Author: pazmeyer

royal gorge


What in the world was I thinking??? I’m terrified of heights! Ok, Gorgeous! Amazing Views! Toooooo High! The girls are very independent these days and don’t want to ride in strollers or hold hands. They want to run, run, run everywhere. Needless to say I was a mess. Logically I knew they were not going to fall in the gorge, but I just could not relax. There’s a skycoaster which is essentially a ridiculous bungee jump ride over the gorge (who would do that????). Annabelle saw it and said “I want to swing”. She really wanted to go. Good for her if she grows up to enjoy those kinds of things, but that is something I never EVER want to see her do.

Taking the Aerial Tramway across the Gorge. 2000 feet above the ground. Don’t look down!
I was crazy worked up about the heights, but I know B really wanted to do this. He kept saying Thank you and asking if I was ok. I sucked it up and even smiled for the pictures. I do feel good for overcoming my fears and taking the girls to see such an amazing sight. As B pointed out, it may be a while before we head to the Grand Canyon though.
Annabelle and her daddy loved the views, while Gwyneth seemed a bit more freaked out. I think my anxiety rubbed off on her.
Truly amazing views
our girls are so lucky to grow up in such a beautiful part of the country
After the tram ride, we rode the Incline Railway which heads straight down to the bottom of the Gorge. The girls thought it was a train and were very excited. It took about 5 minutes down, we spent 10 minutes at the bottom and then 5 minutes back up.

Arkansas River

B and the girls

Riding the rails!
After a quick lunch we took the back way up to Breckenridge. It’s a beautiful drive and you don’t have to mess with the traffic on I-70.  It’s about a 2 hour drive and after playing all morning at the Royal Gorge, the girls both took much needed naps. We settled in to the condo at Breck and the girls spent the rest of the evening playing with their baby dolls.

air force academy

We spent the afternoon at the Air Force Academy. I had never been, but B had when he was a kid and he was looking forward to taking us. It’s a gorgeous campus. The girls were a bit wound up, but we walked through the visitor center, checked out the chapel, and the girls ran around the airplane displays.
Annabelle waiting patiently for Gwyneth, her daddy and me to catch up!
Amazing views on our short hike to the chapel
This may be my favorite picture of Gwyneth ever.
The Chapel – my cousin, Ashley was recently married here. Gorgeous! (we didn’t make the wedding because it was on Annabelle’s birthday)
Gwyneth and her daddy walking through the chapel.
Notice Gwyneth’s hands … she sat right down and folded her hands to pray.
off to see the airplanes
wait for me guys…
taking a load off
We had dinner at Five Guys – Burgers and Fries, which reminded us very much of In & Out Burger. They have locations in Denver, but not up by us. Annabelle ate fries, which she never does, and Gwyneth flirted with the guy calling out the food orders. After our very busy day, and NO naps, it was nice to eat somewhere quick and loud. The girls were so good that we even stopped at Baskin Robbins for a treat. Everyone got a tiny scoop of ice cream and when their daddy was finished with his he tried to steal theirs. Annabelle didn’t seem to care, but Gwyneth was not having it. “Back off my Rainbow Sherbert, Daddy!” (she didn’t say it, but that’s the look she gave him)
We had more fun planned for the next day so we decided to just stay down in the Springs. We got a suite and the girls went right to sleep in the bedroom. It was perfect! B and I were able to relax in the sitting area and watch a movie and not have to worry about disturbing them. The only way to go!

