The white mug

Happy Monday! Can you believe its the last day of February? I can't...so many great things happened during this short month and I am sure March is going to be lovely as well.


I am a mis-matched coffee cup kind of girl, meaning I do not have one full set of matching mugs. I love this white mug. Not because its simple and white like all my other matching dishware but because every time it makes it way to the front of the cupboard for me to pour my morning coffee or tea in, I get to think about someone who holds such a big part of our hearts.

This person shared our home with us for about two years...this became her "unspoken for" mug. Every morning I would make coffee and know that as soon as she came up that would be the cup she would choose. Over time it was just hers. There were many conversations over our morning coffee; tears, laughter, boy talk and political talk. You name it we talked about it.


So when I saw it was the mug in line for use today it made me smile and miss Ang. 

Germ warfare

I have had strep throat twice in the past month...more than I have had it in the past ten years. Annoyed is an understatement. Everyone told me that once Mason started school he/we would be sick and I guess its like having a new baby, everyone tells you get ready to have no sleep BUT until you are in the trenches do you realize what "they" mean.

My quick List of Complaints:

1. General Doctors are over booked and can not see sick patients on a whim, annoying!

2.  Being really sick with a sick kid is double annoying and one of those "pull yourself up by the boot straps kind of things."

3. When will I learn to listen to my body and stop going full force when I start to feel sick?

4. When my husband doesn't ever get sick and tells me "its all in your head, you just have to tell your white blood cells to fight and they will." Really? I love you but sometimes I don't like you.

5. When will I start to listen to my mother? She knows me so well and told me as soon as I started to sound like a smoker that I should get a strep culture. Momma really does know best.

6. Boogers and Diarrhea! Sorry to gross you out but days of this from your baby not only makes you sad for them but also equals lots of laundry and baths.

So this is how we spent our weekend! There are a few things odd about this picture. Mason is laying still. Mason's P-J's don't match, that means Matt dressed him.

The Blessings (you always have to count them):

1.A husband who leaves work early (he never does this) to take our sick child to the doctor and picks up dinner and flowers for his wife.

2. A cancellation at the doctor so I could get my throat culture and thus antibiotics.

3. Sleep.NyQuil.

4. The fact we live in a country that we can get medical help for a simple virus even if its not convenient.

5.Appreciation that most of the time we feel healthy. I know there are families and people dealing with chronic illness and they should be the ones venting not me. 

Mason is still feeling so-so and I guess we are adapting to the new "normal" of constant sniffles.

He doesn't seem to skip a beat for very long, kids are darn resilient.

And one more blessing, Grandma Bert's Christmas Cactus of 30 years bloomed again, you can call me Polly Positive if you want!

Life is a zoo

As Paul Simon once sang "Someone told me its all happening at the zoo."

The spring like weather has allowed us to use our zoo membership quite a bit. The lizard is not real, please don't tell Mason. The Yellow match box car in his hand is now an official part of the cheetah exhibit. Lesson learned about letting Mason bring a toy into the zoo....he threw it in there and than freaked out when I obviously could not retrieve it. He is still talking about it and tells most strangers about his lost "Yellow Ambulance."

A Tuesday morning in February is a great time to go to the Denver Zoo, small crowds and the lots of animals around ever corner. This of course is my favorite animal who is currently in a "Chase me" stage. It drives me bonkers and I can see why people use those leash things...I haven't bought one...YET!

The lions are awesome on quiet days, their calls are amazing and Mason enjoys mimicking them. I play the Momma lion and he is the baby lion, appropriate roles I would say. 

My little lion would like to ride the carousel one hundred and one times and the baby train I barely fit in...I have started to stay on the other side of the zoo because I like to avoid the tantrums that ensue when "Thomas" blares it's train horn calling all toddlers to melt until their parents agree to ride it.

The zoo has so much to see and here are a few of our current favorites.These adorable little dik diks.

I would like to own one.

and the crazy haired African Crane who pecks at your face on the other side of the plexi glass.

And of course the magnificent giraffe.

The day Kathryn met me at the zoo we got to witness some giraffe porn!

One guy with all those ladies, can you blame him?

Our favorite part of going to the zoo recently was seeing this beautiful baby girl dressed in her zoo attire (baby giraffe). She warms your heart in ways you can not imagine.

As I pulled up to the zoo to meet Kathryn and Thea, I kept thinking how cool it is when your girlfriends become Moms. If you would have told me ten years ago we would be doing this on a Tuesday afternoon, I would have laughed. Not these career driven independent women....but that is the beautiful thing about growing up, I now realize we can be those women and be Moms. Maybe you really can have it all?

Love you beautiful girls! And love seeing one of my dearest friends being a Mom!

February...you are a fickle month!

 Oh February, you are such a peaceful and quiet month...when our two year old is sleeping!

Really you are a mixed bag of a month just like this post.

 When the weather is nice, we love to get outside and enjoy mother nature's hibernation and when its freezing, we do out best to not let cabin fever set in.

Matt and I decided to test out Mason's hiking limits one Sunday. We received A Hiking with Kids in Colorado book for Christmas so we choose a close hike....Lair O' the Bear.

Its a nice trail along Bear Creek

 that loops with minimal elevation gain, about a 1.5 mile.

Mason made it about half way before wanting to be carried for a while. 

We didn't bring the pack. His main concern for most of the hike was where our car was. When we reached the "Summit" we could see the car below which gave him peace of mind to finish the hike. He cracks me up!

We will keep working on his endurance but I think the pack will be a necessity for a bit longer.

On one of our frigid days we headed over to G and G's for our weekly get together. Mason dressed Grandpa in scarves.

and used his toddler decorating skills to give GG's living room a makeover.

