museums

science museum | camp sleepover

While Gwyneth attended Girl Scout Camp, Annabelle and I explored the science museum. It is still one of my favorites. I love it and I’m always intrigued by the special exhibits. 
The special exhibit this visit was Nature’s Amazing Machines. It was amazing. We saw an actual giraffe heart which was super grody and awesome. Annabelle didn’t think it was so cool and I’ve spared you a photo of it here. It was huge! 
Annabelle was rocking some pretty rad pink hair today. She wants to dye her hair permanently pink but we’ve compromised on the chalk dye for now. It washes out but I do have to admit she looks pretty punk with it and she absolutely owns it. 
Taking a trip on the rock wall…in flip flops.
I had a great day with my girl. She entertains me with her stories of friendships and her take on the world. She is a funny girl and keeps me on my toes. 
Where did my baby go?
We scooped up and B headed up to Boulder to tuck Gwyneth in at her camp sleepover. The girl scouts do little skits and show us their sleeping arrangements. No nerves for our girl this evening. She was ready to hang out with friends. The sleepover part of the camp seems to be her favorite part. 
Monkey had to join in on the fun. 
Skit time:
It was quite silly and involved jumping/getting thrown out of an airplane:
Gwyneth was in her element and laughed her way through the entire skit. 
Bed buddies. They set up sleeping bags right next to each other. These two are inseparable. 
Sweet friends from kindergarten. I love watching them all grow up together. 

whimsy | aquarium | children’s museum

Another busy, busy day ahead. This week seems even busier than normal. The girls attended camp at Whimsy which is across the street from my store. Now, that is convenient! 
They painted some fabulous giraffes. Gwyneth liked hers so much it went right on the wall in their basement playroom. 

I worked, worked, worked all afternoon and then we decided to head to the Aquarium for dinner. We realized over dinner that our membership had expired. We ate at the aquarium restaurant but then decided not to renew. We’ve had passes since the girls were born so this is sadly the end of an era. We decided to have dinner there on occasion so we can still check out the mermaids now and again.

mermaid tails…

pretty great view from the aquarium restaurant balcony
This guy! 

After dinner we walked on over to the Children’s Museum for members night. The museum is open 3 hours exclusively for members. We didn’t make it until close to 7 and I was surprised how busy it still was. The girls love this museum and an opportunity to have it a bit less crowded just couldn’t be passed up. They have a complete renovation and it is great!

Time to wrap things up. It’s been a long day.
This picture cracks me up. I tell stories about our tired or hungry Gwyneth and no one believes me. Here’s the proof. The tired Gwyneth is not one to be messed with! 

discovery

This has been a weird week with the time commitment needed for recital. The girls were a bit stressed about the show, so I worked a lot in the early mornings and tried to focus solely on them in the afternoons and evenings. 
Today we planned a little adventure to Fort Collins. It’s about an hour drive and we wanted to check out the Museum of Discovery. We had been when the girls were younger, but I can’t seem to find the pictures from our visit. 
It’s a great museum and our favorite part is the focus on music. 
We also took the time to see Dream to Fly in the digitial dome. 
I highly recommend checking out a show there. 
The view from the observation deck
After the museum the girls were in a need of  snack. We had pizza at Totally 80’s Pizza and Museum. What an interesting place! It was full of 80’s memorabilia which was an entertaining blast from the past. The girls and I talked all about movies, tv shows, music, video games, and toys from the 80’s which was my childhood. They got a big kick out of hearing about the cereals I liked and all about music videos. We also enjoyed some pizza which was surprisingly good for such an eccentric place. 

take your daughter to play

Today was take your daughter to work day. 
Let’s be honest here. Everyday at our house is take your daughter to work day. They spend countless hours at the kitchen with B or at the paint studio with me. They spent a great deal of their spring break in my kiln room (proof of that here) and they can expect a lot more where that comes from this summer. 
Last night while the girls were getting ready for bed B and I talked about what we had going on the next day at work and who should go with who and how everyday they watch and learn about taxes, scheduling, supply ordering and inventory, deliveries, revenue, costs, budgeting, cash flow projections and on and on and on. This is their every day.
We quickly declared today to be TAKE YOUR DAUGHTER TO PLAY DAY. 
I made arrangements to have the studio covered for the day and we gave them the option to pick whatever they wanted to do. They were so excited! They asked to go for Jamba Juice and then play at the Children’s Museum. I agreed to all of the above. I also stressed that since we were playing hookey today they had to bank this work day for the summer when I needed their patience and help when my business was hectic and the days felt too short. They agreed. We shook on it. 
Off for our adventure. 1st stop: Jamba Juice

