chef

colorado springs revisited

We have been making our way around resorts in Colorado Springs. We tried another called the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. This one was just minutes away from the zoo which we have been very eager to check out. We had a great time, but I preferred the Garden of the Gods resort. 
We waited out the rain playing cards. We taught the girls Gin Rummy. Annabelle loved it, Gwyneth played one hand and asked if she could color instead. 
Fierce!
What a view!
The hotel had a smores bar….Gwyneth went for the standard chocolate bars and Annabelle and I added Reeces Peanut Butter cups. 
We finally got to visit the zoo. I had heard so much about it, but have never been. It was just as amazing as everyone described! 
Feeding the giraffes. B was the most adventurous of the group. 
After our zoo trip, we had pizza in Manitou Springs. 
Next stop: the top of Pikes Peak!

garden of the gods and renaissance festival

I may be in love with Colorado Springs. It’s not that far from us, but this weekend we made a trip of it and stayed overnight. We stayed at the gorgeous Garden of the Gods Resort. The views from our balcony were amazing and we were just a quick drive to the Garden of the Gods park. 
We had grand plans to go explore, but ended up snacking at the resort and swimming and relaxing on our balcony. I’m a planner, uber-planner really, so downtime is not something I always allocate time for, but this peaceful family time was just what we all needed! 
Wedding Crashers!
How gorgeous is this view???
Annabelle loved the vanity in the bathroom. So, so girly. 
Afternoon snacks. Perfection!
The girls hit the pool and Annabelle took her first jump off a diving board. One hop in and she was hooked!
We had dinner at the golf club and enjoyed a beautiful Colorado evening with fantastic views and weather. 
Kissing Camels
We surprised the girls with room-service breakfast on our patio.
We finally had to drag ourselves from the resort (we could have stayed a few more days and enjoyed that view and the laziness). We ventured over to Garden of the Gods and the girls fell in love. We could barely keep up with Gwyneth. Even in a dress and crocs, she was all over the rocks. 
We finished up our weekend with a trip to the Renaissance Festival. This has become quite a tradition with Gus and Misti. This year Abe and Wendi joined us too. It was cooler than most years and we had a lovely time eating crazy fair foods and enjoying cold beers. The girls still love the fairies best and Misti made their day buying them special “fairy dust”. I can’t compete with that. 
Corn on the cob and fried mac and cheese….is that what they really ate during the renaissance period? I’m pretty sure they didn’t have Coors light either, so I’m going to let it lie..
Our rag tag crew. Very fun day!

aspen

We joined Amy, Tom, and Bella for a weekend up in Aspen. Amy’s parent’s live in Basalt and were so amazingly hospitable to us. We had originally planned to ski, but I’m struggling with a sinus infection so we opted for a nice, relaxing, low key mountain weekend. 
The girls were thrilled to find the largest selection of American Girl doll clothes I have ever seen. They played  with their dolls, put on a dance show for us, and even managed to find Grammy’s makeup in a drawer (big ooooops! I can’t take these girls anywhere). 
We took the girls ice skating and I couldn’t believe how quickly Bella and Gwyneth jumped on the ice and just took off. Annabelle was really apprehensive and then once she got over her fear she was a natural. She was literally skipping around the ice. I can’t wait to cut her hair like Dorothy Hamill’s and move to Colorado Springs so she can begin intense training….oh wait, that may be a bit overzealous.
Amy’s parents offered to watch all the girls that evening so we could go out in Aspen. We went to an Irish Pub for dinner which was absolutely not kid-friendly which is my absolute favorite thing to do when the girls are not with us. It feels like we’re getting away with something. We hit a club after dinner and within seconds realized that we are far too old for such things so we settled for a drink and some chips and salsa at a low key Mexican restaurant. That’s more like it. 
We had an absolutely fabulous weekend and we are so thankful for such wonderful friends. We couldn’t have asked for more – such kindness, hospitality and fun. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Grammy Lori and Amy
The guys
A little place I like to call Aspen
Miss Bella on ice skates

Love!

back off paparazzi

santa train

Sometimes I forget just how lucky I am to be raising my girls in Colorado. Today it was wonderfully clear! We joined the Fessler family in Colorado Springs for the Santa Train. It’s a 60 minute ride on the cogs railway up Pike’s Peak to Four Mile Siding. Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves ride up on the train singing Christmas carols and visiting with the kids. The girls were a bit slow to warm up to Santa and the gang, but they were happy to sing and dance along to the songs.
Once up to Four Mile Siding, the girls were able to get off the train, visit with Santa, enjoy hot chocolate and cookies and explore the beautiful scenery. My girls are hikers and B was thrilled. He’s got big plans in their future. I’m a city girl, but believe it or not, I can hardly wait!
After the train trip we all had lunch at The Loop in Manitou Springs.  It was 1:30 before we finally got to eat so we were definitely working on borrowed time. Cade, Annabelle, and Gwyneth did great though! They are really sweet kids and we all had a very fun Colorado day.
It doesn’t get much better than this…
The girls are very into trains right now and were pretty happy with the cookies too.off to explore the  mountain
B was very happy with the girls willingness to explore and can’t wait to get them back up in the mountains.
Hard to tell if Cade is making his move on Annabelle or her cookie!
Me and my sweet girls
The visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus did not rank high on the girls’ must do list. I told Annabelle if she wasn’t nice to Santa he wouldn’t bring her any gifts.  She said “Ok. I’ll take GG’s”. Oh boy! 
Gwyneth had a great time and loved the train!
Our ride to the top of the hillThe Fessler Crew – Rob, Melissa, and Cade
Thanks Melissa for organizing our adventure. We had a wonderful time and are already looking forward to the trip next year!