Smart Cookie!

Last week, Mrs. Vasquez pulled me aside before class and told me that she has noticed how far advanced Mackenzie is and that she had spoken with one of the kindergarten teachers about her .They decided to send some kindergarten work home with Mackenzie to  keep her challenged. I was bursting with pride as I left school that day, so excited that someone had noticed Mack's abilities. I could hardly wait to raid her back pack when she got home to see the advanced work that was sent home with her. Inside her back pack were some reading work sheets, a few math pages and some sight reading books, all things the current kindergartners are working on. Just looking at them, I knew that Mack was already beyond that. She breezed through each thing and the next day we took it all back to school. Mrs. Vasquez wasn't surprised to hear that Mack already knew all the things she'd sent home and vowed to keep working with Mackenzie during class on sharpening her skills. For now, I am going to keep working through our work books, art projects and "field trips" at home as Mackenzie requests and we'll just follow her flow! I am so proud of Mackenzie and , even better, she is proud of herself! I am also so thankful for teachers who take the time to notice Mackenzie's natural intelligence and the hard work Mike and I have put into nourishing Mack's hungry mind.

86 years young!

We celebrated my grandpa Rose's 86th birthday over the weekend! We ate BBQ'd food, played on the play ground and my dad brought the horse out for ride! The weather was perfect and GG was even here to enjoy the day with us.

GG won't be left out of any adventure. This is actually pretty tame for her.

Mark noticed a little something on Mike's face. These two have a very
odd relationship..

GG!

GG is currently here visiting Colorado! We haven't seen her since January of 2011, before we moved from Michigan. To be sure to get in max amounts of time with her, we've barely been home all week and are so happy to be able to spend quality time with her. There will certainly be more stories of adventure and pictures to come as we spend the week with our GG!

Foggy day

We woke up to fog! Mack thought our morning walk in the clouds was so
much fun and kept trying to blow the clouds away!

10 years

 Mike and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this past weekend. I can't believe how quickly time goes. It seems like we should still be living in our shag carpeted apartment in Miami or crashing in somebody's basement while we find our way in life. Ten years ago, we were so young and I have a feeling there would be quite a few people who'd be surprised back then to know we'd make it to ten years. Our digital meeting, now common place, was so unconventional and you didn't meet the most wholesome of people on-line. I still feel like it was more than chance that we met that way and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't look over at my partner, my husband, my balance and realize how blessed I am. To the man who can make me laugh, infuriate me during " marital discussions" and then, hours later laugh on uncontrollably with me over said discussions- I am a better person today because of you .  Though ten years is a mere drop in the bucket of what I hope our marriage will be, it's ten years that I wouldn't trade for anything. Ten years, three cross country moves, 4.5 college degrees, two kids and countless cherished memories, I am still just as proud and honored to be your wife as I was on our wedding day.

Happy 5 months, Mason!

Mason won't technically be five months until next week but here is his monthly snap shot at nearly 22 weeks:

Mason's has turned into such a happy little baby! He is easy to laugh and loves to be entertained. He is a pretty nosey little guy, wanting to where every noise comes from. Though he still has some fits of crying at times, he likes to be out and about, any where there is action. He still loves his daily walks and being the center of his sister's attention. He can roll but isn't happy about it and must more prefers to be sitting up right so he can see what's going on. Just like his sister, he likes to be jostled and tickled. He now knows his name and when you say " ELLIIIEE!" or " Here, kitty kitty!" he looks to find the beckoned animal. He is getting better at using his sippy cup at dinner and has tasted carrots, peas, butternut squash as well as rice and oat cereal. It's hard to remember what life was like before our little boy was here. He is the perfect completion to our family!

Welcome, Fall!

Obligatory photo on the bridge

We spent the last day of summer having ice cream with my mom , dad and my sister and family. Today, we spend the first day of fall in Estes Park. Mike and I both said we are disappointed that we live so close, yet don't venture up very often. We all had so much fun , I think we will be going more often. Here are a few snaps from our day. I could have spent the whole day taking pictures! Looks like I might need to make a trip especially for that before the snow falls.

How every good day trip starts

There wasn't much by way of color just
yet but we did find a bit. The day was
gorgeous none the less

Mack was ready to go!

She did not want to take pictures but I managed a few

Tossing rocks in the water is all she really wanted to do

I'm not afraid to get my feet wet for a few pictures

Piggy Back ride for Macky

Proud Michigan fans. Mason had a great time, too!