Author: pazmeyer

happy mornings

We had big plans to head out for a hike this morning, but we checked the outside temp and it was only 14 degrees. 14??? That’s way too cold for my girls to be hiking about in the snow. We had to quickly scrap our plans for the day and come up with a new game plan. Luckily you don’t have to venture far around here to find a great way to spend the day. We took the morning a bit slower and relaxed and then headed off to the Children’s Museum.

Good morning Gwyneth Grace and Brother Bear
Annabelle reads Goodnight Moon cover to cover for her sister

I found this shirt for Annabelle when we were wandering around town yesterday. This sums it up….

You gotta be kidding me with this! I know Stacy gave me some trouble being the oldest, but c’mon Annabelle. Really? Making Gwyneth put your shoes on you? Gwyneth happily does it too. Annabelle, you better watch out – only 1 year apart and 2 lbs. This could turn on you very quickly….

mountain adventures

We headed out bright and early for Leadville. B has shared many stories with me about his adventures there with his friend, Seth, when there were just young kids tearing up the slopes on their snowboards. All these years and I’ve never been so it was about time I saw it for myself. What a great little town. I love the history and it has a lot of charm. We found a guide book and had big plans to take the girls on the walking tour, but it started to snow so we couldn’t explore as much as we would have liked. I hope we’ll venture back and take the girls skiing/snowboarding at Ski Cooper.
We headed back to Breck and had lunch at Fiesta Jalisco.  The girls were wound up and full of sass….
Hey mommy, did you order a chicken burrito???
G goes nowhere without her shades on her head.
Such a silly girl
Not to be outdone….
After lunch the girls and I had a nap (lovely!) and then we headed out to take a bus ride. It really is the simple things in life. Annabelle wanted to ride a bus so we caught a shuttle and traveled around town. The girls loved watching the skiers board up at the end of their day and we headed into town for dinner. We’ve been going out for lunch and eating dinner at the condo but tonight we decided to go out again. We hit Rasta Pasta and it was just as good as we remembered. The girls scarfed down their pasta and were so good, so we hit the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory afterwards. They each got a chocolate covered pineapple for dessert. I asked if I could take their picture while they enjoyed their treat and Annabelle said “ok, but don’t forget the bear”, so here’s the girls and the bear….

easter shirts

Just when you thought I couldn’t get any more crafty….
I made Easter shirts for the girls. They were my first shot and although they are certainly not perfect they were fun to make and looked cute. I was sold on the orange bow – I thought it would really make the shirt fun, but it didn’t work. It drove them nuts. I bought some ladybug and bumble bee fabric and will try again without the bows.
Gwyneth is a fabulous model for my crafts.

sleigh ride

We signed up the very last sleigh ride of the season. It started at 7:00 and it was a 40 minute ride which is a bit late for our girls but we really wanted them to have the experience. Miss Gwyneth snuck in a quick nap before we left – but would not go to sleep before putting on her CO hoodie, her sunglasses, and snuggling with her daddy. 

waiting our turn for the sleigh ride
I could not get the girls to turn around for a picture. They were hooked on the horses.
Annabelle has a great memory – the next morning she told her dad “Doc (the horse on the right) tried to steal your hat – TWICE”.
Me and My GG. Our sleigh driver asked if she liked the horses and she said “neigh, neigh”. He liked that!
We snuggled in the back of the sleigh and covered up with lots of blankets. We couldn’t have asked for a better night. It was 50 degrees when we loaded up – although it got a bit cooler as the sun set, we stayed warm snuggled up together.
Gwyneth and I snuggled up for our ride
The ride was called “Hot Chocolate Sleigh Ride” and they delivered. Annabelle and her daddy each had a cup of hot chocolate (they even gave B a shot of Bailey’s!). Annabelle called hers coffee and loved it!

Gwyneth and I passed on the hot chocolate (it was a bit too messy for her and I’m not a huge fan), but Annabelle drank enough for all of us.

