2017 Christmas

merry christmas

It’s always a very Merry Christmas with this gang!
Annabelle and I were both battling nasty colds but we powered through and had a wonderful day. Annabelle woke up around 5 am when B got up to move to the couch. Yeah, I was really sick and snoring like crazy. Poor B….and poor me, too. I slept through all of that and B got Annabelle to go back to sleep. 
The girls both got up around 6:30 which is actually late around here. The girls opened up their stockings and their gifts and we had a beautifully, lazy day. I’m fairly certain I was asleep within two minutes of that last gift being opened. We played, and napped, and ate, and then napped some more. Being sick on Christmas is no fun at all, but my studios were closed and my phone was quiet and I loved snuggling up in pj’s with these people and just resting the day away.  Poor B ended up pretty sick as the day progressed and slept most of the day too. Merry Christmas, folks!
A little sparkling apple cider and pj’s all day = best Christmas for these gals! 

homeward bound

We had a late night flight so we were able to spend the day with my mom, Becky and her family. It was still bitterly cold which made for many cancelled flights and delays. We were delayed about 30 minutes but we were thankful we made it out. 
Love those Chicago cousins.
We finally made it home and the baggage belts broke at DIA. It took over an hour to get our bags, but we finally walked in the door at midnight. Phew! What a trip! It was marvelous to see my family, but it sure is nice to be home. 

chicago | mortons

Becky welcomed a new baby in October and it was insanely cold in Chicago. I do believe the high was FOUR! Yes, four. Single digits and painful. I do not miss that one bit about living there. We hung out around Becky’s house most of our visit.
Eating is pretty much the name of the game with my family so we enjoyed Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza and Portillo hot dogs for take out. Our final evening we got all dolled up and went to Mortons. If you’re counting that’s twice in a matter of a week for us but it wouldn’t be a Paz gathering without it. 

san fran to chicago

The San Francisco leg of our trip came to a conclusion after we exchanged gifts. Aunt Stacy’s gifts were the real crowd pleaser with matching hats and footie sweatpants. There is really just no way to compete. 
I love those little California cousins and will miss them terribly. I wish we had more time with them which is always the case. Looking forward to visits again next summer; hopefully sooner if we can sneak it in. 
We were treated to quite a flight from San Francisco to Chicago. We hopped on the plane with Poppy and Melissa. It is a long flight and we were incredibly spoiled.  Don’t worry we flew Frontier home so we are keeping our heads grounded. 

We arrived in the Chicago burbs in time for dinner with my mom, Becky and her family. We didn’t do much but travel, but that can sure take it out of you…even in the lap of luxury. 

san fran | nutcracker

We got a later start today which was much appreciated after our early morning yesterday. We had a leisurely lunch at Colibri Mexican Bistro. I shared some spicy chicken taquitos with Annabelle and Maeva. I got quite the kick out of watching them eat the hot sauce. Annabelle continues to astonish me in her love of spicy foods. I love her sense of adventure and willingness to try new things….as long as there is a big glass of water available for afterwards to cool her burning mouth!
Our group split up after lunch — those walking to the Nutcracker and those walking with Maeva who is hobbling along these days in a boot. (The story I hear is that she slipped and fell on a pencil!). I joined the walkers which included B, my dad, Melissa, Gwyneth and Eliana. 
We walked through a not so great part of time, which is being very kind. Stacy had warned us, but we wanted to walk. I was still shocked by how uncomfortable it was walking with 2 little girls through that area. Gwyneth was a bit nervous and securely attached to my side. We made it through just fine, but it wasn’t enjoyable and I wouldn’t do it again. 
We arrived at City Hall with a few minutes to spare before the Nutcracker. It is called the Palace for the People and lives up to its name. It is stunning inside and we were thrilled to see several weddings and wedding photos occurring. 
From a far the tree looks like it’s covered in lights, but when you get close you find it is covered with origami cranes. Fabulous!
After exploring City Hall, we headed across the street for the San Francisco Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker. We just saw the attended the Nutcracker in Denver last week and it was so interesting to see the differences in the performances. The consensus from the Colorado crew was the dancing may been a better at the San Fran ballet, but we enjoyed the familiarity and silliness of the Denver ballet. 
We had a long walk and it was warm in the theater. This lead to a few heavy eyelids in our party. Everyone loved the show, but its easy to get a little comfy and cozy during the ballet. 

