giving thanks

We are so thankful!

It wasn't just that we had safe travels and a wonderful visit to Mississippi to see family, but we were able to soak up every minute of time together with food, fun and lots of laughter!

We truly did cram so much into 2 quick days.

Let no one accuse us of not taking advantage of our time together!

Here are a few highlights of the visit:

THE FEAST!

(don't worry, we cooked it. And yes, that is a whole stick of butter on that turkey! It was delicious!!!)

THE COUSINS!

These guys are so much fun! 

The house was full of laughter, games, dancing, singing and playing for 2 days straight!

THE PUPPY!

We were so happy to meet the newest member of the family! 

How cute is that sweet puppy face? We love Winston!!!

THE DRAMA

Wonder what the kids did to keep themselves busy while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner?

Well, we were certainly impressed... and entertained!

THE CELEBRATIONS

Not only were we on hand to celebrate Graham's 8th birthday...

but we also took the opportunity to honor Yaya's much anticipated upcoming retirement!

the grands present Yaya with her choice of family trip!!! Can't wait...

In between tasty trips to the kitchen there was much activity:

There was time for books...

and time for a little tv!

Of course, there was family football in the front yard...

and soccer in the driveway

and even baseball in the backyard!

There was a trip to the Family Fun Center for some bouncy house adventure...

and there was also a little gardening!

A crowd favorite was the backyard bonfire and giant s'mores!!!

For all that we did, we are mostly just thankful to be healthy and together for the holiday!

A special thank you to Aunt Kerrin & Uncle Taylor for hosting us all and for the fabulous meals (ummmm, baked brie for dinner? YES!) - can't wait to be together again!

little white packages

Jason took Hamp out for a real hunting adventure last weekend - and it was a success!!!

We're looking forward to having lots of delicious meat in the freezer for a while... 

elk steaks for dinner anyone?!

Suessical!

This weekend was the culmination of 2 months of adventure - and was it ever worth it!

The Youth Drama program presented Suessical Jr., a wonderful musical perfectly suited for kids ages 6 - 13  (sized down from the ever popular Broadway show Suessical the Musical!) and a fun amalgamation of several Dr. Suess books and characters, including:

      

Because of the silly, colorful, fun nature of all things Suess, there was a great turn out at the initial audition back in August for this year's production - and this amazing group of kids (and adults!) worked so hard to put on a really exciting and beautiful show! The sets were fantastic, the costumes were extraordinary, and the casting was perfect!

Let me give you an example of the perfect casting...
I present to you, the Wickersham Brothers (the mischeivous monkeys from Horton Hears A Who):

Trust me, these guys were the embodiment of mischeivous monkeys!!!!!!!!
(and SO fun to watch on stage!)

Want to see them in action?
Well, here is 3 minutes of pure Suessical silliness - and Hamp's Broadway Jr. debut!
It's the Wickersham Brother's big number, called Monkey Around in which they (and many other jungle creatures) tease Horton about talking to a dust speck... don't know the story?! Oh man, you're missing out!
Anyway, check out this fun:

Sam's tumbling EXPO

Capitol Christmas Tree

So... did you know that the 2012 US Capitol Christmas Tree came from my backyard?!?!

OK, well... not the backyard of my house exactly - but it came from the White River National Forest which is just a hop, skip and jump from town and pretty much our personal playground right here in Meeker's "backyard"!

There are so many neat things that came out of preparing this honorable gift to our nation, and I hardly took any pictures of them because I was so immersed in all the activities centering around this tree! Fortunately, there are plenty of photos and videos floating around on Facebook, news stations and the official website of the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree!

that's the moon in the sky - it was early!!!

I was able to spend the better part of last Friday at Ripple Creek Lodge, 40 miles up into the forest from town, where the tree was standing. The Lodge hosted over 100 people, with a bonfire to keep us warm and plenty of treats and hot coffee! There were a few special guests - Smokey Bear, Santa & Mrs. Claus, U.S. Congressman Tipton (R-CO) - and a few lovely speeches (!) but perhaps my favorite element of the morning was that members of the Ute Tribe were on hand to honor the life of the tree. It was truly amazing to watch the process... 

... and what took all morning I have condensed into 2 1/2 minutes of personal video for you:

In case that merely whets your appetite, there are a few other places to find information on the tree - but here are a couple of quick video links for you!

from Denver's channel 9 news:

http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1942704495001

and from CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=us_c2#/video/us/2012/11/03/dnt-us-capitol-christmas-tree-picked.kcnc

found a shot of the Mayor with one of Santa's elves!!!

The celebration carried on through the weekend, with a community reception downtown on Friday night to welcome the tree as it pulled in to town, and then a full day of activities and celebrations on Saturday including a 5K run/walk, food and drink vendors, dancing and drumming from the Ute Tribes, a live performance by the Suessical Singers, a live performance of the official Sing4theTrees songwriting contest winner Lindsay Lawler, a display of the official artwork for the Capitol Christmas Tree, a parade of lights, and fireworks to top it all off!

Here are a few pictures from the day and all the festivities:

http://capitolchristmastree2012.org/meeker-co-kicks-off-2012-capitol-christmas-tree-celebration-in-style/

Again, I was especially moved by the participation of the Ute Tribes and their sincerity and openness in sharing some of their culture and inviting the public into their dance circle...

Honestly, it was a fabulous weekend - I was on a "community high" for two days! - and in the midst of all the negative national political propaganda it was so refreshing and inspiring to see a whole community come out to celebrate a "gift to the nation" and share in the joy of fellowship, the spirit of togetherness and the excitement of a once in a lifetime opportunity!

the ONLY picture of Hamp & Sam!
this was late Saturday night after a long day of fun - it was cold, Sam was still shaken from the fireworks, and  Hamp was mad that he couldn't play with his friends anymore!!!!!
But we did manage at least one picture with the tree...

Halloween fun!

What a fun day we had yesterday!

Sam had a playdate and picnic at the park, then a dance party with friends.

Then later we got to help Hamp's class make slime and have a fun classroom party!

But really the best part was later that evening when the boys dressed up for trick-or-treating...

a Broncos football player and a candy corn!

We strolled downtown for the big celebration - a Town wide party with trick-or-treating, a costume parade, hot chocolate and a haunted house!

Naturally, Hamp ran off with his buddies as soon as we got there and I didn't see him again until much later!

Sam was a little more hesitant to break away, so I walked around with him while he trick-or-treated and we ogled all the great costumes.

Since he wasn't really impressed with the crowd or the festivities, I took Sam home where he found a more suitable role for the evening:

he happily handed out candy to all the trick-or-treaters!!!

before it got dark, Sam would solicit trick-or-treaters from the driveway!

Hamp had a great time running all over town with friends (don't worry, there were other parents there!!!) and made it home with plenty of time before bed to sort all his candy and maybe even enjoy a piece or two!