girl scouts: scavenger hunt

We had a lovely outing planned for Annabelle’s girl scout troop. They were to earn their Technology badge (or something along those lines) with a class at the Apple Store. 
After several phone and email confirmations — let me tell ya, I’m an organized and thorough gal — we showed up to find there would be no class. 
The manager found our reservation and my emails and said yes, indeed she saw the reservation on the calendar, but I had to understand they were not prepared to do the class. Um, what? But isn’t that what the reservation is for? To reserve the time and date? (I’ve seen this episode of Seinfeld. I know how this works). And the follow up confirmation emails (one less than 24 hours prior to the meeting) those are just to confirm we are still on, right? 
Wrong. I was told again and again as the girls ran around the mall that although they had the reservation they couldn’t keep the reservation. (I know I’ve seen that Seinfeld episode and it’s a good one!). 
My co-leader is far better than me, because I was ready to hit the wine bar and call the night a loss. She decided since we were all there that we should organize a scavenger hunt for them. We came up with several things for them to find in the mall (a soccer ball, pink tennis shoes, a candle, a diamond ring, etc etc). We split up in to two teams and off we went. The girls loved it and then they all had an ice cream cone afterwards. I think my co-leader should earn a badge for creativity and caring and I’m pretty sure I earned that glass of wine afterwards. 

national spaghetti day

We’ve had a few trying days getting back into our routine. The girls are back at school and although the mornings have been a little rough (ahem…Gwyneth Grace), it’s great to be back at work full-time and to have the girls back on a schedule. 
I feel like I’ve lost a little bit of the silliness of being a mom lately. It’s all work, planning, work, homework, shopping, work, laundry and still more laundry. I haven’t prioritized the playful side of holidays, activities or the just the everyday. I know, I know…life is busy and sacrifices have to be made but I miss the silly with my girls that has gotten lost in being over-scheduled.
Today was National Spaghetti Day so we made a big deal about celebrating. We made spaghetti and the girls were cracking up because there is a day that actually celebrates Spaghetti. I’m the mom that celebrates National Spaghetti Day and National Bubble Bath Day and National Puzzle Day and the all important National Hugging Day. Until the girls stop laughing about it, that’s the mom I want to be. 
This my friends, is homemade “Gwyneth Butter”. The one and only and it is delicious. 
Annabelle’s special interest project is due tomorrow and she chose to do a Power Point presentation on the Denver Nuggets and the Nuggets Dancers. I love Power Point and it was fun to teach her some of my old tricks from my corporate days. She learned a lot and put together a great presentation. She learned about formatting, inserting pictures and shapes and changing fonts and backgrounds. These projects are pretty neat opportunities for the kids and I can see the real life application of these skills. I especially love how she slipped in a bit about herself performing at the games at the end. 
She was beaming when she emailed it off to her teacher. She gathered her Junior Nuggets Dancer jacket and can’t wait to present in front of her class tomorrow. 
A few highlights from her presentation; pretty cool for an 8 year old!
Actually that’s insulting…it’s cool for any age, because I worked with plenty of yahoos who couldn’t use power point to save their lives/jobs (ooooh, BURN!).

I have a few challenges for improving myself this year. I hate to call them resolutions because they are things I already do. I just want to focus on things that really make me happy:  my family, my business, reading and taking pictures. I’ve got some work to do with the pictures, but I already know how to read. 🙂 I just want to do it more often. 
#2 for 2016
I finished reading this tonight, but have to admit the completion involved a fair share of skimming. I really tried, but the characters were so unlikable and there was very little plot. It was actually quite predictable…which I suppose I should have known from the flippin’ title. 

