peacock

nuggets vs bucks

I was so very thankful to have the company of my lovely Gwyneth this morning at work. We had a tree painting party at the Littleton studio and I needed to go over and check in customers and drop off some snacks. This girl really wants to learn to glaze pottery and load kilns, but I was eager to be done for the day so we will save that adventure for another time (soon, very soon. She can’t wait!). 
I told her I would take her anywhere she wanted for lunch and B extended the same offer to Annabelle. They ended up at Arby’s and we ended up with crab legs. I’m going to declare victory on this one. 
This girl loves seafood and I remembered there was a Joe’s Crab Shack nearby. I had not been in ages, but thought we’d give it a try. It’s a silly place, but the kids crab legs meal was a huge hit!!
Funny bib, but they have never seen this girl hangry!
Gwyneth has been a little spoiled with her crab legs as they have always been cracked for her table side. She said it was hard work to do it herself, but worth it! This girl is such a little foodie. 
I signed up for Buzzer Beater passes for the Nuggets which is a phenomenal deal. They offer $15 tickets 24-hours before game time. That $15 is all-in, including fees. For just $60 the four of us can grab last minute seats to a game. Not too shabby at all! 
Tonight we gave it and try and grabbed 4 seats to the Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks game. 
We had a pre-game dinner at the Breckenridge Brewery at the stadium. We didn’t have a reservation so we were glad to get a table. That table was right by the door though and it sure was cold. Annabelle wore B’s gloves through most of the meal. Ha!
We made it up to our seats which were about 3 or 4 rows from the top. We were in the rafters! For $15 we weren’t complaining though and we could still see all the action. 
It was a great game, but the Nuggets fell apart at the end. They lost the game. Although it wasn’t the outcome we had cheered for we were glad to be there. 

fall festival

We hosted a booth at the girls’ school Fall Festival again this year. Painters could make little pumpkin magnets at our station. I had a staff member join us so we wouldn’t be tied to the booth all night and explore with the girls. It turned out pretty well, but there is always room for improvements. The magnets were not as big of a hit as the pumpkin dishes were last year so I have to come up with a new, better idea next year. Luckily we already have several ideas for these suckers…because we have quite a few leftover. 
B and I also got signed up to work a few of the other booths over the course of the night.
Annabelle worked this booth with a friend too. 
And the girls played! They had a great time with their friends. We gave them a lot of freedom to explore and have fun on their own. It’s always great to see them with their pals. 
Annabelle soaked her teacher! Ha!

celebration!

I embarked on a field trip today with a fellow Color Me Mine owner. I drove about an hour and half to south east Colorado to check out a pottery barn. Not a pottery barn retail store…literally a barn full of pottery! It was crazy. I have never seen anything like it. I have had customers asking for different pieces and these custom-made pieces will surely fit that bill. I’m eager to see if they sell and hope I can take the family on a little field trip down there to see that barn and pick up more inventory.
I arrived home to find my family all dolled up and ready to celebrate. We had dinner at Hickory and Ash. It was so wonderful to take a break from all the madness that this new studio entails and thank my husband and girls for their patience with me and the process. I’m a lucky, lucky lady! 

color me mine littleton

The big day finally arrived. We closed today on the Littleton Color Me Mine. 
This purchase happened much faster than the previous 2, but didn’t come without its share of hiccups. It’s such a wild ride during the negotiations and lease assignments. The calls are endless, the to-do list stretches on and on and then the day arrives and it’s done. Well, not done…that’s when they hand over the keys and the to-do lists shifts from purchasing to operating. 
I closed this morning and then dove right in and spent the day in the studio with the manager. This studio is beautiful, with creative samples, and a dedicated staff. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed and heart optimistic that this will be a peaceful transition. Let the fun begin!
As a reward for the months of hard work, I purchased the girls new pj’s. Ha! I think fondly of the days of champagne toasts and night on the town celebrating and laugh at how relaxed life has become. I loved buying those pjs and their faces were everything when they put them on. We will celebrate properly, but tacos and pjs are the best closing night celebration I could have wished for…

halloween dances and parties

Oh boy, these are the days! The days that are just filled to the brim. They are fast-paced, and a bit hectic, and quite exhausting! They are filled with school, and work, and dance, and dinners in the car on the way to Girl Scouts. B and I have to split up and we’re dashing about town running children everywhere. 
And then at the end of the night….we all ‘jam up, and grab our books, and sprawl on the couches in our family room, and read together. We share blankets and I have little smelly dance feet in my lap and we all just slow down. 
Annabelle helping out in the kitchen before Gwyneth’s dance performance. 
Off to the Girl Scouts Halloween Party!

sunday funday | football, symphony, bowling

We have one day off a week and it is sacred for this family! The Bronco games are a big part of that day and they have really brought us all together. We have a common interest that gets us all pretty excited – even though, those Broncos have been making us pretty sad lately. 
A day like today is my favorite. I love to fill a day with fun and be busy, busy, busy. I love the adventures! The Broncos are out of town so we watched the game downtown along with other disappointed Bronco fans. Man, we need a quarterback…one who can scramble and throw touch downs and perhaps a back up who creates more action on the field than off. Oh Broncos, you make me nuts! 
After the game we headed to the Colorado symphony for the Halloween Spooktacular. 
I love the symphony. It is definitely one of my happy places.
We weren’t quite ready to call it a day so headed over to Lucky Strike and bowled two games. 
What a day! Days like today make all the busy days during the week worthwhile. 

chicago

All the stars aligned and we were able to go to Chicago for Baby George’s first birthday party. We were not sure it was going to happen, but it all worked out in the end and we were extremely grateful to be there. 
Friday we surprised Lily at school. We were the mystery readers for the class. 
She was so surprised to see us!

