train museum

So begins the summer fun of our bucket list!
My college roommate, Cindy, lives in Golden and has a sweet little three old named Renee. Gwyneth and I met up with them for an afternoon of fun at the Colorado Railroad Museum. The girls had fun exploring the trains, checking out the miniatures, and putting on a princess show for us….yes, they can even turn a train museum into a princess outing!  

Gwyneth was so excited to be the first to place a pin in the bucket.

It’s going to be  GOOD summer.

cousins in colorado

B’s cousin, Beth and her kiddos joined us for dinner and some playtime tonight. Her husband, Ben has been in Germany for several days so we wanted to give her a little break. The girls put the wagons to good use and “towed” each other around the backyard. They got really wound up and crazy, but were sound asleep before Beth and her gang even hit the highway. 

bucket list

We have a Bucket list for the summer. I won’t begin to take credit for this idea, but it was really fun to make. There are 100 clothes pins for the “100 days of summer”. It’s a bit ambitious, but I think we’ll be able to get them all done. The girls are very excited to get started and to drop those pins in the bucket. 

 Here are our 100 adventures this summer:
Dollar Store Shopping Spree, 16th Street, Annabelle’s Choice, Apple Orchard, Aquarium, Art Museum, Backyard Campout, Bake Cookies for a Friend, Beach, Bean Bag Toss, Boondocks, Botanic Gardens, Boulder, Boulder Dinner Theater, Bowling, Breckenridge, Bubbles, Build a Fort, Butterfly Pavilion, Candy Factory Tour, Casa Bonita, Cereal Necklaces, City Park, Cooking Party, Cookout, Daddy’s Choice, Dance Party, Date with Daddy, Date with Mommy, Donuts, Elitch’s, Estes Park, Farmers Market, Feed Ducks, Find a New Park, Fire Station, Fireworks, Flat Stanley, Garden of the Gods, Glow Sticks, Movie Night, Gwyneth’s Choice, Heritage Square, Hike, Hopscotch, Ice Cream for Dinner, Ice Cream Party, Icees, IMAX, Jumpin’ Jordy’s, Kentucky Derby Party, Kids Make Dinner, Library, Make Your Own Pizza,  Melt Crayons, Mommy’s Choice, Monkey Bizness, Nederlands, Paint Pottery, Paint Rocks, Pick Berries, Pickles on a Stick, Picnic, PIllow Fight, Pinata, Play Doh, Potato Stamps, Red Rocks, Road Trip, Rockies Game, Roller Skating, Sandbox, Scavenger Hunt, Science Museum, Sidewalk Chalk, Skype, Sleepover, Slip N Slide, Smores, Spa Day, Splash Park, Sprinklers, Strawberry Festival, Swim, Taste of Colorado, Tea Party, The Bay, Tiny Town, Tour Pepsi Center, Train Museum, Train Ride, Trampolines, Wagon Ride, Watch Airplanes, Water Fight, White Fence Farm, Wicked, Wildlife Experience, Wow Museum, Zoo

princess bubbles

Annabelle received a new Princess Bubble Tea Set. So Cute. The teapot holds bubbles and the teacups are used to blow the bubbles. Annabelle loved it. Shocking right? It’s pink. It blows bubbles. It’s princesses. What’s not for a little girl to love? 
It was a beautiful Colorado evening and we had a lovely time blowing bubbles on the patio.

Getting impatient for the wind to get her pinwheels spinning.

chicago-style

We spent our last night at Auntie Becky’s house. We ordered Chicago style pizza for dinner. Yum, yum, yum! The food in Chicago is the best. So good. 
We had a great visit. How lucky we are to be able to spend so much time with family. We’re looking forward to heading out again when the baby arrives. 
Auntie Becky doesn’t need toys – she makes doing laundry fun!

carmine’s

My trips to Chicago are usually so quick that I don’t get enough time to see friends. This time I was able to see my dear, dear friend Cathleen. The girls and I went over to her place and hung out for a bit. She had crayons and paper for them to play with and some books for them to read. They drew pictures for her to hang on her fridge and then we headed off to dinner. We had a fabulous Italian meal at Carmine’s. It really doesn’t get any better. 
We were sad to say goodbye to Cathleen and the girls gave big hugs and Gwyneth wasn’t shy about telling Cathleen how much we love her!
Cavatelli Arbiatta. You haven’t lived until you’ve had this meal. 
Enjoying some pasta e fagioli
Spaghetti and meatballs for the girls

cousins in chicago

After Becky’s shower, the cousins had a great time running around YaYa’s backyard. These girls absolutely adore each other. They love to play together. They get a bit wound up and crazy, but it’s really just because they are so happy to be together. I’m so glad that we all travel so much so they can see each other.
A few things I overheard and absolutely love….
“I LOVE GG! I LOVE GG! GG, I LOVE YOU!” – Eliana
“Auntie Stacy, can we please take Gabriela home?” – Gwyneth
“Can I please wear Annabelle’s clothes?” – Maeva (every single day!!)

These two could pass for sisters….which is rather funny since they don’t look like me and my sister. 

Annabelle loves “Candylions” as she calls these….

baby shower for becky

All the girls were together for Auntie Becky’s baby shower. It was a lovely shower hosted by my mom at Becky’s house. I’m glad we could be in Chicago to celebrate with her. She received lots of great gifts for baby and the nursery looks so cute. 
If anyone is keeping score, this is baby girl #7 in our family! We are very excited to meet this little girl. 
Before the shower I took Annabelle, Gwyneth, and Eliana to the park to get out a little energy. The girls had a blast swinging and Annabelle learned how to do “underdogs”. 
Time for Becky’s baby shower!

My girl loves icing

Lots of super cute girls in their matching dresses

This is my absolute favorite picture from the day! Miss Gwyneth is not a fan of the camera these days and Annabelle can’t get enough of it. I just love, love, love my girls.