denver broncos: super bowl champs

Woo hoo! The Denver Broncos are the Super Bowl Champs!

We joined friends at Lance and Sheila’s house for a ragin’ party. They must have had 50 people there and it was a blast! They had tv’s (HUGE tv’s) set up in each room. There were kids playing and everyone screaming at the tv’s. So much food. So much drink. So much fun.

It was such a treat to celebrate this big win with so many crazy Bronco fans. Those Tyler’s sure know how to party!

Our girls stayed up way too late, B nearly lost his voice from yelling and I just had a grand time. This Super Bowl won’t soon be forgotten. All is good in Colorado tonight.

One drunken evening I declared myself slapbet comissioner of our friends. I awarded people slaps and that night most of them were used up. B had one left for Gus and out of no where slapped him right across the face tonight. I was the only one who saw it but it was the slap heard around the house. It was hilarious, it was glorious, it was going to leave a mark! Yep, that’s just how we have fun around here. Before the slap ^^

One of my favorite pics of the night!

migraines and basketball

When we get too busy, Gwyneth lets us know. She reminds us to slow down. Sometimes its not too subtle. 
She walked in our room around 5 a.m. She said “I have a head ache”. She threw up. 
And that’s how we know.
Gwyneth gets migraines when she doesn’t get enough sleep. She requires a lot of sleep. She is also my little homebody and likes to snuggle on the couch. She wants to be surrounded by her stuffed animals. She doesn’t like to always be on the go. She needs her downtime. 
She never complains and always goes with the flow. Then she gets these migraines and we are quickly reminded we really need to slow down. We need to snuggle on the couch and read books and watch Girl Meets World. 

She spent the day resting, but those headaches take it out of her.

Highlight of her day. We got a Roomba vacuum and she followed it around the house. She has named it Rosie.

Finally starting to feel better! Yay!

Annabelle has been requesting to play basketball for quite some time. I finally found her a intro class to learn the basics. I told her if she could stick with it for the next 6 weeks then we would check out leagues. I’m open to them trying anything and everything. I want them to be well rounded and try all sorts of things (except soccer, please please no more soccer). Annabelle doesn’t need as much down time as Gwyneth. She likes to be on the go….so, here we go!

Today was Annabelle’s first class. She has been playing at recess but I was still surprised to see her skills. She can dribble and pass pretty well. She is hooked! She wants to play all the time and is even requesting a basketball hoop for the driveway. We’ll check back in after 6 weeks. I get a kick out of watching her play so I’m keeping my fingers crossed she doesn’t lose the interest.

dnd juniors

We were a few of the brave to head out during the snow storm tonight. It really wasn’t that bad but the Nuggets game was pretty empty. 
The girls performed during the pre-show. We went down early for dinner and stayed until the 3rd quarter. To Annabelle’s disappointment, we had to leave early because it was a school night. Its always fun to be there even if we can’t stay the whole time. 
Annabelle super irritated with me for taking pictures before the game. 
Both girls made it on the Jumbo Tron
They did great and we had such fun watching them! This has been such a fun experience for all of us. 

spelling bee

Today was the school spelling bee. The students were allowed to wear black and yellow to show their enthusiasm for the “bee”. My gals made a fashion statement of it and looked so cute…although I think those scarves are quite distracting and may have to be removed by the end of the day. 

It was a gorgeous Colorado day. One of those days with snow on the ground, sun shining, and no jackets needed for a bike ride. The girls rode for hours and it broke my heart to tell them they had to come in and do homework. Sometimes you just need an afternoon of fresh air and bike riding.

Annabelle is learning long division. She loves it! B and I got a kick out of this because it was our favorite lesson in math also. She’s really blossoming and we’re so proud of her.

hair cuts

Today and tomorrow are conference days and the girls have half days. I like being able to work in the morning and then have the afternoons with them.  I’ve been fighting an unrelenting cold since we returned from Memphis so I’m not a super fun momma these days. I wish I had something more fun planned for them, but all we had on the agenda was haircuts. 
Annabelle came home and got right on her homework. I love those days. Get the work out of the way with no struggle. 

Gwyneth has been begging to get her haircut. At first she said 6 inches, then 5 inches and then settled on 4 inches.  I love her beautiful, long hair but she was determined.