garden of the gods

My girls always seem to surprise me. I suppose it’s a lesson in life about never being type-cast (if life was a movie!)…. I fully expected Annabelle to cling to us and Gwyneth to go off exploring at Garden of the Gods. Quite the opposite. Annabelle wanted to “climb the mountain” (those are her words!). She was amazing! Well, let’s be honest, my girlie girl struggled at first, but I told her “Annabelle, its ok to get your hands dirty” and soon she was liberated! She climbed and could have climbed all day. Gwyneth stayed close to either me or her daddy and most of the time wanted to be carried. I blame it on those stupid crocs the girls love so much. Not good climbing shoes, but GG really wanted to wear them. She always wants to wear them. Thankfully summer is almost here and sandals weather is approaching.
One of my favorite memories from high school is when my good gal pal, Diane came out to visit and we went to explore the Garden of the Gods and had lunch in Mantiou Springs. I loved it and I wanted my girls to see it. Maybe next time she can join us??? (hint, hint – if you’re reading Double D!)
Here are the highlights:
Annabelle and her mountain.  “I want to climb that!” Makes a daddy proud!
“C’mon let’s raise this rock, girls!”
Annabelle loved it! Gwyneth started to get the “too high” shakes – I hear ya, GG, I hear ya! Stick with your momma…
Our family
Me and My Girls
Gwyneth Grace exploring the rock
And Annabelle danced…
Exploring with daddy
Annabelle climbed right up on this rock and requested “Daddy, take my picture”
Um, Gwyneth – you might not want to look up!
No rock too high or too low for Annabelle. She was in heaven!
After exploring the Garden of the Gods we grabbed lunch at the Phantom Cafe, in downtown Colorado Springs. This is a favorite of our friends, The Carlsons, so we had to give it a try. Delicious! It was just as good as it was hyped up to be. Quite possibly the best kids mac-n-cheese I’ve ever tasted. Yep, I do taste their dishes on occassion. I’m a sucker for a good mac-n-cheese.

winter wonderland

We got an early start to the day, a bit too early for my liking. I guess the girls did not the get the memo that today was a snow day. I know that’s not true though – I hand delivered that memo. I personally delivered the message. Hello girls? Snow day = let’s sleep in! Why the defiance?

Annabelle was up at midnight to potty, Gwyneth was up at 1:00 and then again at 3:00 and we all snuck in a few minutes here and there until 5:00. The wind and snow were so loud and believe it or not the heavy snow pounding on the windows woke up the girls. I guess there’s always a price to pay for a little snow day. That free day is never really free.
 
The girls begged and begged to get bundled up and go play outside. It took quite some time to turn them into “The Christmas Story” kids. Gwyneth definitely couldn’t put her arms down and when she tipped over she resembles a turtle flipped on its shell. Neither of these pleases her, but it sure is funny! After all the work of bundling them up it took about 2 minutes outside for them to realize that snow is cold and wet and not all the much fun for girlie girls. Just between you and me, they’re kind of sissy lala’s!

Seeking shelter in their playhouse

Please note the swap in snow outfits from yesterday. Given there are only 2 lbs difference between them and they can wear the same size clothes, we had quite the brawl on who wanted to wear the pink coat and bibs. If this is any indication of the clothing disputes we have to look forward to I can tell ya, middle shool is going to be rough. (If you’re reading – YaYa and Poppy, sorry for…well, pretty much my entire teen years. Stacy and I gave you a rough time fighting and stealing your clothes! You’ll be pleased to know my payback has already arrived!).

Annabelle’s request “Mommy, this snow is cold. Make it not cold, please”. Hmmm…let momma get right on that.

Gwyneth’s request “Help! I stuck”. The snow was up to her knees so this was said after each and every step.

Looks like the girls didn’t get the good spots in the garage. That’s going to make for one rough commute this morning.

Digging her car out
You know that car on the highway that scrapes just enough of the snow off the driver side windshield to make it just dangerous enough to drive…well, take a closer look. That’s my GG!


It’s a winter wonderland! Wait, I seem to have lost one of the children in this mess… oh, Annabelle? or did I lose Gwyneth? I really wish they wouldn’t switch coats on me!!

spring snow

11 inches of snow? Well, that was unexpected!  I set up a playdate for the girls with their friend Cade and was looking forward to visiting Little Monkey Biz with them tonight. As I was leaving for work, I reminded B that we’d probably have to leave right when I got home and he quickly informed me we’d be playing it by ear because the forecast was callling for 6 to 12 inches of snow. WHAT??? How did I miss that? I wasn’t buying it either. When I left for work it was sunny….when I met Sheila for lunch still sunny….when I looked out my office window around 3:00 still sunny… is B just messing with me? Then the clock struck 4:00 and the skies turned dark and the storm rolled in. And it started snowing….and snowing….and snowing. It came down so fast. It was heavy and wet. Yuck, yuck, yuck! By 6:00 pm we had 6 inches and by midnight we had 11 inches. I guess that B wasn’t messing me with me after all. Needless to say our playdate was postponed, we bundled up the girls and we spent the evening playing in the snow.

