peacock

boondocks with aurora team

I held a summer sales contest for my studios and the Aurora studio came out on top. The prize was a night at Boondocks. All but two of my employees from the Aurora studio were able to join us. We had dinner and then played laser tag, drove go-carts, played some mini golf and a few arcade games. I’m glad I had this opportunity to celebrate with my staff. They are a good group. 

arizona • last day of vacay

It felt as though our little getaway went by way too fast. Our last day we tried to cram in as much fun as possible. We took a few laps around the lazy river and then cleaned up for lunch away from the resort. We took advantage of the free shuttle to grab lunch at Mellow Mushroom on High Street which was just moments from the hotel. We’d normally opt to walk but come on! It was 108 degrees!
I really enjoyed the down time these past few days with my peeps. 

arizona • diamondbacks

We spent our morning at the pool soaking up the sunshine. B wasn’t in the mood to swim before the baseball game so he found us this great spot in the shade. We got comfy and cozy and there was even a tv there for him to watch sports highlights. Not a bad day at all!
We took a Lyft to the game which was about 30 minutes from our hotel. 
The stadium reminded us a lot of Milwaukee. Lucky for us they kept the dome closed this game to save us from the heat. 
The Diamondbacks were playing our Colorado Rockies. The Rockies didn’t really show up though. It was a pretty bad game for them. 
After the game the dome opened for the firework show. It only took a few minutes and was pretty impressive.  
A great firework display after the game!

arizona • 4th of july

We had a late, late flight on the 3rd getting us to our hotel in Phoenix after midnight. After a little mix up with the room, we finally got to bed around 1:00. We all slept in and were ready to conquer the day. 
We had adjoining rooms this trip – a first for our family. It wasn’t planned this way but due it was a quick fix for our room problem when we arrived. The girls definitely loved having their own beds, but they didn’t really care about having their room. I thought they would be thrilled to have their own space, but they weren’t really phased by it. I guess they still do like us. 
Spying on my neighbors on the patio. ha!
Beautiful desert view
Oh my, it was a hot one! This is the absolute hottest time to visit Phoenix and probably my most poorly laid travel plan. The high was 108! The plan was to swim and see a baseball game and that was what we did. As long as you found a spot in the shade it was just fine, but that sun was brutal. It was best to stay in the pool as much as possible. 
We stayed here and the pools and lazy river did not disappoint. 
We had lunch at the resort and the girls were thrilled that they received a carafe of ginger ale and tea. The theme of the trip was to stay hydrated. 
We spent the entire afternoon at the pool. Oh boy was it hot! I wasn’t surprised by the heat because we knew it would be a scorcher. I was surprised by just how hot it was though. The pavement was like walking on the sun and the sides of the pools were lined with flip flops.  A little shade was a sweet relief and we found a great barside table at the pool. 
My absolute favorite part of Phoenix: the misters! They are everywhere and are truly game-changing! I told the girls I was going to make this picture my phone lockscreen because I was in love. HA!
Cooling down with some dippin’ dots
My afternoon. We had lots of time to swim so I took a little time to read under those glorious misters. (I love the little hand sneaking chips in my staged book picture…)
This is one of my favorites from the trip….and I actually made this my new lock-screen. 
It’s a dry heat! 😉
Time to get cleaned up for dinner
We didn’t rent a car for the weekend so we relied on shuttles and shared rides. We decided to stick around the resort for dinner and settled on Roys. We enjoyed tropical drinks and a peaceful night. We were worn out and ready for a good night sleep! We didn’t get to see fireworks tonight but had a plan in the works for the 5th. 

geyer summer visit

Our friends, The Geyers are visiting from Kansas for a few days. We met up for dinner Tuesday night and the kids quickly clicked and requested a sleepover at our house. They’ve only met a handful of times before and see each other once or twice a year, but they get along beautifully. It’s so wonderful when that happens!
They giggled their way through the sleepover and then we met up with their mom and aunt for pottery painting the next day. I love that Kennedy requested a pottery painting session! It was fun to be in the studio painting rather than working. My girls are getting pretty darn good at painting too. I can’t wait to see their finished pieces. 
So glad we could spend this time with them! Looking forward to their Christmas visit. 

birthdays in breck

My dad and Melissa were in town so we met up with them for a night in Breckenridge. It was a lovely drive. We avoided traffic and it was a nice and easy cruise up there. I tell ya, if the drive was like that we’d head up to the mountain much more often!

We made it up for lunch and enjoyed some baked wings at Eric’s. Yum! Yum! Yum! After lunch we intended to head up to the adventure park but the skies had a different idea. The clouds rolled in and the afternoon was pretty dark and rainy. I love a good storm in the mountains so I wasn’t disappointed at all.

We spent the afternoon opening birthday gifts and playing games. Gwyneth received two new games Harry Potter Clue and Uno. They are both fun, but I have to declare a rematch on Harry Potter Clue. My brain didn’t seem to be working properly that day.

