Mount Evans

Our afternoon drive the last Sunday of June took us up above the tree line to the summit of Mount Evans at over 14,000 feet.

It is the highest paved road in North America.

We had driven the Pikes Peak road several years ago on vacation, and this one was every bit as dramatic, with no guard rails!

We learned that originally this highway was meant to connect three "fourteeners"-- Longs Peak, Mount Evans, and Pikes Peak-- but according to the brochure it "proved unfeasible at the time" so they gave it up. That would have been really cool, though.

Since it was a hot day in Denver we hadn't thought about taking along jackets. It was breezy and in the 40s at the summit.

We walked around a bit, but didn't take the time to hike the additional 100 or so feet to the actual summit.

The park entrance fee was $10 per vehicle... a bargain compared to the $40 fee for Pikes Peak! Besides, it's closer to home... so I expect we'll be buying a season pass for $25 next year. 

It's only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but it's a great Sunday afternoon drive destination!

Graduation Day

 

The third Saturday in June was a beautiful day for a backyard graduation. The late afternoon sun filtering through the trees made a lovely setting for the girl graduate in her pink cap and gown. (She was the only graduate in her "class" so she got to choose the color.)

Her teacher (me)... and her "principal" (her dad)... made a few comments and presented her with her diploma.

Then her pastor-grandpa shared some thoughts and offered a blessing. The gathered friends blew bubbles at her as she tossed her cap into the air.

And with that... my homeschooling journey was over.

 Sixteen years I've invested in my children's education. Long days of wondering if we were covering everything we should be. Delightful days reading piles of wonderful stories. Challenging days when nothing seemed to go as planned. But oh, it was so worth it!

 As my mother and I previewed the PowerPoint presentation that I put together for the celebration, she commented, "The years have gone by almost as fast as those slides are changing." I agree with her. How could sixteen years possibly have gone by already?

My emotions have been bittersweet. In some ways, I wish I could go back and do some things differently. On the other hand, I'm excited to see what the future has in store for my now-adult children.

I am so grateful that I had the privilege of being home with them all throughout their childhood. Motherhood is a blessing I don't take for granted.

Washington Trip

The second weekend of June was my last convention trip of the season, and this time Lyle got to go with me! I really missed him traveling with me (and doing the loading/unloading and driving) on my other trips this year. This trip was to Seattle, one of our favorite cities.

We were even able to sneak away for a couple of hours to take a spin in the Great Wheel which is new since we were in Seattle for our 25th anniversary in 2010.

My team in Seattle was made up of some long-time friends, two of whom are Sonlight graduates! We had a good time working together and enjoyed hanging out with the team for Sonlight's sister company, BookShark, as well. Then on Saturday evening some friends from Idaho drove over to spend a little time with us. 

The trip was much too short for everything we would have liked to do... but to be honest I was happy to get home and put my feet up after 9 conventions this season! This was my 15th year as a Sonlight Curriculum Consultant and quite possibly my most challenging one yet.

Virginia Trip

The first weekend of June I was part of a larger team that hosted the Sonlight booth at the HEAV convention in Richmond, Virginia. I would have liked to see a little bit of the historic district, having never been to Richmond before... or Virginia, really, for that matter. But... it was a business trip, so sight-seeing was not on the schedule.

We flew in on Wednesday and got set up for the convention early in the day on Thursday, so we had a couple of hours to relax by the pool before time for the convention to start. One thing I noticed was how different the air "felt" in the southeast than here in the mountains... softer and heavier. It wasn't too hot that weekend, though, which was nice.

HEAV is one of the larger homeschool conventions so we definitely stayed busy. Our team was made up of a group of ladies (and one husband) whom I've become friends with over the years, and we enjoyed working together. 

And that was convention #8 for my 2014 homeschool convention season. Maybe next time I go to Virginia I'll get to see a little more of it. Or maybe not... ya just never know!

Vintage China

 For several years I've enjoyed collecting random pieces of pretty vintage china when I find it at a garage sale or thrift store. Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know about my eclectic violet tea set. Other than that the only full set of china I have is a set that Mother gave me that originally belonged to my great-grandmother.

I have treasured Granny's china and enjoyed displaying it and using it, but the pattern is not one I would have chosen. I like a delicate floral pattern. In fact, my favorite piece (other than the violet dishes) is a sweet little bread-and-butter plate I picked up for 50 cents about 3 years ago.

Imagine how thrilled I was this morning to discover a full service for 8 of that very pattern at a Salvation Army store we just "happened" to go in!

The set included dinner plates, soup bowls, salad plates, dessert bowls, and cups and saucers, plus a serving bowl, a cream pitcher, and sugar bowl. There were only 6 cups, but 8 of everything else (except the serving pieces, of course.) The price marked was $52.10. The dishes were all stacked on a counter so I thought maybe they had been spoken for. I asked the lady behind the counter who told me she had just put them out.

Lyle had given me some money a few weeks ago that he said I was to spend on something just for me. I had been hoarding it for just such a time. As I stood deliberating over it, the manager announced over the loud-speaker, "Our special today is 25% off brick-a-brack items..." That's when I noticed that the price tag was labeled "brick-a-brack!"

"This would be 25% off?" I asked the lady.

"Yes," she assured me. "It's labeled brick-a-brack, so that counts."

"I'll take it!" I declared.

She offered to wrap it and box it up for me while I continued to look around.

I went to find Lyle. "I just bought a set of china dishes," I told him. He knows my fondness for pretty china.

We were casually wandering through the furniture department when I spotted a hutch.

Lyle said, "I guess you need that to put your dishes in, don't you?"

It was marked $80. Mmm. I didn't really want to spend that much.

"Furniture is 50% off today," Lyle told me.

"It is?!" I guess I had been so tuned in to the "brick-a-brack" special that I tuned out everything else.

 So I got my dishes for $38... and the hutch to put them in for $40.

My "new" dishes coordinate nicely with Granny's china (which includes service for 6) so now I have enough dishes that I can have up to 14 guests and still set a pretty table! Before, any time we had more than 2 people for dinner I had to either use every-day dishes or paper-ware.

Naturally I had to come home and rearrange the living room to fit the hutch in just so, and then arrange all my pretty dishes in it. What fun!

How about a cup of tea?