spring break eve

We are ready for a little vacation around here. The girls are so excited to go visit their cousins in California for a few days. It has been far too long since we’ve been out to visit and we’re all looking forward to some time at the beach.

Gwyneth said Thursday night was a lot like Christmas. She found it so hard to sleep and was just too excited!

B treated us to a delicious dinner. YUM!

And the girls enjoyed a delicious shirley temple treat.

Cheers! Bring on spring break.

(I told them they looked like Hugh Hefner with those robes on, sipping their drinks…they said they had no idea what I was talking about and for that I am glad!)

colorado sunsets

It was a gorgeous spring day here in Colorado. B took the top off the Jeep and he took the girls downtown to meet his sister for lunch. I had to get some work done so I buckled down and tried not to think about the beautiful day that I was missing.

When they returned home, my work was done and we all agreed it was the perfect night for bike riding and relaxing on the front porch. I love living in Colorado. How beautiful is this??

science fair

I’m a horrible procrastinator….well, actually I’m an exceptional procrastinator! I do nothing before it’s due time. I have a detailed, elaborate, color-coded calendar that keeps this family and these businesses right on the brink of insanity.

Naturally I’ve had the girls’ science fair project due dates on the calendar for months. MONTHS. We decided we should start them and finish them, oh about ONE day before they were due. I was a bit worried that they wouldn’t get them done. B was a LOT annoyed that they waited so long.

In the end, the girls rocked them! There was some yelling (B?), there were some tears (B?), but Annabelle figured out that lemon juice help apples from browning and Gwyneth learned that hot water freezes faster than cold water.

Did I learn to start these projects earlier and save our family a big headache? Nope! I’m afraid I learned nothing and will remain my same stubborn self. Is there a science fair project for that???

paint night with g

Gwyneth and I met some friends at Color Me Mine for a special paint night. She painted a lovely Easter Egg plate and I painted a little spring plate. I’m painting more and more these days and I’m really enjoying the connection with my girls and to this little business. Couldn’t have asked for a better night with my littlest lady!

earrings

Last February Miss Annabelle got her ears pieced. Fast forward one year and Gwyneth decided it was her turn. I was pretty shocked because she has always said she would wait until she was 102 (G logic | “I will get them pierced when I am 102 because I will probably die when I am 103 and I want to enjoy them for a year.” Well, of course).

She got up her nerve today (well, kind of…) and us Meyer gals headed to Claire’s. She wanted Annabelle there to hold her hand and reassure her. I honestly don’t think she could have done it without her big sister.

Before Pics: Lovely lobes still in tact.

Here we go!

She started off a little nervous…and squeezed the heck out of Annabelle’s hand.

Then she lost it. She said she really wanted it done but she was so afraid it was going to hurt.

I wouldn’t let her continue unless she was absolutely certain this was what she wanted. She assured me she wanted her ears pierced but she planned to cry the entire time. I felt terrible for her and wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. G is such a sensitive soul and I didn’t want this to be negative experience for her.

She asked the tech if they could do both at the same time and they happily agreed. They told her they wouldn’t go until she said “ready”. They counted down 3, 2, 1….

and then I heard the sweetest little Gwyneth voice squeek “READY!”.

And it was done! She did it!

I asked if it hurt and she said “Heck yes. It felt like they were putting staples through my head!”

I went to check out and heard the girls having a lovely moment.

Here’s a few things I heard:

Gwyneth: “I was always a little bit jealous that you had your ears pierced but I thought I would be too scared.”

Annabelle: “I’m so glad you did it. I’m proud of you.”

Gwyneth: “I never really liked my ears before, but now I LOVE them.”

Those girls!

Gwyneth threw on her shades and was ready to show off those earrings to the world.

Ears pierced!

We had planned to go a movie tonight, but the girls wanted to stay home and organize their earrings!

kno | beauty and the beast

Tonight was the first Kids Night Out that we hosted at our new studio. I wanted it to be a big one so of course the girls set to work inviting their friends. We went from a typical ZERO or one or two signups to a whopping 12 at this night out. I was thrilled to have so many kiddos join us. That’s a fantastic start in this new studio.

The kids had pizza, painted tea cups, enjoyed snacks, a movie and games. It was a full night and everyone seemed to have a grand time. Looking forward to keeping up this momentum and having these special nights with my girls.

Came across this nightgown at Children’s Place and couldn’t resist. G thought it was hilarious.

Gwyneth’s friend Jenna had a sleepover tonight. It has been a long time since these ladies have been together and they enjoyed the time immensely.

medieval times

Annabelle’s class hosted a medieval times feast. B graciously made up a salad and some sausages for them and other families brought chicken legs and fruit and pies. The kids were thrilled and had a great time.