Last time we had a big snow fall Gwyneth was not interested – in fact she was downright angry! Whole different story this time around. She didn’t like getting wet, but at least she wasn’t screaming.

The girls played while their daddy got right to work shoveling the front walk. I shoveled half of the driveway but quickly handed over the shovel – that snow was wet and heavy. I think I’ll stick to what I do best – playing with my girls.
Uh oh, Daddy taught Annabelle how to make snowballs. Or atleast how to pick up hand fulls of snow and throw them at people. Run Gwyneth!
Oh, how Annabelle loves to eat the snow. Yuck, yuck, yuck! Why? What’s the draw?
On the 10:00 news we got word that daycare would be closed the next day. Snow day! Snow day! Snow day! The girls were thrilled to hear we’d all be playing hookie tomorrow. (well, they’d be playing hookie and B and I would try and work amidst the madness!)
No school tomorrow! Wahoo!
We’ve been home less than 24 hours and the girls are already going nuts!
Check back in tomorrow, things are definitely going to get wild around here!

flatirons

After a quick dinner tonight, I changed into super comfy clothes (a.k.a. messy, slouchy, not the least bit presentable…you get the picture) and we all headed off to Flatirons. A few weeks ago I ordered my niece, Eliana’s baptism gift and I completely forgot to pick it up. OOPS! Since the baptism is this weekend and I need to get it in the mail by tomorrow the trip was essential.

As we were walking through the mall towards the store, Annabelle told me she really needed to use the potty.  B went to get the gift and Annabelle and I took off running for the restrooms. Of course, as we’re running through the mall we smack right into one of my work collegues and he wanted me to stop and introduce us to his family. He was kind of looking at me weird and it became rather clear when I caught mine and Annabelle’s reflection in the mirror in the restroom. I basically had on what looked like ill-fitting pj’s and once again it appears I’m incapable of washing Annabelle’s face after a meal. We both had rather sad looking ponytails – if you could even call them ponytails. We looked like a bunch of hobos!

We figured since we were already a mess, and let me tell ya, Gwyneth was wearing half her dinner on her face and shirt too, we decided to spend the rest of the evening in the sandbox outside Flatirons. What’s a little more dirt at this point? The girls got a much needed bath when we got home and it seems I may have finally cleaned their dinner off their face…maybe, just maybe.

We read many, many, many books before bed and Annabelle continues to impress us by reciting Goodnight Moon cover to cover. My favorite is when she says “Good night stars, Good night air”. She just says it so very sweet. Gwyneth is really interested in reading these days too and will sit on my lap and read book after book after book. Her favorites are anything Elmo, anything with flaps, and Gossie and Gertie. I’m quite content to sit and read to my girls all night.

I tend to go to bed around 12:30/1:00 (if I’m lucky – I don’t sleep well). It still amazes me that every night around midnight Annabelle comes stumbling out of her room, still half asleep, to go potty. She never wets her bed, but she never really wakes up. She goes right back to sleep when she’s done. The funny part is I go in with her (I’m afraid she’ll fall asleep and fall off!) and she just starts talking. It never makes much sense, but I’m pretty certain it’s about whatever she’s been dreaming. She’ll tell me about Gwyneth or taking care of babies or her friends or playing outside. It’s a crack up! It’s certainly a weird moment that we have every evening, but I’m quite certain I’ll miss it when it’s gone….

