father’s day

I got this morning off to an early start! I was up at 4 am to give my mom and Lily a ride to the airport. Oh boy, I can still get by on less sleep than most….but not at all like I use to be able to. I’m definitely feeling my age and more sleep is required.

I rallied, well at least for a little bit and did my very best to show this guy the best day! He’s a top notch dad and we are so lucky to have him. He makes life so much more fun and he always keeps us laughing.

We took him for lunch at Waterloo, one of his faves in Louisville. The girls rode their bikes around the neighborhood while B and I relaxed on the porch. They surprised him with a bucket of cold beers and a triple dipper snack. They did that all on their own and were pretty pleased with themselves. They sure do love that dad of theirs.

The early morning caught up with me and I crashed really early. I was so bummed to cut B’s big day short, because he truly deserves all the love and attention our family can give.

colorado history museum

My dad and Melissa drove down from Breck to spend the day with us downtown. Poor B had to work but he was able to meet us for dinner that evening.

I had a free hotel room on hotels.com and we were heading to the Bronco game the following day so we decided to stay downtown. Oh, I do love a little staycation – especially downtown. It reminds me so much of the times we lived in the city. I love being able to give the girls even just a little taste of that (just a tiny nibble really).

We’ve become big fans of the Denver Born Hotel. They have lovely rooms, great location, and excellent amenities including free rides in a Tesla to the Bronco stadium.

We spent most of our afternoon at the Colorado History Museum. I can not get enough of that museum, it’s one of my favorites in the city. I highly recommend it to anyone. I thought we’d spend an hour or two but we spent much longer! It’s a hit with everyone.

My dad and Melissa are big baseball fans and I wanted them to see the Play Ball exhibit! It didn’t disappoint.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We met up with B and his dad for dinner at Morton’s. I’m so glad B was able to make it down, but of course I didn’t get any pictures at dinner. I really do love taking pictures but I’m always nervous about annoying everyone with my camera. I need to get over that because the pictures are worth a little annoyance right?

We had a great visit with my dad and Melissa!

conferences

We are all finding our groove and after a few rough weeks things seem to be coming together with the new studio. The girls had the day off for conferences and I was able to take the day off as well to spend with them.

The girls woke up bright and early and got themselves ready for those conferences. They got extra credit for dressing nicely for their conferences. The teachers requested they not wear jeans and tshirts or athletic wear since they were presenting during the conferences. Our children took this as “we should dress for Morton’s”. Yes, those were the words that were used. They looked pretty snazzy…even to just run a few errands for the day.

We had to hit the girl scout store so we grabbed a quick lunch at Wahoo’s.

Then it was off to conferences were we received such positive feedback on both of our little ladies. They are having a great year and we’re very proud of them.

Gwyneth wanted to show us her locked which is pretty much a holder of fabulous trinkets and snacks! That girl!

We grabbed some celebratory slushies after those wonderful conferences.

molly brown house

I have been wanting to visit the Molly Brown house for so long. B and the girls had all been, but I convinced them I needed to see it too. The girls and I snuck away for the morning and took the tour.

I had to laugh because we pulled up to the house and I realized for years we had lived about two miles away. So close and I didn’t even know it was there. (I think I was too busy finding bars in those days.)

It was a quiet afternoon and there were only 3 other people on the tour with us. We were able to ask lots of questions and explore. The girls both agreed it was a little less creepy this time. They didn’t know if it was lighter in the house or if they were just getting older?! I am so glad we added this to our summer adventures. I really enjoyed this little trip through history.

The girls thought the bathroom was disgusting….just trying to keep it real around there.

saint mary’s glacier

We headed out early to explore Saint Mary’s Glacier which is just outside of Idaho Springs. We had some grand plans to hike the trails, but it was pretty crowded and the girls were not really feeling it. We did a little exploring by foot and little off-roading in the Jeep. Nothing too wild or crazy but we had a good time.

How about those views? Pretty great!

B grew up here so he has some great memories from all these trails. He’s also pretty great about researching places to take us. He loves sharing these places with his family and I love hearing him tell the girls stories about growing up in Colorado.

Before calling it a weekend we had to stop for some Mountain Pies at Beau Jo’s. You can’t be near Idaho Springs at lunchtime and pass this up!

sun | great wolf lodge

Our last day at Great Wolf Lodge was all about swimming. The girls were up again bright and early and ready to hit the pool. It was the busiest day of the weekend at the pool and luckily we got a cabana so we could all have a good meeting point and quiet place for lunch.

The girls spent the majority of their day on the slides. They went over and over and over again. They absolutely loved it. They were all smiles and laughs!

Annabelle’s friends spent the day at the pool as well so we had very happy girls all around.

More wave pool fun…

I don’t have quite as many pics of Annabelle from the day because she was a water slide junky. She stopped long enough for pizza and then back on the slides she went.

Pizza break

It was a whirlwind weekend – I feel like we need a vacation from our vacation. I’m very proud of Annabelle for joining the choir and working so hard. I’m also grateful for the school they attend, the friends they have, and the other wonderful parents who worked so hard to make this weekend a success.

chautauqua

We met my Dad and Melissa for lunch at Village Tavern before they had to catch their flight home.

We had planned to head up to explore Nederland, but decided to stop off at Chautauqua Park instead. I have been wanting to check out the trails for ages. I’ve been to the park before but never explored the trails. They were a bit icy and muddy in places, but we didn’t mind. We zipped up our hoodies and headed up the hill. It was a little chilly during the climb, but we had wonderful time exploring together.

I can’t say it enough, we are so lucky to live in such a gorgeous place. I love, love, love Colorado.

View of Boulder:

My goodness, My heart!

These girls make me so darn happy.

mcclaney visit

It was a gorgeous day in Colorado and my sister and her family drove down from Breckenridge to spend the night with us. I asked if they wanted to go to Boulder, downtown Denver, a museum, see any of the sites. Nope, they didn’t want to do any of it. They wanted to just spend the day hanging out together and letting the girls play. I love that!!

My gals were so happy to see their cousins and we cruised down to the park to get out a little energy. The weather was perfect and we got in a great walk. Lily was not so happy about that and even hopped on Annabelle’s back for most of the walk home. I sure do love these girls and I’m so glad I got to spend this time with my sister and her family.

rain

Crazy Colorado weather!

We experienced huge drops of rain as the sun peaked through the clouds and was shining bright on us. Such a bizarre feeling and so, so beautiful. We just had to run around in the rain and splash in the puddles that quickly formed. I love this time in Colorado. Everything is starting to change colors and the evenings are so wonderfully, nice and cool.

Who doesn’t love fall storms and rainbows???

golden, colorado

Our friend, Dan, came to visit from Phoenix. We have been friends since Freshman year in college and what a treat to get our kiddos together. They were all staying with his dad, but we got to sneak in some time and met up in Golden. We had lunch at Table Mountain Inn which is absolutely delicious and it was so great to catch up with Dan.

After lunch we went on the short tour of the Coors Brewery. My gals have been asking to go but when we got there all the kiddos held their noses from the smell of the hops. We decided the short tour was better than the long tour (and saved ourselves about 1 1/2 hours). The kids enjoyed root beers and we got to sip on free beers. It was a fun afternoon and we’re so glad we got the opportunity to meet up.