colorado springs | cave of the winds and cliff dwellings

We had one more day in Colorado Springs and filled it up. Our first stop was Cave of the Winds. I was really nervous for this because of my fear of heights. I’m so glad we did this anyway, because it was one of my favorites! 
The view from the top is definitely a bit unnerving, but also absolutely gorgeous. 
Then you travel down into the mountain and explore the amazing caves. It’s quite impressive to see and pictures do not do it justice. You just have to get down there and explore! 
Just one of the very narrow passage ways
Everyone loved it!
View from the outside. I think B has a picture of me up here, but it was high, high, high and I was so nervous! We did it though. 
Look at little G up there. No fear!
We planned one more stop before heading home. 
We took a little detour to visit the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. 
The history of this place is amazing and you can read about it here. The girls both learned about the Cliff Dwellers at school this year, but Gwyneth was especially excited to see the dwellings up close and personal. 
All of these gems are nestled in the mountains just a short jog from Manitou springs. Of all the times I have visited that great little town I have never stopped. I’m so glad we took the opportunity this visit. 
By the time we left it was HOT. We were ready to get out of the heat and into the a.c. We had a quiet little drive home. I think everyone was pretty worn out from our excursions. 

colorado springs | garden of the gods, manitou springs, and santa’s workshop

Garden of the Gods is one our favs. When in Colorado Springs, you have to go! It’s a necessity. The girls love the exploring. Climbing the big ol’ red rocks. 
The leaning rock pictures are a requirement. We have them from every visit. 
One of my favorites shots of the day. 
We stopped in Manitou Springs for lunch. The downtown is so quaint and I’ve been going here for years….since back in high school when my friend, Diane would come out to visit me. We’ve never really found a restaurant that we love, but we keep on trying. 
Gwneth found this tap of spring water and thought it was just the best. She got such a kick out of it. 
We tried salt water taffy on main street. Annabelle loved it. Gwyneth hated it. 
Another fresh spring water tap.
;This was our first visit to the North Pole, a cute little amusement park on the base of Pike’s Peak.  It is right up Gwyneth’s alley. No big roller coasters; just lots of fun smaller rides. They girls did most of them together and had a good ol’ time. 
love that face!
having so much fun!
This is the one ride where the girls had to split up. They need an adult to take them on the reindeer zip line. B looks a bit concerned – ha!
Here they go…
On their way back…
Gwyneth’s turn:
She is going to take some convincing: 
She loved it too!
This was a pole of ice/snow and it was nice and refreshing to lean against on that hot day. 
Overall it was kind of a cheesy little park, but we had a blast. I would recommend it for people with younger kids or anyone who doesn’t love roller coasters. 
Back at the hotel the girls begged for one more night of swimming. 
They had the pool nearly to themselves. There were two other kids there, but the rest of the place was empty! They got fancy with the slide and went head first. They were nothing but smiles and giggles. 

colorado springs | seven falls and the broadmoor

We planned this little mini – “staycation” for the week of the 4th. It’s pretty quiet at both of our businesses this week due to the holiday. We wanted take advantage of that down time and have a lot of family time. 
The morning we were set to leave was a bit of a whirlwind. We had stayed downtown the night before because we didn’t want to drive home with all the crazies after the game and fireworks. We didn’t get back to our hotel room the previous night until almost midnight so we had some tired girls. 
B received a few surprise orders and had to head back to the Kitchen that morning to do some cooking. I had to do payroll and get a few other work things done which I did from the hotel room in the dark. The girls were sound asleep from our previous night’s adventure. 
B and I were a bit flustered about starting our little trip later than expected. He scurried off while it was still dark and we both worked away. Our little ladies slept through it all! They didn’t wake up until about 10 am. They got ready for the day and we were waiting in the lobby when B pulled up to pick us up and head down south. 
It’s funny the things that get us worked up sometimes and then turn out to really be nothing at all…
On to our adventure!
I may love Colorado Springs more than anyone else in the world. Yes, the entire world. There is so much to do in that beautiful little town. So many natural treasures…and man-made ones too. I joke with B that I’m going to end up buying a vacation home there and he genuinely looks concerned. I really do love it. No matter how often we go there is never enough time. There is just so much to do. 
I have started quite a little journey of visiting the resorts there. We tried out the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and the Garden of the Gods Resort and this year we stayed at the Lodge at Flying Horse. The only resort left on my list to stay at is The Broadmoor. Someday. Soon. 
The resort was beautiful and the rooms were very nice. The views were stunning. It had more of a neighborhood feel though with the clubhouse and restaurant being across the parking lot and catered to residents. It was a bit far from the sites also. We had a really wonderful time and it was gorgeous, but given the price tag I will definitely rank it below the other two resorts we visited on prior visits.  
Our first stop was Seven Falls.
This one has been really built up for us. When B was a kid he made this place “Eight Falls” and the girls just think that story is hilarious! I did very little research on this outing and thought it would be 7 individual water falls. It wasn’t quite as expected. I think the girls were a little let down but they laughed all the way to the top thinking about their dad as a little boy peeing off the side!
This trip really took me out of my comfort zone. I’m terrified of heights and was so nervous. I got a little shaky up top but I did it. 
We stopped at the Golden Bee for a quick snack. The restaurant is located by the shuttle to Seven Falls and the Broadmoor. It’s a great little pub with the best smoked salmon appetizer. 
After our snack we wandered around The Broadmoor. It’s such a gorgeous hotel and the grounds have the most amazing views. I love the history of the place with well-known visitors. 
As we were leaving we noticed this guy just hanging out on the lawn: 
You’d think the girls would have been worn out by now, but nope! They were still up for a swim. They spent the rest of the evening going down this slide. Over and over again. They loved it! 
After a busy, busy day they were so hungry so we appeased with room service. I think that may be there favorite part of traveling. It was a busy, busy first day and lots more fun planned ahead…

