Birthday boys!

When I woke up Saturday morning and saw this half frosted, nibbled on cake sitting under our birthday banner I had a thought: is that representative of the boys' birthday celebrations? Half done, noncommittal, not fully celebrated?! (don't you hate when the "insecure momma" seeps through the subconscious and questions how well you're parenting?!!?!)

But sitting down this weekend to document and share our birthday week made me realize that we did in fact celebrate fully... and best of all the boys felt honored and special with all that we did! And even though Friday night's birthday cake looked a little pitiful, one must realize that it was the last in a long week of cupcakes, desserts, sweet treats, cake and more cupcakes!

With the boys' birthdays only 6 days apart we do tend to spread the celebrations out over a whole week's time...

What we did do to celebrate Hamp turning 10 and Sam turning 7 was take advantage of a no-school Monday and stay in Glenwood Springs overnight.

We skied Sunday in beautiful weather with great friends - and even got to celebrate Carter turning 11! (Seems like everyone thinks a ski weekend is a good way to have a birthday!)

the birthday boys: Hamp on the 18th, Carter on the 22nd, and Sam on the 24th
** note the cupcakes!

Hamp & Sam were most excited to get off the mountain so they could do what they really came for - swimming in the hotel pool! We stayed specifically at the hotel with the cool water features - a slide, basketball hoop, fountains, and hot tub. They swam for an hour after skiing, and for another hour after dinner!

Lest you think the aforementioned cake was all the boys had by way of birthday treats - don't worry! 

Dinner at the Glenwood Brewery was not only delicious, and not only did they get a frisbee with their kid's meal, but dessert was a delectable chocolate cake and a hand crafted root beer float!

A second day of skiing could not have been better - beautiful, sunny day and again: friends to ski with!

Although the ski/swim weekend was really the boys' celebration in lieu of a party - they also got a little bit of special treatment on their actual birthdays:

Hamp opened some wonderful gifts from family on the morning of his birthday, then played his first 2 basketball games of the season where his team pulled out wins in both! Then his favorite babysitter let both boys make and decorate cupcakes and stay up late playing video games.

Sam got to bring cupcakes to school, then went swimming with friends after school and had more cupcakes, then opened some really great gifts from family before a nice family dinner at home.

(so you see, the sweet treats really did play a big part all week long! We're going to have a sugar detox this week...)

Oh, and though Hamp really likes his new sled, the big birthday surprise was a new desk for Sam!

And for the record, that cake made for a great breakfast on Saturday morning! ☺

# 4!

... and one more !

This morning he was singing "all I want for my birthday is my two front teeth!"

# 3!

Sammy came home from school last week with big surprise - he had lost another tooth during reading! (who knew reading was such a physical activity!) So, another day another dollar... from the tooth fairy that is!

A very merry Christmas

What a wonderful Tennessee family Christmas!

At long last, we made it to Knoxville... just in time for Santa Claus to pay a visit!

Hamp asked for a football and a Fathead of Eric Decker (I had to google both the product, and the player!) and Santa came through with a whole set of Broncos mini-Fatheads and a Broncos football of course!

Sam made the request for a diary (with a lock and key so his brother can't read it!) and a basket for his bicycle (so he can cart his stuffed animals around town this summer!). Santa was pleased to oblige on this one, too.

Looks like these two were on the "nice" list for 2013 after all...

We had just enough time to make cookies, see a movie, do a little shopping and go out to lunch before someone's special arrival....and I don't mean Santa Claus!

COUSINS!!!!!

Gabe even got to play with his cousin, Winston!

Once the whole family was together and all the gifts had been opened - the fun began...

One day, Yaya treated her daughters-in-law to a nice lunch out at the Paris Apartment Tea Room, while Papa took his sons and all the kids to the park and out for burgers and fries:

Then another day we all went out to the movies and enjoyed the latest Disney flick, Frozen:

We spent one afternoon trying to stay upright at the ice skating rink:

And then another day we split up - the big kids went to see the new Hobbit movie while the little kids got in a fun round of bowling:

Perhaps our favorite outing was a trip to the American Museum of Science and Energy where we learned about electricity, nuclear energy, physics, mining and many other facets of science!

it was a hair-raising experience!

