A very special gift

Mike's best friend, Andrew ( Andy) is marrying Andrea ( Andie). They are both Captains in the military , stationed in Colorado Springs. While we were bummed to miss Andy, we were ecstatic to get to see Andie ( are you following all of this? )

We met her in Manitou Springs, right near Colorado Springs. She treated us to a fantastic lunch. My salad was so pretty I had to take a picture of it:
She is so thoughtful. She even brought Mackenzie the essentials: chocolate and princess crayons as well as an envelop and paper to send a note to Uncle Andy in Iraq ( she even found a mail box to send it off right away!)
An extra special treat was getting to follow Andie back to Denver for a sneak preview of her wedding gown! Just before we left, she gave Mackenzie a very special gift:

We had a great day with Andie and we can't wait to see her again.

"Rummy in the deck!"

My mom, sisters and I all had so much fun together. With Nicole now living in Arizona, the time we get together, rare as it may be, is crammed full of laughter , inside jokes and just plain nonsense.

Nikki and Carley battling it out in a good old fashioned thumb war:
Nikki and I wearing mom and dad's glasses:
Mom had to get in on the fun, too:

I think we all agree that the best time was spent playing rummy ( hence the name of the post). My mom taught us how to play that game when we were kids and it was fun to re-ignite the old tradition. It's only fair to report that Carley was the rummy champion of 2010.

Girls just wanna have fun!

Grams can play like the best of them! A quick snap shot of Mack and my mom playing together at the park.

Butterfly Chameleon

We spent one afternoon at the butterfly pavilion ( butterfly " chameleon" in Mackenzien) . Despite our bright clothes, the butterflies didn't have much interest in us. Mackenzie {almost} held a tarantula but decided against it at the last second.

Chores

A farmers work is never done. You can imagine how grateful my dad is to have Mackenzie's " help". Here are a few pictures of them hard at work:

Harvesting some funky gourds:

Off they go:


Feeding Chester:

" Here you go, sweet lil chickens"
Time for dinner, cow!

There is even time for a little fun:
Papa pays in trampoline jumps and kisses:
The end of a late summer day in Colorado:

Making up for lost time

A year is a long time to be apart. Here are a few pictures of Mackenzie catching up with her family. And there's more to come! Auntie Nikki comes in TONIGHT!

Grams and Mack looking at pictures of butterflies:
Papa and Mack talking to Buddy the puppy through the window.Kaleb

Brooklyn

The kids having so much fun on the trampoline. We sure do ,miss Taylor and Coley, though.

Mufasa ( Moofie)

Auntie Carley

First things first

After a long trip, there are a few things every traveler needs to do first upon arrival.

Quench:

Cleanse:


Satisfy:
Grams told Mack she had a treat for her and asked her what she thought it might be. Mackenzie thought for a second before she answered very certainly " Chocolate." She was, of course, right.