peacock

new studio

What have I done???
Just kidding (kinda…). I got the grand idea to purchase another Color Me Mine studio. The Aurora store was for sale and everything fell in to place. We closed on September 1st and I dove right in! Thankfully the Orchards store is fully staffed and I have a great crew there, because I have my work cut out for me!
After signing my life away, I mean the ownership paperwork, I spent the morning at the new studio. I came home to find my fabulous family waiting for me with the perfect gift. How well do they know me?

We spent the weekend in Aurora. The store is only 40 minutes away from our house but I was going in every day, all day. We decided to stay at the hotel by the mall to eliminate my drive time and let the girls swim, swim, swim. One of the perks of the new studio is that Don and Lisa live so close by. We were able to spend two nights hanging out with them and Kaylee even took the girls to the movies one evening while we visited the Wine Experience. I think this studio is going to work out great!

saint louis

We went on a quick trip to St. Louis for my dad’s birthday. We were there for less than 48 hours. It was A fun-filled trip filled with visits to all our favorite restaurants – Dominics, Ragazzis, and Mortons. Our family visits are usually focused around the meals. Of course this trip didn’t disappoint.
We walked most everywhere and the weather agreed with us! 
Saturday morning we got up quite early and headed over to visit Madison. She has only been on campus for 3 days, but she looks quite settled in. She showed us around and seems the perfect mix of nervous and excited. Her school is located right in the heart of downtown St. Louis and the campus is beautiful.
We left campus and met the rest of my family at the zoo. We watched the sea lion show and took a quick ride on the train.
We spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around in my dad and Melissa’s backyard. We had a lovely time and hope my dad had a great birthday weekend!

pool

School has started but we are still soaking in those beautiful days of summer. The homework has started, but it’s mostly reading which we squeeze in after dinner. Tonight we even had enough time to hit the pool. 
The best part about the weekday evening pool visits is that we have the pool all to ourselves. It’s so peaceful and quiet. The girls go on the slides over and over and over again. They are in slide heaven! 
The sun was starting to set over our neighborhood and the sky was a beautiful glow. 

frozen

Months ago I purchased tickets to see Frozen “Alive”. The show is making it’s way to Broadway with a stop here in Denver. We had ok seats. Honestly, they were on the side and a bit too close. Note to self, sit back a little further next time so the girls can see the entire stage. Any day at the theater is a good day, so I’m really not griping. 
The show as better than I even anticipated. I do admit I am sentimental about the Frozen movie. Our girls were at the perfect age during the original release and it was an obsession at our house. It was watched over and over and the songs were always playing. 
I had hopes for the live show and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The sets, costumes and music was some of the best I have seen. Our entire family loved it but Gwyneth seemed to be the most in giggles. There was a joke about Elsa freezing Anna’s butt and I will never forget her laugh!
Amy and Bella were there for the show too!

sparkle

We had a pretty lazy Saturday afternoon just trying to get back in the swing of things around here. We went for lunch before B and Annabelle took off for the kitchen for a birthday party. Annabelle has started working the parties with B and she is an amazing host. She cleans, she cooks, she is so hopeful and she is always on her toes. She has a tremendous work ethic and we’re so grateful for that girl. 
Gwyneth and I arrived home to find our entry way glowing! I recently purchased a new vase for the entry table and at just the right time of day the lights hit and our entire entire way is sparkling. We are usually at work and school so this is the first we caught it. Gwyneth is our sparkly girl and she loved it!! (don’t mind the dust on that table…just focus on the sparkle, c’mon!) 
B and Annabelle were worn out after the party so we had a lovely night at home just relaxing and playing games. Gwyneth’s friend, Ella had a sleepover and the girls were happy to spend the entire night in the basement playing American Girl Dolls. I’m so grateful these two have kept in touch despite going to different schools. They are very sweet friends. 

pottery painting and pool time

The girls have extended school days Monday – Thursday and then half days on Fridays. This is a new quirk that we are going to have to get use to, but in theory I love it. We can head out earlier for mountain adventures and travel or just have an early start to the weekend. 
Today their friend, Kenna ( a friend from their old school who has also moved on to a new school this year also) had the day off. They don’t start back until next week so it was a great opportunity to get together! I had some work to get caught up on (like I said, I still haven’t mastered this new schedule yet) and the girls requested a trip to paint. Works for me! 
They painted a few things and are mastering the silk screen painting. I love their creations and can’t wait to see them glazed and fired. Annabelle made this awesome camera plate and I even featured it on my studio instagram page. She was pretty excited about that. 