Goodbye beautiful locks:

She walked right in and said “4 inches off please”. She had such confidence in her choice. The stylist cut the back and worked around to the front. When the front pieces fell her entire face lit up and she couldn’t have been more thrilled. She was so proud of herself and her whole body was shining with confidence.

I never did get a straight answer on why she wanted to cut her hair. She shared a few of her thoughts which included “it takes too long to wash in the shower”, “it’s too hard to brush after showers and in the morning”, “it’s too hard to brush at school after swimming”. Basically it’s about saving time and gaining independence. I can see her desire for it and how happy it makes her to be growing up. Ugh, I get it, but I don’t have to like it.

Annabelle got a little trim because naturally she wants to grow her hair out.

memphis: day 2

Someone forgot to tell our little Annabelle that vacations are for sleeping in. She was up until at least 11:30 the night before and then woke me up at 6:45 giggling away. She was ready to start her day. B and Gwyneth had other plans and slept for another 2 hours. 
Annabelle was getting bored laying around so I surprised her with a trip to the pool. At that hour she had the pool all to herself. She is definitely our little fish. 

Unfortunately after a long swim and little sleep she wasn’t feeling well. Annabelle went upstairs showered and was very grumpy. I was starting to lose patience with her behavior and then she threw up. All over the lobby floor. We all felt terrible for her. She went up to the room to change and have a rest and we quickly changed our plans for the day.

B spent the morning in the room with Annabelle and she slept for over an hour. She still looked tired, but we decided to take it easy that day and she said she really wanted to get out of the hotel room and get some fresh air. We were nervous about being away from the room, but I packed up a barf bag for her in my purse (that’s just what mom’s do, right?) and we set out to explore.

While Annabelle napped Gwyneth and I had breakfast in the lobby and waited for the ducks. She had front seats for the walking of the famous Peabody ducks. 

We grabbed lunch at Blue City Cafe on Beale Street. Annabelle only ate crackers, but after her nap she was starting to get some color back in her face and was happy to get some fresh air. We didn’t need to use that barf bag the rest of the day so I call it a success.

After lunch we visited the Gibson Guitar Factory. We did a quick unguided tour. The factory workers were not working today so we basically just made our way around the show room. The tour would have been cool, but the show room was still pretty impressive. 

Ready to start their own Sister band. I think Annabelle has this rockin’ party girl thing down!

Annabelle is our little basketball junkie. Ever since she became a Junior Nuggets dancer she has been hooked. She was so excited to see the stadium where the Memphis Grizzlies play.

The girls asked for an action shot. Annabelle pretended to dribble the basketball and Gwyneth….well, this is why our sassy little girl is in dancing school rather than on the soccer field. She’s definitely got some style and moves, but they still seem more geared towards tap shoes than soccer cleats.

We stopped in for a little beverage refreshment at Wet Willy’s, which was absolute fine during the day but I can imagine was wildly inappropriate for kids in the evening. The girls each ordered a non-alcoholic frozen strawberry daiquiri.

Annabelle still wasn’t eating much, but she seemed to be quickly returning to her normal, lively self.

Hanging out on Beale Street

It was Sunday afternoon after all and playoff season so we settled in at a restaurant/Sports Bar to watch the Broncos beat the Steelers. B was actually really laid back about it. We all knew he wanted to watch the game, but he was hesitant to take away time from our family. Given Annabelle’s morning we thought it would be a great opportunity to relax, have some beverages, a few snacks and just hang out. It didn’t hurt that the Broncos won and we got to do some celebrating!

Gwyneth was so, so obsessed with the carriage rides. It was a chilly night but we braved it for a ride down by the Mississippi River. We received a great tour of town, saw the beautiful bridges and skyline and an amazing sunset. My pictures can’t even do it justice.

Afterwards we stopped of to play a little Jenga, but this place just wasn’t working for us so off we went to explore other restaurants for dinner.

We ended our evening in our hotel lounge and enjoyed some delicious desserts. Pecan pie and lemon meringue pie. Yummmm!

