mountain life

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. 

breckenridge

We took advantage of a small break from school and were able to head up to the mountains. B was able to get away for the weekend and Don and Lisa joined us for a night as well. We didn’t have much planned just a few days of relaxing. I really enjoy the down time playing games. It’s such a wonderful treat. 
B had to head back down Sunday night for work, but I was able to work from the mountains and enjoy the Monday and Tuesday the girls had off school. 
We played around town and then I spent Tuesday morning picking up the house to head back home. I took a little too long and we left about an hour too late. It started to snow and by the time we made it to Silverthorne I was very uncomfortable with the limited visability. We got a little nervous and turned back. We stayed an extra night and the next morning was all sunshine making it much easier to get home.  
A lovely day in Breck

We grabbed lunch at Empire Burger and then wandered around town. It was a beautiful day.  

Our lunch spot
The girls requested a crafty afternoon. Annabelle decided to try her hand at canvas painting. 

Gwyneth and I gave mosaics a try. 

Annabelle did a great job on her painting and left it as a gift for my dad and Melissa. 

The mosaics were really fun. Gwyneth and I loved our pieces (after they were cleaned up). We’re eager to try it again and I’m trying to figure out if I can offer it at my studio.

We spent our night playing games and watching movies. Our favorite game these days is Farkle. I’m a risk taker in that game and it never seems to work out for me. The girls beat me every single time.

Tuesday morning started off gorgeous. A bright sunny day….who would have though we would end up snowed in!

We grabbed lunch at Eric’s and then played around town.

And then it started to snow. Just nice fluffy flakes at first. I love snow! I just don’t love driving in it.

This cracks me up! Gwyneth was loving the snow and Annabelle was counting down the days until she moves to California.

Annabelle really hates the snow. She is our beach babe! 

Luckily my dad and Melissa didn’t mind us staying another night in Breckenridge. We went back to the house and snuggled up. Sadly I had tossed out all our food because I thought we were heading home. We didn’t have much with us so we braved the weather for dinner at Breckenridge Brewery. The rest of the night we laid low, watching movies, and playing games. 

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

tommy knockers

Traffic….oh, how we loathe you. The Meyer’s have a bit of a chip on their shoulder when it comes to the mountains (yes, I just referred to our family in the 3rd person – what of it?).  We live in Colorado, we go to the mountains often and we believe when we want to drive up I-70 everyone should get the heck out of our way. Not everyone agrees and decided to cause a big ol’ traffic jam on our way up to Breck this weekend. Booooo! 
B was fed up with the other idiot drivers (anyone on the rode, in our way is clearly an idiot….I love the way this man thinks!), the girls had gone from watching a movie and singing to poking each other and making each other cry and I just like a happy family so we stopped in Idaho Springs for an early dinner. 
Since we’re kicking off our Strawberry weekend, it was only fitting the girls got strawberry creme sodas. They were thrilled with their strawberry “beers” as they called them. Hmmmm….just when you think you’re doing things right they straighten you out and let you know you’re a mess! 

garden of the gods

My girls always seem to surprise me. I suppose it’s a lesson in life about never being type-cast (if life was a movie!)…. I fully expected Annabelle to cling to us and Gwyneth to go off exploring at Garden of the Gods. Quite the opposite. Annabelle wanted to “climb the mountain” (those are her words!). She was amazing! Well, let’s be honest, my girlie girl struggled at first, but I told her “Annabelle, its ok to get your hands dirty” and soon she was liberated! She climbed and could have climbed all day. Gwyneth stayed close to either me or her daddy and most of the time wanted to be carried. I blame it on those stupid crocs the girls love so much. Not good climbing shoes, but GG really wanted to wear them. She always wants to wear them. Thankfully summer is almost here and sandals weather is approaching.
One of my favorite memories from high school is when my good gal pal, Diane came out to visit and we went to explore the Garden of the Gods and had lunch in Mantiou Springs. I loved it and I wanted my girls to see it. Maybe next time she can join us??? (hint, hint – if you’re reading Double D!)
Here are the highlights:
Annabelle and her mountain.  “I want to climb that!” Makes a daddy proud!
“C’mon let’s raise this rock, girls!”
Annabelle loved it! Gwyneth started to get the “too high” shakes – I hear ya, GG, I hear ya! Stick with your momma…
Our family
Me and My Girls
Gwyneth Grace exploring the rock
And Annabelle danced…
Exploring with daddy
Annabelle climbed right up on this rock and requested “Daddy, take my picture”
Um, Gwyneth – you might not want to look up!
No rock too high or too low for Annabelle. She was in heaven!
After exploring the Garden of the Gods we grabbed lunch at the Phantom Cafe, in downtown Colorado Springs. This is a favorite of our friends, The Carlsons, so we had to give it a try. Delicious! It was just as good as it was hyped up to be. Quite possibly the best kids mac-n-cheese I’ve ever tasted. Yep, I do taste their dishes on occassion. I’m a sucker for a good mac-n-cheese.

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!