Wedding Extravaganza, Part Deux

Uncle Kirty and Auntie Julie tied the knot last Friday. Once again, Mommy and Macey played the parts of bridesmaid and ring bearer, respectively.

Thursday night marked the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner -- and also the only time the WHOLE family was together. Dr. Auntie Meg's residency graduation coincided with Kirt and Julie's big day, so we took time to take a family picture (the Bean is even prominently visible!)



Friday was wedding day. After a relaxing morning of family time -- we took Mason to see Up! at the movie theater Mommy frequented as a teenager (weird!) -- followed by a nap, it was time to head to the church.

Mason was utterly mesmerized when he saw his Auntie Julie before the wedding. As Grammy said, he looked like one of those cartoon characters with stars in their eyes and just said "She's so beautiful." And who could argue!!?!?!



After refueling with some chocolate milk behind the scenes, it was time for the big game ... er, moment.



Mason showed off his professional ring-bearing skills, by practically dragging his counterpart, Evan, down the aisle. He was pretty anxious to get to Uncle Kirty, who had a surprise waiting at the alter -- a new car, which he then used to drive over Mommy's tummy as Julie came marching down the aisle.



After the I-Dos were said and the licensed was signed, it was time to party and party Mason did ...



With his uncles...



With Aunt Patty, who he drug onto the dance floor...



And of course, with his Auntie Julie...




And Uncle Kirty...



Congrats to them both! All of our pictures are here, and here's the photographer's official pics.

The Great Outdoors

There was a time not so long ago when our little Mason man was afraid of the grass...poor little city kid! Not so anymore. We made sure to take advantage of Grammy and Papa's yard when we were in Colorado!

Running in the sprinklers...



Bouncing around the backyard...



Catching bugs... (though, he initially called this little ol' earthworm a snake!)



Enjoying the waterfall...



Playing with his guys at the picnic table, where we also spent many a lunch, dinner and breakfast time...

The Cool Pool

Mason is undoubtedly a water lover, so we spent a couple of afternoons at the recreation center near Grammy and Papa's house chilling in the pool and this was no ordinary pool.

For starters, the water was warm and it started at a depth of 0 feet, 0 inches, and reached a grand total of 3 feet, 6 inches. It had three separate play areas -- one with geysers, one with a little spouts flowing through some pipes and the piece de resistance: a jungle gym/slide right smack in the middle of the action. Mason LOVED climbing the stairs and going down the slide right into the water. Mommy loved relaxing comfortably nearby and watching his joy without worrying about him getting in over his head.



There was also a BIG slide and on our second trip, Grammy came along for the ride so she could take him down said slide. While they both enjoyed their one trip down, Grammy was a little freaked out! Mason was all ready to go again, but Grammy was scared to death she would lose her grip on the little guy and decided not to tempt fate!



Mason kept asking why we didn't have a "cool pool" like this at our house and it will definitely be in our rotation of things to do next time we head home!

A Rockies VIP

Uncle Clint and Auntie Meg treated Mommy and Mason to our second Rockies game of this trip last Saturday night and boy did we have a great time.

After indulging in a little pre-game buffet in the "Coors Clubhouse" (Mason had a bite of hot dog and two brownies, Mommy and the Bean ate considerably more!) we headed out to find our seats. Not a bad view from the front-row, eh?



We snapped a few shots before the game began and then settled in for the action.







Mason was very happy to make a new friend -- with Dinger, the Rockies' mascot, who we'd been reading about since our arrival in Colorado. His first encounter was a high-five through the netting separating us from the field.



His second a picture perfect pose.



His third, the highlight of the evening -- though we were all pretty happy with the win in the bottom of the ninth inning, you don't see this every day.



Mason, as you can see, was sporting his rally cap throughout much of the game and he was certain that it was the reason for the come-from-behind victory. In fact, it's now Monday, and he's still sporting the rally cap. He won't let us turn it right-side out for nothin'!



Did I mention that this is a great age to take a kid to the ballgame? Mason was so into the game and what was going on, as well as parroting whatever we told him to say to the batters. He shouted plenty of "Let's go, Tu-Lo!" and "Swing, batta batta, swing!" It was pretty cute -- as was he, apparently, cute enough to make an appearance on the JumboTron and to be seen by Papa on the local broadcast of the game.



All in all, Mason got all he wanted out of the game: a meeting with Dinger, witnessing a Rockies home run and especially, a Rockies win!

Great Grandparents

Mason got to chill with Great Grandma and Grandpa Woodman at over dinner at Grammy and Papa's house tonight. I always treasure the time he's able to spend with them!

When in Rome...

Since we've been in the Mile High City for the entirety of the Western Conference finals (shown here at a more toddler-friendly hour of 7 p.m.!), Mason has gotten quite into the Nuggets run. Naturally, he had to gear up for last night's (disappointing) Game 5 with a new T-shirt and hat...



