The Tooth Fairy Visits Oliver

On our first night in Yellowstone, Oliver bit into a s'more, paused and said "I just heard something pop."  That pop happened to be his bottom tooth shaking loose.

Each day, he showed us how it wiggled.  Each day we thought that we had weeks before it would come out, based on its wiggle rate.  The next week, I got this photo from Kristi when she picked Oliver and Owen up from Science Camp. (Yes, our boys went to science camp and they loved it.  They are handsome AND smart!)

Then... she raised the Mommy bar and took her two boys and our one boy to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate the missing tooth.

Since the Daddy's were out of town on business, us Mommy's met for dinner with our boys.  Oliver told us the story about how he bit into his sandwich and his tooth came out.  The Science Camp teacher helped him wrap his tooth us safely and the securely put it in his back pack.  We took this photo to send to Daddy.

Once at home, the real photo shoot began.

Oliver was SO proud of his toothy grin.  He had been waiting YEARS for this.  Yes, YEARS, plural.  However, he also knows that the longer it takes for his teeth to fall out, the healthier his adult teeth will be.  At the rate he is going, he'll have the healthiest teeth around.

Close up and ... UGH... let out from Mommy when she saw his mug shot this close up.  Someone needs to take a bath after that spaghetti dinner and ice cream.

It's crazy how small the tooth looked on the outside world.

It's crazy how dirty and long Oliver's finger nails were, but I took and posted the photo anyway.

After a shower, Oliver was ready to pose for some more toothless photos.  I love how he presses his tongue in the tooth hole, just because it feels cool.

SO HAPPY!!!!

Fist Pumps of Happiness!

Clean and trimmed, he shows off the tooth one more time before preparing it for the tooth fairy pillow.

He was most intrigued by the bloody side, so we had to take a photo of that too.  (BOYS!!!)

I bought this pillow years (yes, years) ago at an art/craft holiday sale.  I liked the colors and thought that Oliver would too along with the trains.  As an added bonus, it had a tooth pocket.  Finally, the time had come that we could put that pocket to use.

There it goes, into the pocket.

The deed has been done and Oliver is ready for the arrival of the tooth fairy.

After a great night of sleep, Oliver was SO excited to see that the tooth fairy had visited.

Word on the street was that Owen had received $5 for the first tooth since it was such a big deal.  Mommy was shocked at how much inflation had occurred since she was excited to receive a quarter for a lost tooth.  Since the tooth fairy knows that kids compare notes, we were confident that she would have just as good of treatment for Oliver as she did for Owen.

The next morning, Oliver was SO excited to receive $5 for his tooth.  Mommy explained that he must be very special since that was so much more than she got as a kid.  He agreed that he must be special since Owen only got $2, one for each tooth that he had lost.  (insert shock and realization that when you're six, money conversations may take on different forms.)  Mommy then explained to Oliver that the tooth fairy was probably feeling very generous since he had to wait so long to loose his first tooth.

Oliver put his $5 on the counter to show Daddy when he got home and then promptly put it in his piggy bank.

It's official... we have entered the toothless grin zone, just in time for the first grade.

Cowboy Days of Summer

Nothing screams summer in Golden like the annual Buffalo Bill Days parade.

It's a great time to dust off your cowboy hat and head on downtown for some good 'ol family fun.

We had prime shady seats in front of Ace Hi.

Jennie and I couldn't wait for the parade to begin.

From afar, Oliver may have been pretending that he couldn't' see me, but I could see him!

The kids were lined up and ready for the show to being.

Is the parade starting yet?

Finally, the American Flag was in sight and our kids stood at attention.

We always love a good parade, especially when they do twists and turns right in front of us.

Nothing speaks "Fun Parade" like an Oscar Meyer Wiener Clown Car.

We keep it real here in Golden with biking in its original state.

My personal favorite part of the parade must be the bag pipes.

The candy was slung, the shades came out, whew it was a fun and hot summer day.

A few Primrose buds getting ready for first grade to start soon.

Oliver, Owen and Juliana

If anyone knows how to relax, it must be Kellan.

That afternoon, the Heinemans swiped Oliver for a play date while the rest of us came home for some R&R of our own.  Kellan requested a movie in the playroom and when Keith went to check on him, he found him snuggled up with the lion.

Seriously, this kid is an expert at R&R and some serious lion snuggles.  

Lingering in the Fun

Every now and then, we get out without the kids and enjoy the company of adults in a great new place.

Dinner was SO great, that we even topped it off with THREE desserts!

What's in the bag?  Well piping hot donuts, of course.

Linger may not be new to some, but it was a first for many in our crowd.

What was once a mortuary is now a fine dining establishment.  Take off the O for a bit o' Linger.

There was an awesome double rainbow this now, which was not captured in the photo as well as my super handsome husband and I.

When you don't get out much, it doesn't take much to excite you, like stationary rental bikes.

Giddy-up Girl Friends, we're going for a ride!

We had SUCH a great time.

Thanks for a fantastic night out friends!

We clearly need to do this more often.

12 Day Road Trip: Day 12: The End of the Road

Day 12 - The end is here.

We were up early, loaded up the car, took quick showers (yes, I required a campground with a shower for the family before our long drive home) and headed toward Jackson, WY in search of breakfast.  Two hours later, we found a small deli with breakfast burritos and sandwiches.  It was perfect.

Six hours after we departed our campsite, we hit Rock Springs, WY.  At this time, when the golden arches were all that we could see for a quick lunch, we realized that we hadn't eaten at McDonald's once this trip.  On Day 0, we feared that McDonald's may be a staple for the driving days, but we had managed to avoid it.  As a special treat to our backseat angels, we treated them to every kids dream, the golden arches.

Yes, we fed our kids McDonald's and they watched copious amounts of DVD's.  It's the last day of the road trip and they had been saints.  They earned every single bit of these guilty pleasures.

While the boys rested easy in the backseat, Daddy scraped off a few of the Wyoming bugs.

Even Mommy took part in some guilty pleasure.  Really, there is nothing like a Coke from McDonalds.  They do have that going for them.

Plus, the cup said "Relax. Take time for yourself."

Who was I to argue?

Keith scrubbed on.

We had a fantastic vacation and we truly enjoyed every minute of it.  It was a vacation like no other, for us.  Typically, we jump on a flight to get to where we're going, vacation for a few days and then head home to jump back into the work and school routine.  This time, it was so enjoyable to spend so much great time with our Ham Fam as well as our extended family along the way.

Plus, another family member hit a very momentous mark in her life.  The BMW rolled 100,000 miles.  We LOVE driving this car.  We continually discuss how we would like something with a bit more room for additional passengers, but there really is nothing like the Ultimate Driving Machine.

Besides, she's been good to us for so many miles.

Our 12 Day Road Trip ended with 12 hours in the car.

It was a LONG day, but we made it home safe, sound and day dreaming of our tempur pedic.

We loved spending so much quality time together.  Like all vacations, we really came together as a family and tightened the bonds that we have.  Annual vacations with just the Ham Fam is a high priority for us.  At home, we are constantly busy with work, school, friends and fun.  We love it, but we love our time as a Ham Fam too.  This years vacation was a bit different as it was sprinkled with many other people in between, but we had plenty of Ham Fam time to meet our needs as well.  

Until next year... where oh where will the Ham Fam go?