We pulled up to the Children’s Museum to find a few buses and a very full parking lot. I’m not one for a crowd. Without prompting the girls asked if we could explore the aquarium and have lunch there while the crowds hopefully died down at the museum. Fabulous idea!

We had perfect timing at the aquarium. We were sat at a table right by the tank and as we finished up our lunch the mermaid show started.

The girls used their allowance to buy these stuffed seals (seals right? I’m not sure about all these stuffed animals)

We headed over to the Children’s Museum and again the timing was perfect. The buses cleared out and it seems the younger kiddos were heading home to nap. The girls were able to explore everything!

Snack time

After checking out the exhibits inside we headed outside. There is so much to do and I should have allotted more time for it.

They could have spent hours on the zip line and with no one else in line they got to take plenty of turns.

I told them it was time to wrap it up and head home. How could I say no to just a few more minutes?

This is definitely the way to spend a day!

Love this!

We took a little rest on the chair lift before heading out. 

Oh and then had to stop at the park on the way to the car before truly heading home. 

It was such a great day. I hope when we are feeling overworked and overtired and over-scheduled this summer we will remember this peaceful play day we had together.

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!

children’s museum and more

I had a little anxiety this week when I realized school was just two weeks away. I have spent some time this summer playing referee to my little ladies, but mostly we’ve had our fun. Summer just goes by too darn fast and I’m not quite ready for the schedule of the new school year with homework, dance classes, swimming and all the other activities that keep me on my toes.
Instead of counting down the days until school starts I’m trying my best to enjoy every minute I can with these gals.
We had Taco Tuesday at the Kitchen. We made guacamole, chips, tortilla chips and of course tacos. We even made “taco” cookies.
We saw Ice Age 3D which the girls seemed to enjoy but the 3D glasses give me a headache. We were the only ones in the theater so I took off the glasses and checked emails for most of the show. It was $12 to spend time with my girls and get caught up on work emails – worth it!
Livin’!
The girls have been begging to go to the Children’s Museum all summer. It’s always crazy crowded and I thought they were too old for it, but I was wrong. They have redone the museum and it’s pretty spectacular. Something for everyone to do. It’s still their favorite.
Loving the ski lift swings outside the entrance
yeah, they are little whacky
They made it rain and got soaking wet and were all giggles. . Perfect ending to our trip to the museum. We all left laughing!
Thursday we had a pj and pancakes party at the Kitchen. The girls each had friends join them and then Gwyneth went home with Ella to play for the afternoon and Annabelle’s friend Morgan joined her at our house. A little space from each other does these sisters good.
Gwyneth and her buddies and their giant pancake!

science museum

We don’t host camps at the Kitchen on Wednesdays because it’s our busy, busy meal service day. This means I get my baking done very early over the summer, we unfortunately don’t get to see much of B because he’s cooking up a storm, and I spend the rest of the day entertaining my ladies. I like to squeeze in something fun. A little adventure. In July they are attending camps and summer school programs, so I really do try and make the most of our time together. 
Today I surprised them with a trip to the Science Museum. We were worried about crowds, but it wasn’t bad at all. We got to visit Outer Space, the sun, and a few planets in the Planetarium: 
And then we were off to explore the museum. Annabelle’s favorite part is the Exploration Health Exhibit. She could stay there all day. Gwyneth likes the Discovery Zone. 
How cute are these sisters?
We had lunch at the museum and then took a trip to The Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls, and Toys. This was on our Summer Bucket List and I was eager to introduce the girls to a new Denver attraction. 
It is a little bit creepy. The first floor was full of miniature houses and the museum employees had a great scavenger hunt for the girls to find tiny little items in the displays. Then we went upstairs…
Lots of dolls. Old school dolls with those blank glassy eyes that give me the shivers. I hurried the girls through those rooms. I hurried them right into a room full of clown dolls! You have never seen Gwyneth move so fast….right to the exit. She was having none of that and I don’t blame her one bit. 
After our day of museums we spoiled our dinner with ice creams at Abbots because it’s summer and sometimes you just need waffle cups, and chocolate almond ice cream and gummy bears. Sometimes you just need to enjoy these little faces, and sit at the window, and talk about your day, and hatch a plan for what to do tomorrow, and the next day, and for birthdays, and 3rd and 4th grade (gasp!) and wait for daddy to get home to eat dinner very late, because it’s summer! 

