girl scouts

brownies: inventing room

Gwyneth’s troop had a meeting downtown tonight. We met for dinner at the Mellow Mushroom and then went to the Inventing Room for delicious treats. It was a family affair. Parents joined — including B and Annabelle and we all made a night of it. 
Pizza time!

We walked the 8 blocks over to the Inventing room for a blend of science and treats. Gwyneth has been waiting since Annabelle’s troop went last year. She couldn’t have been more excited.

They gave the girls a tasting of the nitro popcorn when they walked in to the shop. So much excitement.

Annabelle and Jenna ordered really, really cold cheetos

Kate and Bella with the Twizzler Space Foam 

Brielle with cherry cotton candy
I don’t think he likes this picture, but I love it!!
Gwyneth with her hot chocolate and exploding whipped cream
Amy and I shared a Mexican Fried Ice Cream with frozen caramel sauce. (I have to admit it was fun,, but just ok)
Zoe and Rylie with bubble gum cotton candy

Annie with her chocolate cotton candy
Another fun night with great girls and their families. 

juniors: halloween party

Annabelle’s Girl Scout troop LOVES Halloween. They started planning their Halloween party at their prior meeting and were very excited for the big night. 
Annabelle wanted to practice out her 20’s pin curls for the party. I think I did ok with the braid, but have some work to do with the curls. She still rocked it though and looked fabulous. 
Lookin’ 1920’s Flapper Fabulous! 
Annabelle and her Troop:
This is more like it. Love these crazy faces and Annabelle swingin’ that fringe:
A new friend joined the troop and she is a perfect fit for the troop. 
Hard to believe many of these girls have known each other since Kindergarten. That was five years ago. Oh, how the times flies!

rockies: kids run the bases

The girls’ troops joined forces for a running of the bases event at Coors Field. Both troops had a terrific turnout and both our ladies were so happy for the fun day with friends. We kept moving higher and higher up in the stadium for shade. It was a pretty warm day in the sun. 
All the kiddos enjoyed dip n dots and had lots of giggles. 
After the game we all got to walk on to the field which was pretty flippin’ cool and then the kiddos got to run the bases. There were lots and lots of people there so not many chances for pictures, but I was able to snap a few. The girls were thrilled with the opportunity to make such special memories with their sweet friends. 
Neighbors and friends
Ready to run: 
There goes Gwyneth: 
Annabelle in her fabulous tie dye maxi skirt and kangaroo sneakers. That girl certainly has style. 
They did it!

sunflower farms and butterfly pavilion

Our first stop of the day was Sunflower Farms in Longmont. It’s a beautiful farm with so much activity. The weather was overcast which I don’t mind at all. I’m not a fan of the heat so a little break from the high temps was just fine with me.
Funny story: later in the day I was asked how the farm was and I kept saying “it was great. not too hot, a little hungover”. I said this several times before realizing I meant “OVERCAST” not “hungover”. Honestly I was not hungover but I think there are some mommas out there who now think I’m quite the lush!
Back to the day, Gwyneth’s friend Ruby joined us for the morning adventure. Ruby and Annabelle had a bit more fun. Gwyneth is more of an indoors gal who prefers to spend her time doing art and sewing (from her mouth!). They pet animals, took turns on the swings, and ran around a bit, but Gwyneth’s heart was not in it. She did her time and then we went back home for them to play games.
We met up with gals from both Girl Scout troops at the Butterfly Pavilion that afternoon. They earned a “Bug” badge and then we explored the Pavilion. They even got a chance to hold Rosie.

The funny face pose is always best!

among the pines

This week was all about Girl Scout camp for the girls. They attended Among the Pines camp which was a five day camp that included a sleepover on Thursday night. Annabelle attended last year and loved the adventure. Gwyneth was old enough to join her this year too and couldn’t wait. They were both so excited. 
They came home very tired each night so we didn’t plan much for our evenings. We did manage to escape for some ice cream Tuesday night. 
My little ladies were joined by a great group of girls. Annabelle was in a group of her own for fourth graders and I am so proud of her for being brave and making new friends. The rest of the girls were in a group of 3rd graders and all the moms took turns car pooling. My days to pick up were Wednesday and Friday. The Wednesday drive home was happiness. The girls were tired, but were all giggles and camp songs the entire ride. 

