On turning 9 and 6

*** disclaimer: here's another loooooong, wordy post with too few pictures! I promise to get back to your regular programming as soon as I figure out how to get all those pics from my new iphone to my blog! ***

It was a wonderful week of birthday fun!

Of course, when you're coming off the holiday high and still trying to reconfigure the clothes drawers and toy chest to accommodate all of Santa's generosity it makes for a somewhat anti-climactic birthday. But Hamp & Sam have always been very accepting of whatever level of celebration we offer - and just happy to be a new age!

Anyway, we made the most of it. Hamp took cupcakes to school and I made him his fave for dinner: meatloaf & green beans. He had ice cream for dessert and opened many fantastic gifts from friends and family. Then he did exactly what he did last year - crammed a few buddies in the car and went down to Rifle to see a movie and have dinner. I opted out of that event, but Dad said it was awesome and hysterical and so interesting to watch his son in his "peer persona"! (i.e. silly 9-year old boy with friends)

As for Hamp, he is still a very typical kid - and all boy for sure! He loves sports, guns, Legos and video games. He plays well with brother (mostly!), he hates to lose, and is not exactly an enthusiastic reader. He is peer driven - which from a mother's perspective is both frightening and encouraging! - and despite the daily sass and eye-rolling he is truly a sweet and loving child that holds family (which includes his dog!) before all else and will probably go far on charisma and enthusiasm...

So what did his 8th year of life bring?

• Better skier - both in skill and confidence level!
• Continued to learn how to be a gracious winner and an accepting loser (although his baseball, soccer and flag football teams all won their seasons!)
• Moved up to 3rd grade where he is learning multiplication, how to write a proper paragraph, how to find a book he likes to read, and especially how to behave properly on the playground!
• Milestones were skiing well, playing baseball, understanding & accepting that he was not going to play tackle football, performing in his first musical, completing his first triathlon, and his first trip to Las Vegas and first Cirque du Soleil show!

Then there is sweet Sammy, who didn't exactly get the celebration he expected at all for his birthday - his friend had the flu and the bowling alley was closed! - but didn't let it get him down as he was happy to spend a quarter on a pinball game at the arcade and call it good! I took him and his friends out for pizza after kindergarten on his birthday, and then he too had a nice family dinner, with splendid gifts from generous friends and family.


Sam is still our atypical child! He is obsessed with Pandas and the color purple, he loves all things artistic including painting, drawing, writing, singing, playing the piano, and dancing. He will tell you that his favorite sports are bowling, soccer, volleyball and he enjoys academics and looks forward to going to school! He loves his friends, but is equally content to play with his stuffed animals all day - but most of all he loves his big brother!

And how about his 5th year of life?

• Rode a bike without training wheels
• Rode the ski lift without an adult
• First piano recital
• Learned how to do a proper cartwheel
• Learned how to read
• Started Kindergarten and loves every minute of it!

I look forward to what these next ages will bring - new ideas and understandings and hopefully a continued love for all things outdoors! Whatever we do I know it is always an adventure...

Ski day

A great day on the ski mountain - lots of good family time, and many friends there, too! (I am learning to blog from my phone, so I'll just leave you with this great photo from the top of the mountain!)

My heart be still

It is every mother's dilemma of deciding when to let go and when to intervene; when to hug and kiss and when to wave goodbye from the corner. It may seem premature for me to say anything about this as I am only just about 9 years into this parenting gig, but I can say I have had two recent experiences with my boys that have sent me reeling into varying states of panic and maternal bliss!!!

First, panic.

Last Sunday we hit the slopes for a great day of skiing. It was not great because of weather - in fact it was cold and blustery and therefore kind of unencouraging! But it was great because there were lots of friends there to ski with and sit with and snack with, and also because the boys were feeling particularly enthusiastic about skiing.

At one point, several of us (including my whole immediate family) took a nice, long green run down the side of the mountain. Well Sam must have had an extra dose of confidence that morning because he took off ahead of the gang. When we finally caught up with him, he had decided that he was going on from that point alone. Totally alone. He planned to finish the run, get on the lift and do another green run - ALL BY HIMSELF! So I let him.

My insides were bursting with an innate maternal need to follow him and make sure he didn't fall or lose his way or get scared and start to cry for his momma!!! But apparently that is only something moms feel because Sam's father was encouraging me to let him go and take an adult run while I could! So I left. I left my almost 6-year-old child to fend for himself on the big, scary mountain while I selfishly carved up some sweet runs on my own. And you know what? (Of course you do!) He was just fine! And I couldn't have been more proud!!!!!

And then, maternal bliss.

Last weekend, John Hampton was rewarded for a week's worth of homework and reading assignments with a sleepover. He had 2 buddies over Friday after school and they played hard all evening and were delightfully behaved and well mannered. Of course, I had no great intentions of either getting a good night's sleep or of sleeping in the next morning as I assumed I would be listening out for giggles, cries, or maybe even disagreements coming from the palette on the living room floor that served as a bed for all 3! Well sure enough, there were ghost stories and giggles and fart jokes galore well past the time that I declared lights out. But what I didn't expect was a call from Hamp - a quiet cry for mom that woke me from my light dozing and had me by his side in a flash. Turns out my big boy was not only a little afraid of the dark, but he was also not too proud to call his mom in for a cuddle... even with his friends right there! So much to my great pleasure, I curled up next to my boy and giggled and whispered right along with them until I knew it was really time for sleep. Then a gentle kiss for each of them, and I snuck out with a full heart.

The best part though was a couple of days later, as I was kissing my boys goodnight in their beds - Hamp hugs me and tells me "thank you" for staying with him when he needed me. I thought for a moment to tell him how I will always be there for him if he ever needs me and that all he has to do is call.... but instead, I just said "You're welcome. I love you."

What more can I say?!

Best of Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful trip to Florida for Christmas and the New Year - and as always we loved being with our family and enjoying our precious time all together.

Christmas Day was full of fun - Santa made a generous visit and we spent most of the day in pajamas playing with new toys or games...

The rest of the week was chock full of all kinds of fun family activities! Check it out:



I am so grateful for my family and all that we are able to do!
What wonderful memories - so much laughter!
I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year... ♥