independence day | outlaws game | fireworks

We have a fun tradition for the 4th of July. We attend the Outlaws game (lacrosse) at Mile High and stick around for the fireworks show afterwards.
Here are the last two years that we’ve gone:
2016
2015
I have to admit I’m pretty indifferent to lacrosse. I don’t know much about the game and I don’t really pay attention while we’re there. I sure do love the people we go to this game with though. The fireworks show after the game is one of the best I’ve ever seen. We all love it and it’s such a fun way to spend the 4th. 
A big thank you to the Tyler’s for organizing. They sure can put together a fun night! 

super diamond | hudson gardens

“There are two types of people in this world.. Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don’t. My ex-wife loves him.” – Bob Whiley, What About Bob
We fall in the love ’em category. We have seen the real Neil, but we always get a kick out of the Surreal Neil…Super Diamond! The concerts are such a kick. Amazing people watching. Great music and friends. It’s a can’t miss! 
We met Don and Lisa for a pre-show dinner and then walked on over to Hudson Gardens. We had a fabulous time dancing away to our favorite hits including Sweet Caroline, Forever in Blue Jeans, Coming to America, I am I said…the list goes on and on. 
Annabelle wasn’t as entertained with our dancing, but Gwyneth boogied away with us. We all enjoyed the firework show after the concerts. The evening was truly a blast!

Waiting for the show to start…

graduation party | kaylee and brennan

How is it even possible that our friends have children that are graduating from high school?
I’m far too young for this. Well, I wish I was far too young for this, but it is happening. We attended our first graduation party of the season and we had a great time. Kaylee and Brennan were just one month old when we got married and now they are 18. Yowsas!
The party was at our friend, Don’s photography studio. You know I always have my camera with me so I snapped some photos of the girls as they were playing around. I love his studio and I am trying to book some time to get in and take pictures of their girls in their dance costumes. I’m a bit intimidated by the studio and all the amazing photographers that work there though… 

I didn’t get any pics of the grads because they were hanging with friends so I borrowed this one from Kaylee’s facebook page. They sure do look happy and we are very proud of them. How far they have come and they are really great kids…well, I guess they are adults now. Oh jeez!

slipper and the rose

Our entire family enjoys a trip to the theater…well, normally. Tonight wasn’t the biggest hit for everyone. 
We went to the dinner theater which doesn’t always have the best food. I like that we don’t have to fight/play for parking, but wow, the food really was not on point this evening. It was pretty bad even for dinner theater standards. We laugh about it though and make sure we order fun drinks, several baskets of bread for Gwyneth and desserts to compensate for the rough main courses. 
We went to see The Slipper at the Rose at the Candlight Dinner Playhouse. The story was Cinderella with all new music. The girls really enjoyed the costumes and I thought it was nicely done and B…well, he fell asleep! This was a little awkward since we were sitting in the front row! We had to give him a few nudges when the snores kicked in. It really was funny and the show was a mellow one. The girls and I had a great giggle every time we looked over to see his head bobbing. 
A special drink concoction for the kiddos with grape juice, sprite….and I can’t remember exactly what else but the girls liked them. 
After the show the girls were invited on stage for a photo op. First with Cinderella
Then with the Fairy Godmother and her dog, Magic. I think the dog was the biggest hit of the show. 