The next morning we had just enough time see the ducks on parade. The girls had front row seats and the ducks even stopped right in front of them. Wonderful ending to a wonderful trip. 

memphis: day 1

We had a splendid time at Graceland, but then it was time to head downtown. I had done a little more research on this part of the trip and B and I were excited to see the sites. 
We checked in to the Peabody Hotel which is in the heart of downtown and absolutely stunning, although sadly not as impressive to the girls…I’m not sure we’re rising them quite right. 
We dropped off our bags and then were off for a snack on Beale Street. We hit the Rum Boogie Cafe and kept our tour of BBQ and fried pickles on parade. 
The famous ducks at Peabody Hotel
Um, I don’t know. Some dog statues. The girls asked and I like to take pictures so….
Enjoying the kid-friendly hours on Beale Street. We were told it gets a little crazy at night for kids. It’s like Bourbon Street without the flashing. It seemed cleaner so I thought that was an exaggeration. I don’t know, we were at the hotel by 10 p.m. both nights so don’t take my word for it. 
We made all Gwyneth’s dreams come true by hopping in a horse drawn carriage. Now, I’m a pretty rotten mom because I thought we had all done this before. No. I have taken Annabelle in Chicago. This was Gwyneth’s first time and and she absolutely loved every stinkin’ second of it. 
Waiving to the pedestrians
She seems happy. Just a little happy. Yeah, she’s happy. 
We toured the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel. It was perfect timing since the girls had the day off for this trip in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s honor. 
The museum was informative and heartbreaking. Annabelle was outraged. She doesn’t really get sad she gets angry. She doesn’t cry, she gets pissed. She has a tough shell and has very little tolerance for people who are mean. She read the plaques, watched the videos,  and learned so much. I understand her. I can relate to her anger. I think we are cut from the same cloth. 
Gwyneth bawled. Openly bawled through the museum. We read the plaques together and watched the videos and she cried. She has a very tender soul. She was heartbroken and devastated and so disturbed. People openly stared at her while we walked out. Maybe they thought she was just a bratty little girl? But they don’t know her and I don’t care what they think of her. I know her heart and I know this museum changed her and I know she will do very good things.
We didn’t tour the rooms. Gwyneth couldn’t. We talked about what happened there and she said that she just needed to go. I don’t want to shield her from the realities of this world, but she understands. We all understand. We paid our respects and we started walking back towards our hotel. A little quieter and a lot more respectful. 
We found ourselves back on Beale Street and since it was getting late we decided to stop for just a picture, not partying. 
We ended a very busy day back at the hotel. This lovely pianist played nearly the entire score from Sound of Music for Annabelle. We enjoyed dessert and called it a night. 

graceland

I found outstanding deals for a quick weekend getaway to Memphis. We had never been and our gals are obsessed with Elvis so it was the perfect opportunity to get away. 
Gwyneth is obsessed with these massage chairs. She is certain that we need four of them in our house. She may be on to something. 
Memphis or bust! 
Our first night we spent at Elvis Presley’s Hearbreak Hotel. These are the things that we do for our children….
The girls love Elvis and I wish I could claim it’s because of admirable parenting and our cultivating their musical tastes. No, it started from them watching Full House. 
They like Uncle Jess and he loves Elvis. And then we introduced them to Elvis music when they asked. I guess we’re more a Beatles couple, but that seems like a pretty lame excuse when your kids learn about great music from Full House. 
We did it up for them. All Elvis. All cheesy. All 1970’s gloriousness. 
The phone in the lobby connects you right to Marlowe’s restaurant which picks you up for dinner in a pink limo. Gwyneth picked up the phone in her sweet little voice and asked for a ride in the pink limo and then we waited for our sweet ride. 
Velvet Lobby
Mental note to hit this place on the way back…
The girls were pleased. It’s a pink Cadillac. Come on. What’s not to flippin’ love?
The restaurant was doused in Elvis memorabilia and the ribs were tender and fell right off the bone. 
When in Rome….or should I say Memphis…
The wine was fun and cheap and perfectly in tune with our mood to cheese it up tonight. Everyone was exhausted from a day of travel, but we had a delightful evening and a superb kick-off to our weekend. 
My crew and the King of Cabernet. 
We had a suite at the hotel and the girls had their own room. One very redeemable quality of the Heartbreak Hotel. We never mind squeezing in together to stay at nicer hotels, but when you don’t have to share a bed with a kicking 7 year old, you appreciate the values of a suite in Graceland. 
We were up early and off to the show: 

None of us had ever been and I have to admit I was so freakin’ excited. I’ve always wanted to see Graceland and it lived up to all my 1970’s gaudy, gorgeous dreams. I was probably the most excited to be there, even though I tried to play it off a bit. It was Elvis’ house. The King. It was fabulous.

