camping

cabin camping

This trip has been in the making for months and it was everything I hoped it would be! We joined The Tylers, Bales, and Billeras for a weekend of camping at Jellystone in Estes. We had planned to tent camp but the forecast was calling for thunderstorms so last minute we switched to a cabin. It worked out perfectly. 
The kids all got along beautifully – there was no bickering just exploring and laughing and tons of love. My heart was happy watching these kiddos on their mountain adventures. 
The best part of camping is doing a whole lotta nothin’ and we did it really well this time around. We played bean bags and relaxed and laughed the weekend away. Of course B took care of most of the meals and they were all delicious. Sheila rocked the Bloody Mary/Mimosa bar. 
There were scattered showers and it did get a bit chilly, but the weather was perfect the rest of the time. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect!
You know it’s a good trip when the group starts planning the next trip half way through this trip….
Sums up the weekend! 🧡
our gorgeous view
Annabelle receiving a congratulatory hug for her bean bags win!
After craft time
Happy Campers! 💙
And just like that it was time to say goodbye to that fabulous little cabin and head back to the real world. I don’t think anyone was quite ready for this weekend to end…

this is forty

Oh boy, my birthday just crept right up on me. I don’t know about this one. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, growing old is a gift! I love growing older with my husband (especially because he has more grey hairs than me right now…) and watching those babies of ours quickly growing into little ladies. BUT….come on…FORTY?!? I am far too youthful to be forty. 😉
B planned and planned and put together the best celebration weekend for me.We camped out at Jellystone in Estes with friends and family. My sister, Stacy and her family even flew out for the weekend! The entire weekend was about relaxing which could have been a challenge with 10 kids, but the campsite had games and activities to keep everyone entertained. 
I’m a lucky, lucky lady and extremely grateful for that husband of mine who went above and beyond to plan such a fun weekend for me. 
Our home away from home. Yep, that’s a couch in our tent. 
We’re taking this glamping to the next level!
Uno time
 Maeva chilling on our couch. This CA girl got a little cold in the mountains. 
So many laughs playing the game Wet Heads. 
Maeva was a lucky little lady and seemed to be immune from losing this game. (or winning because the kids all wanted to get wet!)
Love my little peeps
Time for a fun birthday surprise…
Look who showed up at our camp site to wish Annabelle and I a happy birthday!
Birthday girls
Great group! 
(unfortunately we were missing the Tylers for the picture)
oh I how I love this little family!
Happiness!
The gang decorate my golf cart and the trees on our site. 
Sheila, one of my dearest friends who has been with us for ages…back from our CA days. She is our camping guru and well, our partying guru! She just knows how to do it right.  
Me and me girls!
Tom and Amy
Glad to see I’m finally acting my age… 
(by the way the girls just have soda so chill!)
Rhys rocking the golf cart
Gus and Jamila
Friends!
Well, that seems about right!
Wagon ride time
Again, a big big thank you to my husband for putting the weekend together. It’s a lot of work to be able to relax like that. He made me feel very much loved and appreciated and I’m lucky to have that guy! 

