Sunday, December 8, 2013

December 2013







I love our neighborhood after it snows, it's a winter wonderland!  



Snow poof! 


Our first home!  After 7 years we finally bought a house in March 2013 in Evergreen, CO.  Our home is a 1942 cabin which has been completely updated in the past 4 years.  It's located in the historic Wah Keeney neighborhood.  Some of the homes in this neighborhood date back to the 1930's making it one of Evergreen's oldest neighborhoods.  Evergreen is located at 7,220 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains.  Our home sits at 7,668 feet elevation.  We are a short 20 mile drive down the hill to Denver.  Denver has so much to offer but we are glad to be in a small mountain community away from the city chaos ; )  Evergreen is surrounded by thousands of acres of land in the Denver mountain parks and Jefferson County Open Space Park system.  We are less than 60 miles to several downhill ski areas and about one mile to Elk Meadow Park which is a great cross country skiing and hiking area.  We're hoping to get enough snow this winter to cross country ski out our front door.  We enjoy daily visits from deer and frequent visits from elk, fox, raccoons, and the occasional pile of bear scat.  Neighbors have spotted mountain lions and bobcats.  

Besides the beautiful scenery, we love the weather and the people.  We don't have to deal with humidity, mosquitos, or damp cloudy winters that Mark and I grew up with.  It's dry, so the winters are very mild and very sunny and the snow is fluffy.  The people in general are very active, health conscious and environmentally conscious which makes it a very happy place to live.  

Some links below for more info about Evergreen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen,_Colorado

http://www.evergreenchamber.org

From wiki:

Evergreen Lake, a popular recreation area, was created by damming Bear Creek in 1927. It sits above downtown Evergreen, which includes a mix of historic buildings and local businesses, including the well-known entertainment venue and restaurant The Little Bear.
In the winter ice skating is offered at Evergreen Lake. The skating season usually runs from mid December to late March depending upon ice thickness and weather. 
Predicated on the low humidity it is common to see residents walk around in their short sleeve shirts in the middle of winter. In early spring hundreds of elk descend down to residents homes where they feed unbothered by their human neighbors. 





We love cuddling up in our living room next to the fire.  Previous posts have more photos of the inside of our home.



The house was remodeled before we moved in so all we had to do was paint and replace light fixtures.  We have big plans for the yard but we will probably wait until Mark has a permanent position before we put a lot of money into it.  








We plan to turn this shed into a chicken coop and put a large fenced vegetable garden in the corner of the yard.   First we need to get the yard leveled and put in some retaining walls. 


We also plan to surround the rest of the yard in a corrugated metal privacy fence as seen here: Corrugated metal fence















At the Evan's 2nd annual lebanese holiday dinner.   This dinner has amazed me for a second year in a row.  I wish I would have taken more pictures but I was busy talking the whole time!  Dozens of people come and go throughout the night and eat from the incredible assortment of homemade lebanese dishes.  Patty hires babysitters so the kids can play upstairs while the parents socialize.  






Bull elk in our neighborhood 



Red fox


Ella has been attending Creative Bridges a few hours every week since we moved to Evergreen.  
Read more about Creative Bridges here: http://www.creative-bridges.com

This area is booming with opportunities for homeschooled children.  In the fall she'll start the Woodrow Wilson Homeschool connection one full day a week.  Read more about WWHC here: http://wwahomeschool.org

She might also attend The homeschool alliance one half day a week starting this Winter/Spring.  Read more about The Homeschool Alliance here: http://www.thehomeschoolalliance.com

One more homeschool program she'll be attending is The Learning Center.  
Read more about The Learning Center here: http://www.tlccolorado.com/about-us.html

The Learning Center was started by Lexi Schuh, an incredible woman and mother of 3.  She passed away this fall.  Parents and lovers of learning in the area have taken on the responsibility of getting the learning center up and running.  Here is the mission statement Lexi was working on before she passed: 
"TLC believes that it is through the synergy of community and families that children will thrive and grow to become conscientious, inquisitive, adventurous and curious of life and learning."
                                     ~ Lexi

After she dabbles in these programs we'll narrow it down to 2-3 of her favorite programs a week. 

Besides all of these programs we spend a lot of time at museums and playing with friends.  The term "homeschooling" really doesn't fit us because we don't spend a lot of time at home and most of the "homeschooled" families we know are always out in the world expanding their education.  There's also a few homeschool groups that we are apart of that plan field trips around the Denver metro area.  As the kids get older the colleges in the area offer different programs for homeschooled children.  It's common for homeschooled kids to start taking college classes at age 16.  The older homeschooled kids that I have met around here seem so confident, independent, and sociable.  They've learned to interact with all ages in the real world instead of just their peer group.  I'm excited to see what the future brings for our family!! 