Oh Elvis, you had me at “Peacock Room”
Right?  Right????

Gwyneth loved all the chandeliers. Each room had one. She declared our house should too. I had to agree. When you are in Graceland that seems like a really good idea.

His parents bedroom: 
The dining room: 

The glasses and serving pieces all have Elvis’ monogram on them. Annabelle was quick to point out that Elvis and I have the same taste in entertaining. Thank you my dear, thank you.

The kitchen. Naturally, B was horrified but quickly noted it was uncharacteristic for the time to have a TV in the kitchen. (Please note that it’s uncharacteristic for our time as well, because he has always said NO, NO, NO to a TV in our kitchen). Annabelle announced it was “grody” to have carpet in the kitchen.

The basement was….well, it was something! This was the TV room. So bright. And that little monkey on the table is a bit creepy. 
The pool table room was like a giant fan…even the ceiling. 
The Jungle Room. Well, what’s not to love about a water fall and green carpet on the walls? Nothing I tell ya, nothing! 

The girls wanted to read everything they could find about Lisa Marie. They are so intrigued by his daughter and I’ve tried to find as much info about her as I could. I shared her younger days with them…I tried to leave out as much of that Michael Jackson phase as I could…you know what I’m talking about. Creepy!

They loved her swing set in the backyard and that I had a similar one growing up. I use to stand on that little see-saw and get in big trouble from my mom. Oh how they love a good story about me getting in trouble when I was younger. Luckily I have a pretty full arsenal of them.

We toured through the museum that use to be his racquetball court and were amazed at all his gold records and awards.

I so enjoy a good love story and wedding. Priscilla’s dress was beautiful and I swore to myself that I would only buy one biography about her when I returned home.

Lisa Marie’s baby clothes — a hit with the girls
I don’t even know what to say about this…

His final resting place. I didn’t realize he was buried, along with his parents, on the actual property. I didn’t do a lot of research on Graceland but I feel I’m ready for a good trivia night after this visit. 

Time for lunch. At the Rockabilly Cafe, naturally.

When your daughters are so cool that they need their own table. I don’t mind an adult table with the hubs, so let’s do this…

B was the only one who braved the peanut butter and banana sandwich. He did let me have a taste and it wasn’t bad, not bad at all.

Of course, if you’re going to visit Graceland you do it all. We went for the platinum package with the car tour and airplanes.

The girls know a thing or two about planes and let’s be clear, Elvis knew how to travel! 

And off we go. 
Graceland was a hit. It was such a blast from the past. This was a memorable trip. 
Now off to downtown Memphis!

girl scouts: home scientists

I was horribly distracted this evening with preparing for our trip early the next morning. Luckily Amy and Tom ran Gwyneth’s troop meeting. Tom helped the girls earn their Home Scientist badges. He works for the FDA and showed them how to seperate the coloring from foods — they loved it and thought it was super cool. There were no explosions, much to their chagrin, but they were impressed nonetheless.

nuggets half time performance

My dad and Melissa flew in for a quick visit and to watch the girls dance at the Nuggets game. Saturday we had birthday parties at the kitchen and the girls were able to spend the day with them. They had lunch and then off they went to the Molly Brown house and the Firefighters Museum. 

We met the four of them downtown and had a fabulous dinner at Morton’s. We all stayed at the Ritz and it was so nice to be able to walk back after dinner and not have to drive. The girls were pretty exhausted after a long, busy day. 

The next day they Nuggets dance class in the morning; another great reason that we are able to stay downtown.

Checking out the view with “Snoop Dog”
Then a bit of relaxing and off to the game. My dad, Melissa, the Hales crew, and Gus and Missi joined us. The girls did another great job and I’m so proud of them for going out there during half time. It takes a lot of courage and they rock it. 

On the jumbo tron: 

After the performance the girls were invited to the locker rooms and received autographs. We were allowed two parent passes, which B kindly passed his off to Melissa.