gwyneth’s pick

Annabelle’s turn for dance rehearsal meant that Gwyneth got to pick our activities for the night. She requested ‘cook on the table’ for dinner and Menchies afterwards, naturally. 
I’m not sure how much Lily enjoyed dinner. She can be a bit of a picky eater and we sure did push her taste buds this weekend. She was a trooper and we are soaking up that cousin time! 
A little sweet treat after dinner. 

After dinner we set off for the park, but the clouds were quickly rolling in. We had to head home before we could tackle the swings. We did manage to make it home right before those big ol’ drops started following. Lily wasn’t too happy that she had her heart set on swinging, but she settled in for a movie with Gwyneth and all was better.

annabelle’s pick

The next four days are full of dance. 5 hour long dress rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday and then 3 hour recitals on Friday and Saturday. The girls are in different dance classes this year which means different rehearsal nights and different recital nights. That makes for a whole lotta dance this week. I’m always impressed with their eagerness and determination this time of year because quite honestly the whole thing wears me out.
I really do love watching them dance and enjoying the time with their dance friends. I will always support them in this journey — good thing, because they already requested (and are signed up for) dance classes for next year. 
Tonight was Gwyneth’s dance rehearsal so Annabelle got to choose our plan for the evening. She requested Olive Garden and bowling because….well, because she’s Annabelle! That girl loves her some Olive Garden. What’s funny to me is that she just orders salad and breadsticks. She did enjoy some Italian Donuts for dessert with Lily this visit, but she’s perfectly happy with just that salad. I’ve been informed it’s all about the dressing!

Then it was off to bowling at Fat Cats.

B met us for bowling and we had a little friendly competition. Well, maybe not so friendly because we’re all quite competitive including that sweet little Lily. She was pretty serious about winning but it was not to be. Annabelle and I tied and B pulled off the win.

It was another great day with Lily and Yaya! We sure are keeping them busy.

movie, butterflies, and casa bonita

 Another fun-filled day with YaYa and Lily in the books!
We started our day with a movie: The Secret Life of Pets 2. It was cute…not my favorite, but cute. I love that little Snowball voiced by Kevin Hart. I’m not a huge pets person so I guess these films are a bit lost on me. The girls giggled their way through and said they liked it even more than the first so I’m calling it a win. 

Next stop was the Butterfly Pavilion. Lily was pretty excited because her sister, Madison is terrified of butterflies so this isn’t a stop their family would make. 

Annabelle and Gwyneth each took a turn holding Rosie. Lily wasn’t having it!

And we explored the Butterfly enclosure. Lily really wanted one of these beauties to land on her, but it wasn’t meant to be. 

“Maybe we can get a butterfly in one of our pictures?” Request granted! 🤣🤣🤣 This may be one of my favorite pictures EVER!

They opened up a new section called Colorado Backyard. 
It’s a really nice, new area, but it was a bit busy and loud for my liking. I’m getting so old…

It wouldn’t be a Colorado trip without a visit to Casa Bonita.
Lily LOVED the divers. She was pretty impressed!
We had another busy, busy day today and the girls (adults too!) were pretty worn out when we finally made our way home. More fun lies ahead…. We are going to ensure Lily never wants to leave!

lily and yaya are here!

Lily and Yaya have arrived!
We get them for an entire week and we have lots of fun planned. Their flight was awfully early this morning so we were a bit slow moving. We had no trouble filling up our day and were pretty worn out. Lily was a trooper though and the cousins are so flippin’ happy to be together. 
First stop was lunch at Red Robin. 
We then granted Lily’s one summer request – painting pottery! I haven’t been in to paint in so long…it’s hard to just sit and enjoy the studio when I see so much to be done all around me. I did my best to detach and just appreciate the time with these ladies. 
It was Lily’s very first time painting pottery EVER…if you can believe that?! She loved it. She painted a box for me and a Father’s Day gift for her dad. 
The girls still have dance classes and rehearsals all week so our nights are still a bit hectic, but we’re so glad to have Yaya and Lily here this week!

