It was a beautiful morning for a visit to Sunflower Farms. 

One last trip to paint pottery this summer: 

One last big adventure to celebrate going back to school….

Dinner at Morton’s! 

I know this doesn’t seem like a treat to most kids, but Morton’s is their favorite restaurant. They ask to go all the time. Spoiled, perhaps? I just like to think we are raising them with really, really good taste in food. Ok, and perhaps we’re all a little bit spoiled around here. 

Only two more days left until school starts. Two. More. Days. 

We had a fun summer and we’re going to cram as much into these next two days as possible. 

Gwyneth joined her friend Ella for a day at the zoo.  Annabelle and I went to meet friends at the candy factory. (Annabelle looks 8 going on 19 in this picture. What the what???)

Touring the candy factory with Clara and Ethan

Annabelle used a gift certificate she received for her birthday for a pedicure. 

I had a special surprise for the girls tonight. We went for fondue at the Melting Pot. They have never been….and I was surprised that B joined us because he hates it. I have to admit that I don’t love the food. Never have, but I do enjoy the experience. I enjoyed watching them set the cheese on fire and watching our girls’ eyes light up. They loved the cheese and the chocolate. What’s not to love about the chocolate?!

Our last princess party of the summer featured Rapunzel: 

I may be the most proud this summer of this cupcake craft — painting theme cupcakes with a palette of icing and sprinkles. 

I had to run down to Pottery Barn kids to get some gear for the girls’ lunchboxes. Of course when at Park Meadows….

We ended our day with a belly buster. Our annual trip to Casa Bonita.

Ethan stayed home with his grandparents, while Eleanor, Eric, and Clara joined us for this feast. The company and entertaining was top notch, the food…well…well…it was almost edible. No one threw up and there was a pitcher of margaritas involved so we’re calling this adventure a success!

We have entered August and the summer seems to be quickly approaching an end. I am not ready for the girls to go back to school yet. I still want to cram as much fun in with them as possible. So here goes…

Joined by friends for pajamas and pancakes at the Kitchen:

Making candied bacon. Yum!

Making the BIGGEST pancake

More mini-golf!

Making tortilla chips for Taco Tuesday:

School supply shopping: 

Lunch with friends at the Aquarium. Did you know there was an indoor play area where the kids can go while you wait for your lunch to be delivered? I had no idea, but so glad Eleanor told us about this gem. 

Lunching with mermaids, of course. 

Sleepover time with besties. Gwyneth and Ella

Annabelle and Olivia (and no strep this time – yahoo!!)

Annabelle and Olivia went to play at her house the next day and I took Gwyneth and Ella to see the Mythic creatures at the Denver Science Museum. 

We stopped at Das Meyer’s for pastry on our way to pick up Annabelle. Yum, yum, yum.

Back to school night. This was a bit nerve wracking because the girls are attending a new school this fall. They found their classrooms, met their teachers, and are eager to start next week! (Next week – what????)

Celebrating back to school with a princess high tea: 

Celebrating Misti’s birthday. She’s the big 4-0h! Happy, happy birthday!

The girls attended Seussical camp at the Arvada Center. There was a lot of crafts, acting, and play inspired by many different Dr. Seuss books. 

We went bowling. Fat Cats has dollar bowling over the summer.

This is the pose of the daughter who won and the not so happy Gwyneth who did not win. Gwyneth is actually a pretty cool cat and is usually quite kind. She doesn’t like to lose though. Not one bit. She had a pretty big meltdown after this loss and we are going to have to work on not being such a sore loser.

Olivia joined the girls for an afternoon of ice skating. Before picture: 

After:

They had fun, but that ice skating definitely kicked their butts:

Gwyneth’s friend Annie joined us back at the house and the plan was for Olivia to spend the night. Sadly, she had to go home with a sore throat and ended up having strep! Annabelle was so sad that she had to leave. I attempted to make it better with ice cream.

Ice cream is good, but it doesn’t beat having a sleepover with a bestie.

We met Ruby and Mason at Lakeside Amusement Park. We had never been. That is quite an adventure!

I taught the girls to cross-stitch

And to latch hook

They ended the week with a show at camp. Loved seeing all their crafts.

B catered Amy’s sister’s wedding and the girls stayed the night with Gus and Misti. I got to go to the wedding and dance and celebrate and after dinner was served B got to join us too. It was a great wedding and the food was quite delicious! We had a blast and danced the night away. Congrats to Katy and Cody!

