snow white and ice cream social

Summer is winding down. It seems to end as soon as it is getting started. We hosted our last summer cooking class today. We had a lovely visit from Snow White and made delicious caramel apples…that seemed like the better choice for insurance purposes; although the kids really wanted to make poison apples. I guess you can’t please ’em all.

Annabelle stuck around for the caramel apples and then spent the day with her friend Olivia.

Their Grumpy Dwarf faces..

…and their Sleepy Dwarf faces…

We had a lot of great camps this summer. I enjoy being creative and menu planning and coming up with new themes. The classes are hard work but I love having the kids in the Kitchen.

Tonight was the ice cream social at school where the girls got to see friends, meet their new teachers, and drop off their supplies.

Annabelle is very excited about fourth grade.

This is the first time Gwyneth has had the same teacher as Annabelle. She couldn’t be more thrilled. She loves Mrs. Certain and walked in the room likes she own the place.

Mrs.Certain has been so great to both these ladies. I can’t wait for another great year.

Great opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Happy girls

colorado history, capital, and white fence farm

We had a great day planned downtown and had friends join us for the fun. We started at the Colorado History Museum, which we all love. I think it’s one of the most underrated in the city. It’s never crowded and there is always so much to learn and explore.

The Awkward Family Photo exhibit was a crack up.

The girls even got an opportunity to pose in their most awkward shots.

We grabbed lunch and then off to the state capital.

We took the guided tour which gave us an opportunity to go all the way up in the dome. I saw we, but I sat out of the last floor because I was freaked out. I’m so afraid of heights. Thank goodness for my friend, Pam because she took all the kiddos up to the top.

I highly recommend this tour. What a great bit of Colorado government and history!

The girls were ready to tackle all the stairs.

We climbed hundreds of stairs and they did an extra 100 because they went all the way to the top of the dome.

After a very busy day we dropped off the girls’ friends and then stopped by home to pick up B for dinner. We met the Tyler’s at White Fence Farm, which has become a summer tradition. I tried for a change of venue because its a bit of hike for everyone and we were worn out but the kids were not having it. “It’s a tradition!!!” Annabelle proclaimed so off we went and of course it was just the best time. Long live the tradition and we welcome any opportunity to see Tylers. We sure do love those peeps.

star wars and game night

We hosted a Star Wars party at the Kitchen today. Our girls haven’t seen the new movie yet (Gwyneth may never see it! She doesn’t like the old Star Wars movies and B and I are not on the Star Wars bandwagon either). Anyway, there’s definitely a demand for the theme so we put together a little camp at the kitchen. The kids had fun and we made some creative snacks.

The girls each had a friend over for a sleepover tonight. Annabelle’s friend, Morgan and Gwyneth’s friend, Jenna joined us for dinner and a night of games. The big girls went off and hid in Annabelle’s room for most of the night and the littles played dress up in the basement. When they each have a friend over my nights are very quiet!

painting and cupcake wars: gwyneth style

The girls are hooked on painting and crafts and have spent a lot of their summer time working on art projects. They attended a class at Whimsy this morning painting jellyfish. They love the freedom and the creativity and spending a few dollars on soda and snacks.

Gwyneth invited friends to the kitchen for a cupcake wars party. It was a full house and there were lots and lots of cupcakes. It was so great to see old friends, new friends, girl scout friends.

renaissance fair

We took our yearly trip down to Larkspur to visit the Renaissance Festival. We almost missed it this year, but made it the very last day of the fair. The girls love it. They still look forward to seeing the fairies, the rides and all the food.

We stay a few hours and I get my fill. The people watching is always quite interesting. This year we got lucky with cooler weather which was glorious (about 20 degrees cooler than normal!).

Off to the fair

getting a toe ring.

her tiara and princess license

golden, colorado

Our friend, Dan, came to visit from Phoenix. We have been friends since Freshman year in college and what a treat to get our kiddos together. They were all staying with his dad, but we got to sneak in some time and met up in Golden. We had lunch at Table Mountain Inn which is absolutely delicious and it was so great to catch up with Dan.

After lunch we went on the short tour of the Coors Brewery. My gals have been asking to go but when we got there all the kiddos held their noses from the smell of the hops. We decided the short tour was better than the long tour (and saved ourselves about 1 1/2 hours). The kids enjoyed root beers and we got to sip on free beers. It was a fun afternoon and we’re so glad we got the opportunity to meet up.

sunflower farms and butterfly pavilion

Our first stop of the day was Sunflower Farms in Longmont. It’s a beautiful farm with so much activity. The weather was overcast which I don’t mind at all. I’m not a fan of the heat so a little break from the high temps was just fine with me.

Funny story: later in the day I was asked how the farm was and I kept saying “it was great. not too hot, a little hungover”. I said this several times before realizing I meant “OVERCAST” not “hungover”. Honestly I was not hungover but I think there are some mommas out there who now think I’m quite the lush!

