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!

Hightower family at the beach

And sometimes a plan comes together and we get the perfect opportunity to get away!

So for our H-family vacation this summer we rented a house in Watercolor, Florida and did all the fun beach resort activities:

~ rode bikes or golf cart all through the beach towns and everywhere we went

~ kept cool at the resort pool with lazy river, slides and fountains

~ enjoyed snowcones and all the delicious offerings at the Seaside plaza

~ went paddle boarding in an alligator infested coastal lake (no sightings!) then opted for paddling in the gulf waters instead!

~ spent as much time on the beach as we could... including every night for sunset!

Join the love of family with the love of being at the beach and it was a perfect vacation.