We took the cable car back to the hotel and boy, oh boy was Annabelle ecstatic that she was able to hang on to the side with her dad. I do believe that made her entire trip and she couldn’t stop gushing.

view from the cable car
Our final dinner wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Morton’s. We arrived to find this very special sign welcoming a very special ten year old. 
The room was very festive for Maeva’s celebration. 
Good food and great family made for the perfect evening.

san fran | exploratorium

We have a bit of whirlwind trip coming up which made it certainly difficult to pack. We are excited for the time with family though so here we go…
First stop San Francisco! The girls were thrilled when we arrived, after our very early morning flight. They took to the hills and had a ball running down them. Now, running up them is quite a different story…
We walked from our hotel down to the pier to meet with up with my sister’s family. We got a sneak peak at China Town. 
So much happening. So many distractions. 
We enjoyed beautiful views on that little walk.
We arrived at the Wharf and spent a few hours at the Exploratorium. 
I snuck this beauty from the balcony of the cafe. Not a bad view at all. 
The drinking fountain was a big hit for all the kids. 
Cousins reunited. They sure were happy to see each other!
We took the street car back to the hotel. The girls were pretty pumped about that too. 
Back at the hotel the girl posed and then acted supremely goofy for a few photos before we headed off to dinner at Bix. The food and company were fabulous. We had a delightful first day in the city by the bay. 

merry christmas eve

Merry, merry Christmas Eve!
Our morning started with a paint class at Whimsy while B was home watching the Bronco game. This was our first adventure at canvas painting all together. I’ve been, the girls have been, but we’ve never been the three of us together. I’m not holding my breath that we’ll ever get a family day together here. I think painting pottery is more our style as a family (luckily!).
Girls morning!

We painted fun snowmen
little goofball
In serious artist mode…

Love our fun winter paintings!
Here’s my dilemma…I love to paint (obviously, I own a PYO Pottery studio). I just don’t know what to do with 3 of the exact same picture. With the pottery we make mugs and plates and gifts, but not sure what to do with all the canvases. Ideas?
Back at home we opened family gifts. This may have been the highlight of the day for these little ladies. They only asked about 9 million times..
I love watching them exchange gifts with each other. They pick the gifts out themselves and they know each other so well. 
Gwyneth may be more excited about the giving of the gifts than the receiving which makes my heart happy. 
I think she likes it! 
Christmas for the win!
Each year they receive new pajamas from us
They received sweet stuffies and Barnes and Noble gift cards from their Aunt Chriss. 
And then they tried on those goofy pajamas and had us rolling with laughter. 
We grabbed dinner at Stout Street Social. We enjoyed a few sushi rolls and Annabelle had a great bowl of Clam Chowder. (I’d recommend the California roll and a Manhattan- yum!). 
Afterwards we went to see Waitress at the Buell Theater. I was a little conflicted for this because it wasn’t rated a family show. It had some language and some adult content (marriage, adultery, bad husbands…). It was wonderfully funny and entertaining and I think the girls enjoyed it. B and I loved it! 
We arrived home late that night with only enough time to set out milk and cookies for Santa, throw on pjs and climb in bed. The girls say they like it best like that so they don’t have as much time to sit around waiting for Santa’s arrival. 
Happy Christmas Eve!