camping

We were on the fence about this camping trip. The forecast called for rain and we didn’t want to spend our weekend in the tent playing Uno (a weekend playing Uno is pretty awesome, but muddy shoes and wet socks are the real bummer). 
We decided to go for it and I’m so glad we did! We packed up the car, picked up the girls,and headed up to Jellystone Park, outside of Estes. We got a great little camp site with a lot of privacy, quite close to restrooms, and the weather held out for us. It sprinkled a bit, but the rest of the weekend was nice and cool and relaxing. 
Who would have thought I would love camping? I’ve never considered myself an outdoors kind of girl, but I’m hooked on camping. I love being in the mountains, the relaxing, the quiet, the lack of cell service, no ipads, no laundry to be done or house to be cleaned, and no emails to be checked. It just makes my heart happy to be with my family and doing absolutely nothing with absolutely no expectations or distractions. We reconnect, laugh, hike, play games, and make some meals and snacks together. It’s really, really good. 
While B set up camp the girls escaped to the arcade for a bit. 
B did all the heavy lifting setting up our camp. He’s good to us. 
B and Gwyneth took dinner duty Friday night. 
Annabelle entertained them with her dancing while they roasted hot dogs. 
After dinner, G and I went for a long walk and explored the camp site. We played mini golf and came up a plan for the next day. That one on one time with the girls is pretty great. 
The next morning we had breakfast and then Annabelle and I went for a little hike. She wanted to check out the horses across the road. 
We wandered a bit and she told me the amazing stories of fourth grade. She can tell a story and she can tell a lot of them. I’m glad she’s a talker and still shares her tales with me. 
Our home away from home for the weekend. 
We decided to sneak away from the campsite for lunch. We went to Villa Tatra a little polish restaurant in the hills that didn’t seem to mind that we were a bit grimy from camping. The polish dishes were authentic and delicious and a nice little break from camping food. 
(I get that we are on a campsite with an arcade, bathrooms, and can sneak away for lunch and that isn’t really “camping” to some. It works for us. We love sleeping in our big ol’ tent outside all together and it’s a good stepping stone for us. So hush!)
We enjoyed some polish brews and the girls had shirley temples. 
And then back to our campsite we went. We set up ladderball and went for more hikes and cruised around in our golf cart. 
How chic is this girl?
Ready to roll
The pavilions hosted a carnival theme and there were games set up for the kiddos. We played for a bit. 
Played a little mini golf
and then went back to our site to roast marshmallows. 
The next morning we were up bright and early for breakfast and to do a little more exploring.
The girls and I hiked around while B packed up our campsite (because he’s an amazing dad and husband and he does that kind of stuff for us and we love him so much!)
The girls picked their favorite spots and asked for pictures. 
And posed themselves and were too stinkin’ cute. 
I love having this quiet time with my family. I feel recharged and reconnected with them and ready for the week ahead.
I also feel very dirty and can’t wait to get home and shower, but it was absolutely beautiful while it lasted! 

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 .

Mountain life does her well. 
Even the girl with California aspirations can enjoy this life. 
This is my happy place!
After the first of the rain storms passed we came out of our tent to find these views:
Gwyneth said her favorite part was being so high in the mountains we could touch the clouds. 
Yes! Yes, indeed! 
We got a fire going and made smores. We explored and we sat and we ate up the view. 

While B and Annabelle worked on the fire Gwyneth and I explored some more: 

Happy, happy place!
In case it’s not obvious, I’m hooked on camping which I never would have expected in my wildest dreams. 

cooking, cornhole and camping

We hosted a little cooks and books party at the Kitchen called Seussical Cooking. We read lots of Seuss stories and made whimsical snacks. We had a great turn out and all the kids did a great job. It was a busy catering day also the Kitchen was hopping. 

On Saturday morning we hosted a cookie decorating event which is a lovely time for parents to drop off the kiddos for two hours and have a nice break over the long weekend. They decorated LOTS of cookies, we ate pizza and played games. Smashing success.

The girls were so happy to see their friend Clara. We haven’t been able to meet up over this hectic summer so they were thrilled to have the time with her.

We went to a BBQ and cornhole tournament on Saturday afternoon. There were 19 teams and it was an absolute blast. B was pretty good and I was absolutely terrible. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t trade me in for a better partner next year (he really should, except I’m so much fun!).

There was tons of food and drinks. It was a great shin ding. There were rows and rows of coolers. I checked them out and told the girls the front row was for kids (non-alcoholic) and they could help themselves. I turned around to find this…

uh, no! no, no, no! like this girl needs a mountain freakin’ dew!
She found this instead. I don’t know what to do with her…
Let the tourney begin.
What’s wrong with our faces?
Having fun with Mona and Missi

