Torn

 Since Mason has become mobile, I often find myself torn . When I happen upon something he is doing or has done , do I first stop the action or do I take a picture. The answer, when the question was posed to other photographers and mothers, was unanimously  " PICTURE! "   I try to not encourage such behaviors that I wouldn't want continued but if I can sneak a picture, unnoticed, I consider this to be acceptable!

This is what happens when Mason is left to his own devices for 30 seconds ( or less)

Batter up!

Mike took Mackenzie to their first professional baseball game this month. The Colorado Rockies hosted a game for the University of Colorado Hospital employees . Tickets were discounted and there was a special presentation ( and fireworks show for those who could make it that long- Mackenzie was ready to go before the end of the game).  Of course, any event that has massive amounts of cotton candy is good in our book! The two both had a great time . We hope to all four go next summer!

11 years

 Mike and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this past weekend!  Mike arranged for us to see an exhibit that positioned exact replicas of Michelangelo and DaVinci side by side. Here's an excerpt from the website:

"The exhibition is on loan from the Museum of Leonardo DaVinci in Florence, Italy, and contains over 60 hand-crafted exhibits, half of which are interactive, all made by 3rd generation craftsmen. Each exhibit is a replica built from Leonardo's 500 year old designs. The exhibition is grouped into four themes: war machines, flying machines, nautical and hydraulic machines and mechanics. The interactive machines are a popular aspect of each exhibition as visitors can touch and handle these models to gain a first-hand appreciation of how they work. Explanatory notes and illustrative panels, with Leonardo's drawings from his codices, accompany each exhibit."

Mike experimenting with one of the "touchable"
exhibits

Though it's not original, it is a certified replica which was
pretty neat to see.

I am wearing the button necklace Mackenzie made me for our
anniversary.

We headed over to Yard for dinner before walking the 16th street
mall of downtown Denver.

Mornings with Mason

I still miss Mackenzie when she's at school but it's been really pleasant to spend the mornings with Mason and do the things I loved doing with Mack when she was this age. Though Mason doesn't enjoy all the same things she did, we have found lots of fun activities to fill the mornings when we are home.

Making circles with the bingo dotters

And a little play dough

Check out that bedhead! The condition of the hair in the morning
is an indicator of how the night went.

We brought our water table in on a cold morning and filled it with
warm soapy water.

All ready for lunch!

Mase and Mommy

Swinging at the park ! Although the park isn't quiet as fun with out Sister.

James is coming!

 Becky asked if I'd watch James while she and Reuben  went to dinner to celebrate their anniversary and I gladly accepted. Mack and James are in separate classes and don't get to spend much time together and I knew she'd be over the moon.  What I didn't foresee was how over the moon MASON would be to have James over for the evening! He even had trouble going to sleep and when I went in to check on him he could only say " Jays. JAYS. SIISTOW ". He knew he was missing out on a party!

Soon enough little man, soon enough.

Look at him go!

Reaaach!

This picture just speaks volumes of Mack's personality.

A taste of home for Nikki

Remember having our hair eaten by goats, Nik?

Mason is a chick magnet

Off they go!

Get it, Brooklyn!

Kaleb is quite perplexed by Mason. Mason, on the other hand,
is quite curious of Kaleb.

Off they go!

And shoes laces? They like shoe laces, too.

Not a good trip outside if you don't come in with chicken feathers
glued to your shoe with poop.

Moo! I LOVE this cow. She's got the pretties eyes.

Silly goat!

Bat boy!

This jacket is super , duper cute! The fangs and ears are adorable but the wings that can't be seen in this pic make it almost intolerable! 

Slithery, slimy , creepy or crawly

The rain has brought out all the creepy crawly creatures . Every day , Mack has captured some odd group of insect ,worm or toad! She spends several hours cooing to her friends about how sweet or smart they are before it's time to release them back to the wild. I try not to intervene but I did step in to rescue the caterpillar that survived much handling and an accidental dunking in Macks milk at breakfast .

Scenes from the yard

 Glimpses around our yard through the brand new lens Mike got me for our anniversary! ( He's as bad as I am about waiting to give gifts! )

Triple pics Tuesday

Another session of swim started this week. Mack's new instructor
is really great with kids and Mack learned so much in just once lesson! It
helps that there is only one other girl in this class with her and the instructor , who is
in her mid 70's , is very patient.

It's too bad s he can't relax

There is nothing that melts my heart more....

Mess maker, mess maker , make me a mess!

Can you spy the little boy in the midst of this mess of treasures?
Mason doesn't know how to play any other way!

We're free!

 Once the storms cleared away, Mx4 headed to Denver for an afternoon at the zoo! Mason was especially excited because the zoo was empty enough ( since it was just two hours to closing) that he could walk instead of being stuck in the stroller:

Coming at the end of the day, the animals seem fairly docile

Every child must climb these hippos every visit

The free roaming peacocks have never met a boy like Mase

The wild kitten in her natural habitat

Who's impressing who?

CO Flood 2013

It's been plastered all over the news for five days now, the effects of a perfect storm that settled over Colorado and pounded it, day after day , with rain, " Rain of biblical proportions"  as the National Weather Service said in it's alert.  And rain it did. The rain covered the majority of a state that was in the middle of a severe drought. The clouds opened up and spilled out twice the amount of rain our dry, desert state gets in the better part of two average years.

Day one of the flood. This is three miles from our house.

Nature showed us just what it can do with water. Devestation followed. Roads were split in two, a new river running between it, leaving no entrance -or exit-- for many cities in our beloved state. With no way in , or out, of a land only begining to heal from the ravaging effects of fire, the constant threat of land slides stranded entire cities with no food, no water and no way to connect with those on the outside.

A friend sent me this picture from about 20 minutes away.

In Fort Lupton, 20 minutes east of Boulder, one of the hardest hit areas, we'd grown accustomed to seeing our section of the South Platte river at a mere trickle of what it once was. Now, the water rushed passed it's embankments and onto the highway. It covered fields of nearly grown, ready to harvest crops. It flooded basements, houses, yards , gardens of anything with in it's reach. Five days and 11 inches of rain later, the clouds cleared and the sunshine poured onto the rain soaked land. Just as quickly as the floods poured, they receded leaving behind the most lush green Colorado country side I ever remember seeing.  Though the rains have stopped, the flood waters continue to rush towards north eastern Colorado. Please pray for the families left in the path of this disaster and those who remain in danger. The effects of this storm are long lasting and wide spread

, projected to take six months to a year to repair.

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but Mack ended up
on a pantsless worm hunt amidst the rain. You're only five once!

Mason watching his sister's worm search from the warm house

A slight silver lining- The rain brought out the slugs!

He's a cute lil fella. But he does look like a booger.