beauty and the beast

We woke up early and refreshed from our adventure at the Nutcracker. We had a feast of a breakfast at the Ritz. It’s no secret that Gwyneth can eat her money’s worth in breakfast. I believe it is her one true love. Perhaps only a close second is sleep. 
After a hearty breakfast, we stepped out to explore the city. We didn’t really have a plan which is very unlike me and I only had mild anxiety of allowing the day to simple take us. 
Our first stop was the Brown Palace. Their holiday decoration are spectacular. 
The chandelier is phenomenal and we couldn’t help just standing and gawking for a bit. 
They had some openings for tea, but neither of the girls was interested. Maybe next time? They were both eager to get back out on the town and explore. 
We walked all around downtown and popped into shops. The weather was gorgeous. I didn’t even wear a jacket. In December! In Colorado! 
My favorite stop downtown is Union Station, but I do believe the girls prefer the Pavilions. They like to shop so I understand the appeal. 
We bought a few tubes of lip gloss to share at Sephora and with our purchase came free tickets to ride the carousel. I gave my ticket to a little boy and gladly watched as my girls laughed it up on the ride. They were all blurry giggles as they would twirl by on their horses. 
We grabbed lunch back at the hotel and finally checked out of our room. They gave us a late check out and we certainly made the most of our club level access. They sent us off with boxes of cookies, drinks, and were begging the girls to take candy. It felt mighty indulgent yet relaxing and wonderful! It was such a rare treat to have this guilty pleasure in the middle of the holiday chaos. 
Again, we had no plan and Gwyneth requested a trip to the Art Museum. The feature exhibit was Her Paris which could not have been more perfect for our girls day. 
The look of mischief
The Denver Art Museum has an amazing area where kids of all ages can make craft projects. It’s hands on and the current theme was texture. These ladies delighted in making projects with wires, wire cutters and pliers. 
Annabelle’s wire teddy bear
Gwyneth’s wire dolphin
And then there was the collaborative creation with paper….
Scissors…and paper…and tape…oh my! Is this heaven???
It was hard to call it a day, but all grand adventures must come in to an end. Off we headed back to our ‘hood just a bit sad to be saying goodbye to it all. 
Ok, the fun wasn’t quite over yet. When we got home we quickly cleaned up and headed out the door again. We went up North for dinner and the live Beauty and the Beast. I was concerned we would be too tired from the overload of the day, but we all held it together. The show was lovely and the girls both stayed awake singing Christmas carols in the car the entire ride home. 
Now that’s a day for the books! I couldn’t ask for a better time with these girls. 

christmas symphony

 I naively purchased tickets for the symphony the day after drink the tree. I must be a glutton for punishment. We were all up bright and early and I was concerned because of the lack of sleep (we didn’t get home until almost 1 am). I thought for sure I would be feeling like this… (which is honestly how our girls found their elves this morning!)
But I really did feel fine. Maybe just a bit tired. We were full of happy memories and laughs from the party the night before so it was worth a few missed hours of sleep. 
That afternoon the girls and I scooted downtown to see the Christmas concert at the symphony. We had a great seats right up front. The music was beautiful and the conductor is such a kick to watch! 
After the show, on our drive home, the weather was nice and the sun was shining and I had my good camera with me. I asked the girls if we could snap a few pictures. They happily agreed and then went about acting absolutely loony.  They were cracking themselves up and showing their true colors.  The photos I snapped are priceless because this is real life with these wackadoos. 

drink the tree

Tonight is one of the best of the year! I look forward to the drink the tree all year long. Well, every day except the day after the party. The day after the party I curse it and feel sorry for myself for making horrible choices. BUT all the rest of the days of the year I am counting down and sing the praises of this party!
This year the party was even sweeter as it’s new home is officially across the street. Jaimyn and Jeremy, the fab hosts, bought the house across the street from us so no more Uber. Hello walking! 
We loaded up on our mini bottles and the Tyler’s joined us for the walk. Their boys stayed at our house with our girls and a sitter while the adults went over and joined the fun. 
Oh man, oh man! I have such a blast mixing up cocktails. Some lovely and delicious; some really quite disgusting. We embrace the party and the fun of drinking that tree and then waste the next day with pounding heads wondering where could we have possibly gone wrong.

 Oh, drink the tree….we have such a love hate relationship!