Buffalo Bill Days

 We had so much fun a few weeks ago in Golden during the Buffalo Bill Days festival. My mom grew up in Golden so it's always fun to go there with her and listen to her stories. The day was cooler and cloudy which was perfect for us!

First up- breakfast at Pepper Jack's.

Gram's got Mack a really neat geode that they cut open
right in front of us! It was a surprise for all of use to see
the sparkly white insides.

Kenzie got to ride the mini-ferris wheel as well as
travel through the obstacle course and bounce in the
blow up pirate ship.

And of course, cotton candy!

Hanging at the rivers edge

Mason had fun getting out at the river bank, too

Mx4

Little Miss on the porch of an old school house

Mason had the ladies eating out of his hand.

We ended the day with a quick bite to eat at a local coffee shop/cafe before heading home.

15months

Mr. Mason is 15 months! He had his check up and, to none of our surprise, Mason had lost weight. Between his 12 month visit and his 15 month visit, he teethed three molars and some canines on top of the fact that he is a very, very busy kid. Add to that his new found walking skills and it's easy to see why the scale went in the wrong direction- from 22lbs to 21.9 lbs. Thankfully Mason is actually a great eater so the doctor wasn't worried. We'll recheck him again a his 18 month visit. He was not at all happy about the shots, throwing  a crusty at the nurse who gave them as we left. He recovered quickly and is back to himself.

Mason is such a little chatterbox. He's always got something to say or is humming to himself as he wanders around the house. He's mastered the ups and downs of the stairs and is pretty quick on his feet. Typically boys vocabulary matures more slowly than girls but that hasn't been the case with our little mimic . He's picked up works very quickly and uses them frequently.

A bit of sibling rivalry has crept up. Before now, Mason wasn't really impinging much on Mackenzie's territory. Now that he is mobile and more curious, there are often battles over my lap and toys. Thankfully, my lap is big enough to hold two babies but sometimes those babies just don't wanna share. I reworked our routine a little bit which made even more room for some special mommy/Mackenzie time after her quiet time, while Mason is still asleep. This is also a great time for activities that aren't so "Mason Friendly" ( those that really attract his attention and usually result in a project of Mackenzie's being manhandled) . That seems to alleviate things greatly  although , that fact is that Mason just wants to be near his sister, a fact that Mack doesn't always find flattering. Despite the bit of trouble, Mack is still the first to hug her little brother when he's hurt and is still very protective over him. Growing up right in the middle with four siblings, I understand just how each of them feels

He sure loves her!

I've got a question! and other tidbits

Mackenzie's ever hungry mind is always producing questions. So many, that we were forgetting them before we had a chance to research them. Enter the " I've got a question" jar! Mack jots down her question and puts it in the jar. After rest time each day, we pick one to research. It's been a learning experience for us all:

Question jar

Why don't fish have ears? We now know that they do!
Just not outer ears , like people do.

Mack and I colored another ocean scene!

Mr. Cool

Mack's homemade beach

Never a dull moment here....

Mason KNOWS when he is being funny. If he comes across a
hat, pair of glasses or shoes, he puts them on and then looks at
every person in the room, waiting for a laugh.

Seashells

Mack's new favorite book is all about seashells and this prompted her to re-visit all the sea shell treasures brought to her from the grandmas on their trips to the coasts. She spent a lot of time peering at them through her magnifying glass and separating them out by type. At the end, she made a pretty seashell flower!

Picinic in the park

Grams was in a pretty scary accident a few weeks ago, wherein she was
rear ended by a car going about 60 mph. Despite some lingering effects, she
walked away  with out major injury. Her truck was totaled and we were
all pretty excited to take a ride in her new ride.

Mason faces forward in the new ride!

We drove to the park for a picnic and some play!

Weee!

Racing down the hill

And a dip in the lake!

"Daddy's working at the hotel"

Mike was asked to help roll out the paperless charting system at a University of Colorado hospital in Fort Collins . This meant that he'd be provided a hotel room for the 8 days that he'd be helping with the roll out. We missed him, so we went up to have dinner with him half way through the job. Mack wasn't quite sure about this but she told several people that " Daddy's working at the hotel, now!" . She was extra excited that she could bring her swim suit and play in the pool with Daddy at his new " work" .

Checking things out.

Jump!

Halfway through, Mike had two days off at home before heading back
up to Fo Co. Can you tell they missed him?

Daddy ( and his shoes!) are home.

Ellie found a new place to relax.

Mornings with Mx2

Things will soon be changing. With the start of full day kindergarten on the horizon, we will have to tweak and adhere to a new morning routine. For now ( and when we are actually home)we enjoy our lazy summer mornings and here's how it looks in pictures.

Mason usually wakes first, around 7 am. If he isn't too hungry,
he cuddles. If he is hungry, my smiley greetings are met with a
request for " Gilk! Gilk! Gilk!" and the requests continue until
he has a sippy of milk in his pudgy little hands.

Today Mason wasn't super hungry so he wanted
to play a bit before breakfast.

Morning books

Trying to dress Mason is like wrangling a cat into a tuxedo.

Morning, Macky! She's gotten herself dressed and is ready for the
day.

Time to make breakfast! I'm glad for my helper.

Someone isn't so patient.

Eggs are ready! Everyone is happy.

Mommy juice

Macky does her chores after eating breakfast.

Time to go upstairs to brush teeth! Mason chants " Go! Go! Go"
all the way up.

Mackenzie making her bed.

Mason likes to " help"

Brush!

Always time to check out the flowers after everyone is dressed .

Mason picks his first flower :)

Off we go on a walk, stopping at the park!

And a bit of TV before lunch. Mason has discovered
Elmo!

Mack in her favorite chair.

Everyone is hungry! Mackenzie plays while I fix lunch!

Again, Mr. Not so Patient

Yum! Once lunch is gobbled up, It's nap for Mason
and rest time for Macky before the afternoon picks up! That's a
story for another day.

Here are a few " bonus" pics that didn't have a home but are too cute not to share:

A boy and his dog, watching the action at the golf course.

Play time at Chick-fil-A. Mack, Mason and I had to hang out extra long at
the play place since it was pouring down rain.