annabelle is ten

Oh my, oh my…Annabelle is ten! She woke up this morning and it felt as though she grew up over night. She just seemed older. She seemed a bit more mature. 
Although it’s going way too fast I know that growing older is a gift. Watching my babies turn into these beautiful, amazing young woman is not something that I take for granted. 
Annabelle is confident, fierce, passionate, beautiful, smart, funny and I absolutely adore her. She is my buddy and I really do enjoy spending time with her. The one on one time I have with her is so valuable, because she loves to share stories and make me laugh, 
I can’t imagine a life without this amazing child and she deserves the happiest 10th birthday!
Cake for breakfast. A Paz tradition. 
This girl loves her emojis and specificially requested the “poop” emoji piece for breakfast. 
(what’s with kids and that poop emoji? gross!)
singing happy birthday to the 10 year old!
Present time. This girl is so happy to be double digits. 
After much deliberation and many, many conversations Annabelle’s birthday wish came true and she received a phone. We have survived the first day and although she is a bit obsessed right now she was very responsible and respectful with it. 
Gwyneth gave her sister a new phone case
We were sad to say goodbye to the California cousins today. We dropped them at the airport after lunch and no one was happy about it. We had a great visit and of course, are already planning our next trip to see them. 
We picked up a few of the girls’ friends and headed to The Bay.  That wasn’t our original plan, but due to some afternoon rain showers and maintenance issues with our neighborhood pool Annabelle decided The Bay was our best bet. We don’t go very often and the girls absolutely loved all the slides.
I tell ya, this girl is out little fish!
Over and over and over and over….they couldn’t get enough of the slides! 
Annabelle requested BBQ for dinner so we hit Lulus in Louisville and then finished the evening with ice cream from Sweet Cow. It was a busy, busy day and Annabelle loved every minute of it. 
Happy birthday to our amazing 10 year old! 
How lucky we are to get to  be  your family and celebrate this day with you. 

swimming with cousins

These girls are so full of energy! They spent hours at the pool just swimming and swimming. I love having them here and we can’t even think about them heading home. 
Annabelle has been working really hard on her diving for swim team. 
She is freaky fast.
My goodness, I love these girls so much!

this is forty

Oh boy, my birthday just crept right up on me. I don’t know about this one. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, growing old is a gift! I love growing older with my husband (especially because he has more grey hairs than me right now…) and watching those babies of ours quickly growing into little ladies. BUT….come on…FORTY?!? I am far too youthful to be forty. 😉
B planned and planned and put together the best celebration weekend for me.We camped out at Jellystone in Estes with friends and family. My sister, Stacy and her family even flew out for the weekend! The entire weekend was about relaxing which could have been a challenge with 10 kids, but the campsite had games and activities to keep everyone entertained. 
I’m a lucky, lucky lady and extremely grateful for that husband of mine who went above and beyond to plan such a fun weekend for me. 
Our home away from home. Yep, that’s a couch in our tent. 
We’re taking this glamping to the next level!
Uno time
 Maeva chilling on our couch. This CA girl got a little cold in the mountains. 
So many laughs playing the game Wet Heads. 
Maeva was a lucky little lady and seemed to be immune from losing this game. (or winning because the kids all wanted to get wet!)
Love my little peeps
Time for a fun birthday surprise…
Look who showed up at our camp site to wish Annabelle and I a happy birthday!
Birthday girls
Great group! 
(unfortunately we were missing the Tylers for the picture)
oh I how I love this little family!
Happiness!
The gang decorate my golf cart and the trees on our site. 
Sheila, one of my dearest friends who has been with us for ages…back from our CA days. She is our camping guru and well, our partying guru! She just knows how to do it right.  
Me and me girls!
Tom and Amy
Glad to see I’m finally acting my age… 
(by the way the girls just have soda so chill!)
Rhys rocking the golf cart
Gus and Jamila
Friends!
Well, that seems about right!
Wagon ride time
Again, a big big thank you to my husband for putting the weekend together. It’s a lot of work to be able to relax like that. He made me feel very much loved and appreciated and I’m lucky to have that guy!