Merry Christmas

We started our holiday season off the same way we plan to spend it - with friends!
Our annual tree hunt was marked by warm weather, good friends and just enough snow for a quick snowball fight. Not a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon in December than wandering in the middle of nowhere and finding the perfect tree...

From there we enjoyed the usual Meeker holiday traditions:

~ A band concert by Sam where he had a flute solo and a (somewhat impromptu!) trombone solo. He loves music and works hard in the band to master two instruments. But really... he enjoys being with his friends.

~ A JV basketball game (go #12!) where they played hard and it payed off with a win.
Oh, and Hamp loves his team and being with, you guessed it, his friends!

~ An inaugural day on the slopes at Sunlight Mountain! The snow conditions are still pretty meager, but when the weather is warm and there are plenty of friends to take runs with it's worth it!




~ And perhaps my favorite holiday tradition is the 6th annual Framily (friend-family) gathering and photo! It's just a potluck dinner party, but it's with some of my favorite people who I hardly get to see throughout the year. So we make time to all be together in December and try to document it. With babies, kids and dogs it makes for some fun attempts at a group photo...

This is pretty unusual for us - staying in Meeker for Christmas. We have almost always made a point to travel during the holidays to be with family... which has afforded us some really amazing memories, both of sweet family time and crazy holiday travel adventures! The crazy holiday travel, I won't miss. But the cherished moments with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles are what have always made our holidays special. So this year we will cozy up around our perfect tree, have Christmas dinner with dearest friends, and make new memories with just us and our Meeker people.... which is pretty much like family anyway!

raison d’etre

As winter settles in, we move on to a little basketball.

Hamp kicked off his sophomore JV season with a 3-day weekend tournament where he played really well. But what I noticed was that while the free throws were going on, he was visiting with the other team! He says that he has played against these same guys for years and they were just reminiscing about past games.... but I realized that between his teammates and the guys on the court, Hamp loves the people as much as (maybe more than?!) the game itself. As long as he is happy - either rebounding or chatting up the defense - I am happy! And for the next 3 months you’ll find me in the gym.... 

Thankful for family

This was one lucky holiday...
Not only did we pull off a great surprise for Grammy and the cousins, but our travels to and fro were right on the tail of the bad early winter storms! I think it was meant to be.



We pulled up Wednesday evening to a houseful of family - some of whom were expecting us and some of whom were NOT!
It was a great way to kick off 3 days of fun family time... including lots of amazing food, music, games and birthday well-wishes.

Our visit was in honor of Grammy's 95th birthday last week!
She is amazing, and so sweet to all her great-grands.


On top of Grammy's big birthday, we celebrated another gorgeous girl - sweet Charlotte Rose turned 3! She was showered with fun presents and a beautiful cake and of course, plenty of attention from all her family.


It was a quick trip for sure, but it felt like a shot in the arm of good family time until we can get together next summer! And it only seemed appropriate that it was the Thanksgiving holiday because we were full of gratitude for our safe travels, our good weather, our delicious feast, and each other.

Football

Orange shoes.... #3.... and a great leg!
It's been a great high school football season so far. Hamp was the Junior Varsity starting kicker, and is the back-up kicker for Varsity! His dedication to the team continues to impress me - especially when he stands on the sidelines most of the time in the freezing cold just waiting for a kick-off so he can get on the field. I know he loves the camaraderie and the game - and I love to watch!






And the added bonus of getting to watch this guy on the field:


Getting to watch (listen to!) this guy in the stands!!!

Dear Hamp

Oh.... this day.
It wasn’t even mid October and the foliage had already gone brown... but it was a beautiful, sunny, crisp fall day - perfect for being up in the mountains. Besides, it was Mojo & Dado's last weekend in Meeker and I thought it would be nice to all go for a hike together and have family dinner at Trapper’s Lodge.

You made it abundantly clear that you did NOT want to go. You pouted, you huffed & puffed, and you rolled your eyes and slammed the table. You claimed you weren’t going. You claimed you would sit in the car if we made you go. You declared that the hike was stupid. the day was stupid. the dinner was stupid. Again, it was clear you did not want to go. 

But I made you go. I weathered the storm and I kept my cool while you threw a fit. I knew that you would find some little bit of joy in our day if you just try. 

On the trail you asked me: why did you make me go?
Because I asked you to go.
Because I wanted you to go.
Because when you threw a fit, I wanted to prove to you that you can ruin your day with your own choice to be sour, but it won’t ruin mine.
Because I wanted you to understand that just because you don’t want to do something, you can still choose to find joy in it.
And maybe the joy is in the fact that you are pleasing someone else....
because you going made me happy and there is joy in making others happy.

The best part is that even though you pouted pretty much until well into dinner, you did (very subtly) come around. You finally realized it wasn’t worth fighting and you let go and you enjoyed yourself. And we all enjoyed your company!
I hope you went to bed that night with some sense of understanding that you can always make a choice to be angry, or to be happy.
I hope you choose wisely, sweet Hamp. 

Homecoming

This year's Homecoming week was fantastic - it had all the parts that make it a fun week:

a parade!

a football game!


a date!

and friends!

Flaming Gorge

For just a couple of days, this was our life:


We set up our little lake community with the 'wagons' (aka campers) circled and the tents all along the outskirts, and hammocks strung around the picnic tables which were piled with coolers & bins full of every kind of junk food!
And of course, 6 boats pulled up to shore at the ready.

At sunrise, a few of the hard core skiers would catch a few turns on smooth morning waters...



... and by the time the sun was up and breakfast was finished, the boys all dispersed to the boats!



All day was spent either on the boat - or being pulled by one!
Regardless, it was always with good company...


I have said before how very grateful I am that we are able to have such great adventures...
and this Labor Day weekend was no exception!

summer found

Like almost every year... the first day of school was bittersweet!

10th & 7th grade

While it's always nice to return to a schedule, it felt like we had just finally gotten into our summer groove.
Days were warm enough to be on the water, so we spent a weekend on a friend's boat, tested the river waters on our kayaks, and floated around at the lake with friends.

Hoping to have a few more lake days before fall sets in!