come visit - there's plenty of fun!

For a small town, we really know how to celebrate a holiday!

Our 4th of July Range Call events are second to none.

However, if you find yourself visiting some other time during the summer, we have many more ways to keep you entertained! Just ask cousin Graham, who spent a week sharing adventures with Hamp & Sam...

First, there is always a pack of boys wandering around to play with:

 Then there is the park:

and the river:

and the best part about it all, is that you can ride your bike everywhere you go!

 If you're not feeling too out-doorsy, then Sam can lead you in arts & crafts:

or Hamp can challenge you to a game on the wii:

Of course, last weekend the Colorado Professional Rodeo was in town.

That was so cool - we watched Steer Wrestling, Saddle Bronc and Bareback riding and some roping events... mostly just in awe of the authentic cowboy action going on!

Though...
I think the boys were really just there for the funnel cake and cotton candy!

Anyway, for some spectacular views, great hiking and fun atmosphere for lunch - we can drive up to Trapper's Lake Lodge:

But really, in between all the bike rides and rodeos, parades and parks, shopping and strolling...

the best adventure to be had is just enjoying being together!

We certainly had a lot of fun:

a special celebration

It may have slipped by quietly back in June...

... but while Yaya & Papa were here visiting, we made sure to recognize their "sapphire" wedding anniversary!

It was a small, surprise celebration with a gift and candles, balloons (those where mostly for the kids' benefit!) and a nice homemade dinner... but what made it truly special was that we were together as a family!

We dearly missed the other half of the Hightower crew - but at least we had cousin Graham here to represent!!!

Congratulations to Yaya & Papa 

on 45 years of marriage - we wish you many more happy years together!

♥

Independence Day

What a great way to celebrate the 4th of July...

Yaya & Papa have come to visit - and brought cousin Graham with them!!!!!

That's like a super-bonus - having your grandparents AND your cousin to play with all week. Needless to say, it made our holiday extra fun this year!

The day's adventures started early with the annual Run For Your Life 5K race.

No - none of OUR family were racing that day (I felt like coffee and donuts at 7am were working much better for me than a 3-mile run!)  However, some of our friends were up for the race so we had a table full of extra Yankee Doodle Dandies for a big 4th of July breakfast!

Then it was on to the parade...

After the parade, there was much celebration downtown - including a big BBQ lunch, live music, a watermelon eating contest, a soda fountain, beer garden, and a cousin favorite: bouncy house and water slide! We stayed just long enough for the boys to cool off and have a little fun!

 The afternoon was full of good food and great visiting with friends... we even squeezed in a nap!

Thank goodness, too - because we had big plans that night.
First we went to see the FMX Motorcycle Show - which of course was a HUGE hit with these boys! And I have to admit, I was kind of amazed and impressed, too.

Then later that night Jason narrated the Meeker Pageant and we were there to see the show...

It started at dark - which meant we were up late. But the show was neat and the boys had fun with their Yaya & Papa and friends.

I'm sure we'll have a whole week chock full of adventures.. but we certainly kicked everything off with a day of big community entertainment and family fun!

play ball!

It's been a great month or so of baseball - Hamp's first real adventure in full-on ball play, with a pitcher and out-of-town games and a tournament and everything!
(ok, my first real adventure with it as well!)

As the low man (aka 8 year old) on an 8-10 year old team, he had a lot to learn and played a lot of outfield (!) but he soaked up the strategy of playing defensive baseball and got acquainted with trying to hit a pitch from a fellow youth ball player - not as easy as it seems!

As the parent, I had fun watching the team get better and cheering loudly for all their attempts and accomplishments. We had a great parent group that made it fun up in the bleachers, and great coaches ☺ that kept the team motivated and positive...

playing outfield... ready for that pop fly!?

"on deck"

listening to coach...

It was great having home games, because Gabe would come along to play at the park. He's such a good pup: he would say hello to everyone as - slobberlessly as possible - and maybe run amok for a little while until he finally wore out and just laid down for a nap!

But the main event was certainly watching Hamp play. He took it very seriously and certainly tried his very best. He didn't ever get a good hit but he was a smart batter and knew when to hold his swing. Consequently, he made it on base several times and even scored a few runs!

Yeah, I know I said he took it seriously.

I didn't mean ALL the time of course!

You can't blame an 8 year-old for dancing in outfield.... although if asked, I'm sure he would tell you he was catching an invisible fly ball or something!

And in the end... the team won the whole tournament!

They started the season 1 and 2. But they obviously gelled quickly into a pretty darn good team that could turn plays and make base hits good enough to win the rest of the season's games!

It was a great championship game - we were crazy proud of all these boys!

making headlines

The adventures of Hamp & Sam are now being syndicated worldwide via the New York Times.

Well, hyperbole aside there is a picture of the boys (sitting at the local soda fountain with their babysitter!) deep into a June 28th article on our local economy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/us/energy-boom-turns-to-bust-in-colorado.html?_r=2&hp

finish strong

Last week, our summertime adventures were intense: not only are we in the throes of the big 8-10 yr old Rec League baseball tourney (definitely more on that later!) but Hamp earned a new title: triathlete!

Oh man, what a race!
There were a dozen kids ages 7-10 that competed in the mini-triathlon... and it was exactly what we hoped it would be - a fun learning experience and a chance to show off some serious skills (in many cases, the skill was perseverance!)

Of course, the best motivator for Hamp to do anything is peer pressure. And the fact that his buddies were there Thursday morning to compete along side him was all he needed to get geared up and get in that pool!

SWIM - 50 meters

Hamp, and the rest of the 7-8 year old competition!

Go Hamp! (he's in the middle)

BIKE - 2 miles

RUN - 1/2 mile

Oh Hamp... my heart sank when he came around the back side of the running trail with tears coming down and a hand clutched to his side. I tried to encourage him to keep it up, but Dad did one step better - he jumped in and accompanied him around the last lap, all the way to the finish line. It wasn't pretty - a few angry words and lots of tears across that tape! - but he finished and had his first real lesson on dealing with a little physical pain to get to the end goal!

So just when I thought all was lost and that Hamp's disappointment at not winning the race would overshadow the fact that he finished, he was handed a cool new tee-shirt that matched those of his buddies... which in his mind's eye meant that they were ALL winners for competing and crossing that finish line!

Oh yeah, and there's another triathlete in the family, too!

So, in my 4th annual attempt at a respectable finish I managed to eke across the finish line without passing out or puking! Honestly, it's not that bad - unless you are a very poor runner like me. (check out the "running" picture above - my feet are both flat on the ground! I don't think that is how it is supposed to work...)

Anyway, I did alright until the very last part of the run - I think you can see the expression of "Oh thank god I'm almost done!" on my face - but I had to set the example for Hamp (who graciously, and a little too energetically ran across the finish line with me!) that no matter what we have to try to finish strong!



I don't know how strong I was exactly, but I was so glad I did it. And just like Hamp, I was mostly just happy to have my good friends alongside me to celebrate!