Brayden and Tom

Gwyneth Grace is seven years old! She loves being the baby of our family and we pretty much adore her always. Her favorites are breakfast, art, painting pottery, playing American Girl dolls, dancing, telling jokes, Girl Meets World, Minions, dolphins, monkeys, stuffed animals, dressing up, girl scouts, her cousins, her friends, and snuggling with her family. She is very brave, but not much of a thrill seeker. She is self-assured, confident, smart, beautiful, shy, and hilarious. She loves to make people laugh. She is very compassionate and empathetic towards others. She is kind; very, very kind. She has an amazing heart and love of life. She is so silly. So very, very silly. Her friend told me the other day, quite happily “Gwyneth is the silliest girl I know”. I hope she never, ever loses that. 

Keep smiling. Keep telling jokes. Keeping being your fabulous self, birthday girl!

The always requested birthday breakfast at Gunther Toody’s. Gwyneth could eat breakfast all day long! 

Gwyneth wanted an American Girl doll sleepover. She was joined by 12 friends with their dolls for a great night of fun. They enjoyed pizza and cake and Gwyneth set up stations in the basement for the girls to play with their dolls. There was a school, hair salon, horse stables, fashion (clothes), park, and so on. The girls played so well together. Gwyneth has a truly fabulous group of friends. Her sweetness attracts good peeps. 

Taking a break from dolls to play ping pong. 

Gwyneth and her bestie, Ella. These two have been in the same class since kindergarten and are inseparable. They both seem quiet and shy, but when they are together they are hilarious and silly. I adore them together. 

Decorations and baby doll chairs

Her cake was chocolate with strawberry filling. It matched her invitation perfectly. And it was quite delicious!

The girls decorated night shirts

I helped each girl sew a sleeping bag for her doll. Gwyneth was SO excited about this and all the girls loved it. 

Movie and popcorn time. They watched the American Girl Grace movie. Most were out by 11. Some were out by 11:30. Everyone finally crashed by 12. Not bad at all. 

Happy, happy birthday Gwyneth!

I use to be much better at posting, but I’m just doing my best to keep up. This summer it’s weekly updates. 

This week of summer madness…

We hosted a tea party with Elsa at Blue Mountain Kitchen:

Gwyneth got soaked on the bumper boats at Boondocks:

The girls went for a spin on the go carts (or bumper cars as Gwyneth hits anything and everything that gets in her way): 

Head to toe support for the Rockies at the game: 

I love, love, love this picture of these girls. They found a little cove in the wall at Coors Field and posed themselves. I may have to blow this up and hang it on my wall, because it just makes me happy.

Bubble gun wars: 

Swimming at the rec center: 

Trying out some Colorado brewed root beer

Ice cream with friends: 

Sprinkler time: 

Holding Rosie at the Butterfly Pavilion:

Ballpark Fare camp at the Kitchen:

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Candlelight Theater:

Another week of our wild and crazy summer. 

Shopping for a gift for Amy’s birthday. They sure do know how to accessorize. 

I bribed them with ice cream to run errands with me. Yes, we have reached that point in the summer. 

Annabelle joined B for a junior chefs class at the kitchen. She learned to make crab cheese wonton, fried rice, and teriyaki chicken. Yum! Another person in this family who can cook better than me.

While the chefs chopped, Gwyneth and I went for pizza and a heavenly chocolate dessert at Protos. 

Both girls attended Pom camp this week. Dance classes will be starting again before we know it. 

We spent a wonderful day at the Colorado History Museum. The special exhibit was games and toys. The girls loved it so much we bought a season pass. We can’t wait to bring B back and explore with us. It’s a great museum and I definitely recommend checking it out. 

Slinky races!

Gumby, one of Yaya’s favorites

Movie night at home, snuggled up in pjs

B worked many evenings this week, but we were grateful to have him home Saturday morning to go check out Farmers Markets with us. First stop Isabella Farm Stand: 

Next stop: Louisville Farmers Market

B had a catering event in the evening so the girls and I went to watch airplanes and have dinner. There is a new restaurant at the Jeffco airport. It is Mediterranean food….and not great Mediterranean food. 

After dinner, I took the girls to play mini-golf. They had never played before, but had a blast. The ice cream afterwards didn’t hurt. 

Sunday afternoon we met Bob and the Meyer cousins for lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We were able to reserve the train and celebrated Bob’s and Gwyneth’s birthdays. 

After lunch we had to take a trip to American Girl Store. With Gwyneth’s birthday quickly approaching we had some shopping to do.

We ended the day with some games at Dave and Busters. Phew!