"Mommy, Mommy! Please can I go look around, please?"

"Yes, but be care-"

My mom had no time to finish her sentence; I was already off exploring the framework of what would become my new home. Five years old and currently living in Acres Green with my parents and 1-month-old brother, my life had been full of excitement lately with the addition of a baby to our family and the seemingly endless hours of packing all our belongings into gigantic cardboard boxes.

I remember making frequent trips over to the construction site, and watching as the workers slowly transformed piles of boards and nails, drywall and truckloads of cement into a house. It was our job to make it a home once they were gone. I remember climbing around the beams of golden wood, and the smell of sawdust as I tiptoed around in what would be my parents' master bathroom. I remember looking in awe and wonder at the wide open space behind our house, watching the antelope play and hardly believing that soon I could watch them whenever I wanted. I remember thinking how enormous our new house was, and eagerly anticipating a new room that I would never have to share with a little brother.

We moved into our finished home in September of 1993, when my brother Tyler was 7 months old. It was the perfect neighborhood for us -- I quickly found playmates in the surrounding homes. Lindsey and Brittany lived on either side of me, and Ellen was only a few houses up the street. Brittany had a little brother about Tyler's age, and the two of them played together as they grew older. Lindsey's older brother Brent and Ellen's older brother James were also about the same age, three to four years older than us girls. I remember times when we all went exploring out in the open space behind our homes-it was always an adventure; we never knew exactly where we would go or what we would see until it happened. One time the boys went fishing through the construction dumpsters for discarded valuables, and a few of us profited -- Lindsey ended up with a framed Disney poster, and I with a little white cart to organize my dolls in.

Fast forward 13 years ... many of the homes along our street have housed different families throughout the years, but some of the original families are still here. All three of my early friends are still around, along with some others who moved in later. We don't see each other as much anymore because of our busy lives, but we still chat every now and then. My mom occasionally goes walking with Lindsey's mom, and my dad loves to discuss the latest sports news with Lindsey's dad or the couple across the street. There aren't many 13-year-old boys here for Tyler to explore with, but he has a few friends across the open space that he likes to hang out with. One of the boys and he are on the same basketball and baseball teams, so it makes for easy carpooling.

As for me, I love living here and I'm going to miss it when I leave for college in the fall. I've realized more and more over the past few months how much I love this neighborhood ... the location as much as the people. We are only five minutes from the nearest library, church, hospital, post office, gas station, grocery stores and restaurants, and Park Meadows Mall is about a seven-minute drive. Yet we have plenty of open space behind us, so we don't feel closed in ... I can't imagine living with a house right on the other side of my back fence. Instead, we enjoy open land -- thanks to Big Dry Creek running between us and the houses across the way. The creek doesn't usually have more than a small stream, except in springtime between rain and the melting snow, so I don't think there's any danger of it ever flooding. However, it means contractors can't build any more in this immediate area because of the flood plain, so I'm happy.

There is a lot less open land here now than when we first moved in....unfortunately, all the development has driven the antelope herds away. It's been a few years since I last saw one behind our house. The prairie dogs and coyotes have stuck it out though, and don't let us forget it. Whenever I take a walk "out back," I can count on the prairie dogs to let me know that I better not get too close to their mounds or else -- they're not as threatening as they try to appear though; they always turn tail and run back into the ground if anyone dares to come closer than ten feet! We don't see the coyotes too much; there are only a few of them left. The main way to know they're still around is to listen for their howling in the middle of the night -- they often give pretty good concerts. I'm going to miss their barking and yipping at the moon or whatever it is they sing to as I fall asleep, and the sound of the nearby power plant humming steadily and quietly in the stillness of the night, and waking up to the different birds that sing every morning.

Now that I'm preparing to leave, I realize that I truly have the best of both worlds -- anything we could possibly need is within 10 minutes, and downtown Denver is about half an hour's drive. At the same time, we have open prairie in our backyard and half an hour of hiking will take you to the real ranches of Highlands Ranch, with all their horses and livestock. One of my favorite spots to spend time is at the summit of a path behind our neighborhood. It's only a 10 to 15 minute walk from my front door, yet when I am up there I feel as if I'm on top of the world. All the houses are down below me, and I can see for miles in almost every direction -- the view makes for spectacular sunsets. On a clear day with my binoculars, I can see Total Tower at Six Flags Elitch Gardens, and in the evening I can make out the lights of Bandimere Speedway --both about 20 miles away as the crow flies. I have loved living in Highlands Ranch, and will savor the next two months more than ever.

I'm not sure what the town will be like 25 years from now, but I am afraid that all the beautiful wildlife and open space that make Highlands Ranch unique will fade if too many more buildings and housing developments are added. I think it is perfect as it is.

In an ideal world, I would live in a neighborhood like mine my whole life. Unfortunately, not every kid gets to grow up the way I have and reality is that 10 or so years from now, my kids probably won't grow up this way either. At least I have the memories and experiences to share with them from my time in beautiful Highlands Ranch.