summer bliss

concert on the lawn

Friday night was one of those "perfect" moments...

The weather was just right, the music was fun, we had good food and drink, the kids were happy and running with their pack, but best of all was being surrounded by friends!

Especially these guys:

(Ham Fam, you may be moving far away but will always be close in our hearts!)

We love summer concert nights - everyone comes out to dance, eat, drink, play and be social.

This was no exception...

summer friends

We are in full summer swing - basketball camp, swim lessons, golf and playdates!

What better summer adventures are there than popsicles:

and superheroes?

family visit

How cool that our family decided to take a week vacation for a tour of Colorado!

Even better, that they included Meeker on their route!!!

So Uncle Don, Aunt Kim & Cousin Austin had already seen some very cool stuff (Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, Independence Pass, Aspen, Glenwood Springs) when they swung through town for a night. We were honored to offer a home cooked meal and quick tour of town before they settled down in the historic Meeker Hotel for the night. Theodore Roosevelt memorabilia aside, I think the stop over was fun in its own right - especially since these cousins haven't seen eachother in over 20 years!!!

How wonderful to visit with family for a night of stories, laughs, a little nostalgia and great company...

Hope the rest of the Colorado Tour (Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley Hotel) is as much fun!

airshow

We found the coolest adventure to have on Saturday afternoon!

The Rifle Air Show:

This is a MIG jet fighter that was awesome to watch...

And the other pilots were amazing - some of their stunts had my stomach turning! Very neat...

The kids all had a great time! A perfect way to spend a summer afternoon...

Birthday Missions

explanation:

We have satellite radio in our car.

One of our favorite stations is Kids Place Live.

Fun songs for kids, and actually quite tolerable for adults!

One of the DJs on the KPL channel is Mindy - host of the Absolutely Mindy Show (for those of you with both kids and satellite radio, you either know her or you need to!) Mindy is squeaky, funny, and creative. Her shtick includes birthday shout-outs to kids across the satellite radio world and then doling out "birthday missions" so that upon completion of these three missions, the kid can then turn another year older.

Well July 3rd was Ali's birthday.

Mindy gave Ali three birthday mission to complete before she could officially turn 36.

Ali very enthusiastically took on the challenge...

Birthday Mission #1:

run through the sprinkler with your clothes on

Birthday Mission #2:

Eat a meal with your hands tied behind your back

Birthday Mission #3:

Draw/write a card to yourself in the future

(We took a little liberty with this one. The boys were anxious to use their Glow Explosion drawing kit, so we got Ali to draw a glow-in-the-dark picture of her life in the future!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALI!

You successfully completed your 3 birthday missions - extra points for style!

fun with friends

Ali & Matt are very fun friends.

They are also very easy guests.

Consequently, we had a great visit!

After the holiday dust settled, there were many adventures to have...

including walks about town, coffee at Wendll's, tricks on the trampoline, and general merry-making around the house with the boys!

But our favorite adventure may have been the hike up the South Fork of the White River,

and a picnic in the Flattops Wilderness...

... then again, our favorite might have been the day we spent on the golf course, especially since it was capped off with a late & great lunch out, a trip to the pool, an evening on the back deck and movie night!

Despite all the fun activities, good stories, great food and special times together, I think Hamp may have had the best adventure of us all:

he learned a little about taking cool pictures with the best teacher I can think of!

Thank you Ali & Matt, for spending time with all of us - especially the boys!