chef

celebrating with friends

The Tendlers invited us over for a celebration dinner for B’s birthday. They had just returned from a cruise and we were just back from San Antonio. We had lots of travel stories to share! We were so excited to share travel adventures and they may have even convinced me that I might want to go on a cruise. 
We enjoyed delicious homemade pizza right from the grill. Yum, yum, yum!
After dinner we enjoyed homemade birthday cake and celebrate B’s birthday. 
Such great friends spoiling our little family!
Making a wish! Ha!
Sweet friends

happy birthday b

Happy birthday to my husband who lives life on the edge! 

We returned home from vacation last night and got thrown right back in the swing of things with work, school and dance classes. I felt bad that we couldn’t take B out for a birthday celebration but the Monday night routine can be a bit hectic. We stayed close to home, grabbed a beer, and a quick dinner. He didn’t seem to mind and just asked that we all spend time together and everyone gets along. He’s such a dad.

san antonio • final pool day

Our final day was all about relaxing and soaking up the sun. Gwyneth liked the slides, while Annabelle prefered the larger pool. They both loved the lazy river. I joined them for a while and then finished up a book and watched them float by. I’m not sure I could have asked for a more relaxing vacation with this crew of mine. 
Love that these little ladies pick out matching swim suits. 
testing the waters…
A little chilly when you first hop in! Ha!
the view from our room
Not as thrilled about getting ready for dinner. 
Just kidding, she was just annoyed that I was taking pictures. 
And then it was time to say goodbye. We had to pack up and head home and leave behind all that beautiful sunshine. This trip, we have all decided will go down in the books as one of our favorites!

san antonio • river walk

Our plan for the trip was mostly just relaxing at the pool but we did decide to leave the resort and check out a few local attractions. 
You can’t to San Antonio and not visit the Alamo. 
Annabelle did her research on the car ride over and filled Gwyneth in on the significance of the Alamo. She was so cute about taking pictures and sharing them with her school friends. 
We walked along the Riverwalk which is just beautiful and brought back lots of fun memories of a trip B and I took with friends many, many years ago. 
Again, our timing for spring break was perfect (not that we can take credit for it, but we are sure are grateful). The Riverwalk was busy but not overflowing. We were able to find seats on a patio and enjoy some fajitas and sunshine. 
No one ended up in the river but there sure was a lot of talk about pushing people in…you know, because that’s what our family does. 
After lunch the girls decided they had enough sight seeing and were ready to get back in that pool. We high-tailed it back to the resort, got back in swim suits and spent the rest of the day enjoying the water and sunshine. 

san antonio • pool day

We received an email that our flight time was changed for our trip to San Antonio. The flight was originally scheduled at 3 pm and was moved to 5:30 AM. Oh boy! That was early!! We all tried our best to get to bed early the night before, but Annabelle and I are night owls. We did get a little sleep though and were all up and and ready for the adventure at 3 am! 
We arrived in San Antonio by 8:45 am! We grabbed some Starbucks and bagels and waited for the pool to open. 
We stayed at the JW Marriott Resort and were all so pleased when we arrived. The hotel is beautiful with several restaurants and the most amazing pool. There were also activities planned through out the day for kids and families including slime making. The girls were all over that one. 
We grabbed a quick lunch at the hotel restaurant, Cibolo Moon. The food was amazing and it became our go to food stop for the rest of our trip. 
The skies were a bit overcast, but the temperature was perfect. High 70’s with heated pools. The girls’ spring break proved to fall at a perfect time. Everyone was else was still in school! They had the pool to themselves for most of the morning. A few other families (maybe 5 total!) joined us in the afternoon/evening. The girls took full advantage and explored all the pools, lazy rivers, and slides. 
The pool side bartenders told us the hotel was booked with 900 additional guests the following week. Wow! We sure got lucky with our timing. 
This just makes my heart incredibly happy. 
After our early morning start we opted for an early dinner at the hotel sports bar, High Velocity. It was great for watching the Avalanche game, but not so great for food. Typical bar and grill choices, not bad but not our favorite. 
We spent a quiet night enjoying the beautiful weather, watching some games and relaxing. It was a pretty perfect start to the trip. 