Back to the day, Gwyneth’s friend Ruby joined us for the morning adventure. Ruby and Annabelle had a bit more fun. Gwyneth is more of an indoors gal who prefers to spend her time doing art and sewing (from her mouth!). They pet animals, took turns on the swings, and ran around a bit, but Gwyneth’s heart was not in it. She did her time and then we went back home for them to play games.

We met up with gals from both Girl Scout troops at the Butterfly Pavilion that afternoon. They earned a “Bug” badge and then we explored the Pavilion. They even got a chance to hold Rosie.

The funny face pose is always best!

children’s museum and more

I had a little anxiety this week when I realized school was just two weeks away. I have spent some time this summer playing referee to my little ladies, but mostly we’ve had our fun. Summer just goes by too darn fast and I’m not quite ready for the schedule of the new school year with homework, dance classes, swimming and all the other activities that keep me on my toes.

Instead of counting down the days until school starts I’m trying my best to enjoy every minute I can with these gals.

We had Taco Tuesday at the Kitchen. We made guacamole, chips, tortilla chips and of course tacos. We even made “taco” cookies.

We saw Ice Age 3D which the girls seemed to enjoy but the 3D glasses give me a headache. We were the only ones in the theater so I took off the glasses and checked emails for most of the show. It was $12 to spend time with my girls and get caught up on work emails – worth it!

Livin’!

The girls have been begging to go to the Children’s Museum all summer. It’s always crazy crowded and I thought they were too old for it, but I was wrong. They have redone the museum and it’s pretty spectacular. Something for everyone to do. It’s still their favorite.

Loving the ski lift swings outside the entrance

yeah, they are little whacky

They made it rain and got soaking wet and were all giggles. . Perfect ending to our trip to the museum. We all left laughing!

Thursday we had a pj and pancakes party at the Kitchen. The girls each had friends join them and then Gwyneth went home with Ella to play for the afternoon and Annabelle’s friend Morgan joined her at our house. A little space from each other does these sisters good.

Gwyneth and her buddies and their giant pancake!

georgetown loop

We woke up bright and early to a beautiful, sunny Colorado morning. Everyone was slightly tired; we woke up a few times from the thunderstorms overnight. We were happy to be warm and dry and ready for a new day.

These girls don’t look sad, huh?

We wished we could stay just a little bit longer, but we packed up our gear and called our first camping trip a success. We learned a lot this trip and we know we’ll be planning a lot more trips. Look out Colorado!

On our way down the hill we stopped in Georgetown to take the train ride. We took Annabelle when she was a tiny baby, but this was a first for Gwyneth and honestly a first for Annabelle since she doesn’t really remember her previous ride.

Again, spectacular Colorado views.

Annabelle has developed a fear of heights, but luckily she had her dad to hang on to.

Heading over Devil’s Gate Bridge

Annabelle was not loving that bridge

Gwyneth’s photog skills:

Annabelle’s photog skills:

We stopped in Idaho Springs for lunch and then drove the rest of the way down the mountain. I love these Colorado experiences and I feel so lucky to live in this beautiful place with this great family of mine.

camping in frisco

I baked and frosted 1,150 cupcakes!

It was a crazy-big order for a Jeep Jamboree in Empire, Colorado. It took me two days and I had a bit of a hook-hand from piping, but I did it! I tried to get it all done in one day, but after many hours and still about 150 more cupcakes left to frost I just couldn’t. I had tears in my eyes (quite dramatic) and my hand was aching from frosting and B convinced me to just finish it up the next day. He’s a good one, because the next morning I was fully charged and cranked them out in no time.

We drove up to Empire to deliver the cupcakes and I have never seen so many Jeeps. It was pretty cool. It was raining and overcast and those Jeeps were muddy! We swung in and delivered those cupcakes and I was so relieved and ready to relax.

We drove the rest of the way up to Frisco for our first tent camping adventure. We could only stay one night but we wanted to give it a try. It’s a lot of work for one night, but it was amazing!! The views were spectacular, our camp site was gorgeous, and we were all eager to enjoy this new experience.

We had a few set backs, the biggest being the downpours that happened. We knew the forecast called for rain but we were optimistic. We were not quite so lucky and it poured on us. A few times. The sun would pop out of the clouds and tease us and then it would start raining again. We are now certain our tent is waterproof and we can withstand the cold, wind and rain. It’s probably not the most ideal weather for a camping trip, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a night for the books and I’ll never forget it.

How’s that for a view?

My goodness, Colorado is a little bit of heaven.

Our “villa”.

Our tent is roomy (slight understatement) which came in handy when we were all waiting out the storm inside together. I think it may be a bit obnoxious, but it’s easy up and easy down and has plenty of room. I see this picture and can’t wait to get back in the mountains in this thing.

We were just a 5 – 10 minute drive from Frisco but it felt like we were miles and miles away. It was so peaceful .