After the feast the kiddos put on a play and shared reports they had created about the times. Annabelle focused on music and dance from the time period and even choreographed a dance with some friends. Several other grades joined in to watch along with many parents. The kids did a great job in their performances and I’m so impressed with how their teacher pulled this together.

new color me mine store

I have been crazy, overwhelmed this week and here’s why:

We started with this and had about 3 weeks to get it ready for our move.

yeah, that is an understatement of how I was feeling…

There was a lot of hustle and lost sleep while the new location was being built out. We stayed open in our current location until Feb 20th because it was a holiday and I didn’t want to miss out on that much need day of revenue (someone has to pay for all this!). We closed that location on the 21st and had to be completely out by the 22nd when my lease was up. Not a lot of time for packing and moving.

I have an amazing staff who pitched in to wrap up all that pottery to move to the new location. It was just a few doors down, but there was a lot to move. I also had three guys come out from the corporate office to help which included moving all the furniture and my kilns. The former owner was messy and a packrat so I just started stuffing trash bags. I filled up three large dumsters with her old mess.

Did I also mention that I have one pretty terrific husband helping me too? He was packing, moving, unpacking, carting the kids around, keeping our lives in check, and talking me down from every drama. These are not small things and he never asked for anything in return. Well, maybe for me to calm down a bit, or to sleep, or to stop crying every now and then… but I guess those are all reasonable requests.

I finished packing up very, very late on the 22nd. It was bitter sweet. I fought so hard for that grody ol’ Color Me Mine. It was special to me and my family, but never really felt like mine. I was constantly making excuses and trying to distance myself from the previous owner. It was never my style, never felt like home. (It was so flippin’ dirty!! UGH!). I can’t say I will miss it, not one little bit. I did learn a lot here (mostly what I did NOT want) and for that I will always be grateful.

I locked up those doors and headed over to see the new location:

This was very late Wednesday night and we were scheduled to open the doors Friday morning. If I’m being completely honest this is when the tears arrived. I was so, so tired and I couldn’t get the door locked when I was leaving. I just stood there and cried. That’s what a lack of sleep will do to you (and maybe a touch of fear and despair…).

Again, that husband of mine talked me off the ledge. He bought me a burrito and a beer and assured me it would all get done. He also did homework with the girls, went grocery shopping, made sure lunches, swim bags, and dance bags were packed, and still managed to run his own business for the week. I have always thought we made a great team, but this week I have fully realized that I have it far, far better in this marriage. My only hope is that he doesn’t realize it too or that he remains too kind to admit it.

Thursday morning I woke up with renewed confidence and was determined to get that store in order for a Friday opening. I had several staff members come in and help me load shelves and get the kiln room in order.

And we did it! We were ready to open Friday morning! We got that entire store unpacked and ready in one day! What the what?!?

I still can’t really believe it happened. The store wasn’t perfect (still isn’t), but it’s a work in progress and it is me. It was truly miraculous seeing my vision come together from a few drawings to this:

I absolutely love it and it finally feels like ours! It’s modern and clean and I couldn’t be happier.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible. I’m feeling quite fortunate and grateful these days.

happy birthday, brayden

We joined the Conleys and friends for an afternoon of bowling for Brayden’s birthday.

Annabelle played a good game, but that girls sure is competitive. She wanted a strike every time.

It was a fun group of kids and they had a blast bowling with bumpers.

Happy birthday to Brayden. How is this kid 9 already?!

Enjoying some yummy chocolate cake!

valentines

Oh Valentines Day, how you snuck up on us this year! We had multiple events booked at work and the girls had dance class so we kept things pretty quiet — our style.

I had an event at work that evening called paint by candlelight with little chocolates and flickering candles on each table. We had a pretty good turnout and the studio looked pretty festive.

Annabelle’s class had their Valentine’s party at the studio too. They bused over and the kids were pretty flippin’ excited about this field trip.

They had their choice of an emoji mug or an angry birds mug. The class was pretty divided but I’m sure you can guess Annabelle’s choice:

They all did a great job and it was great to spend the afternoon with Annabelle and her class.

Love this girl!

Annabelle’s teacher painted a bowl green and then each of the kids put their finger print on it. One of my very talented staff did some amazing art work on the bowl to turn it into a little flower garden. I loved how it turned out.

The girls both did Jazz performances in their dance classes this evening.

Gwyneth paired up with her buddy, Ella

Annabelle takes her classes oh so serious.

I arrived home to find lovely flowers and all the mixins to make an Old Fashioned, which has become my favorite new beverage. Oh that B knows the way to my heart still!