march madness

March Madness is upon us and oh, how the Mister and I enjoy hosting get togethers – especially sports-themed gatherings! This weekend was no exception and what started as “hey, Gus what are you doing this weekend?” and “hello, Miss Suelo, care to join us on Sunday?”, turned into a crew of about 20 friends, 8 of which were kids. Our girls couldn’t have been more pleased to see their buds.
Friends are the most important ingredient of the day, but the menu is never far behind in our casa. Inspired by our friends, Curtis and Erica, we decided BBQ was essential for this shin-dig. B grilled up Louisiana hot links and we tossed them in 3 different kinds of sauses. Yum! He also grilled apple sausages, hot dogs, and pineapples for the kids. I had some crafty fun making little signs for each of the different sauces…
We offered Texas style BBQ sauce, Jamaican Jerk BBQ sauce and my favorite the Jack Stack KC Spicy sauce. (thank you Curtis and Erica for bringing us this treat all the way from KC!)
The girls munching on carrots and eagerly awaiting the arrival of their friends.
The Lemek’s were the first to arrive and Annabelle was so excited to see Baby Hanna. She absolutely adores babies. This is not an exageration. She was eager to get Hanna a blanket, burp cloth, toys, and offered to rub her back. She really wanted to hold her, but was content laying on the blanket next to her and tickling her feet.
Gwyneth and Reagan having lots of fun playing with the kitchen.
Reagan is such a sweet girl
Gotcha Rhys!
Everyone had someone to play with which was wonderful! Wyatt and Ryan are the same age (about 7 months apart), Annabelle, Andrew, Rhys and Reagan are all 2, and Miss Gwyneth gots lots of attention from everyone!
There she goes, Miss Gwyneth is on the run! So happy that the weather cleared up so the kids could go outside and play.
Had to get a quick shot of the gals. They may not be happy about it, but they know it’s for the good of the blog.

mom, please!

Busy day! We met Kelli, Eric, Sophie, and Maddie for lunch in Brighton. We ate at Mojo’s which was a good little restaurant, but unfortunately the service was really slow and our meals seemed to make everyone sick! The girls and I were not feeling well the rest of the afternoon. Gwyneth took a good nap, but Miss Annabelle was just not having it today. Instead of forcing it I decided to take her to the fabric store with me. She was so sweet and it was so nice to have the one of one girlie time.
The girls stayed with a babysitter this evening so B and I could go to the Nuggets game. We had great seats courtesy of Poppy and Melissa for B’s birthday. We were in the 3rd row and had a great time cheering for the Nuggets. It was a good game, but unfortunately they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Even with the winter weather outside, we got a little splash of spring inside.
“Mom, can you please give me a break???”
“Mom, are you kidding me with this???”

lollipops

The girls spent the day at school while we showed our friends around Denver, but they certainly did benefit from our outings. They loved their lollipops and made a grand mess eating them!!
“Call my baby lollipop, Tell you why…
[Her] kiss is sweeter than apple pie…
And when she does [her] shaky rockin’ dance. Man I haven’t got a chance!
I call her lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli, lolli, lolli,
lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli, lolli, lolli
Lollipop!
Sweeter than candy on a stick
Huckleberry, Cherry or Lime
If you had a choice, [they’d] be your pick
But lollipop is mine!!”

mason’s

B and I were able to take the day off work to hang out with Curtis and Erica – fun, fun stuff! Since we all have a bit of a sweet tooth our first stop was the Hammond Candy Factory. We watched them handmake ribbon candy and stocked up on some lollipops for our girls.
I have been completely off my game this visit and these are the only pictures I snapped of Erica and Curtis’ trip. I can’t believe I don’t have Erica’s smile to share with Annabelle or Curtis’ beard which Gwyneth loves! Next time, I suppose, but I’m not happy about it.
Curtis suggested that these windows should be two way mirrors so that the employees never really know when they are being watched. This would ensure they are always bringing their A-game to the candy making scene…..
Hmmmm….wondering if I should put in glass walls around my office and offer tours? Do you think people would like to see the magic of Free Cash Flow forecasting at work? What am I saying, of course they would!
B checking out the old machines and clearly not keeping up with the tour or paying attention to our guide.
After our tour, we stopped at Mexico City for some greasy tacos! Erica has always told us about In-A-Tub tacos in KC. We tried to give her the Colorado version which happen to be some of our favorties in town. Yum, yum, yum!
We were just heading off to watch some March Madness and play shuffle board, when the weather channel predicted a snow front moving in and a forecast of 6 -12 inches in the area. Curtis and Erica had to drive back to KC so we had to cut our visit short so they wouldn’t get stranded in Kansas in all this snow. We had a super fab visit with them and are sad they had to head out early. The girls will really miss their new BFF’s! (Update – they arrived home around 8:00 pm safe and sound and missed our blizzard. 12 inches feels like a blizzard in March!).