Here is our 'first' wildfire experience. This was late August, we saw the lightning strike from our backyard. That first bit of smoke is from that strike, we're not sure why they didn't just put that out before it spread. We guessed it probably costs a lot of money to get the planes and heli's up in the air. This fire was super close to the 'ritzy' part of town a few blocks from us, it was kind of funny watching the "Lakota" people freak out about this little fire.

Callie's birthday was on the 26th of August, I made her the favorite meal of the house (it's a secret). She took a nice nap with Kenya too!

On the 31st we went to Nickel Creek and Ben Harper up in Aspen/Snowmass. Camera's weren't allowed, but I snuck mine in (wasn't easy) and took just a few photos after it got dark. This was a very cool concert.

On Sept. 8th Callie had to take a Licensure test to teach in CO. We went out to Grand Junction VERY early (an hours drive to the West). I went for a drive and hike up in the Colorado National Monument, it was a neat place early in the morning while the sun came up. She passed the test!

That afternoon ANOTHER wildfire started after some lighting came through. This one was about a mile up in the foothills. These pics were taken from the backyard again, it was awesome to see the helicopters and plane work this thing out. We thought the big one was gonna crash for sure... it didn't.

This next part may be the biggest news of all... Kenya's new backpack. These are pics from Elk Creek (just a few miles from town). This place is awesome, it is so close but so much different. Its always super green, cool temps, and there is great trout fishing in the small pools under little waterfalls. Not many sizeable trout, but it is good fun. Kenya likes to attack the fish I catch, she hasn't figured out where they escape to yet, she digs in the rocks near the water instead of looking in the water.

We had this crazy rainbow the other day and it happened to look like it was over our neighborhood. I'll save these pics for when we sell the townhome.

Kenya has a good time playing out of the fence by our yard. We're lucky to have a nice grass area out our backyard. She is getting a little crazier every day as she gets more comfortable with us. It's good she doesn't run away at all, we don't use a leash unless we are near busy roads. She is also learning to be a 'reading dog' for school. More on that later.

The mornings have started to drop below freezing now, but the days are still sunny and in the 70/80's. The fog is from the Colorado River at the base of those hills (The Hogbacks). We're doing well with teaching and such, I found out an interesting fact today... This area has a serious shortage of workers for all the booming tourism/resorts/oilstuff. Teachers starting salary barely breaks $30,000 while the starting pay for a dumptruck driver starts at $50,000... hmmmmm... (career change?)

We're doing great, dealing with crazy kids, and enjoying the recreation to the max. Callie has a 1/2 marathon she will run with my sister this weekend (Melissa and Greg are visiting) and I'll keep on Mountain Biking until I get hurt (j/k... kinda). Resorts should open soon and we've got our passes ready to go! Let us know when you're ready to visit!