Sum-sum-summertime!

Not much new is going on around here. We're trying to find ways to beat the summer heat...well, not so much the heat, but the humidity. We celebrated my good friend Glo's son's first birthday over the weekend. Wouldn't you know that BOTH of my cameras had dead batteries! Mackenzie had so much fun playing with the other kids there, even in the midst of all her teething.

Here are a few random pictures:

Dont' you think the pipe completes the outfit? This kiddie pool is so much fun! Mack likes to lay on her tummy and kick her feet. She tries to lay on her back but it's a bit too deep for that yet.

Wheee-eee! Swinging at Grammy's! There is a gorgeous pear tree just close enough that Mackenzie can touch it's leaves when you give her a good push. She says over and over " Hi tree! Hi leaves!"

Mackenzie and Duncan eating my herbs.

Mackenzie is wearing the dress that my mom made her before she was born! We love it..


Maybe in a few more months, she can kill that bad guy on Mario Brothers for me?!

Nikki and Taylor wanted more pics of me. This is the best I can do! I'm always the photographer so there are no pictures of me actually doing anything exciting! And of course, there's my ever present cold sore in the shot, too.
My mom surprised Mackenzie and me with round trip tickets to Colorado in Mid-September ( Mike won't be able to go since he's had to use up his paid time off when the patient census was low. ) . While I'm nervous about the two and half hour flight with a one and a half year old, I'm so excited to go and catch up with all my family and friends that I miss so much!

Fast forward 12 years.....

I sometimes catch Mackenzie doing things and my mind automatically flashes forward 10 or 12 years, imagining her doing those same things as a young adult. Admittedly, it probably won't as cute in 12 years but here are a few of those moments I've managed to catch on camera:

Opps!

We didn't notice that Mackenzie was "sweeping" near the TV until we heard her knocking on the LCD TV screen with the broom handle. This is what we got when we turned it on.
We learned two things today: 1) Mackenzie has a weird obsession with the broom 2) LCD screens are not child proof.

50lbs down!

I was so excited to step on the scale a few days ago and see that I have officially lost 50 lbs! While I'm a lot closer to my goal than I was 8 months ago, I still have about 12 lbs to go before I hit my first big goal. From there, I'll re-evaluate and see how much more I need to lose after that. This weight loss has been really hard but I have learned to take the challenge head on! When the weather warmed up, I traded in my gym membership for a pair of running shoes and hit the trail! I run between 4 and 5 miles each day ( running about 40 -50 minutes at a time) with strength training every other day and I LOVE it. Here are a few pictures of my favorite jogging trail:

Who would wanna be inside on a treadmill when you've got such a scenic trail?
Here is a before picture of me 50 lbs heavier ( there aren't many- I was pretty good at dodging the camera)
And this was taken a few days ago. Still lots of work to do but I am very proud of my progress. Sorry about the cheesy " self portrait" Mike wasn't home!


I have a doctor's appointment coming up on Friday and I can't wait to see how my blood levels have changed! I'll keep you posted.

A little dirt never hurt anyone

Mackenzie's been having a blast at Grammy's house! Mary has a really pretty yard with lots of different types of grasses and flowers to smell. Mackenzie and Mary's cat Fonzie had fun exploring together. Mackenzie found a puddle and all I can say is "Thank goodness for Oxyclean!" It got all of the stains out!

Fonzie thought he was well hidden...he was not.
Here's how Mackenzie looked for the ride home:
Dirty feet! She's sitting on the washer- I stripped her down right when we walked in the door to soak her clothes.

Poor Elmo

Best friends always take the beatings....

Thanks, Hansford family!

A few weeks ago we received a package in the mail from Auntie Nikki. In it were all of Taylor and Cole's old leapster books and leap pad- a " game system" geared for young toddlers. Taylor and Coley had graciously handed them down to Mackenzie! She sure does love it and drags it around with her off and on through out the day. Here's a short video of her playing with it. My favorite part is her imitating the Zebra!