Heck, one night Jason and I even snuck out to go hear Uncle Don's band, the ChillBillies!

They rock...

Uncle Don (on the left) plays sax, flute, tambourine, back-up vocals... and pretty much whatever else he wants - he's brilliant!

When we weren't gallivanting all over Knoxville - we all enjoyed being together at home!

With 6 adults, 5 kids, and 2 dogs it was a constantly fun and exciting place to be - there were songs, dancing, Foosball tournaments, jigsaw puzzles, lego building, fort building, crafts and even a puppet show:

And as if all that weren't enough - on the last day the kids all got home made cotton candy!!!

We are so fortunate that all of us could be together for a week and do so much.
We ate well, we laughed a lot, and we loved every precious minute we had.
I would say that the best gift would be the new tree that was planted in honor of Yaya & Papa at their church - they have spear-headed and managed a huge landscaping project and we were lucky to get a tour of the grounds when we were there - but it goes without saying that truly the best gift this Christmas was the joy of family...

Road trip

'Twas 3 nights before Christmas when we hit the road,

Leaving only the cat stirring in our humble abode.

We were headed to Knoxville and we travelled with care

In hopes that St. Nicholas would visit us there!

The children were nestled all snug in their seats

With a bag full of books, toys, games, snacks and treats!

With Dad at the wheel and I with my knitting

And the dog in the back just drooling and sitting

We drove through the mountains, full of ice and snow,

Hoping the roads would clear up as we go...

Out of the window the mountains flew like a flash

And we were soon over the fear that we might slip, slide or crash!

The sun rose as we travelled and melted the snow,

Giving the luster of Denver appearing below.

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear

But the flatlands of Kansas with roads dry and clear.

The scenery never changed, just windmills and fields.

The occasional town, where we could get gas or a meal.

We made it through to Missouri and stayed briefly the night,

But were up early again to continue our flight.

Then on the horizon we saw it come to us,

and I knew in a moment it must be St. Louis!

More pleasant than puppies these boys sat in the car,

Never asking "are we there yet?" or even "how far?"

"Now, Hampton! Now, Sammy! Now, Jason and Gabe!"

Momma's so happy that you're all well behaved!

As a treat we can listen to Harry Potter, book 3

Since our friends lent us the whole story on CD!

So we listened, we talked, played the license plate game.

We took naps while Dad drove, he was fine all the same!

And then with a beeping I saw on the dash,

The ominous sign that we would soon run out of gas!

As Dad drew up his resolve and was turning around,

We gave a sign of relief as the station was found!

We pulled into Knoxville with a little time to spare.

And Yaya and Papa were so happy to have us there.

We fell out of the car, our feet happy to touch gravel,

Though our clothes were all tarnished from 2 days of travel!

A bundle of gifts strapped to the trailer on back,

I looked like a peddler just opening our pack.

The tree, how it twinkled! The family, how merry!

The food was delicious! The memories so very...

Wonderful! And though we didn't want our vacation to end,

We knew it was time to start driving again.

"On, Tennessee! On, Kentucky! On, Illinois! On, Missouri!

I-70 will take us home! Now hurry!"

The arch of St. Louis was a fun sight to see.

But I knew from there on that entertainment was up to me!

So we kept listening to our book, and the radio helped.

And I laughed when we stopped, in spite of myself.

For as we drove through the day I could hardly believe

That our night on the road would be New Year's Eve!

So In the middle of Kansas, at a sweet Super 8

We ordered pizza, watched tv and didn't even stay up late!

Then on New Year's Day we got up, and before the sun shone

We were back on the road - we were on our way home!

And as we reached the last chapter about the boy wizard,

We headed up the mountains and into a blizzard! 

We made it through the storm and over the pass,

We had plenty of fun (and plenty of gas)!

The dog was amazing - he just slept in the back.

He's happy as long as he's with his pack.

The boys did fantastic, they were mostly always all smiles.

And Dad was at the wheel the whole time, over 3,000 miles!

So laying Hamp's feet aside of my nose,

Our road trip finally has come to a close.

I say to you all, friends and family so dear...

Hope your Christmas was merry - and Happy New Year!