Goodbye ugly dead tree.....hello PIKE'S PEAK??!!

Hello Beautiful! What an awesome surprise! We had a some big ugly dead trees on our lot and I hired some guys to come and take them down. Imagine my surprise when after they cut the trees down, there is a straight on, breathtaking view of Pike's Peak right there off our back deck!!! You can even see it from inside the house, looking out the big window in the living room. We had no idea! Our house just took a huge jump up in value in the course of about an hour! It's kind of hard to see in this picture because the camera is focusing on the trees in front and Pike's Peak kind of blends in with the sky and the clouds. If you aren't sure what you are seeing in the pic, it is the big one behind and above the two smaller not snow-capped ones. It is snow capped which is why it blends in with the sky. It is MUCH clearer looking at in person. I need to figure out how to get my camera to focus on it so I can get a better picture. I still can't believe it's actually there, we thought we were giving up our dream of having snow cap views in order to have the stream and a big level lot for the kids to play - but we actually got it all! I'm so excited! :)

So Katie is at her second day of horse camp. Yesterday when I picked her up she said it was boring and that she already knew everything they covered. I told her after she finishes this week, I will put her into the advanced horse camp. Her teacher agreed that would be more fun and challenging for her.

I went ahead and enrolled her in the Abeka Academy homeschool, it was kind of expensive but I like the fact that we are accountable and have to mail in all her tests and then they keep all her records and it is fully accredited. If she ever wants to go to a regular school, all her records will be transferred from them just like she was transferring from a private school. It gives us the freedom in our days that I want with homeschooling, but the structure and accreditation of a private Christian school. The curriculum should be here in a few days and we are both really excited to get started with it. I love that Katie loves to learn. :) I hope she always keeps that love of learning.

Kobe is so funny, he loves to get into Kevin's tools. I can't keep him out of them! What is it with boys that is hardwired into them to like tools and cars and balls? After having had a girl and 2 boys, I can say with absolute certainty that they are just wired different! I used to think it was just that they were taught to like those things, but no, they just DO. He is also really starting to get into books. He loves to look at picture books and point to all the pictures when I ask him where things are. His language skills have taken off and he is picking up several new words a day now. He understands EVERYTHING, it's crazy!

I keep asking myself, what do I hope our next one is - a boy or a girl? I think I can honestly say that I would be truly thrilled either way. I have had 2 boys in a row and love having boys, I think it would be really fun for Kobe to have a brother and we already have all the clothes...

On the other hand, I REALLY miss having a baby girl, every time I see baby girl clothes I get all sentimental. There is something so sweet and precious about a baby girl. I think girls are a little easier as babies, they seem to be more cautious and get hurt less. Both my boys have been pretty rough and tumble. It would be cool for Katie to have a sister too. Even though they would be far apart in age, by the time they are grown up it won't matter.

I'm starting to think that this might be our "month".... I've had a lot of symptoms that are making me wonder if I might be pregnant. :) I think I will take a test on Sunday and see......cross your fingers for us!

We go pick up our new furry family member at the airport tonight at 8:30. We still can't decide on a name. Katie wants to name him Biscuit because of his color. Kevin wants to name him Arslan because it means "valiant lion" in Turkish (the breed is from Turkey), and I think we should shorten it to Aslan (like from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe) We'll see when we bring him home which name fits. I'm so excited to meet him!