dave and busters

We made a deal with the girls for the camping weekend. Please be inclusive. Please be kind. If they could be sweet for an entire weekend (that’s a lot to ask….) then we’d head to Dave and Busters Sunday night. Yes, that’s bribery but we just wanted a nice camping trip with friends. 
The bribery was completely unnecessary. The kids got along fabulously this weekend. Everyone played together so well. They took hikes, went to the park, played at the arcade. It was great! 
We held up our end of the bargain though and off we went to Dave and Busters….even though we were all exhausted and probably could have spent the entire night in pj’s, laying on the couch, watching movies. 
The girls had a blast and won plenty of tickets and bought some blow up chairs. We’ll see how long those suckers last….

cabin camping

This trip has been in the making for months and it was everything I hoped it would be! We joined The Tylers, Bales, and Billeras for a weekend of camping at Jellystone in Estes. We had planned to tent camp but the forecast was calling for thunderstorms so last minute we switched to a cabin. It worked out perfectly. 
The kids all got along beautifully – there was no bickering just exploring and laughing and tons of love. My heart was happy watching these kiddos on their mountain adventures. 
The best part of camping is doing a whole lotta nothin’ and we did it really well this time around. We played bean bags and relaxed and laughed the weekend away. Of course B took care of most of the meals and they were all delicious. Sheila rocked the Bloody Mary/Mimosa bar. 
There were scattered showers and it did get a bit chilly, but the weather was perfect the rest of the time. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect!
You know it’s a good trip when the group starts planning the next trip half way through this trip….
Sums up the weekend! 🧡
our gorgeous view
Annabelle receiving a congratulatory hug for her bean bags win!
After craft time
Happy Campers! 💙
And just like that it was time to say goodbye to that fabulous little cabin and head back to the real world. I don’t think anyone was quite ready for this weekend to end…

whimsy • llamacorn

Oh boy, we are struggling to get into our summer groove. It never truly feels like summer until we’re done with dance…and we still have a week and a half until we’re done with classes and recital. We’ve been having fun and I’m certainly not complaining. I guess summer is just a bit of a chaos and I have to learn to embrace it. 
Gwyneth met up with Ella today for a little canvas painting. They painted llamacorns. I can’t imagine anything more perfect for these little ladies. 

breckenridge…still

We had plans to pack up and head back down the hill this morning….BUT the girls were still asleep, the house was so peaceful, and I thought it was surely better to work from here so I convinced B that we should stay one more night. I’m glad that we did because it was a truly relaxing time. 
We walked down the hill for lunch at Motherloaded and then did a little shopping. We headed back up to the house, watched Jurassic World, played games, did some crafts, enjoyed some snacks, and wasted our day away doing a whole lot of nothin’. What a day!
Trying out the house made peach pecan pie bourbon. A little sweet, but good.

snack time

breckenridge, finally

We finally made it up to Breckenridge. There was still some snow on the ground and it was a bit chilly, but the mountains are always gorgeous and there’s never a bad time to visit. My dad and Melissa were already there and were able to stay for a few days. We had lots of wonderful meals, walks, games, and an overall relaxing time together. 
Gwyneth finished the Harry Potter series and now her entire wardrobe in Harry Potter inspired. To say she is obsessed may be a great understatement. I support the insanity and I’m grateful she found books that she loves. 
We walked down that hill several times to explore the town. The walk down is fabulous. We always hitch a ride on the shuttle back up the hill – that’s a tough walk. 
With the crummy weather, we practically had the town to ourselves. I’ll brave a little snow and cold for quiet streets. 
We checked out the exhibit WAVE: Light + Water + Sound
it’s even more impressive at night. 
We had lunch at Eric’s and then spent a few hours playing games. 
The girls love the ski lift swings
Back to town for dinner at Legends and then a walk through the light exhibit. 

breck postponed • 740 front

Our grand plans to head up to Breckenridge were thwarted this evening due to a snow storm….AT THE END OF MAY! This Colorado weather sure is nutty. We were all pretty disappointed and had no food at our house so we tried out a new restaurant. 740 Front is in Louisville and has fast become a new favorite. They have excellent vegetarian and seafood options which makes our family pretty happy. 
Plus, they make a pretty cool martini…
Gwyneth slurped down a few oysters. She’s a pretty cool cat and quite an adventurous eater. We still can’t get Annabelle to try a lot of seafood but we’re gonna keep on trying!