South Dakota-Montana-Wyoming

Well as most of you know I have this crazy idea to take the kids to all the states in the US by the time they are twenty one so you know what that means...we have to do some road trips! So we loaded up the car and we were down the road through the beautiful hills of Wyoming to South Dakota. What an amazing place, we loved Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, cave tours, alpine slides and zip lines. We did everything that we could do in Rapid City, Sturgis and Deadwood. Then it was off to Montana and Little Bighorn's battlefield, otherwise known as Custer's battlefield. Some great sites to see there as well but the world's largest shoe, size 32, takes the cake. Our last stop was Devil's Tower, Wyoming. There is nothing better than seeing the spot where aliens arrived and took our people. Okay that may have been in a movie, but it sure was a cool place to see. The Cheyenne Frontier Days was going on so we stopped in and heard Kid Rocks sound check and picked up a pink cowboy hat for Samantha. Needless to say the time went by way to fast, it was way too hot, but most of all it was the best family time we have had in a long time. Everyone was laughing and just happy to be together and we saw some great stuff!

Kenny Chesney

For the last couple years Jack has been bugging us about going to a concert and we have always told him they are too loud and he has to be older. So when Kenny Chesney decided to come to Denver and it was at Red Rocks, an outdoor venue, we knew we had to make it happen for him. Chris went on the hunt to get tickets, which was tough because his first show sold out in seconds so they added two other shows and thankfully he found some! We did not tell Jack about the tickets, we just told him we were having a special night with him. We sent Samantha over to Mimi and Pa's for the night and away we went. As we pulled in to the parking lot of Red Rocks Jack said, "Isn't this the place where all the concerts are?" Once he looked around the secret was no more and the biggest smile came over his face. He could not believe we brought him to Kenny Chesney. It was an amazing night with a lot of rain, but it was well worth it to watch him be in awe and sing along to every song. Kenny closed the night with the song "The Boys of Fall" Jack's favorite song about football. It was such a great night and a moment we will remember forever!

T-BALL

Samantha is finally old enough to be like her brother. For some time now she has asked when she can baseball like the boys. Well the time has come and she has loved it! She is playing on her first t-ball team with her cousin Brody. They both look so cute in their Texas orange jerseys and have really seemed to catch on to the game quickly. Samantha is a lefty but she bats right handed. Once she learned what she was suppose to do she was off hitting the ball and fielding her grounders. It has been a lot of fun watching these two be like their big brothers :0)

Last Day of School

It feels like this school year just flew by! Here we are in the beginning of July and Jack is no longer a third grader and Samantha is moving on to kindergarten. This was a fun and great year for both the kids. Samantha finished up last week and Jack still had another week. The week was filled with cleaning up and throwing things out, but most of all lots of fun. On the last day of school the kids had a pizza party and games outside with their friends. They enjoyed their last story time with Ms. Coulter and Jack enjoyed hanging out with some of his friends, but most of all "The Crew." The crew is Jack's closest friends and he is most happiest when with them. Another school year down and ready for some fun in the sun of summer!

Memorial Day Tournament

For Memorial Day we loaded up the car and drove to Fort Collins for Jack's baseball tournament. The weather was nice and held out for us and the kids played some great baseball. The first day we played two games and won one 17-8 and the other 16-3. We moved on to Sunday and won both of those games 15-4 and 18-10. The kids went into Monday on a high note being the only team to not have a loss. They played three games on Monday with the first game winning 12-6 and then the second game 11-9. There we were the only undefeated team and playing in the championship game. The boys were tired because it was the third game in a row and the seventh in three days, but they came out in the first inning and scored seven runs. Everything was going our way and then we had that one bad inning and that's all it took and we ended up losing the game in extra innings by one run. The boys were devastated, but they have a lot to be proud of. They played hard and they were the BEST team in the tournament of fifteen teams. They got some nice hardware and we are so proud of the Hammers!

Pre-K Graduation

Well the time has come for our baby to move on to....elementary school and she couldn't be more excited! Samantha finished Pre-K this week and though she will miss Ms. Peg and Ms. Brooke, she cannot wait to go to kindergarten like the "big" kids. The celebration was full of games and fun parachute time and ended with a video and certificate. Its hard to believe "our baby" is no longer a baby anymore. The time has gone by so quickly for her and soon we will be sending her off to kindergarten. We are very proud of you Samantha!

Jack's First Communion

What an amazing day! Its hard to believe our little man is now so grown up. Today he took his first communion and throughout the entire process he has been so focused and proud of what he was doing. Jack was nervous during the rehearsal the night before, but on the actual day he was calm as can be. Chris and I were so very proud of him to see what an amazing young boy he has turned into. To believe that he is nine and has so much wisdom and faith already. It was great to have both his Godfather, Brian, and his Godmother, Kim, there with him. It was truly a wonderful day and we are so blessed to have such an incredible son!