The sleigh ride was amazing! It’s the highlight of my trip. We had the most amazing views and it was the best experience with my family (even with Annabelle pointing out “the horsey pooped on the snow!!!” and Gwyneth screaming “Awe man!!!”). We’ll be doing this again next year.
We got back to the condo way past bedtimes and our girls were tired. There was no messing around getting pj’s on and getting to bed. Just peace and quiet….
The Little Sister
The Big Sister

burgers in breck

Back in Breck, we had lunch at Empire Burger. We have never been but we’ve done lots of “we’ve never been” on this trip. B and I are suckers for dips and they have about 20 different dipping sauces for their fries. Well, you can’t beat that! Our waiter was very kid-friendly! He recommended a Hawaiian micro-brew ale for me and B and mini hot fudge sundaes for dessert for the girls – he suggested this treat to keep them busy while we enjoyed our brews. It’s as if he’s known us our entire lives! We did have a nice lunch and beat all the skier  traffic. As we were leaving it got really busy. Great, great timing for us.
Gwyneth and her ice cream
“Please, paparazzi, may I have a break for lunch?”
After lunch we explored Main Street in Breck. We told the girls they could play at the playground before we realized the cleaning crew had used the play area to dump all the snow from the street and the walkways. Oops! That certainly didn’t stop our girls. They climbed right over the snow banks and played anyway.  I got a few looks at first, but then the other moms gave the ok, and other kids jumped right in the snowy slushy mess with us. 
Gwyneth is getting a lot more adventurous on this trip…
We strolled through town and checked out a few shops. I found this one intriguing, but thought about little hands and glass wine bottles and glasses and thought better than to venture in. We decided to just window shop instead.
A cute little kids shop in town had these swings that Miss Gwyneth really wanted to ride. She wasn’t heavy enough to hold the seat down, but with some help from daddy she had a good time!
Eating, Shopping, Playing…It’s enough to wear a girl out!

continental divide

B and I have been so eager to take the girls to the Continental Divide. We packed up the sleds and couldn’t wait to let the girls loose on the mountain. When we arrived – HOLY WIND!!  It was so cold and the wind was so strong sweet little Gwyneth couldn’t even stay on her feet. It literally swept her away! We had to hang on to her for dear life. She clung to her daddy and I carried Annabelle and they cried. Our day of sledding and hiking was not to be, but I did have to snap a picture before saving them from their misery…. (the things my family will do for the blog/picture albums!)
Gorgeous views from the Divide
When we got back in the car I asked the girls if they liked the divide and simultaneously they said “NO!!”. No need to sugar-coat it girls, you’ve made yourselves perfectly clear. We’ll save our return trip for the summer. 
Very happy to be back in the warm car…
It took GG a few minutes to get over it. I asked if she was mad at us and she gave us this look. B summed it up well, “oooh, she’s giving you a crusty look!”. 
That wind wore her out. She was asleep in 5 minutes…

breck adventures

After dinner we ventured down to the Breck tee-pee. What a fun adventure. It was so nice to let the girls just run around and explore. They were happy to have the freedom and we enjoyed watching them play. We cut through the neighboring resort, Grand Timber and the girls wanted to swing on the ski lift chair. They could have stayed there all night.  We have done so much in the mountains and each adventure seems to be better than the last. We are spoiled rotten! 
the Breck Tee-pee

they just can’t resist eating the snow
exploring in Breck
B  and his girls – does it get more precious than that?
“too high”! That’s the request to swing them higher…it’s a bit misleading.

Hanging on the patio

breck train

The girls were thrilled to ride the Breck train! We picked up the train at Main Street Station and got a nice little view of the slopes and Main Street. Our little Annabelle is quite independent and was happy to ride in a car all by herself. Gwyneth wasn’t quite ready for her own car, but certainly did not want to sit on her daddy’s lap. She wanted to sit in the car on her very own seat next to him. It was a really pretty trip and the girls even got to blow the train horn! 
Annabelle taking her turn blowing the horn.

Her very own car on the train

Gwyneth needs her own seat, but not too far from her daddy

south park

We decided to explore the REAL South Park, Colorado. It’s a restored 1880’s town – well, basically a restored street. Unfortunately for us they apparently didn’t have snow plows in the 1880’s so the little street was covered in snow and we couldn’t explore all too much. The girls thought the Mr Hankey Christmas Poo was weird and didn’t understand why I would want a picture of them in front of it. Yeah, I guess that is weird….
  

B and the girls.  The girls didn’t really appreciate this, but B and I found it a clever little side trip. Perhaps when they are older, much older, and they are allowed to watch that show they’ll get a kick out of the fact that we took them here….again, much much later….

banged up

Gwyneth fought the stool and the stool won.
She was running and tripped and went face first into the corner of the wood stool. She was screaming and it left quite a bruise. Luckily her Daddy acted fast and got her an ice pack and lots of hugs and kisses and she was feeling much better soon enough. 
She may end up with a bit of shiner, but thankfully she didn’t hit her eye on the stool.
Her daddy saves the day with an ice pack

The instigator. Such a bully.