photo op

Hamp had one of his favorite friends over Friday afterschool - and I took the opportunity to use these sweet little faces to play with my camera!

Thanks to my favorite friend and photographer I got a few tips... the best of which is:

read your manual.

The second best tip though seems more practical for me:

just keep pushing buttons and see what happens! (I'm paraphrasing)

So, out of several dozen out-of-focus random shots, this one turned out perfect...

thanks to my gorgeous models!!!

Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

Remember these guys from a few weeks back:

Well they made a more appropriate appearance at the after school party for

Dr. Seuss's 107th birthday party!

Meeker Elementary School has an excellent librarian that loves to do fun things with kids and books - and this event was no exception...

There was musical entertainment from our fabulous friends - they did some fun songs from Free To Be You & Me, the Muppet Movie and of course, Seussical! (and they were awesome!)

And then some crazy lady did a dramatic reading of Green Eggs and Ham!

Finally, the 4th & 5th graders did a marimba concert - and they were amazing! Seriously, they played several numbers, all memorized with complicated rhythms and great melodies! Hamp was not too impressed, but at least he paid attention while flanked by his best buddies!

And the best part - when the whole thing was over they got to finish off my "green eggs and ham" (lime jell-o!)

Great mid-week fun!!!

fairy dust

To make a short story long, our adventures yesterday took me and Sam on a trip to Grand Junction for errands, a doctor appointment and visits with friends! He was a great companion - fun to talk to on the drive and happy to be along for the ride.

Because of his pleasant disposition all day, I surprised him while filling up with gas at the Sinclair station: at the counter was a display with these small vials of glitter and considering Sam's love for all things magical and purple in color, I thought he would appreciate his own container of "fairy dust".

Little did I know that it would absolutely be the best thing ever!!!

He made me tie it onto the golden beaded necklace he chose to wear that day and told everyone he met that he had purple fairy dust that would, if opened make him fly!

Oh, he just could not wait to open that vial and take flight. So this morning, with a little bit in his hand he anxiously awaited his magical abilities to set in...

The disappointment was so real when he realized that his feet were still planted firmly on the ground and his fairy dust did not work as hoped.

His solution: try more! (and so the whole bottle was promptly upturned in his hand)

Well, the disappointment about not flying was only temporary - then he discovered that he now had a huge handful of purple glitter all over the place! That seemed to please him enough to go on with his day...

... only now we have an empty vial. Hmmmm, I'm thinking about more glitter just so he can be so proud of carrying his fairy dust around! Now if only I can convince him that the flying part is all in his imagination and that it only works if you believe!

days and moments

It's been a while...

... and in thinking about what adventures we've had lately that I could talk about, I realized that despite not having any special pictures or stories to share we have nonetheless stayed busy and happy and adventurous!

We did ski this weekend - day #8! It's been a very good season indeed. Having all four of us on the mountain together has been such a joy! In fact, I did not bring the camera last weekend, but if I had I would have just left it aside to totally soak in the feeling of skiing as a family! The light at the end of the looooooong (7 year?) tunnel has been reached and it's very beautiful. In fact, the sounds of Hamp encouraging his younger brother to "c'mon", and then Sam yelling at everyone "See ya, sucka!" as he zooms past (like he even knows what that means?!?!!) have made my whole winter...

And the best part about this ski season is our new ski storage:

(gotta love living in a small town where your equipment stays outside all season long with no worries!)

Otherwise there have been high school basketball games to watch, friends to play with, train sets to build, movies to watch, Sam's music and dance classes and Hamp's after school program at the Rec Center... and oh yeah did I mention friends to play with!!!

and now for deep thoughts:

So there have been many good days lately and within those days have been so many fun and funny and sweet moments between all of us as a family and as friends that I couldn't begin to know or mention them all - but I do know that when a tragedy strikes in a small community it is exponentially difficult to accept and it weighs on my mind heavy this week as my heart goes out to a mother who lost her son and a family and community who lost a beautiful young man. It it equally frightening and encouraging as a mother to be so harshly reminded at how precious these lives are and how instantly they can change forever. I am encouraged because I know that I do my best to cherish every moment together and create lives for my family that we can enjoy, be proud of, and think back on fondly.

And so, may there be many more adventures...

Rio Blanco

See how beautiful our white river is? (note: this is August of last year!)

Well check out what happens when we have a frozen winter like the past couple of weeks have been!

Thank goodness it has warmed up lately - not only has there been some flooding from all the ice damming up the river, but legend has it the town bridge below once moved a little back in the 80s when the river iced up so much!

Looks like we are close:

Here's to more warm winter weather!

Hope everyone has a great weekend ~ Happy President's Day!

ski day

I have to agree with my brother on this one... the warmer weather had us ready for some great outdoor fun! While a round of golf wasn't really possible, we did what we do best on a beautiful winter day in the Colorado mountains:

SKI!

I know I've said this before, but it's so true...

there's no better way to play than with family AND friends!

Take a look at this awesome crew we got to ski with yesterday:

That was taken at the top of the mountain with Mt. Sopris (my fave!) in the background... moments later the kiddos took off and weren't seen again until we got to the bottom!

Sam had a great ski day - he's getting so confident and fast, too! He certainly has his comfort zone - reminds me of someone last year! - and unfortunately that zone involved skiing through the trees! He took several good runs with me, and here he is with Dad:

Meanwhile, I am so proud of Hamp for not only trying some new terrain, but being confident enough to take off by himself or with a buddy and enjoy the mountain!

(don't worry, he knows where to go and still be safe!)

The last run of the day was a great, long run where Hamp took off ahead of us and Dad and I hung back with Sam... it was fun all skiing together!

By the very last hill though the super-skiier Sam was absolutely worn out! Knowing how enthusiastic and tireless he had been all day about doing run after run... I decided to indulge the little trooper and carried him the last bit to the lodge!

Ski boots off, treats in hand, warm weather and friends to play with...

what better adventure is there?!

"respect my authority"

Here's one for all you Southpark fans out there... (Alec)

note: he received a Cartman sticker (in his right hand) from the quarter machine at dinner the other night with friends and was immediately taught how to quote the character appropriately!

p.s. for a reference, check here