Monday, September 26, 2011

he's here!!!

Welcome to the world, little Allen Jess Etheridge!
Born September 25th, 2011
(sometime around 4pm according to when the text was sent!)
weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces (!)


I'm so proud of my sister-in-law, and so excited for the whole family!
Can't wait to meet my sweet new nephew...
CONGRATULATIONS!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

sports fan

Hamp has had a great week of sports (his favorite activity!)

He played in two soccer games this week - both times showing some real passion and commitment to the game! These guys were so fun to watch... and Dad got a few great shots of Hamp in action: 


Then Friday afternoon was the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick event at the football field!
I think Hamp's favorite part was getting to play with the "big kids"... 
aka the High School football team!

The other fun part, of course was playing with friends that were there!


My favorite shot - Hamp running the ball in for a "touchdown" with 5 big kids in pursuit!
I think he was in heaven!!!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Monday, September 12, 2011

the classic

I know I say this every year, but the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials is one of our favorite weekends of the year! It brings out the whole community to volunteer and make it one of the neatest international events I've ever seen. We attend every year - see last year, and the year before! - and enjoy different parts of the 5-day event every time. We love to support the art auction - and this year the landscape was beautiful the night of the reception and the boys had fun playing on the fence:
The special treat this year was an art submission from our dear family friend who has painted for our family before and decided to try his hand at sheepdogs! His entry sold in the auction and received much praise throughout the show - here it is displayed in the middle, top:

The boys had their fill of the event - Thursday night art reception, Friday all-day 2nd grade field trip (which I helped chaperone so Sam came, too!) and Saturday all-day spectators! - but they particularly enjoyed having our friends from Denver & Boulder visit for the weekend... and having funnel cake!


 I tried to take a few photos of the trials - but nothing I do can really do it justice. The dogs are beautiful, skilled, and amazing to watch. Their handlers are patient and kind and the Meeker sheep are infamously ornery! The whole event is spectacular (relatively speaking of course - to pull off this kind of weekend in a town our size is great!) and made for a fun, long weekend!



Tuesday, September 6, 2011

first day of school


The boys were terrific this morning!
They had a lovely, easy morning and were so excited to go to school.  (Oh, I hope that can continue throughout the year!!!)

We walked the three blocks to the pre-school building where Hamp caught the bus - with friends, of course! - that took him up to the high school where his temporary 2nd grade classroom is.

He was so excited to see his friends and catch the bus that he never even turned around to wave goodbye! In fact, he was off before I knew it and the blurry photo below is the only shot I got of Hamp heading to school! 
(his backpack is the splotch of green on the left!

Fortunately, I have to go into Sam's classroom to sign him in... so I got to watch him run around and do a little happy dance about being at school with his buddies! I even managed to get a few of them to stand still long enough and smile for a picture!!!
What a great day! Looking forward to lots of stories and homework and fieldtrips and parties...

Monday, September 5, 2011

ready to move on

It's the night before the first day of school and the boys are in bed by 7:30 - though they are giggling and bouncing and being so silly that I wonder "what's the point?"! But tomorrow they will get up early, don nice collared shirts (my battle of choice!), and start their academic year in good form.
Despite it being my youngest's first day of school ever, I don't think I will cry - I try to abide by the philosophy I share with Hamp when he cries because a playdate is finished: don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened - and I feel so glad indeed that this summer happened! Quite frankly, I am not sad that it is over because I don't think I have the stamina to keep this up any longer. In fact, I reviewed the past 3 months to try and get a more concrete idea (aka a list! oooh, I love lists!) of what I felt was a very fun, social, busy, and exciting summer. It's overwhelming to consider:

102 days of summer = 
  • picnics
  • camping
  • biking (and one cactus incident!)
  • swimming
  • playdates at the park
  • concerts on the lawn
  • movies under the stars
  • an air show
  • swim lessons
  • basketball camp
  • soccer games
  • golf
  • a week at the beach
  • a week in the forest
  • a weekend in California
  • visits from friends and family
  • backyard barbecues
  • sleepovers
  • playdates with literally dozens of fun friends, all summer long! 
So as the temps drop into the low 50s at night and cool breezes require a sweatshirt with my morning coffee; and while the leaves are already starting to subtly change to a more yellowy-green and deer sightings in town are more and more frequent; I remain so grateful for our friends and family who made this summer a fantastic and memorable one! But I also feel such excitement for the autumn months to come and all the adventures they have in store for Hamp & Sam!


p.s. 8:00 and the boys are OUT!

Friday, September 2, 2011

just chillin'

Took the morning to go for a bike ride, play some football, and apparently pose for pictures! 
(must be the prized, glittery purple shirt.)




Hope you all have a very happy, relaxing holiday weekend!