The Fridayafternoon ride was a little different story. There were some tears and a little sleep and the girls were so exhausted from their camp out the night before. They were all very kind to each other, but these girls just wanted to see their mommas after a long few days of camp and my Gwyneth really needed sleep. Annabelle was doing just fine. She is our little night owl and was still all smiles and singing on the way home. Even with the exhaustion, the girls had so much fun and can’t wait to go back again next year. 
Snaps from the sleepover on Thursday: 

So many crafts from camp: 

Friday night we had dinner with the Conleys and I held baby Kyla for a few hours. That’s what I do. I’m a bit of a baby hog. We stayed at a local hotel for a mini staycation and the girls were able to swim for a while. Friday night the pool was quite crowded and G was so tired from camp, but Saturday morning they had the pool all to themselves.

We have been in a little family cocoon this summer, spending a lot of time together. The girls attended a roller skating party for Ellie, Gwyneth’s classmate, Saturday afternoon. It was really nice to see so many school friends and families. We’ve missed them this summer.

This girl loves to roller skate especially on these old wood floors. 

Annabelle talked us into giving Gwyneth an early birthday gift. I’m usually pretty good about waiting but these girls wore me down. Annabelle picked it out…

and Gwyneth loved it!!

We wrapped up a busy weekend seeing Footloose at BDT Stage. It was a little more PG-13 than we had realized (oops!) but I’m hopeful most of that went over the girls’ heads. They liked the music and the dancing and thought it was quite silly that it would be illegal to dance. We also told the theater that Gwyneth’s birthday was tomorrow and she received a shout out which made her day. 

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: 

bread

The only word to adequately describe our relationship with bread around here is “OBSESSED”.  Since I received my bread machine for mother’s day we have made loaf, after loaf, after loaf. I’ve been experimenting with beer breads, but the girls love the fruity breads – banana, blueberry, and next up we are attempting strawberry. 
Gwyneth recently read Two Of Everything which is based on Chinese Folklore. It’s a cute story about a couple who find a magic pot buried in their yard. Everything placed in the magic pot is doubled including food and money; everything good and everything bad. The lesson quickly learned is whether everything in life should really be doubled? 
I asked if maybe there was a such thing as too much bread? I’ve never seen such a look of disdain. Gwyneth is certain there is no such thing as too much bread (I don’t think she learned the lesson from Two Of Everything.) No matter how much we make, we could always double it….and we should double our cabinets to store it in also. And if there is too much and we can’t eat it all we will give it away before it goes bad and then make more bread. There is no conceivable reason to NOT have a loaf of bread baking at all times. 
Like I said…Bread = OBSESSION! The girl likes bread. 
My baking assistants

I promised myself a long, long time ago that there were two things I would do as a mom. I would bake and I would sew. I’m not sure if I’m good at either; I know I’m not the best, but I have learned. I can put a button on a shirt, badges on a vest, and even make a pattern if needed. I can bake from scratch now and thanks to these handy gadgets (thank you bread maker and fancy mixers) we are practicing a lot more often.

My girls will grow up knowing how to do these things too. They bake right along side me, they frost cupcakes with me, they sew their own doll dresses. They already know so much more than me. I wonder what will be on their list of things to learn to do…

Tonight was Gwyneth’s troop’s last girl scout meeting of the year. Their service project was to collect hats for the Children’s Hospital.

old spaghetti factory and the inventing room

I spent the day with the girls at Field Day and had a bit of a heavy heart for Annabelle. I want her to be happy. I want her to know her worth. I want her to know how important and loved and special she is. I want her to surround herself with people who treat her well and are kind. 
We had a mother-daughter Girl Scout event this evening downtown.  We started the evening with dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I could tell Annabelle was still feeling the sting from the day. She just wasn’t herself. She quickly reconnected with old friends and I saw that beautiful smile and heard that mischievous giggle return. It’s so, so important to surround yourself with people that are good for your heart. 

After dinner we went to The Inventing Room and the girls got to pick their own creations. I highly recommend the twizzler space foam. It was such a lovely night with my girl.