adams family

We are in our final days of winter break. 
Saturday included a birthday party and a long over-due sleepover for Gwyneth and Ella. These girls miss each other terribly since Gwyneth moved schools. Ella and her family are so lovely and her mom is wonderful about making sure these sweet, yet ridiculously silly, girls still have their time together. 
Sunday afternoon we went to see Adams Family “Alive” at the Boulder Dinner Theater. We had an extra ticket (usually it’s just the girls and I) and surprisingly, B decided to join us. It’s not a surprise that he wanted to have some family time or go to the theater, he is always eager to do both. It just so happens the show was the same time as the Bronco game. Now, that is a family man! We enjoyed the show very much and we made it home just in time for the 2nd half of the game. Good times all around. 
Always ready for a show: 
Celebrating the last day of winter break with kiddie cocktails:
I was feeling sad about the girls heading back to school tomorrow. The break seemed to fly by too quickly. I didn’t get enough reading time with them, movies, games, snuggles. There wasn’t enough family time. 
I was feeling a bit ungrateful and then they started to bicker. Really bicker. “Annnnnabelllllle”. This is what our dear Gwyneth howls when she is frustrated with her sister, when she is tired, when she is just plain fed up. 
Annabelle can be a a bit more discreet.  She may slink off to her room, leave the scene of the crime. Gwyneth is more vocal. (This is ever changing; this is just how they bicker these days). They usually play nicely together, they share most everything, but when we hear “Annnnnabelllllle”, we know we’ve hit the wall. 
Breaks over. Someone out there knew this was the perfect time for them to go back to school and that my heart wouldn’t break. I tucked them in and finished a book that I have been working on for weeks and braced myself for that early morning alarm clock. 
Of course I should have gone to bed but I was committed to finish reading this book. It’s been a slow read but a good one: 
I love a good apocalypse story. I’m a scaredy-cat about so much, but enjoy reading about the end of civilization. Huh? This was good, not particularly great, but I was intrigued. The characters were interesting and it was very well written. It stayed with me for days after so perhaps it was even better than my original impression. 

new year

Happy New Year! 
We had the laziest of days and it was lovely, and wonderful, and much needed.  We partied hard and well, lets be honest it’s not easy being champions. Yes, I’m going to be absolutely unbearable about our shuffleboard victory this year. You’ve been warned. 
B had a catering pickup today so we did manage to get out for a bit but then it was straight back in to pjs (except Gwyneth who doesn’t miss a chance to be dolled up in a dress). 
Gwyneth my “pose and smile for the camera gal” and 
Annabelle my “please, will you stop bugging me with your incessant picture taking gal”
Starting to get really irritated…
Seriously mom?
And then she cracks. She can’t stay that serious (or annoyed with me) for that long.

winner, winner chicken dinner

We were not able to get our shuffleboard tournament planned this summer, so decided to pull it together on New Years Eve. We couldn’t have 2015 champs missing from the trophy. It was a bit smaller, but more manageable than prior years and we had a great time celebrating with dear friends. 
The girls even had a few friends over to ring in the new year with them. The Tyler Boys, The Billera Twins and The Taylor Duo joined our little ladies upstairs for games, treats, a sparkling-apple cider toast, and a bubble-wrap stomping celebration. 
The adults had an intense shuffleboard showdown in the basement and we met the two-time winning Tylers in the championship game. It was a brutal game, lots of defense, lots of trash talking but in the end B and I were victorious! We finally get our name on that beloved trophy! 
It is bad form to win your own tournament. Don’t care! Could we have let the Tylers Three-Pete? Heck No! Are we going to be unbearable about winning? You betcha!!!
Thanks to all who celebrated with us! 
What a fun night and fun friends, and we can’t wait for many more good times in the coming year. 

X-Arena

The Billeras planned a much needed outing for the kiddos during winter break. We met at X-Arena, which is an intense gym with games and activities that get out that cooped up winter energy.

Since Becky’s family was still visiting they got to join in the fun too. It was great to see the kids running, jumping and laughing. What a nice treat to see friends from the girls’ old school and some fabulous moms too.

Annabelle loved this. Look at her fly!

