playing

Since Yaya & Papa got here, we have done nothing but PLAY!

It has been awesome...

The boys have exhausted every show & tell option while still finding lots to do throughout the day!

We had a picnic at the park...

... went to story hour at the library, had a snack at Wendll's, and came home to do some art work:
And of course, Hamp was excited to show off his tee-ball skills to his grandparents!

It's been a really fun week, and now we're off to Yellowstone tomorrow...!

one more thing...

Oh yeah... and here's my other birthday present!!!!!

A VERY big thank you to Papa & Yaya for driving it all the way out here for us!

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And now that Papa & Yaya are here, I'm sure the next several posts will have pictures not only from their visit with us in Colorado... but from our upcoming adventure to Yellowstone!!!

happy birthday to me!

For my 35th birthday last week I was honored with SO many well wishes and gifts... among them a new shirt, new shoes, several sweet cards in the mail (a couple with some happy little checks enclosed!), a generous REI gift certificate just in time for late summer camping, many, many great greetings on FaceBook (which prompted me to immediately deactivate my account - sorry guys!) and best of all a really nice day with my family and friends. But perhaps the greatest gift I received this week was one a loooooong time coming!

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Ever since we bought the house in '02 I thought the back deck was too small to serve any real purpose. After several summers of dreaming and scheming to build a bigger, better back deck... I finally took the initiative and designed the deck I wanted!

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so, here is the BEFORE picture (taken in '06 I think?)And eventhough the handrails on either side are not done, here is the mostly complete AFTER picture!!!This picture was taken last Saturday afternoon and we have since had at least four or five meals already outside! It is definitely serving its purpose.

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What happened to that little, old, redwood deck you might ask?

Well, as this blog is supposed to be for reporting on the adventures of Hamp and Sam, I would be remiss if I didn't share with you their new space as well! Eventhough the whole week was an adventure for us all with the construction of the new deck, the boys were thrilled to see the old deck transformed into a new fort!I am very grateful for all the great friends we have that helped us build the deck and make my birthday wishes come true!!!

tee-ball

Hamp has really enjoyed his first season playing organized ball... granted, it's tee-ball for 5-6 year olds and most of the coaching involves keeping the kids focused and running in the right direction! But Hamp is such a sports fan and gets a thrill just from wearing the jersey, being on a team and especially from doing typical ball-player things...

like tossing a ball in a mitt:

running bases:

and playing third base!

It's hard not to have fun when you have a coach like this guy, though!

Best part of tee-ball - playing with friends.

(Sam was so proud of his big brother!)

another one down

The tooth fairy paid us another visit last night...!

kid crazy!

It has been a fun week... lots of playtime outside with friends for everyone while a very exciting backyard adventure is in the works...!

Happy Birthday, MoJo

Last year was so momentous... and so much fun!

It's hard to think that today is just another day in the life when last year it was so celebrated! So I would like to take a moment ~ well, all day really! ~ and celebrate my mom on her birthday. I wish we could all be together again but we are across the country (thus, the blog) so I can merely say it in cards and on the phone and right here:

how much I celebrate her! I love you, MoJo.... ♥
Happy Day!

mini-vacation

YEAH!!!!! We love mini-vacays...

We took the weekend off and headed to Denver for some family fun:

We watched the Rockies beat the Padres and had a great time eating peanuts and cheering on our home team! We tried to meet Dinger, the Home Run Dinosaur mascot but...... missed him again! Only this time we didn't wait in line for very long. Sam was disappointed, but only for a moment ~ there was baseball to watch!

Then we spent the next day at Pirate's Cove - a great way to beat the heat and spend the morning!

With all the slides, pools, fountains and playgrounds... the boys enjoyed the sandbox the most!

We snuck in some fun restaurants, shopping and a movie too! And on the way home we received confirmation that all is well with the world:

Range Call

It's the biggest weekend in town... family, friends and tourists come from all over to participate in all the festivities. It's called Range Call because back in the day it was the only reason to call all the cowboys off the range and into town... and there is still plenty trace of the pioneer history of Meeker during all the Independence Day events!

Of course, we modify all our activities to suit our preferences... we skip the rodeos, the live country music concerts, the barn dances and the big Pageant. But we manage to stay busy all the same!

PART I: the pig roast

We spent all day Saturday with good friends and great food - pulled pork that had been roasted all morning over a back yard spit!

PART II: the carnival

As always, the crowds came out to ride rides and eat cotton candy! And while Hamp was too busy running around with friends to stand still enough for a picture, Jason managed to capture Sam's uncertainty about getting on any of the rides! He eventually (reluctantly) agreed to get on the swings with me... and had a great time!

PART III: the parade

Sunday morning we got up and out to meet our good friends for the parade! The boys were all decked out in their new shirts...

... here's a close-up of Sam's tee!!!

Now, Meeker's parade is funny to me... there are all kinds of cultural references unique to our area.

First, and not so out-of-place is the Royalty...

... then there is all the antique ranching equipment...

... and of course, the hunting references!

There are also tributes to the pioneers days...

... and the native residents of the valley!

It's a fun day of celebration with good friends... and of course, it wouldn't be complete without a snow cone!

PART IV: the fireworks

We happen to have a great view of the fireworks from our own backyard! So after an afternoon storm came in and cooled everything off, we bundled up, made sure Sam had his noise-reduction ear phones on (!) and the boys fell asleep while we ended a great day with some beautiful, bright lights in the sky.

river rats

The inaugural float trip down the White River!

Since our river season is so short out here (6-8 weeks!) we hope to take advantage of some good hot July afternoons this year to keep cool on the water!

A shot from the bridge... (I was the volunteer shuttle driver!)

I happened to get a shot of a local river resident while waiting to catch another glimpse of the boys!