playing

Since Yaya & Papa got here, we have done nothing but PLAY!

It has been awesome...

The boys have exhausted every show & tell option while still finding lots to do throughout the day!

We had a picnic at the park...

... went to story hour at the library, had a snack at Wendll's, and came home to do some art work:
And of course, Hamp was excited to show off his tee-ball skills to his grandparents!

It's been a really fun week, and now we're off to Yellowstone tomorrow...!

one more thing...

Oh yeah... and here's my other birthday present!!!!!

A VERY big thank you to Papa & Yaya for driving it all the way out here for us!

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And now that Papa & Yaya are here, I'm sure the next several posts will have pictures not only from their visit with us in Colorado... but from our upcoming adventure to Yellowstone!!!

happy birthday to me!

For my 35th birthday last week I was honored with SO many well wishes and gifts... among them a new shirt, new shoes, several sweet cards in the mail (a couple with some happy little checks enclosed!), a generous REI gift certificate just in time for late summer camping, many, many great greetings on FaceBook (which prompted me to immediately deactivate my account - sorry guys!) and best of all a really nice day with my family and friends. But perhaps the greatest gift I received this week was one a loooooong time coming!

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Ever since we bought the house in '02 I thought the back deck was too small to serve any real purpose. After several summers of dreaming and scheming to build a bigger, better back deck... I finally took the initiative and designed the deck I wanted!

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so, here is the BEFORE picture (taken in '06 I think?)And eventhough the handrails on either side are not done, here is the mostly complete AFTER picture!!!This picture was taken last Saturday afternoon and we have since had at least four or five meals already outside! It is definitely serving its purpose.

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What happened to that little, old, redwood deck you might ask?

Well, as this blog is supposed to be for reporting on the adventures of Hamp and Sam, I would be remiss if I didn't share with you their new space as well! Eventhough the whole week was an adventure for us all with the construction of the new deck, the boys were thrilled to see the old deck transformed into a new fort!I am very grateful for all the great friends we have that helped us build the deck and make my birthday wishes come true!!!

tee-ball

Hamp has really enjoyed his first season playing organized ball... granted, it's tee-ball for 5-6 year olds and most of the coaching involves keeping the kids focused and running in the right direction! But Hamp is such a sports fan and gets a thrill just from wearing the jersey, being on a team and especially from doing typical ball-player things...

like tossing a ball in a mitt:

running bases:

and playing third base!

It's hard not to have fun when you have a coach like this guy, though!

Best part of tee-ball - playing with friends.

(Sam was so proud of his big brother!)

another one down

The tooth fairy paid us another visit last night...!

kid crazy!

It has been a fun week... lots of playtime outside with friends for everyone while a very exciting backyard adventure is in the works...!

Happy Birthday, MoJo

Last year was so momentous... and so much fun!

It's hard to think that today is just another day in the life when last year it was so celebrated! So I would like to take a moment ~ well, all day really! ~ and celebrate my mom on her birthday. I wish we could all be together again but we are across the country (thus, the blog) so I can merely say it in cards and on the phone and right here:

how much I celebrate her! I love you, MoJo.... ♥
Happy Day!