Becky and her family had to head home EARLY the next morning. I know it wasn’t ideal for them to stay an extra four days, but we were glad to have them and were still sad to see them go.

happy birthday: maeva

Happy, happy 8th birthday to my smart and sassy little niece, Maeva!
This girl is wise beyond her years. She never really seemed like a little kid. She’s always been a mini-adult, a mini-Stacy. She’s inquisitive, and quick, and can’t hear enough stories about when Stacy, Becky and I were growing up. I’m happy to tell her these tales, even though most of them don’t end well for me (usually grounded, something broken, someone with stitches…those are her favorites). 
We started our day at BDT Stage seeing Once Upon A Time. It was an interactive show where audience members were selected to come up on stage. We were front row center and the girls were eager to get up on the stage, but it wasn’t too be. 
Our eight year olds. The same age for another 6 months. Annabelle loves it. 
On stage after the show
After the show, we spent the afternoon zip lining and bungee jumping at Mid Air Adventures. 

avs

By day we explored the Colorado History Museum
By night we attended the Avalanche game

It was the first professional hockey game for the California cousins. Annabelle and Maeva even made it on the jumbo tron.

It was a great game. It was intense with lots of fights (oye!) and even went into overtime. Unfortunately the Avalanche lost in overtime. A win would have been better, but we had a great time cheering for the home team. The dessert even made a stop to our suite so it was a pretty happy night for these little gals.

The next morning we said goodbye to my dad and Melissa, B and Carl set off for the Bronco game, and Becky and her family went to the airport. Stacy and I took our girls back to our house to play. After sitting at the airport for nearly 5 hours, Becky called to let us know her flight was cancelled and the soonest she could get home was on Thursday. They were staying an extra 4 days and although they were not exactly thrilled about the delay I was happy to have them and the cousins were thrilled!! 

christmas in denver

Each year we rotate where we have Christmas with my family. This year it was our turn to host. Colorado is beautiful for the holidays, although a bit cold. Especially for the California crew. We had record cold here and our plans involved quite a bit of walking. The weather didn’t slow us down and we had a blast spending time together and exploring the city. 
We stayed at the Ritz Carlton which is absolutely beautiful. All the siblings stayed on the same floor so there was some swapping of kids for cousin sleepovers. I’m sure our fellow floor mates didn’t really appreciate us, but the girls were all just so happy to see each other. 

We did our gift exchange and the girls received their matching dresses for dinner tonight and for the Avalanche game tomorrow night.

My sister, Stacy gave B this game and we can’t wait to play! Games. Beer. What more can a guy ask for?

We braved the cold and walked down to Morton’s for our annual Christmas dinner. We had a private room filled with lots of good food, wine, little girls, and baby dolls. It was a deliciously fun evening!

happy christmas

Merry Christmas!
Santa was good to us. Very good. The girls slept in until 7, which was quite a lovely surprise. We headed down to the basement to find new stuffed animals, lots of packages under the tree, and snuggled in for the morning. 
The girls received new American Girl dolls, lots of crafts and books, and seemed thrilled with all their new gifts. It was a quiet Christmas and we were grateful for a peaceful, loving day. 
Although we never got out of our pajamas, the American Girls got their outfits changed at least 10 times.  We watched “Father of the Bride” a gift Annabelle received from Santa. It was a family favorite. B made tons of food for us and we spent the entire day grazing. The girls got a hold of my camera and took tons of pictures. I adore this family of mine. There’s no one I would rather eat deviled eggs, drink hot schnocholates (thats hot chocolate and peppermint schnaps), and stay in my pjs with all day long! 
It was a difficult year with B’s mom gone. She was passionate about Christmas. Christmas dinner was always at her house. She brought everyone together. We snuggled a little closer and there was an unspoken sadness. It has been trying year for B and his family. We try to hug him a little tighter, and hope we make his days a little easier, because we love him so very much. 
Happiest Christmas from our home to yours!