We ended the night with dinner at Briar Rose. We had a tiny booth in the bar and food covering every inch of it. We skipped dessert there and picked up Mountain Mary cookies on the way back to the house. It was a beautiful night and we’re so glad we could sneak in a visit.

extended birthday celebrations

We sure do love to celebrate a birthday around here. Our friends, the Tendlers, joined us Friday evening to celebrate mine and Annabelle’s birthdays. B made us an amazing dinner. Connie and Sarah provided homemade cakes for desserts. Yum! We stayed up far too late and chatted into the night. It’s always so many laughs and so much fun with them. 
Annabelle’s strawberry cake
my carrot cake
me and my birthday partner in crime

happy 12th birthday, annabelle

Annabelle is 12!
She reminded us this morning we have just 364 days until she’s officially a teenager. Oh my! Annabelle is awesome. She’s smart, funny, and fabulous. She has a quick wit but is also serious and determined. I’m so grateful we have this day to celebrate her. I’m so glad we get every single day of the year to love her!
She asked for a bedroom make over for her birthday, but we had to get her a few little things to open on her day. We picked up 12 little gifts for her…because well, she’s 12. 
This girls is Friends crazy and this shirt was a hit!
The girls both went to swim team this morning and we picked up Starbucks for her and a few friends. 
They stuck around after swim team to enjoy some pool time all to themselves. 
Ananbelle has some very sweet friends. 
Annabelle requested Steak N Shake for lunch so off we drove to Highlands Ranch. After almost an hour drive we arrived to find the store temporarily closed. The google map didn’t tell us that and we didn’t think to check the website before we left our house. Ouch! That was a big disappointment. We rallied and found a CPK nearby and recovered quickly. 
While down South we stopped at Ikea to look for new bedding. Annabelle didn’t find anything she liked but naturally, Gwyneth did. We hit the internet when we got home and ordered something for Annabelle. Hopefully it arrives in the next few days. 
Of course, Annabelle requested Olive Garden for dinner. That girl and her Olive Garden salad. 
She was only slightly annoyed that they sang to her. 
After dinner she requested games at Dave and Busters. She’s pretty good at that piano game and as you can see, a very gracious winner. Ha!
That girl had every minute of her day planned out and we filled it up to the brim with celebration. It was  a great day for our awesome 12 year old!

happy birthday to me

We were up and out of the hotel by 5:30 am for our 8:30 flight from California. We made it with a few minutes to spare and were all happy to sleep on airplane on the way home. 
We had a quiet evening with dinner and dessert at Johnny’s. It was a super quiet day and exactly what we needed after a busy weekend. 
We stopped at Crumble on our way home and my sweet family got me those gorgeous flowers. It was a good day!

dodger stadium

Oh, the nostalgia! It was thick today for me and B. 
When we were married for just one year, B was transferred to Redondo Beach. We moved out to California and lived one year on the beach, battling traffic, enjoying being 22 and 23 years old, and soaking up the sun. We were no joke broke and California was expensive. Our apartment was tiny, just one little bedroom and bathroom, with shag carpeting and wood paneling. That tiny, junky little apartment was right across the street from the ocean. We fell asleep with the windows open, listening to the waves crash in and we watched the dolphins play in those same waves each morning. It was such a wild and crazy year and oh man we have some good, good memories. 
We’ve always been baseball fans so that year we lived there we took a few trips to Dodger stadium. We bought cheap tickets and ate Dodgers dogs and we wanted to share that experience with our girls. 
We made it to Dodgers Stadium and we all soaked in the sunshine and those gorgeous views of the city, mountains, and palm trees. 
The Dodgers played the Rockies today and although we were all rooting for our home town Colorado team, Gwyneth sported some LA bling. Our baseball visor collection is growing at an alarming rate….although I kinda like it. 
We grabbed some Dodger dogs and climbed up to the top of the stadium to take in the game. Yes, we sat in the very last row of the ballpark and I couldn’t have felt more nostalgic and happy (the happiness was mostly inspired by the fact that those weren’t really our seats, but they were fabulously in the shade!). 
Annabelle enjoyed nachos in a Dodgers helmet because that’s what she does. 
It was a gorgeous day at the ballpark. The Rockies stunk it up and lost, but we didn’t sit in traffic after the game, so WIN!
The stadium looks empty because it was early on in the game. LA fans arrive late and leave early. Around the 4th inning the stadium was pretty full. 
After the game the girls requested a little more time on the Universal Citywalk. We checked out Sugar, the candy store, which had tons and tons of different gummy bears to chose from. 
The girls picked up a few Harry Pottery trinkets and we called it an early night. Our flight wasn’t until 8:30 am the next day but we had to leave by 5:30 am due to traffic. Stupid LA traffic. 
What a weekend! I loved every minute of it and I was so grateful it all came together and we had these amazing experiences together. They will not soon be forgotten!