arcade

The previous night was super snowy, but in true-Denver fashion the roads were clear the next day. It was still pretty darn cold though! We checked out the hotel’s lounges on both the 27th and 35th floors and were not disappointed with the views. 
Just a typical 11 year old expression…
We spent some time at the pool in the morning. I am a go, go, go momma and the rest of my family likes to move a little slower. I am doing my best to slow down. 
The Tyler’s were awesome and braved the cold to come meet us for dinner and games. We introduced the kids to Chicago style pizza at Giordanos. It was delicious and just as good as I remember from Chicago. Giordanos was never my go-to pizza, but having a little taste of the Windy City here might just make it my new favorite. 
After dinner we hit the arcade at the Pavilions. The kids all played games and the parents got to enjoy some beers and catching up. We’ve known those Tylers for so long and love that friendship. We always love an opportunity to hang out. 

my valentines

We’re pretty romantic around here…you know, burgers and beers for us for special occasions. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 
B and I grabbed lunch while the girls were at school and enjoyed a few tall boys and shared a veggie burger. We haven’t been to the new Waterloo location so we decided to check out. It’s just as great as ever. We had a lovely time. 
After school and math club and all the many kiddo activities we made it home for a few gifts. 
I’ve got kind of a dinosaur obsession and the girls think its pretty funny. 
We all have quite a Harry Potter obsession and these alarm clocks are a hit. 
We also love our games around here. We spent the night playing Wheel of Fortune! 

bastiens with tendlers

We scurried down the mountain to meet up with our friends, the Tendlers. Connie’s birthday is this week and they are super busy folks. We were glad they could squeeze us in for a celebration. 
They introduced us a new restaurant, Bastiens. Mitch is a researcher extraordinaire. We know if he’s taking us somewhere that it’s going to be good. Bastiens feels old school and cool, but honestly we would passed it right up driving by on Colfax. I loved my steak, but the biggest hit was the grilled caesar salad. It was such an interesting flavor – something I’ve never had before and it was delicious. 
We had a great time, as usual, catching up with these fabulous friends. Love that family! 

mountain trip with girl scouts

We joined Gwyneth’s girl scout troop in the mountains for a ski weekend. Well, the troop skied….between me being sick and Gwyneth’s leg we didn’t do much but enjoy the beautiful, snowy hill. We are not complaining at all. The one good thing about getting so sick this past week is that is has really forced me to slow down. There’s more quiet time together, more reading books, more movies and netflix, more sleep which is something we can all appreciate. 
Friday we picked the girls up from school and made it up to Idaho Springs for a late lunch. Oh man, oh man, oh man, I love Beau Jo’s. I feel as though I’m the only one in the family who really loves it. I think everyone else just appeases me.
Annabelle was goofing around and dropped all the toppings off her slice. For some reason that really struck a chord with me and I got a ridiculous case of the giggles. The girls love when that happens. I can be pretty obnoxious when I can’t control my laughter. 
We dropped Gwyneth off at her friend’s house in Silverthorne. All the girls stayed together there Friday night. Thank goodness for those kind mommas who stayed with 11 little ladies that night. Gwyneth had a blast and even managed to get a little sleep. 
I received this picture from the troop leader – G is in the pink sleeping bag. 
We spent the night in Breckenridge and then B went down to pick up Gwyneth before the group headed off to ski. She needs a lesson but wants to wait until after her surgery. 
Two of her friends and their moms didn’t want to tackle the traffic heading down the hill so they stayed with us Saturday night. There was lots of giggling. It was a pretty great night. 
Sunday morning all were tired. We cleaned up, packed up, locked up and headed back down the mountain. For not doing a whole heck of a lot this weekend we sure were worn out. 
This girl was hangry!
I stumbled onto the listing for a bar and grill in Golden called Wrigley’s. Total divey Chicago bar with Chicago dogs, Maxwell Street Polish, pizza, Italian beefs, etc. Our taste-buds were in a Midwesterne feast heaven. B went as far as to say the Maxwell St polish was better than Portillos (I’m fairly certain that is blasphemy!). My little foodie family raved about this meal, which naturally gives  me a way over-inflated ego for finding this little gem. Can’t wait for our next visit.