Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Halloween happenings


We have had a great week preparing for Thursday...
There have been decorations, costume making, costume shopping (!), pumpkin carving, a Halloween party at the park last Saturday - including a Zombie Run! - and our favorite Halloween tradition: Halloween Bingo! (I don't know why - maybe because it's the only time of year we sit down and play Bingo? Or maybe because you use candy for markers and get to eat them at the end!!!)

Sam and his buddies had a great time at the park festivities - they carved more pumpkins, completed an obstacle course, played many games and enjoyed the good weather!

These guys, however skipped the games and went straight for scary!
They were brave enough to do the Zombie Run - a running race through the trails, but you have to avoid the zombies!!!! Fortunately it was in the early afternoon, so no one freaked out... and a couple of them even "survived"! Hamp got "infected" but he seems to be recovering nicely. ☺


Can't wait to see how my little Panda Bear and my big Blue Man turn out...

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A quick visit & a little hike

As providence (or Murphy's Law!) would have it - while I was gallivanting around back on the east coast...
Mojo was in COLORADO for a girls' trip!

So, as Sam so delicately put it:  "I picked her up off the side of the highway" and brought her home with me for a day. (hey man, it's not really untrue!)

To get her back to her pack - and just to make it fun, I enticed Mojo's girlfriends to meet us in Glenwood Canyon for a little hike...


We could not have asked for a more beautiful morning to get to Hanging Lake!
I was duly impressed with the hiking skills and perseverance of Mojo & crew - as it is in fact over 1,000 feet of vertical gain in about 1 mile!  It was worth it just for the view... 


What a wonderful way to get a little teaser visit in - 36 hours in Meeker was just enough to see Hamp's flag football game, go out to dinner, volunteer in Sam's 1st grade class, eat lunch with Hamp at school, hike the trails, shop at Wendll's, and have game night! 
(we really know how to pack it in...)
And just as I was trying to grab photographic evidence of Mojo's stay, the boys decided to get silly:

So glad you made it up to Meeker - best day ever!!!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Ali's baby shower

Last weekend I was so grateful to be able to go see one of my oldest, dearest friends!
In honor of her growing family (and growing belly!) I flew into town to be a part of her celebration...

What awaited me was a generous, warm, cozy welcome by Ali & Matt (and Ellie dog!)

Ellie loves to hang out on the porch...

Most of the weekend was spent in this spot - possibly the best back deck lounging area EVER!!!

Although there was a LOT of fun leading up to the party on Sunday (shopping, game day, dinner at the Farm House, and an awesome presentation of Sleepy Hollow!) the shower was definitely the highlight! Not only was it a beautiful congregation of Ali's old friends, family, old work friends and new work friends, it was especially a wonderful display of the talents of one of her dearest friends Dawn.

Dawn set up a table for guests to design a set of alphabet blocks for baby W. It was a fun way to visit with everyone at the party while adding a very sweet personal touch to baby W's nursery!

And the finished products... so cool!

I love this - a sign of a conscientious and modern hostess!
You know everyone will have pictures to share... why not be proactive and set up a hashtag group on the most popular social media tool out there! 

Oh - and the decor!
Dawn did an amazing job of setting up the party with a little boy theme...
To truly appreciate all the detail and love that went into hosting this special event - you have to check out Dawn's blog below. It's worth it just to see all her gorgeous pictures!



Besides the beautiful surroundings, comfy home, extraordinary party and fun events of the weekend, I confess that the best part of all was just being with friends!
I especially enjoyed being with all of Ali's family and meeting all of her very cool friends from work...
Then again, I loved that I was able to spend quality time with a couple of my dearest friends from childhood. And that always means there will be just a little bit of silliness involved!

Much love to Ali & Matt and their upcoming addition to the family!
Thanks for letting me be a part of the celebration... I love this little guy already.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

all the way...

First flag football game, first play - that's Hamp running in for the touchdown:

Sunday, October 6, 2013

fun fall weekend

Last weekend (yes, I realize I am a little behind...!) was a perfect couple of September days. 

We kicked it off with the annual Fall Festival - and this year Hamp wanted to join his momma for the kickoff 5K run!!!

I was happy (kind of!) to oblige and incredibly proud of his perseverance and physical ability... although I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I BEAT HIM!!! ha ha ha. 

OK, enough about me... I am just so proud that he crossed the finish line! Next year, I fear he will kick my behind. ☺

The rest of the day was spent downtown eating cotton candy, cupcakes, snow cones, hot dogs, turkey legs, etc. etc. and playing all the fun games and collecting all the useless pieces of plastic prizes from the community games. It was beautiful weather (especially considering that the days before had been a freezing snow storm!) and everyone had a great time - including Gabe!



With such great weather, we decided to spend the better part of Sunday outside too.
What better way to do it than hike the new trails above town!
We packed up some water and made the 4.5 mile hike up and over the ridge above town. The boys were great (aka no whining) and so excited to be on a new adventure. The view was terrific and other than a brief encounter with a rattlesnake, the hike was uneventful but fun!

This weekend has not been as eventful (aka no pictures!) but it has been very relaxing all the same.
Weather is great... so I should probably try to get outside! until next time...