This and that

Mase and his lunch during 1st grade parents lunch

Mackenzie at 1st grade parent lunch

A long over due haircut happened and it's nearly time again!

Stories to tell!

Brooklyn is always the most popular girl with our two

Mustache nails for Mack and Brooky

Daddy snuggles

Morning " coffee" date with Mase followed by an after school date with Mack.

We have a Girl Scout!

Here's something that never  always happens...Mase gets a goose egg.

One busy fall day

 The kids and I made the most of Mackenzie's Thanksgiving break , filling the first day of vacation up to the tippy top.

Making cookies!

Team work mixing

Waiting is hard

Ellie is never far to help clean up any spills...

Mackenzie spent all morning outside collecting fallen sticks from the Willow tree. She strategically arranged them to make a " tree house" that she thought could with stand the Colorado wind. Do you know that that tree fort is still standing? It's housed birds and squirrels who've stopped in for a snack and anyone else who has wandered through our yard.

Mason and his telescope.

We even had a quest for dinner!

Beautiful snow

Mason refused his jacket and opted for his sisters sweater. This is his take on the cold.

Fall family photos

" It's out!"

 That tooth that Mack has been wiggling for well over a year...It's out! 

It was NOT an easy job. And , ultimately, it required a bit of unsolicited help .

" Get OUT you darn tooth!"

We bought this little box in Ann Arbor a few years ago and Mack has waited a long time to have a tooth to put in it.

The tooth fairy was generous for this first tooth. She left behind a glittery five dollar bill folded into a ring. Pretty fancy!
I am totally loving Mack's toothless grin. It seems like not so long ago, that very tooth was the first to poke it's pearly white edges from her naked gums.

A scare

 Last week, my dad stayed home sick from work. This is strange in and of itself. He has worked 6 days a week as long as I can remember and I can't remember many times that he missed a day.  Turns out, what he thought was something he ate was actually vertigo, a common ailment that, in this case, is attributable to age. Though I knew of vertigo , my dealings had only been in the care of kids. Admittedly, I was scared as they wheeled him off, his hands over his face and tears in his eyes, for an MRI to be sure he hadn't suffered a stroke.  Seeing my dad in this way was really an eye opener for me. We all think of him as bullet-proof, the " mind over matter" type. When he couldn't make it out to feed his animals, it shook all of us. Thankfully, we all pulled together and took care of things as he took it easy, missing four days of work.

The photo above draws such emotion for me. The contrast of seeing him in a hospital , his ID bracelet in view as he laces up his work boots. None of it fits together. And it still rattles me a bit.

Dad was on ativan for a few days which made him pretty mellow/loopy . I received several invites to Face Time with him. He'd talk for a minute then fall asleep mid-sentence. Though I hated him being sick, it was, at times a bit funny.  Thankfully, he is feeling much better and back to carrying a full load.

Simply beautiful

Mason found this Monarch butterfly lying in the grass of the back yard. She wasn't very lively as it was clear she was in her last days, not making the migration south with the younger butterflies. I love the contrast of Mason's dirty hands and the butterfly's delicate wings.

Mackenzie wanted to take her to Gram's so Gram's would have a real life butterfly to model a painting after.