anthem hike

After the fun run yesterday Annabelle took off to a party and then ended up having a sleepover. She stayed up most of the night and came home quite tired. She was not at all pleased with me when I told her Gwyneth and I were planning a hike and that she needed to go with us. I should have left her home to nap, but it was such a beautiful day and I thought the fresh air and exercise would do her some good. 
Gwyneth was in heaven hiking around our neighborhood. Annabelle was a good sport. We ended up walking about 2 miles for lunch and then another 2 miles home. It felt great to get out and enjoy that warm Colorado weather and you just can’t beat the mountain views from our little neighborhood. 
Off we go! 
Annabelle wouldn’t walk with us before lunch. She was either a few paces ahead or behind. Did I mention she wasn’t very happy with me?
She got in to the swing of things and was climbing and exploring in no time. 
A well needed rest after that 4 mile walk!

fun run

It has been raining and dreary here for the past week. The skies dried up and the sun came shining down this Friday. We had perfect weather for the school fun run. 
The girls had gathered donations from friends and family and raised money for a new playground at their school. They each ran over 3 miles today! The both had a blast with friends and were worn out. I’m so proud of them for giving their all and I love the memories they are making. I couldn’t have asked for a better school for them. 
Some good stretches before running…
Best buds. Love these three together. They are just the sweetest of friends!
Soaking wet after running through the sprinklers!

jurassic park

oh. my. goodness! I was so flippin’ excited for our night out at the Symphony. We watched the movie Jurassic Park while the symphony played the soundtrack. It was AMAZING! I love, love, love Jurassic Park. It is one of my true guilty pleasures. If its on tv when I’m flipping through I HAVE to watch. I LOVE it. Love, love, love! I know it’s cheesy, but it’s fabulous! 
B is not as big of a fan, but he played along with me tonight. He’s a good sport and I don’t even mind that he was laughing at my enthusiasm. It was a perfect night out for just the two of us and I’m so grateful he humors me in such silly things. 

happy birthday, ryan

We gathered with B’s family to celebrate Ryan’s 13th birthday. The cousins were very happy to be together for the evening and B made us a delicious dinner. 
Before family arrived I sweet-talked the girls into letting me take some pictures of them. They were both dolled up and looking quite grow up. I didn’t want to miss a chance to snap some shots of them. 
I was trying to get one of them together and B walked in the garage to throw out some trash. This is not staged…they are just nosey! Ha!
I love a great posed shot, but this is the real Gwyneth and I think I like these photos most of all. 
I swear this wasn’t posed either. I sure got lucky with the photos today. 
The cousins arrived and I was able to convince them to let me take a few pictures also. I’m not sure if they were happy about it, but they did manage to have a little fun. 
Happy 13th to this guy!
Look at all that curly hair! Reagan sure has come a long way in the past year. 

walking buddy

Gwyneth was the queen of the sleepovers this weekend. She had one Friday and another on Saturday. I asked Annabelle if she wanted to have a friend over and she said she wanted to have some ‘mom-and-me’ time which made me pretty happy. I think we all appreciate that one on one time. 
Friday night we went to the movies and saw “I Feel Pretty”. It was a pretty silly movie, but a very empowering message for girls of all ages. After the movie I received a very early Mother’s Day gift – a new bike! I haven’t had one in years and I’m not very good at riding, but I love it. Annabelle and I went for a late night ride as soon as we got home. I loved it! 
Saturday morning Annabelle and I woke early and went for a 1.5 hour walk. She was a trooper and I was so happy to have the time with her. After we got home B joined us for an hour bike ride. 
That smoothie was well deserved!!
Walking home Annabelle asked me to take this goofy picture of her “YaYa’s hill”. My mom fell down this hill years ago when she pulling the girls in a wagon. I’m sure my mom appreciates that she has such a great memory.

rockies game #2

Two Rockies game in one week….not too shabby!
I joined the girls on their school field trip to Coors Field today. We were bummed that B couldn’t make it too. It was a Wednesday and that is always a super, super busy day at the kitchen for him. 
Our morning kicked off with the Weather and Science day presentations. I gotta be honest here….it was a little weak. They did some cool stuff with liquid nitrogen, but the hot air balloon didn’t rise and all the other experiments were kind of a bust. There were tons and tons of kids there and it was really loud and they were just not grabbing and keeping their attention. About 30 minutes into the presentation we decided to ditch the madness and grab lunch with friends. 

We feasted on stadium food – hot dogs and nachos all around – and then hit the ramps to find our seats for the game. As Annabelle’s teacher said “We’ll see you in the nosebleeds”. We were in fact quite near the top, but the view were outstanding! I love Coors Field and the areas surrounding it. All the surrounding rooftops were filling up for game time. It was a beautiful day, although a bit chilly. Nothing a beer on a rooftop couldn’t help though! 
We joined the girls’ friends and classmates for the game and had a great time. Slowly people started to leave and I waited for the girls to ask to go too. We made it to the end of the game and we were the last ones there from school! It was well worth it as we saw the Rockies pull off a win and the girls declared themselves the Rockies’ good luck charms. 
It was a great day for a baseball game!

rockies game #1

Miss Annabelle had a bit of a rough afternoon. Both girls had dentist appointments, but Annabelle had 2 teeth pulled. She was pretty sore and quite a bit grumpy. We had tickets for the Rockies game tonight and we gave her the option of whether we all go or stay home. We were happy to stay home with her and let her rest, but she wanted to go! That girl is such a trooper

We had dinner at the Denver Chophouse before the game and she feasted on mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. All soft foods and no straws for that girl tonight.

As we ate dinner the rain started but it managed to dry up a bit as we headed over for the game. We were feeling like good luck charms at the game – the Rockies were up by 1 run. We had to leave early since it was a school night and by the time we got home the tide had changed for the Rockies. It was a pretty ugly ending and the Rockies lost 13 to 5.

We purchased a ten game pack for this season so we’re looking forward to many more games!

eltich gardens passes

We woke up to a little spring snow, but that wouldn’t deter us from getting our summer Elitch Garden passes. It worked out quite well actually. Not many people were nutty enough to stand out in the cold and snow for their passes (let’s be honest, it really wasn’t that cold). We arrived when the gates opened and didn’t even have to stand in line. Usually the lines are wrapped around the parking lot and the wait can be several hours. I think we were all pretty grateful for those snow flurries. 
Unfortunately the snow did keep us from riding the rides. All the rides were closed when we arrived. We have our season passes in hand along with our drink cups and friend passes so we are all set for warmer weather! 

We had planned to meet up with Kierra and her family at Elitchs but since the weather didn’t cooperate she came over to play for the afternoon. They may have been a bit disappointed the amusement park didn’t work out, but they were all giggles playing together in the basement.

painting | may farms

I was asked to do a painting event for a farm about an hour away from our house. It was a great opportunity but I’m not the best in those situations. Believe it or not, I’m quite shy and I get caught up in all the planning. For about two months I stressed about this event but B swooped in and saved the day. He joined me for the evening which made it so much easier to carry all my supplies, help the painters, and of course, he just calmed me.

It ended up being a smashing success (smashing probably not the best word to use for pottery…). They asked us to return in just a few months for another painting event and I gladly agreed…well, as long as B will help me again!