Gordon will start some of these programs when is he 3 and some when he is 5.  He did get to attend Mister Emilie's (that's what he calls her) Thanksgiving week camp at Creative Bridges.  He went 4 hours a day for 4 days.  He still likes to break and/or take everything apart.  You can see the wheels turning when he's trying to figure out how something works.  He loves dinosaurs, sometimes when he has trouble falling asleep he says, "mom, let's talk about dinosaurs."  He goes on to tell me which ones are carnivore, omnivores, or herbivores.  He is the family clown and he knows it - always putting on a show to get some laughs.  He also loves to fish!  He is an excellent caster, he practices in the driveway.  I see some backpacking/fishing trips through yellowstone with dad in the future!  We were visiting my mom at the home where she lives with the elderly lady she cares for and Gordon was looking at the land line phone, he asked, "why does the phone have a horn?"  aka the antenna!  





More wildlife sightings in our yard. 



Mark is still enjoying his position at The National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  He's halfway through his post doc, a year and a half left.  We're crossing our fingers for a permanent offer so we can stay here long term! 

I am getting involved in the birthing/breastfeeding community and plan to get certified as a lactation educator.  After I receive that certification I will begin the birth educator certification process.  When the kids are older I plan to get my doula certification.  My passion for this field has been calling to me for 5 years and now that my kids are done nursing and I'm sleeping through the night I feel like it's the perfect time to get started.   My goal is to teach a lactation class to expectant parents one night a week and then follow up with them after the birth to help with breastfeeding issues.  I'd like to establish myself as the local Evergreen breastfeeding educator and eventually have most of my clients be in the Evergreen or surrounding mountain areas.  

My mom, aka Lois, aka Nana, moved out in August.  She took a position as a live in caregiver with an elderly lady in Broomfield, CO.  We spend every Thursday with her but would like to see her more.  


We helped paint the new learning center space for homeschoolers - located in Kittredge, CO 






Monster Gordon 





The kids collected ice from the creek and colored it with food coloring.  It ended up breaking into smaller pieces so they hung it from the porch.  It's beautiful with the sun shining through it.   


Gordon getting a ride from our neighbor, Chris, on his tractor. 

Videos of the tractor ride: 

Tractor ride

Gordon riding on the tractor with Chris



The Golden Christmas parade! 





Chiropractic office in the parade 











Jane & Ella 


Gordon & Nora at The Windy Saddle coffee shop. 



Secrets!










Another day at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science 








Learning about the heart 




Mule deer ears 






The National Renewable Energy Laboratory photovoltaics department holiday party 





Morning frost 







Grandpa! 


Making christmas cookies 




















Kids finally asleep ; ) 








He couldn't decide what to hold. 





He loves his new headlamp 


They both got explorer vests with accessories. 













Nana got the kids this kitty that sings, "Warm kitty, soft kitty....."  from the Big Bang Theory.   We hid it in the tree. 







New ice skates



They had all of their presents opened by 8 am - Ella woke up at 5 am but we kept her in bed until 6. 



Melissa, Jeff, & Dunkin drove from MN to spend the holiday with us. 



2nd round of opening presents 








We enjoyed Ella's birthday cake on Christmas after everyone arrived. 


I guess Gordon didn't like the singing and Ella was embarrassed. 






Walking around Evergreen lake 



Walking on the frozen creek 


Evergreen dam 












I love this gate 





Evergreen lake house - there are a lot of weddings held here and in the winter this is where you can rent skates and get skate tickets. 



Ice skating 












Taking a break 




















Watching xmas movies 




The kids had colds so we spent a lot of time on the couch. 



Watching Melissa and Jeff ski at Keystone 




Ice sculptures 




The village of Keystone 


Tired Ella 




Gordon loves Jeff 



They were watching Jeff tear down a garage and someone gutting a fish.  






Garden of the Gods 




Kissing camels rock formation 




We thought the small rock formation at the top looked like a bison 













Riding the cog 













Bighorn sheep 







More bighorn sheep 










Better shots of the sheep 










Pikes peak as we were leaving Colorado Springs - perfect timing 


Golden, CO 












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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 17, 2013 at 9:30 AM

    Hi Campanelli Family!!
    Amber, thanks for your kind words about my father's passing. Email me at 73mamabix@gmail.com. I am answering this as my blog.. Will be updating it soon, as it is much needed!! Haha
    Merry Christmas!!
    Tracy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah BerwaldDecember 30, 2013 at 1:06 PM

    It looks like you guys had a wonderful December! Miss you all!

    ReplyDelete

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