chef

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!

nuggets vs lakers

We took advantage of a brief break from B’s busy holiday schedule this evening and whisked him off for a little fun downtown. We snagged a great family fun pack deal for Nuggets tickets.We decided to get a room downtown since the parade of lights was the same night, Lyft prices were elevated, and we didn’t want to mess with parking. We had an entertaining and festive evening downtown and I’m glad we got to steal B away from his kitchen for a bit. 
We grabbed a late lunch at Maggianos and it was decorated beautifully for the holidays. 

We spent some time at the arcade at the pavilions:

And then off to the game! 
Annabelle purchased some fancy new Nugget earrings. 
And the girls went crazy with selfies

watching Rocky, the Mascot
Using up the $15 credits that came on each of our tickets

We had such a great time at the game! The Nuggets pulled off the win and we had a blast cheering for them.

The next day we scooted over to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and the Bronco game. Our server brought Gwyneth two Dr Peppers. Oh my!

After lunch we went to Lucky Strikes for some bowling. It was pretty crowded but I great place to watch the rest of the game.

Two bad B couldn’t find a bigger tv to watch the Bronco game huh? HA!

It was a really fun weekend and we’re so glad we could steal B away for a little fun. Now back to reality!

19 years

We celebrated 19 years of marriage today. It was wonderful and I loved every single minute that I got to spend with my husband today. 
B brought me roses, which are my absolute favorite, and we had a delicious dinner at Oceanaire. We talked and talked and that’s one of the best things about being married to this guy. Even after 19 years of marriage I still love to talk and laugh with him. He’s the one I want to spend all of my days with.
He asked me at dinner “what advise would you give our girls about getting married?”. It didn’t take me long to answer: 
1. Marry someone you love and most importantly really, really like. 
2. Marry someone who makes you feel like you are always enough. 
B is that perfect person for me. Even at my worst he makes me feel like I’m enough. He is encouraging, supportive, and kind and I’m lucky to have him. 
We ended our night at the theater. The first time we saw Chicago it was in New York and we were eager to compare. It was a great show, but there is just something to be said for Broadway. The music was phenomenal and we both enjoyed it. Not our favorite but a solid 4 stars. 

its beginning to look a lot like christmas

I woke up Sunday morning with a the crazy urge to decorate for Christmas! What??? I’m typically the bah hum bug one about decorating, but I was really in the Christmas spirit today. B was a good sport, especially since it was still a few days shy of Thanksgiving. 
Our old tree had seen better days and our girls were not the least bit interested in getting a live tree. In fact, they threw a big ol’ fit about how they hated live trees and wanted a fake one again. Really? Who hates live trees? Weirdos! 
We ran over and purchased a new tree and some fun new ornaments. It’s just the most lovely tree and I love, love, love it. The girls decorated their doors with snowflakes and even set up our nativity. My mom gets me a new piece each year and it’s turning into quite the collection. Our house is as festive as can be! 

My favorite of the new ornaments:

music man

We were able to sneak in a weekday trip to the theater tonight to see Music Man. It made for a rather busy day/night because we had work, school, and volleyball practice, but I love these little experiences. I was especially excited because I had no idea what the show was about! It’s always fun to go into to a show with out any expectations. 
Unfortunately B came home from work with a sore throat and Annabelle was exhausted from a busy day. They were troopers though and didn’t want to miss the show. Annabelle wouldn’t appease me with photos and I assumed we were just experiencing the nastiness of the “tween sassiness” phase. Nope, she was just hungry. As soon as she had something to eat she was right back to her funny, happy little self! I gotta remember to feed these kids more often…
While Annabelle was rushing around after volleyball practice trying to get ready, find her shoes and jacket, and giving her dad an overall difficult time, Gwyneth and I went outside and snapped some pictures She loved her Halloween shoes so much that she decided they should become a major fixture in her wardrobe going forward. 
I tried to get some photos of Annabelle before we left but she was not  having it. Note to self: food than photos. 

 This girl can never have too much sparkle
It’s getting chilly around here…
 Annabelle was cold and being goofy so these were the best photos I could get before the show. That girl cracks me up and I’ll take what I can get with the photos. 

Time for the show!

We all agree that the story was a little slow, but we loved the music. Great music, great set. Overall we give it a 3 out of 5 stars. 
It was a late night and the girls fell asleep in the car on the way home. Fingers crossed for no migraines and happy girls tomorrow. 

happy halloween

Annabelle’s team had their first volleyball game on Halloween. She has been really loving the practices but was really nervous to play in the game. She sat out this game, which she was relieved about, but we hope to see her play next time. She really does great in the practices. Let’s hope she can get past those nerves at the next game. 
We made it home in time for our traditional chili dinner and to get in costume. 
Happy Halloween from our Pink Flamingo….
…and our Zombie Prom Queen!
The girls had a blast trick or treating together and even though it was pretty cold out they hit a lot of houses! 
Quite the stash!
Let the candy sorting and trading begin…
Annabelle wanted to go “scary” this year which was a departure from the sweet costumes she’s worn in the past. I think she rocked it! 

football day

We are in the heart of football season around here. Every Sunday is the same except for those pesky bye weeks. We prepare our favorite snacks and invite some of our favorite peeps over for the game. Today the Tyler’s joined us and we had such a great time catching up with them. Everyone’s schedules are so busy and I’m grateful we can find these afternoons to get together. Unfortunately today I snapped some photos of the food and Gwyneth with her Bronco M&Ms and then not one single picture of the kids playing together. Ugh! Next time for sure…

nuggets game

We had a good mix of business and pleasure this weekend. I needed to be at my Aurora studio Friday and Saturday so we decided to stay down there again. We met up with the Hales crew late Friday and then spent the rest of the evening at the pool with the girls. They were worn out after a busy week at school. 

Saturday after my meetings we headed downtown. We had tickets to the Nuggets game and made a day of it. We stayed at the Hyatt which has become one of my new favs. The location is pretty unbeatable. It’s central to everything. 
The girls enjoyed a swim in the afternoon before the game

 Our view

we had lunch at Mellow Mushroom
And then we were off to the game
We had dinner at Brooklyn’s before the game
Annabelle was giving us her sassy face because she had to cut all the meatballs in the pasta they shared. That Gwyneth is our lazy child. 
Off to the game! 
We received a great deal with seats in the lower level and we even got $15 back on our tickets for snacks. 
We are all love the Nuggets and were so excited to be at the home opener. Gus, Jamila, and Aiden joined us for the fun too!
The biggest Nugs fan in our crew.
After the game the lines for cabs and Lyfts were crazy long. We decided to have a little rickshaw race. The girls thought that was the best part of the night. 
Back at the hotel we checked out the free posters the girls received, had a snack and were quite ready for bed. It was a busy, busy weekend and we had a great time together! 

fall break | great wolf lodge

We had grand plans for Fall Break. We booked a trip to Mexico and couldn’t wait to go. Unfortunately with the new studio and new employees we just couldn’t get away for the week. Luckily we were able to move our tickets and the hotel rooms for later next year. We were bummed not to go, but made the most of our time here together. 
We quickly booked a room at Great Wolf Lodge and spent two days in Colorado Springs. The girls love the pool and we splurged and got the PAW pass for them to explore more games and activities around the hotel. We had a great time and the girls were pretty happy with the adventure.