Settling In

“Settling” and “adventure” seem polar opposites. Yet we have found settling in to a new home to be quite an adventure! Thus, here’s what we’ve been up to since the last “installment.”

School

Shortly after we arrived, we visited the schools with whom we had been in touch prior to our move. Our first stop was a small country school 15 minutes from our house (well, after you trek down the hill so really 25 minutes from our house). Ben and Cat met their teacher and we got the sense that this would be a good fit for them.

On to the middle school! In our research, we had learned that the Cortez Middle School had a 21^st Century Learning program, separate from the regular middle school program. We had applied for the program but learned on our visit that the best we could hope for is to be put on a waiting list as the program was full. We toured the school and thought the boys should give it a try, even though Micah would not be able to continue with the advanced math class he had started in Greeley.

Last stop – high school. The building had been built only two years ago and we were soon impressed with the great facility. We met David’s teachers and were equally impressed.

The next day was the first day of school after Christmas break and everyone was dropped at their respective schools with lunches and a few butterflies! They came home with happy impressions of their new schools – except Joel and Micah. It was evident after that first day that this would not be the best option for them. The next day they started homeschool via an online program.

When the kitchen doubles as a science lab . . .

Homeschool vocabulary lesson - define "inundated"

It’s a couple months into the semester now and everyone seems well-adjusted to their schools.

Home

Todd worked very hard to transform our home. The endeavor included remediating and repairing walls and lots and lots of paint! The kids and I helped a bit but with work for me and school for them, it fell mostly to Todd. It is feeling very much like home now (pictures to follow).

Welcome, Flash!

Remember our treks up our road? 0.4 mile schlepping groceries? Well, we bought a 4x4 pickup truck that allows us to get up to our house. It’s prior owner had called it “Flash” and so we retained the name. It has been such a blessing!

It’s Official!

On January 23, we closed on the property! Our realtor and dear friend, Mike Smith, made the trek down for that special day. He got a good “before picture” and has made plans to return with his wife this fall. Theirs is our first official reservation. J

Church

We have found a church family at Cortez Church of the Nazarene. They have embraced our bunch and we look forward to “doing life” with them.

Neighbors

We regularly see deer and eagles on our property and twice a herd of elk have wandered through. Foxes, rabbits, ground squirrels, and lizards are other residents we have seen in the neighborhood.

Plans Going Forward

Todd has been working hard to take care of a number of details in moving forward with our BnB. We plan to have things up and running this summer. Stay tuned for details!