size of Fort and Fun-o's eggs. And, yes, I can tell which egg belongs to which hen! We have spent many days watching the hens in their laying box, just waiting for them to sing "I laid and egg! I laid an egg!", then we went and inspected each egg before putting them in the fridge!! :o)

The Capitol, Madison, Wisconsin

What's the capitol of Wisconsin?
Madison! The Madison Capitol is the only one ever built on an isthmus.

Devil's Head Resort, Merrimac, Wisconsin

The Midwest Ski Area Association's trade show was here this summer. The Golf Course is nice.


B-team.

Professional ball cleaner.

D-team. hahahah!

The Mid-Continent Railway, North Freedom, Wisconsin

Our friend, Luke, went to ride the train with us today. The museum was great!

We rode to our destination in this car.

This is where we turned around.

And we rode back in the caboose.