You're HIRED!

Not me- Mack! Her new job? Assistant to the produce manager. She gets paid .25$ every half hour (with a half hour max per mommy regulations) . She uses her quarter to buy " treats" from quarter machines at Safeway as they leave the store.



We were headed to a picnic at my parents church and when we stopped by to pick Gram's up to go, she hadn't finished her work just yet. Mackenzie to the rescue!

Mack had a great time at the picnic with her cousins. They jumped in the bounce house, rolled down the hill, checked out old cars, played picnic games and were appropriately worn out for the ride home. I count that as a good time!

The Greeley Stampede

In Colorado, fair season is a big deal. Each county, no matter how big or small, has their own fair complete with animals, rodeos, concerts, food and carnivals. The fair has always had a special spot for me because we went to the fairs every summer growing up. The Greeley Stampeded isn't technically a fair but it sort of kicks off fair season. I was feeling antsy to introduce Mack to the fairs so we invited Brian and Annie to check it out. Brian was busy but Annie was happy to come along.

Check out that smile as she whirled by on the QuadRacer. It's like those .50$ rides you see at the grocery store on steroids-
Going through the obstacle course with Mike :
Checking her ducky to see what she won:
See! Mack shares her toys well ( although this one comes complete with a squeak function that was less than appealing on the 30 minute drive home). Annie's day was complete when she tasted her first deep fried pickle. Lets just say she was less than impressed:
Mack dancing to the live music. She only danced long enough for me to snap this picture before she said she didn't wanna dance " until they played the right song"

Confetti days

I happened upon the website of a really great music class ( part of Kindermusik) called " A Child's song". Each " semester" the class is centered around a different theme and the kids learn about music through this theme. This semester's theme is " Confetti days". It's learning about music rhythms through a circus theme. The teacher ( Ms. Jenny) is excellent and I am amazed by how much the kids take away from every class.

The class is a true music class- the precursor to music lessons. Once the kids turn five, they can pick an instrument they want to learn about and off they go! So this class readys the kids for that. So far Mack has learned the definiation for all the ways we can sing or play instruments ( presto, largo, piano, forte, etc) and about quarter notes and half notes. Mackenzie is one of the younger kids in the class ( it's range is 3-5 yrs) but she keeps right up with the other kids and they all have a blast!

Along with music education, the kids explore their emotions and how to express them as they sing along with the CD ( each child is given a copy of the CD to keep at home, too) .

Mackenzie loves this class and ,even though there isn't play ground equipment to play on before and after class like her other music class, Ms. Jenny still gets a freshly picked Marigold from Gram's garden before each class. And since Mack does miss the play part of class, we head to a park near by after class to get our run and jump on! Here's Mack sitting next to the duck pond watching the ducks play:

Father's day 2011

Father's day was extra special this year . Clay , along with his family, and my grandpa and Margaret came over to celebrate with us. Mike had to work this day but sure felt the love when he came upstairs to a house full of people waiting to see him! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

Four generations of Rose men all standing still, a rare sight indeed ( and if each generation gets taller, Cameron's in trouble!):
Carley and Mark brought their four wheeler out for the day. Here are Carley and Mack watching the boys play (although Carley does her fair share of playing on the four wheeler, too!):
Dad did most of the cooking for the day. He made his infamous " Junk yard chili"- a favorite family recipe from way back "in the day" when the guys used to take long hunting trips in the mountains. Dad would make the chili by the gallons and Clay hadn't had it for a long time:
Since Mike had to work, we saved his presents for the following day. Here he is reading and listening to the recordable book Mack picked out for him:
Mike is far more than I ever could have dreamed of. He's the best father for Mackenzie and the best husband for me. I can never say how much he means to us. He is always putting himself last for the good of his family and those around him. Here's a picture of him ( and his cute little assistant) checking up on my dad who had been complaining of an ear ache.

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!