The girls have been begging, so we set up our tent in the basement. We wanted to have a backyard camp out but the pesky dogs next door and the haphazard fireworks being shot off around our neighborhood were not a winning combination. We set up the basement campout and we had some very, very happy girls. This tent may or not be the size of my first apartment…

jellystone

I don’t particularly enjoy my birthday…especially now that I’m getting even closer to 40. It doesn’t really bother me that I’m getting older. Not everyone gets to age, so in fact I appreciate it. I just don’t really need to celebrate it. 
I am very appreciative of this little family of mine and I was glad we got to spend the weekend together. We booked a cabin at Jellystone Park in Estes Park. We headed up for some “glamping” with friends for the weekend. 
Our first stop was for lunch at Oscar Blues in Lyons. We enjoyed their microbrews, root beers, and fried green tomatoes. 
Then we checked in to our cabin for the weekend. We reserved one of the last spots and there were only two cabins left. One for us; one for Gus and Misti. Our cabin was in a great location, right in the heart of the camp grounds and overlooking the pool. It was one room with a bathroom, a full size bed and a bunk bed.  It was charming and cozy and our weekend was off to a great start.
We indulged ourselves and rented a golf cart for the weekend. The one downside was that we didn’t hike as much as we had planned, but we spent the weekend zipping around the camp. It was the girls’ favorite part! We cruised around and talked and it created a lot of special one on one moments with my ladies and special memories. 
Our cabin had a deck with a picnic table and a spectacular view. You just have to love Colorado. There is no better place.
Our camping crew, minus Misti who seemed to have wondered off just when were taking the picture. I tell ya, it’s like herding cats. 
The Tyler’s
Gus and Misti and our little rascals
The chefs for the weekend. 
B prepared a delicious feast for Friday night of ribs, beans, and coleslaw and Sheila made dinner Saturday night with burgers and hot dogs. Yum! We were all feeling quite spoiled. 
This little face…
Annabelle ran off with the boys to explore. Gwyneth stuck around for a bit to give me extra birthday hugs. 
Sheila had the most delicious carrot cake made for my birthday. It was perfection! I do love me some carrot cake. This cake pleased our sweet tooth the entire weekend. 
Now, that’s a cake!
Smores by the campfire with great friends. What a birthday!
The next morning we enjoyed the french toast breakfast provided by the campgrounds. You know Gwyneth liked that! 
Then the girls panned for minerals
Then they went for a dip in the pool
Those would be Annabelle’s legs. She’s the queen of the pool handstand. 
Annabelle showing off her mad skillz. She’s mastered the cannonball and is now working on some fancy twists and turns. With this beautiful backdrop, I could have sat and watched her jump all day! 
Then it was time to paint pottery
Then it was time for cotton candy
Then they went on a tractor ride with Yogi Bear
There were more treats and visits to the arcade and then more treats and more time playing with friends. Our kids fell in love with Jellystone Park! 
Our adorable little cabin. 

Unfortunately B got quite sick the last night of our trip. He missed the final campfire and smores and went straight to bed. He was sick most of the night and took the rest of the weekend to recover. Luckily no one else got the bug, but we are sad that he missed the last night of shenanigans. That only means we have to head back up again sooner than later…

Goodbye Jellystone. It was a blast! 

tomahawk camp

Right after Annabelle’s Spring Party, we dropped Gwyneth at the Kitchen with her dad and Annabelle and took off for the mountains. We joined Annabelle’s girl scout troop for a mother daughter weekend at Camp Tomahawk. 
We were one of the firsts to arrive and Annabelle claimed her top bunk. The weekend was full of activities. We hiked, played games, made smores, the girls did crafts, and we visited the barn — although only temporarily for Miss Annabelle. She proclaimed the farm animals were not her thing so we got out of there and explored the camp by ourselves for a bit. 
I really appreciated the time with Annabelle. She is growing up so fast and these moments are precious. She’s adventurous, brave, and funny and I value the time we get together. 
My bunk mate: 
gathered around the campfire:

morning hike:

the moms: 
when the girls get the cameras:

jerky tasting. I believe this was ostrich (bwahahaha!)

Annabelle gave the farm a try, but it was not her thing (in her own words)

while the others hung out on the farm, I got some special Annabelle time. We hiked around and enjoyed the beautiful day.

Craft time: 

checking out the local wildlife:

smores time: