Pikes Peak or Bust!

We were inspired today to head "down South" and visit Pikes Peak. Hailey has a thing about patriotic songs so she has been asking and asking to go visit the "birthplace" of 'America the Beautiful'. We are only about 45 minutes from Manitou Springs so it was a quick jaunt. We decided to make a day of it and instead of drive up Pikes Peak, we opted for the Cog Railway. There aren't that many of these in the world and this one happens to be the highest. Now, ultimately, Gary and I would much rather HIKE a 14n'r if given the option. I have summited 5 such mountains and attempted 6. Gary has summited 2 and attempted 3. (Together, we were deterred by snow on Mt. Wilson near Telluride in 1999). That aside, there is just something so satisfying about being above 14,000 ft. Even though we didn't work for it today, it was still impressive, breathtaking, and inspiring to see the world from that perspective. The girls? Well, they were excited about the train and very engaged for about 20 minutes of the hour and a half trip up the mountain. Then, it was wiggles and giggles until timberline. When we arrived at the top it was cold. They reminded us of this rather frequently. Who needs an internal thermostat when you have children to give you play by plays on the weather? The top of Pikes Peak is unlike any other 14n'r I have ever summited. There is a parking lot, a gift shop, and observation deck, and a snack bar. Quite impressive. I remember summiting Mt. Massive with my cousin Allison and we were so cold because it was starting to rain and there was so much electricity in the air that we could feel the shocks coming up through our hiking boots. After hiking for 6 hours, we spent a grand total of 7 minutes at the top, and then high tailed it down the trail. And so it goes. In retrospect, I would honestly rather walk up and down the mountain. After nachos at the train station, doughnuts and cappuccino at the top, and vanilla wafers in between; my waistline needs the hike in the worst way!

If Walls Could Talk...

I realized today that my house says alot... ...my kitchen

...the girls bathroom

....the girls bathroom

...Hanna's room

...above Hanna's bed....

...above Hailey's door in her room

Hailey's wall...

...above Hailey's closet

...Hailey's room...

...above Hailey's window

...above our bed

...in the stairwell

...in the family room

...in the kitchen...

I suppose I've said enough...

August...Already????

Where does the time go?? It is hard to believe that August is already half over. Not a lot has happened in our little corner of the world but, enough though, I would guess. Hailey started 2nd Grade! That is even harder to believe. She absolutely loves it. When I picked her up after the first day she said, "2nd grade is STUPENDOUS!" What more could a mom want to hear? She has a wonderful little group in her class; most importantly her best friend Madison. They were not in the same class last year, so this is a treat for both of them. Hanna moved up to her new Pre-K class today. Her daycare center forgot to tell us that today was the day, so her milestone is not as well documented, well, at all!. That will have to come another day. (Sigh). Otherwise it has been work, work, work around here. My new job is taking its toll on me, my family, and my house. It's a good school and the people are nice, however, the Special Ed. Department is just a little dysfunctional. We've been in school for six weeks now and I have now become a scheduling expert. I have an entire file on my desktop that contains no less that 10 different schedules. Absolutely ridiculous. It's mostly because of the year round system. I won't bore you with the details but it certainly makes an already difficult job that much harder. Lately, my theme song has been "Something More" by Sugarland. It is so true on so many levels.
We had a fun weekend up in Vail. It was kind of our finale weekend as Football season is upon us (**&%*&^$%$#%@$&^)! Gary ran Vail's 10K at 10,000 ft and the girls and I hung out at the top of the gondola playing, reading and waiting for the big finish. It was a beautiful day to run and be on top of the mountain. After the race we drove up to Shrine Pass (top of Vail Pass) and went for a hike. The wild flowers were gorgous. The girls had fun making up names for all of the different plants. And there was a lengthy conversation about what bear's eat. Of course Hailey chimed in that only 4% of a bears diet is meat so we were all probably safe...except Hanna...she's about 4% so a bear would probably just eat her! That's the way to take one for the team Hanna! Gary and I about tripped ourselves we were laughing so hard. Hanna, in her true form, hadn't a clue what was going on...but she was leading the pack! After our hike we continued in the car down into Redcliffe and had lunch at this really funky little place called Mangoes. Although there are not many reasons to head to Redcliffe, the fish tacos are very outstanding!
We are getting back into our routines for the school year. Homework, housework, workouts...no wonder we are so tired by the weekend! Press on! (and YEP, still raining...)

A wonderful day with Wonderful Friends

Our first day in Atlanta we had the chance to reconnect with Nicole and Chris. We traveled together in China 2 years ago. Nicole and I first contacted each other through an online group when we realized we would be traveling at the same with our agency. We then met up in Bejing and toured and laughed and maintained normal together for those days. Nicole and Hailey really connected since Nicole and Chris had their darling MaKenna back home in Georgia with Gramma and Grampa. Our tours and times in Bejing were memorable ( again our camera died). We were together during all of the sights, sounds, yes, smells, of Bejing. Then, we parted ways when they left Bejing for Nanchang and we headed further south to Guangzhou. We each spent a week having the life changing experience of meeting our littles ones at Civil Affairs buildings. We fumbled through our days until the Davis family ( as well as the Arial's from NC) arrived in Guangzhou to finialize their paperwork. It was more laughs and tears as we made our way through the maze of parenting via adoption. It may seem strange to connect so closely with someone, but so much was alinged for us. We were in a new country, we were seeing amazing sights, and we were there together as we prepared to welcome a new child into our lives. Although Tommy and Hanna are 6 months apart and came from different provinces, we share the same "Family" day which, in the adoption, is like having the same birthday. Being far away from home and having a life changing experience certainly creates a life long friendship. We wish we could've had more time with the Davis' on our recent trip to Atlanta. But the best part, was picking up right where we left off. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get when you are with true friends. We cherish so much. Wonderful day, wonderful friends. Another blessing to count.