peacock

happy valentine’s day

I have been terrible about taking pictures with my camera this year. Most of my photos have been snapped on my iphone which is convenient but not the best quality. I know some people can get great pics from their phones, but I don’t seem to have much luck. I’ve missed taking pictures with my big ol’ camera and dragged it out this morning. 
We had a lovely Valentine’s morning and everyone was in good cheer. That’s not a small thing around here – Gwyneth and I are awfully grouchy in the mornings. The girls got to wear pink and red to school today which is always a treat to not have to wear uniforms. 
Annabelle wasn’t interested in making Valentine’s for her class this year. Of course my emoji loving gal found the perfect treats to take for her friends. 
I snuck out last night and got Valentine’s donuts to surprise everyone. Donuts are Gwyneth’s favorites so the chocolate chocolate heart with brownie crumbles was a big hit. I feel an apology email to her teacher for the sugar overload may be in order. 
Gwyneth made lovebugs for her classmates. It was a family effort because we didn’t start until around 8 pm after dance class last night. Nothing like a little procrastination…
We’re not big gift givers, but the girls each received a Valentine Gingerbread House Kit and a cookie decorating kit. I love the gifts that are activities we can do together. 
B gave me with these beauties. I love, love, love red roses. They are my absolute favorite. I also know they hike up the prices for Valentine’s day so it was pretty special because we’re a pretty frugal family. 
Last night after everyone went to bed I decorated their doors. I’ve wanted to do this for years but have never planned ahead. I finally got my act together this year and it was such a fun surprise when they woke up this morning. 
After school the girls got right into decorating their gingerbread houses. They decided the cookies could wait a few days since they had also nabbed some candy from school and our house was a bit overrun with sugar for the moment. 

Ha! That girl is so silly

 The gingerbread houses turned out great and we finished off our evening with heart shaped pizza. There was a lot of love and Olympics in our house tonight. Happy Valentine’s Day!

paint day

Our plans were changed today due to an unexpected snow storm. Annabelle was going to head to Girl Scouts, Gwyneth to paint at Whimsy and I was going to try and get caught up a bit at my studio. 
Girl Scouts was cancelled so Annabelle asked if she could take a friend with me to the studio. Absolutely! I love it. The girls painted all different kinds of poop – yes, poop. I have quite a line of emoji poop items and I can barely keep them on the shelves. They are so popular. 
Gwyneth and Ella spent the morning at Whimsy painting unicorns. 
They did such a great job and had a blast. 
After a morning of painting we grabbed lunch at Hu Hot.
We spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics and reading our books. I’m not sure we could ask for a better, more relaxing evening. 

violin

Gwyneth could not be more excited to start playing the violin. Her entire class has started but she is so excited she signed up for private lessons. She practices every night without even being asked. We’re starting to recognize some of her tunes and she’s currently working on Somewhere Over the Rainbow which couldn’t be more perfect for our Wizard of Oz loving gal. 

nuggets vs suns

We are a Nuggets loving family. We’re all hooked on the team and love going for games. 
We started our night of fun with drinks at the Westin. 

Then off to dinner at the Thirsty Lion. This has become one of our favorite spots for pre-game snacks. The food can be hit or miss but their seasonal menu is always spot on and they make a delicious California roll. You can’t beat the location either – just a few blocks from the Pepsi Center.

We were just a few rows off the court for the game and were all cheering for our Nuggets. It was a great game and we all had the best time. The Nuggets narrowly lost to the Suns which a total bummer, but didn’t ruin our evening. We always have such a good time and are already planning for our next game.

We finished off the night with some ice creams at Mellow Mushroom. It was an amazing and memorable night not soon to be forgotten. 

rodeo

I was a chaperone today for the girls’ school field trip. They had so many parent volunteers each parents basically just took their kids for the day to explore. 
We spent the day at the National Western Stockshow. We walked through the petting farm, watched the rodeo, had some fun treats, and met up with the girls’ friends. It was a pretty fun way to spend the day away from school and work. 
The only complaint I heard was that they had to wear their uniforms, but Annabelle managed to hide most of hers under her jacket. 

happy birthday, sarah

We met up with a great group of old friends for a birthday party today. Sarah turned 10 and we had a blast celebrating her with a grand skating party. It was such a blast to see old friends, new friends, and all those big smiles!
This is my favorite picture of the day. I asked the girls for a pic and they were posed and ready to go. As soon as I snapped the picture Annabelle went down! Her wheels just went out from under her and she took G down with her too. They were not hurt and they thought it was hilarious that I captured their big fall. 

boondocks

Annabelle’s dear friend, Olivia joined us for a day of fun. I love that these two have kept in touch and always pick up right where they left off. I wish they could get together more often because they are really the sweetest of friends. 
I asked Gwyneth if she would like to have a friend join us too but she said no. I think she was pretty excited to keep up with the big girls. They included her in everything and the three of them had such a fun time. I had quite a good time running around with them as well!
We started the day at Boondocks. It was too cold to be outside but we did give the go-karts one go round. 
We then bowled a game.
I purchased a fun pack for each of them which included 2 adventures (they chose go-karts and bowling) and $5 in arcade fees. They sure did make those arcade coins last. They played lots of games and won so many tickets. On Gwyneth’s last game she hit a jackpot of over 500 tickets. 
I was so proud of these ladies. They pooled all their tickets together and split them equally so they could all get one big prize. 
After the arcade we raced over to the movies to see Ferdinand. I was really excited for this one – I loved reading the book to the girls when they were little. Unfortunately it didn’t quite hold my interest and I felt myself nodding off a few times. 
It was a fun-filled lovely day!

empty quiver

Gwyneth is still having a blast with Girl Scouts. She was pretty excited with this month’s meeting. We visited the Empty Quiver for archery lessons. It was such a fun meeting tonight as many siblings and moms joined in on the fun. I loved having everyone get involved. I’m quick to hide behind my camera, but it was great to set the camera down and pick up a bow with my little ladies. I think I even impressed those girls of mine by hitting THREE bulls eyes. 
The girls have requested a family night here. It sure would be fun to bring B along and see what he can do! We’re a competitive little crew…ha!

kids can swim

It is always a little tough to get back in the groove after the holidays. Tonight was the first night back to swimming and it was a bit of struggle to get moving. Once the girls arrived and hopped back in the water they were thrilled to be at it again. 
They swim twice a week and are in a very low-key class called Kids Can Swim.  They swim for an hour each session practicing their strokes and flip turns and then get to play games and just goof around. They always ask to stay and swim afterwards. Once they get in the water it is hard to get them out. They spend the second hour mostly racing down the slides.  I’m happy oblige this swim request because I usually just sit and read my book. Two hours of uninterrupted reading time is a pretty sweet deal.  

happy new year

Goodbye 2017! Welcome 2018!
We were worn out from our holiday travels and made a very conscious decision to stay home on New Years Eve. We did some unpacking, reading, laundry, and whole of lounging and relaxing. 
The girls left their Christmas gifts and were eager to return to them. They had plenty of games and crafts to keep them entertained. 
We welcomed the New Year with sushi and games. Everyone made it to midnight and we all watched the ball drop together. 

The next day we went to see Jumanji. I was worried Gwyneth would be scared (she can be easily spooked) but she left her way through the show. I love Kevin Hart and he was great in this movie. 
Not a bad start to the new year! Can’t wait to see what the year has in store.