chocolate

Gwyneth’s class has been reading some classic Chocolate books: Superfudge, Chocolate Touch, etc. Their teach organized a trip for them to the Science Museum to visit the Chocolate exhibit. I took the morning off work to spend with Gwyneth and her classmates.

They are a really lovely group of kids. Just a special touch of silly, smart, and sassy. They seem to get along well, especially the girls. The boys rough house, but I have zero knowledge of raising boys so that seems about right to me.

We took the tour of the exhibit and then enjoyed hot chocolate and a hershey kiss. They played in the kids learning zone and then we had a picnic lunch outside. It was a beautiful day and a great opportunity to be with my baby girl (yeah, she’s in 2nd grade, but she’ll always be my baby girl).

spring break: choose your own adventure

Remember when I said here that we didn’t have any plans for spring break and I might have been freaking out about it? Around midnight on Monday, I decided that would just never do and came up with this plan.

Post its of activities: 
Grid of dates (including guidance for weather for those pesky snow days)

 I can’t just wait around. I can’t just play it by ear. I can’t. I can’t. I had to get some fun on the calendar. It may not be pinterest worthy but a few post it notes sure got us motivated.

When the girls woke up Tuesday morning they were so excited to pick activities for the week.

I told them their plans were quite aggressive and they assured me that if we ran out of time we could just skip what they had picked for me and their dad. B was more kind and said that he would pick up my slack at the Kitchen so I could take the girls for some fun this week.

We started our beautiful Tuesday by heading down to the zoo…along with every other family off school for spring break. The parking lot was full and there were about 10 school buses of field trips as well. Heck no! We don’t dig a crowd so we quickly changed up the plan. The girls were hungry so we stopped off at Steubens to come up with a new plan.

Cheers ladies!

Annabelle had never been to the Denver Botanic Gardens and Gwyneth was eager to show it off to her. It was just a few minutes from Steubens and we nearly had the place to ourselves. It was a gorgeous spring day, the views spectacular and the flowers in bloom.

We first discovered the children’s garden. These little ladies were happy to just be outside soaking up the sunshine.

Such theatrics: 

We ventured over to the main gardens:

pensive little lady
On to the Japanese Gardens. 
My favorite and now the girls’ favorite too. Happy to share that with them. 
There were many paths and I gave the girls a bit of freedom to explore. 
Tough for a momma but good for the soul. 

The girls have declared the gardens one of their new favorite places and can’t wait to return. We don’t have a membership but when our zoo membership expires we may just have to switch.

We agreed that if the school buses were gone when we drove past the zoo we would venture in for a bit. As luck would have it, the buses were leaving as we were heading in and it seemed many families were leaving for the afternoon. It was much less crowded (still more than the gardens), but we thought we would give it a try.

The highlight of the zoo had to be the rogue goose that attacked a woman just passing by our table as we sat enjoying an afternoon snack. She was just walking along, minding her own business when a goose swooped in and bit her right on the back of the head. The goose then proceeded to squawk and nip at the other geese roaming around the tables. We took this as a gentle nudge to move along and Gwyneth has soundly added geese to her “I’m not a big fan of those…let’s run!” list.

Think I wore these ladies out yet? Yeah, I had hoped so, but nope! They were ready for some mini golf at Boondocks.

Annabelle and I both each got a hole in one and Gwyneth was pleased when she kept her ball on our green instead of in the rocks. Actually, she wasn’t happy because these girls are fiercely competitive, but she held it together and didn’t throw or whack anyone with her club. Victory? I’ll take it.

We ended the day with dinner and a movie, Zootopia, at Cinebarre. 
Now, that’s a day. That’s a busy, busy day even for an ol’ planner like myself.