anthem trails

mckay lake

I woke up bright and early Sunday morning and was ready for our family hike. It was going to be a warm day so I wanted to get an early start. Most of my family did not agree with me. 
B and Annabelle passed on the walk, but Gwyneth hopped right up. This was quite a surprise, because Gwyneth is my sleeper and rarely passes a chance to lounge in her bed. It’s undoubtedly her favorite place on earth. 
We set off for a hike, after picking up a few bagels of course. The only thing Gwyneth may like as much as sleep is breakfast. We walked around the lake which is about 1.5 miles. Gwyneth was great and never fussed. It was a pretty easy walk compared to yesterday. 
Once we finished the McKay trail we decided to try some trails near our house. Unfortunately the bugs were so bad we could barely keep our eyes open. It was pretty gross and I don’t expect we will be hitting this trail again anytime soon. Besides that little hiccup we had a really wonderful time together. Although we missed having B and Annabelle with us, the one on one quality time is so special. 

anthem hike

After the fun run yesterday Annabelle took off to a party and then ended up having a sleepover. She stayed up most of the night and came home quite tired. She was not at all pleased with me when I told her Gwyneth and I were planning a hike and that she needed to go with us. I should have left her home to nap, but it was such a beautiful day and I thought the fresh air and exercise would do her some good. 
Gwyneth was in heaven hiking around our neighborhood. Annabelle was a good sport. We ended up walking about 2 miles for lunch and then another 2 miles home. It felt great to get out and enjoy that warm Colorado weather and you just can’t beat the mountain views from our little neighborhood. 
Off we go! 
Annabelle wouldn’t walk with us before lunch. She was either a few paces ahead or behind. Did I mention she wasn’t very happy with me?
She got in to the swing of things and was climbing and exploring in no time. 
A well needed rest after that 4 mile walk!

calm AFTER the storm

We have had some crazy storms this week. Late afternoon rain showers with hail every day. After dance class and homework the skies cleared up and the girls begged to go on a walk. All this rain sure has made everything green. It was a beautiful night. 

B was explaining to the girls how all the standing water is attracting gnats which were pretty thick on the path.

 The sunset over the mountains never gets old. 

spring break | colorado

We wrapped up our adventure in California and headed home for the remaining week of spring break. The girls kept quite busy. They spent a few days at work with me, a few days with B and were absolutely amazing. We had a lovely break together and I will admit I was a bit glum when they had to head back to school. 
On Tuesday we headed downtown for one of our local favs Tony P’s. B is not a huge pasta fan (what??? I know!) so we try and sneak away for pasta on our girls days. 
I let the girls choose what they wanted to do for the day and they requested the Children’s Museum. Guess how long we lasted there?
15 whole minutes!
It was so unbelievably crowded. We squeezed through the crowds but the girls never made it up to any of the exhibits with the long, long lines. They were bummed but we have a membership there and I assured them we would return when it was less crowded. 
Wednesday the girls joined me at work for a kids camp. The day’s theme was Mighty Jungle. We painted animals, had pizza, watched the Jungle Book, ate popcorn and played games. This was the first camp I have ever set up and I was pretty happy with it. I worked out all the kinks (thanks to the help of my girls) and we’re ready for plenty more in the future. 
This is Gwyneth’s giraffe – she’s getting pretty good at this pottery painting!
Thursday was Emoji Madness camp at Color Me Mine. This was a specific request from Annabelle and it was a big hit. I received lots of sign ups and led the camp myself so I could spend time with my girls and a few of our neighbors who had also signed up.
We painted fabulous emoji mugs
And they got super creative with their emoji plates: 
After camp I had a lot of work to get done. These girls were tired of painting and decided to just chill in the kiln room with their iPads. They are pretty patient and amazing and I’m incredibly grateful for them. 
After that we headed to see Beauty and The Beast. It seems as though we were the last people on the planet to see this movie, but it was worth the wait. It has always been Gwyneth’s favorite and she was thrilled with this new version. She didn’t like the Paris part (finding out about Belle’s mom). She said it was not necessary. This girl hates anything sad or scary but she said it was still a great movie!
Thursday night we had dinner at Dave & Busters and the girls earned thousands of tickets. They have been saving them and have quite a stash. They want to wait and get something really big. 
Friday night we had some dear friends, the Tendlers, over for dinner. Their daughter, Sarah is in Gwyneth’s class and they have hit it off. We adore the whole family and unfortunately I took no pictures of the super fun evening.