Yo ho!

Samantha had a joint birthday party for Brock and Malachi and Mack had a blast! It was pirate themed and Jenny had Mack shouting " Yo ho! " randomly through out the day. This was Mack first birthday party with so many other kids and games.

First time with a pinata! Samantha doesn't look very afraid but notice how far back she's standing:
She did pin the patch perfectly on the pirate but it worked in her favor that the blindfold only covered 3/4 of her eyes:
Party favors!!

Exploring new territory

Mack loved the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum so before we left Michigan, we searched the web for new places to explore once we got to Colodo. One of the first places we wanted to try was the Denver Children's museum. Last week, Mike took Mack on a date there and the two of them had a great time. Despite spending more than half the day there, they still didn't make it to the lower level! This is where memberships come in handy.

Making smoke filled bubbles. The bubble section was a favorite:


Here's Mack pretending to be a vet! This museum is similar to others where nothing is off limits. If something is there, it's meant to be played with:


After lunch and playing on the playground ( located at the museum) Mike took Mack to the train shop where they both picked up their monthly train magazines:

Next up is the zoo and the butterfly pavilion! Onward with summer!

Turtle power! - An exciting afternoon

Ever since Mike found this little turtle on the side of the road, I've had the theme song from the old cartoon " Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles" stuck in my head! Now is it stuck in yours? You're welcome!

Mack was tired when Mike got home and she wasn't quite sure what to think but she eventually touched him and got a closer look at him before Mike set him free out side.Like it or not, the critters just keep coming!

Just prior to the turtle's entrance, Mack received a package at the front door from Grammy! It was jam packed full of fun things for the Fourth of July ( for the whole family) and also an Ikea flower night light we've been eying for quite some time. After opening the box, Mack was wearing a new shirt, covered in stickers and couldn't decide which new book to read.

We really miss Grammy and talk about her often. We look forward to a little time with her at Aunt Andie and Uncle Andy's wedding this Sept:

Thank you, Grammy!

Pucker up!

Mike and I had a double date with Clay and Katja. We had a great time together and plan to do it again soon. As the date ended, Aunt Katja handed me a little bag of "treats" for Mack. In it was this tiny lip gloss and when she opened it, you'd think she had won the lotto. Since she loved it so much, the gloss was gone by the end of the day. Not only that, she has carried the empty tube around for weeks and pretends to reapply her gloss every so often. Great find, Austin Family!

Brian and Annie

We've made a couple of trips to Fort Morgan ( about an hour north of here) to visit with one of my best friends, Annie. You can see why Mackenzie loves her almost as much as I do. The two of them found ten worms in that little spot:
Mike is very interested in joining in on the hunting world and Brian is an avid hunter so the two of them had lots to chat about:

Annie's step daughter, Makenzie ( Kizzie) , has been waiting for quite sometime to meet " baby Mackenzie" It's been such a long wait that "Baby Mackenzie" isn't a baby anymore. The two of them are kindred spirits- both love to get dirty and are chatter boxes. They played together very well. Here they are playing " Ring around the Nose" game together- or at least that's how it started out. They're quite a cute pair, aren't they?

To make Fort Morgan an even more appealing destination, Brian and Annie have two hunting dogs, Chip and Abby. Here's a pic of Abby keeping cool:

Why?

Mackenzie has reached that special phase where every statement any one makes is quickly met with " Why?" . I actually love this stage because it's the marking of an inquisitive brain. I spend my days talking more than Mack does ( hard to do) because I am always answering her questions. And while I consider myself to be of average intelligence, usually the fifth " why" removed from the original question leaves me stumped and my only response is " I don't know." Mack is never satisfied with this answer and my " I don't know" is met with it " No, Mommy. Don't say I don't know. Tell me WHY!" Did I mention how bossy my three year old can sometimes be?

Today at 7 am , she wanted to know the inner- workings of the fax machine. Suffice it to say (and despite my best explanations), neither one of us really knows why the fax machine works.

My Flower girl

One of my best and oldest friends got married last night and Mack and I were both honored to be in the wedding. It was an evening wedding which took place right at Mack's usual bed time. Despite a few hiccups ( the biggest occurring just before heading down aisle), we both had a lot of fun!

Cass rode to the wedding with Mack and me. Here she is lookin' like a movie star:


Mack and her date, Malachi:

Doesn't everyone cry at weddings?


Mack loved these Petunias. I think she smelled nearly all of them:

This was such a gorgeous setting, I could have spent DAYS photographing in all the different gardens:

Mackenzie entertaining herself:


Mackenzie and Jocelyn, the other flower girl ( two years old) had so much fun together.

Mackenzie was a little party animal at the reception! She "danced" ( or mimicked an epileptic episode, not sure which) the entire time. She is already looking forward to her next wedding commitment in Sept. :