Here's hoping for better luck tomorrow.

Check Me Out

We took a trip to Murdoch's today to properly outfit the Mason-man in western attire. It actually started out as a trip for new cowboy boots, as his are getting too small, but turned into a whole new outfit...and a toy to boot!

Grammy, Uncle Kenneth, Aunt Patty and Mommy had way too much fun outfitting Mason in the middle of the store.

Then, we just set him right up on the counter and let the sales clerk scan him from head to toe.

May Flowers

Grammy's favorite day of the year is the day she gets to plant all her annuals, and luckily Mason and I were there to partake in the activity this year.

We got up early Saturday morning to prep the soil.



Then, it was off to the garden center, where Macey helped Grammy pick out all the flowers she needed to fill her deck boxes and planters as well as finding a couple of nice hanging baskets. He was particularly fond of the deer-resistant varieties of plants, despite the fact that Grammy and Papa don't have a deer problem in their backyard.

After we had all our flowers back at Grammy's house, Mason helped Grammy cart all the plants into the backyard with his wagon.



Then we got to work. Mommy and Grammy filled up the planters, and Mason watered them in.





When we were all done...we watered Mason down. He was particularly dirty, but it was lots of fun and here are the smiles to prove it.

Wedding Extravaganza, Pt. I

Macey and Mommy have been in Colorado for a full week now, and between the wedding-weekend madness, the jet lag, getting adjusted to life in the 'burbs and the remote home office, Mommy hasn't a lot of time to post!

Uncle Clint and Auntie Meg got hitched last Saturday and are off enjoying their Mexican honeymoon now.

The wedding weekend began with a trip to see the Rockies play the Astros at Coors Field. Despite Mason's best efforts -- and rally cap -- the home team did not pick up the win. We did, however, have lots of fun and Mommy got some cool sun burn lines in the four inches between the bottom of her shorts and the top of her knees.

Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner before the big day rolled around Saturday. Mason looked pretty dapper in his tux upon arriving at the church, which was in downtown Denver. There was only one slight problem, though: He arrived with one shoe missing! Papa trekked back toward the car and found it lying in the middle of the street. It was rescued and the show went on without a hitch, as Mason escorted one of Clint and Meg's nieces, Caroline, down the aisle.

Once Clint and Meg sealed the deal with a kiss, we all got ready to party. In my humble, and totally unbiased opinion, Mason stole the show (as much as he could with a beautiful, happy couple taking center stage!). Check out his dance moves:



Sweet Caroline was in honor of, well, sweet Caroline, who was pretty sure Clint was really her boyfriend and not Meg's! All the nieces and nephews had a great time dancing. We could barely get Mason off the dance floor. He didn't want dinner. He didn't want cake. Finally, it was a Capri Sun that did the trick, but then he was back out there again.



As the night wore on, he got a little tuckered out.



Then, he finally crashed on an antique sofa in the room just over from where the party was a roarin'.



As a finale, here are the official Mercier family portraits from the evening, the before and after, if you will...



For anyone interested in the entirety of the weekend's action, check out our Snapfish Album.

Colorado, Week 1

Aside from the wedding excitement, here's what we've been up to since arriving in Colorado last week ...

Helping Papa plant a tree (after all, the yard had to look nice for the rehearsal dinner, no?)



Reading lots of stories, especially with Great Grandma, who should have a Ph.D. in reading to children by now, because she loves it so much! This particular book was one that belonged to Mommy and her brother's and sister when we were little, and I can distinctly remember her reading the exact same book to me on many occasions.



And finally, getting in some time with Mason's cousins, Asani and Eli. Dad-O was pretty much in heaven hanging out with his three favorite little men.







Mason also got to spend some time with his Grandma Alize, who lives near Asani and Eli, and with his Grandpa Robert, who had flown in for a day to see Asani's last football game.

Thawing Out

Mason and Mommy were lucky enough to make yet another visit to Colorado to close out 2007. We landed in a snow storm, waited for at least an hour to find our luggage and were on our way to Grammy and Papa's house.

What did we find there? 18 inches of snow. A house full of Aunts and Uncles and yet another stack of presents for Mason to open.

We spent our long weekend doing a lot of relaxing. A lot of eating and working out Mason's brand new snow suit:

On the sledding hill...



While building a snow man...

While Papa pulled him around on the sled...including helping him *get air* by flying off the retaining wall in the front yard, making Mommy very nervous...

Tackling Uncle Clint...

And being plopped in the snow banks...

As you can tell, he loved the snow. We all got cold and wanted to go inside, but he was toasty and warm and hard to coax in. He helped Papa shovel the snow, then Papa sent him in the front door, only to watch him toddle straight for the back door and back into the elements.