bears vs packers

Monday Night Football this week was my favorite match up : Bears vs Packers!
Don and Hanna, joined us for the game…Andy had football practice that evening so he couldn’t make it. We were bummed we didn’t get to see Andy, but it was so great to see the rest of the Lemek gang. It had been way too long. 
We all sure did miss Jess tonight. It has been 7 years since she left us (post back here). She has missed so much in those 7 years and we have all really missed her. That little Hanna has all her fierceness! 

girl scouts | gwyneth is a junior

Oh boy, let me tell you, this day did NOT go as planned! 
Gwyneth was so, so, so…SO excited to become a Junior. Ever since Annabelle had her bridging ceremony (posted back here) she has been planning her own. This girl loves girl scouts and couldn’t wait to get that green Juniors vest. 
There were a few jumbled plans and B booked a catering gig that evening which she was a bit bummed about. The show must go on though so we headed over to the bridge she had picked out and started setting up. 
The skies turned dark quickly and we knew we wouldn’t have long before the rain storm arrived. She REALLY wanted the brown and green balloons and we did our best to get them in place. The wind was blowing like crazy! 
The girls made it over the bridge to receive their new vest right before the rain started to pour on us. We quickly gathered up our supplies and ate cupcakes huddled underneath a nearby rain shelter. It definitely was not the celebration that Gwyneth had in mind. 
When we got back to our house Annabelle and I could tell Gwyneth was sad about the night. Annabelle asked to take lots of pictures and then went over the top trying to make sure Gwyneth felt really special. Annabelle is a pretty great big sister and Gwyneth was as happy as can be! 
Brownies ready to become Juniors
Such sweet girls
Me and my girl
Sisters!

conferences

We are all finding our groove and after a few rough weeks things seem to be coming together with the new studio. The girls had the day off for conferences and I was able to take the day off as well to spend with them.
The girls woke up bright and early and got themselves ready for those conferences. They got extra credit for dressing nicely for their conferences. The teachers requested they not wear jeans and tshirts or athletic wear since they were presenting during the conferences. Our children took this as “we should dress for Morton’s”. Yes, those were the words that were used. They looked pretty snazzy…even to just run a few errands for the day.
We had to hit the girl scout store so we grabbed a quick lunch at Wahoo’s.
Then it was off to conferences were we received such positive feedback on both of our little ladies. They are having a great year and we’re very proud of them.
Gwyneth wanted to show us her locked which is pretty much a holder of fabulous trinkets and snacks! That girl!
We grabbed some celebratory slushies after those wonderful conferences.

eltich gardens

Miss Gwyneth had a difficult decision to make regarding this evening. She was invited to a sleepover at her dear friend Ella’s house and she also had a ticket to join us at Elitch Gardens. After quite an internal struggle, the sleepover won out. We were bummed she didn’t join us but it gave us a little one on one Annabelle time which is pretty great.

Annabelle wanted to take Selfies and B was driving her crazy cutting her out of the pictures.

Now that’s a pretzel!
Annabelle played a few games and won a few prizes.

She won LOTS of prizes!
And the best part is that we received 4 tickets for a return visit so Gwyneth can join us next time.

new studio

What have I done???
Just kidding (kinda…). I got the grand idea to purchase another Color Me Mine studio. The Aurora store was for sale and everything fell in to place. We closed on September 1st and I dove right in! Thankfully the Orchards store is fully staffed and I have a great crew there, because I have my work cut out for me!
After signing my life away, I mean the ownership paperwork, I spent the morning at the new studio. I came home to find my fabulous family waiting for me with the perfect gift. How well do they know me?

We spent the weekend in Aurora. The store is only 40 minutes away from our house but I was going in every day, all day. We decided to stay at the hotel by the mall to eliminate my drive time and let the girls swim, swim, swim. One of the perks of the new studio is that Don and Lisa live so close by. We were able to spend two nights hanging out with them and Kaylee even took the girls to the movies one evening while we visited the Wine Experience. I think this studio is going to work out great!

saint louis

We went on a quick trip to St. Louis for my dad’s birthday. We were there for less than 48 hours. It was A fun-filled trip filled with visits to all our favorite restaurants – Dominics, Ragazzis, and Mortons. Our family visits are usually focused around the meals. Of course this trip didn’t disappoint.
We walked most everywhere and the weather agreed with us! 
Saturday morning we got up quite early and headed over to visit Madison. She has only been on campus for 3 days, but she looks quite settled in. She showed us around and seems the perfect mix of nervous and excited. Her school is located right in the heart of downtown St. Louis and the campus is beautiful.
We left campus and met the rest of my family at the zoo. We watched the sea lion show and took a quick ride on the train.
We spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around in my dad and Melissa’s backyard. We had a lovely time and hope my dad had a great birthday weekend!

sushi

It’s back to dance for our little ladies..  The girls have lightened their load this fall and are taking three classes. They are taking tap, jazz and hip hop. They dropped poms and ballet which makes me a bit sad, but they didn’t want to do an additional night. The classes they are taking are back to back which means three hours of dance on Tuesdays. 
I was worried they would be absolutely exhausted but they came home all grins and giggles. They had a great time in class and have friends there to join them. They are also in all the same classes so it’s a lot of time together and then a buddy at home to practice the new moves with. 
Since we have about 3 hours to kill while the girls danced B and I went for sushi. All you can eat sushi no less! Our favorite sushi restaurant, Ooka, has a secret deal on Tuesdays for all you can eat on specific appetizers, sushi and rolls. It was delicious!! B has declared that we can’t go back as he sees all you can eat as a personal challenge and it will require some time to recover from that eating extravaganza. Hilarious! I intend to talk him in to returning many times this dance season…

pool

School has started but we are still soaking in those beautiful days of summer. The homework has started, but it’s mostly reading which we squeeze in after dinner. Tonight we even had enough time to hit the pool. 
The best part about the weekday evening pool visits is that we have the pool all to ourselves. It’s so peaceful and quiet. The girls go on the slides over and over and over again. They are in slide heaven! 
The sun was starting to set over our neighborhood and the sky was a beautiful glow. 

frozen

Months ago I purchased tickets to see Frozen “Alive”. The show is making it’s way to Broadway with a stop here in Denver. We had ok seats. Honestly, they were on the side and a bit too close. Note to self, sit back a little further next time so the girls can see the entire stage. Any day at the theater is a good day, so I’m really not griping. 
The show as better than I even anticipated. I do admit I am sentimental about the Frozen movie. Our girls were at the perfect age during the original release and it was an obsession at our house. It was watched over and over and the songs were always playing. 
I had hopes for the live show and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The sets, costumes and music was some of the best I have seen. Our entire family loved it but Gwyneth seemed to be the most in giggles. There was a joke about Elsa freezing Anna’s butt and I will never forget her laugh!
Amy and Bella were there for the show too!