 I do not allow this but I am quieted by Grandma and Grandpa over and over again "Will you relax, he is just a toddler and this is what they do, he isn't harming anything."  I do however make him pick it up with my assistance, makes me feel like I am an ok parent.

Four of our favorite Valentines! The red was planned. Grandma calls me with the funniest request, I seriously love that lady!

We also ventured out one Saturday evening for our niece Lauren's basketball game. Mason adores his cousin's Luke, Lauren and Ellie and Ellie is such a little mother for 7. She wears him out and we appreciate that. Mason only tried to bolt onto the court a few times before he figured out that he isn't part of their team.

My pictures of Lauren playing ball were really fuzzy but it was so fun to watch her play. She is such a quiet beautiful soul of an 11 year old but put her on a basketball court and her inner defensive player comes out. Matt and I were laughing so hard because she reminded us of Matt SUPER COMPETITIVE! I also must say girls basketball is hilarious...I played and I remember how catty it was. To see this age group elbowing and hair pulling had all of us chuckling.

And of course February brings Valentine's day, not my favorite holiday but more fun this year because of Mason's interest.

One cabin fever ridden day I made some Valentine's Decorations. What? Mason isn't the only one who gets to color, cut, and paste. A little asymmetrical and non-uniform...

Matt and I were invited to our neighbors this past Saturday for a Valentine's Dinner so Ang. and Jason came over to hang with the lil' man. He was in heaven and we got to have adult interaction. Its funny because our neighbors our in their late 50's and we were by far the youngest people there by 15 years BUT we had such a good time. And the best part is when you have a few too many glasses of red wine you only have to walk next door and crawl into bed. Love our lovely neighbors! Love my husband, love our son and love our family. Guess all you really need is love...cheesy I know!

Fireman Mason's outing with Aunt Ang.

On one of our weekly outings, Aunt Angela was able to join us.

 We took Mason to the Denver Children's Museum.

We told him about the real life fire truck that would be there and he knew no other footwear would do than his fireman boots!

He could hardly contain his composure when we walked inside. Ang helped him get suited up.

 He kept saying "Mason a firefighter."

Waiting our turn to drive.

once he got in the driver seat we had a hard time getting him out.

Angela showing him how to work the sirens. We are still talking about this outing and obsessed would be an understatement about his love of firetrucks.

We somehow convinced him that there were other cool things to see in the museum, bribery my friends is a great parenting tool:)

We headed upstairs to the bug life/wilderness exhibit. They have ant costumes you can put on and crawl through the tunnels but Mason's heart belongs to the firefighting attire.

He does, however, enjoy hoarding. He took all the stuffed animals and acorns from the exhibit and stockpiled them. Man we need to give this kid a sibling.

Such a fun day with Aunt Angela

He even made us lunch.

Thanks Ang for spending time with us, your the bestest!

Giddy Up Cowboy

I have been feeling nostalgic lately. Maybe its because we went to stock show or all those candy hearts I have been eating or maybe its the fact we have been stuck in the house. Regardless, I needed a segway into this post about our recent outing to the Stock show. Seeing all those animals, especially the horses brings back some of my best childhood memories. I love horses and some day will own one again (I know my husband is saying "do you know how much they cost to feed and maintain?")

So this post is a little past and present, ye haw!

Yup this is me on my first horse "Tuffy Bear." I am Mason's age. Tuffy was a buckskin and a gentle giant. Except one time he "bucked" me off and a stick went about 2-inches into my leg, still have the scar. My dad made me get back on after I was cleaned up. Good thing because that could have been the end of horses for me.

When I was 8 I found him dead in our corrals on Easter. Its a long story but the short of it is he was shot by someone doing target practice around my parents house. I had a lot of nightmares about it as a kid but my mom forcing me into piano lessons at the time really healed me:)

Pack trips were a part of my growing up as well. Buns of steel has nothing on sitting in a saddle for eight hours, trust me. Cowgirls don't complain...got it!

Look at this hot mama, my mama! This was her first horse Stormy.

And Cade he was quite the little cowboy, I can see some of Mason in this picture.

First off WOW can you tell its the 80's? Anyways, this is my dad's horse Rogue. Lots of stories with this guy, he was a part of our lives for 16 years until lightning got the better of him:( A retired race horse, my Dad got him when he was just 3 and not many other people could handle his power quite like my dad. The mare is Abby, we breed her and had a foaled a baby horse called a foal. Complex I know but really an amazing experience.

This is my horse Duke, the horse after Tuffy Bear that I had all the way to college. He was awesome and gentle and smooth. No tragic death here, just time. Love ya big guy! We had a lot of great horses and I thank my folks for teaching me the work and love that goes with caring for them.

Matt doesn't believe me but I can saddle a horse, pick their hooves, and tie a mean knot..and throwing hale bales, forget about it!

Stock show is a big event in Denver for three weeks in January and we decided it was time for Mason to get his first dose.  My godparents Linda and Gary joined us as well.

Mason loved it because he got to share it with two of his favorites.

My city boy husband even got in on the action.

A real Llama...so soft!

and afterwards you hit up the hand sani. They did not have these when I was a kid but hey we use to have candy cigarettes. Not only is my husband a city boy he is a clean and anti-germ city boy. Really I am just teasing him, he loves the outdoors, I wouldn't have married him but he has not been around livestock much. Its weird because Matt was built to be a cowboy (bow-legs) but he refuses to wear Wranglers. Its a shame, a darn shame.

The tractors were the highlight of the adventure. Not only for Mason but for all the guys. If only I had $47,000 laying around I would buy this tractor just so they could move dirt around my parents house.

watching the steer competition. No rodeo this year, Mason does not have the attention span for that.

And the whole group.

Fun day of animals and fair food.

In a couple more years Mason will be doing the Muttin Bustin, we began training recently.

Happy Trails!