Then we swung by to pick up George from daycare. We woke him up from his nap to take him home so he was a bit out of sorts.

Everyone got glammed up and off we went for dinner at Morton’s. This has become a bit of a family tradition for the Pazes. Don’t all babies celebrate their first birthday at Mortons??? Ha!
The meal was delicious, as usual, and I took tons of pictures of these little cousins together. They adore each other and love to spend time together. It makes my heart happy. We all live so far apart. Thankfully the distance doesn’t get in the way for these kiddos. 
We opened gifts and enjoyed desserts and had a wonderful evening celebrating this little guy. 
B won’t be thrilled that I posted this picture, but he was giving Gwyneth a hard time about her chocolate cake and it made me laugh. 

broncos vs ram

Oh man, those Broncos will just not give us a break!
While B was away enjoying some fun on the beach and golfing in the sunshine, we woke up to a yard full of snow and 20 degree temps. We were not jealous of that beach time (ok, maybe just a little…), because us Meyer ladies were pumped for the Bronco game! 
We put on our Bronco gear – over a few layers of leggings – and under a few layers of coats, gloves, and scarfs! We were bundled up for the elements and then off we headed to the game. 

Not once did my girls complain about the weather. We even parked far and walked to avoid traffic after the game. I told them I would splurge and get a pedicab, which they typically love, but they said no. They wanted to walk. 
We got to the gates to find the longest lines we had encountered all season. Again, the girls didn’t complain a bit. They laughed at the drunk people all around us and were so very patient waiting to get in the stadium. 
We finally made it to our seats with snacks and hot chocolate in hand. It was COOOLD! We had to clean the snow off our seats but we were ready to root for our Broncos. We hooted and hollered but it didn’t seem to do much good. The Broncos lost in the end. 
We made it home – just a little sad, just a little frozen. I think we were all feeling pretty proud of ourselves for surviving the cold and feeling like some legit Bronco fans. I sent B some pics and I think he was pretty impressed with us for braving the cold!

ballet | sleeping beauty

We had the laziest of mornings. We watched the first Harry Potter movie and then waited way too long to get up and ready. We were scrambling to get out the door and didn’t even have time for lunch. It took us almost an hour to get downtown which is twice as long as normal. We were pretty stressed getting to the theater. Traffic was a nightmare!

We arrived to the doors of our section 5 minutes late. I always get to the theater early so I was so incredibly disappointed and anxious. The usher informed us we couldn’t go in for 30 minutes!! I laughed because people are always showing up late and climbing over us. We had box seats right by the stage so we had to wait.

I started laughing and our afternoon instantly turned around. We cozied up to the bar and ordered some drinks and snacks (which was kind of a blessing because we didn’t have lunch).  We watched the ballet on the tv at the bar and giggled and acted silly and didn’t care at all that we lolly-gagged this morning and missed the beginning of the show.

Annabelle bit into a Mike and Ike and out popped her tooth.

Our amazing seats!
The show was beautiful! We had such a lovely time.
We grabbed an early dinner at Corner Office. 
The many faces of Annabelle…
The food is just ok. It’s all about that cotton candy. 
We headed to our friend’s 50th birthday party and then back home for a Harry Potter movie night. We were exhausted from a long, busy day. 

while dad is away….

B headed off for a long golf weekend with his family and let me tell ya, I’m so grateful for the kindness of friends. I do not have typical work hours so we don’t have typical help with our girls. B and I try to work our schedules around their school schedules and activities and of course, spend as much time all together as possible. 
B left on a Friday morning and came back super late on Monday (it was actually Tuesday by the time he got home!). I had my weekend pretty well covered, by my Aurora manager was still on vacation so Friday was a bit of a challenge….oh and I had a field trip planned at my Westminster studio. No biggie, just a full studio of kiddos! 
My staff really stepped up and did a great job and my dear friend, Jackie offered to pick the girls up from school and take them to the pumpkin patch. I didn’t even ask for the help, she just swooped in and offered and absolutely made my day. The girls were thrilled to spend the day with friends instead of at work with me and I could let go of some of that working momma guilt. I’m forever grateful for wonderful friendships. 
The girls requested dinner at Hu Hot which is one of B’s LEAST favorite places. We also watched Mamma Mia. I guess it was a night of things that B doesn’t like! Ha!
We knew snow was coming so we decided to enjoy a little bit of fall. The girls biked around and then we went for a little walk. It was a relaxing and quiet night at home. We enjoyed the girl night.