After painting we headed back to our house for an evening trip to the pool. We ordered pizza and waited for B to wrap up his party. Not a shabby start to the weekend! 

first day of 4th and 5th grade

Today was the first day of 4th and 5th grade. 
We had the most difficult summer of decision making regarding school. I won’t go in to a ton of detail, but here’s the gist: The public school the girls attended was not great for Gwyneth; it wasn’t even ok. Broomfield Academy was great for her; but sadly it was just ok for Annabelle. 
We want great for both of them. One child can’t be doing great while the other is just doing ok. Heck, they at least both need to be pretty darn good or we have to keep looking.We searched and searched and searched. I have toured nearly every school in the greater metro-area.  I will admit the school search would have been easier if we split them up, but that was not going to happen. The girls were adamant that they stay together. That was truly their one request. They are so close and separating was just not an option for our family. 
We really struggled with the decision but finally decided to make the move and once that choice was made we have been nothing but thrilled with it. Everything about their new school has been wonderful and we can hardly wait to see what the future holds for them. Of course there are nervous and anxieties, but these girls are fierce and are excited for the new opportunities!
4th grade here she comes!
Our 5th grader!

5th grade is the start of middle school at the new school so Annabelle is pretty excited about that.

Here they go!

I picked them up and found the biggest smiles! They are enamored with their new school. They think the world of their new teachers, they made new friends, they love their lockers and they asked me to come back in after school to show me everything! I was so relieved and my heart is happy.

We went for ice cream after school and I got to hear all about their day. 
B had to work late that evening, so the girls called him to fill them in on their day. 
Love this little face. 
She doesn’t like to get photos taken as much anymore so I take advantage of any opportunity I can. 

Looking forward to an amazing school year and many more adventures with my fabulous ladies.

aladdin and the last weeks of summer

And then just like that the summer got away from me….
The last two weeks of summer were a bit of a blur. The girls attended an Aladdin theater camp which they absolutely loved. They were gone Monday – Friday for TWO weeks from 9 am – 4 pm. It was an intense camp and they came home pretty worn out. 
It was nice to be able to get caught up at work, but I really did miss having them around. It also made the end of summer feel like it just slipped away. My heart hurt a bit because I need more time with these little ladies. 
We squeezed in some fun activities over the weekends and in the evenings, but I wasn’t super great about taking pictures. Here’s what I got: 
A night of sushi at our favorite restaurant, Ooka.  I love how adventurous these girls are with food. Annabelle has found wasabi and has become a big fan.
I was sick, sick, sick with a migraine one day last week. My family was so kind and scooped me up and took me for pizza and ice cream after a horrible day of a headache. 
I wish I could innocently wonder where Annabelle gets this crazy from, but I have pictures of myself doing this (and they are from last week, not from my childhood…)
The girls immersed themselves in an emoji marker maker craft one evening. Annabelle received it as a birthday present and fell in love. She was a fab big sister and even let Gwyneth help. 
Their friend, Kate joined them for Aladdin camp and had a sleepover one evening afterwards. They loved hanging out with her for the two weeks!
Another evening they made dinner all by themselves. They did all the cutting and cooking. We were quite proud of them and enjoyed their feast. 
After dinner we treated them to games at Dave and Busters. Wednesday nights are half price games. We just went for games, but we decided to grab a beer and our server treated them to this sugary goodness!
Back to school night! We got to explore their school and find their lockers. The lockers are a great source of excitement and nervousness!
We attended an after hours event at Butterfly Pavilion for Members Only. It was a fun BBQ with good food and free beers. The only sad part was the girls didn’t get to hold Rosie the tarantula. 
Last day of Aladdin camp. 
Game night and pizza making with friends. 
The day of the performances finally arrived and the girls were beside themselves with excitement! They did a great job and had such a fun time. They can’t wait to do it again!
I have several photos of Gwyneth after the performance, but Annabelle was hangry. We waited for a group photo until after lunch. 
Much need lunch between shows. 
All three girls did great! They did two shows and we had a wonderful time watching them perform. 
Sunday was all about college friends. We had two great friends, Dan and Eric from school and Eric’s wife, who we love and their two kids who we finally got to meet over for the day. We played games and talked and talked and laughed and had the best time!!
We spent our 2nd to last day of summer running errands. We had to get new school shoes and last minute things and of course, frozen yogurt. 
And then the last day of summer break was upon us. Annabelle got invited to spend the day with a friend, so Gwyneth and I had some lovely one on one time. She asked to go peddle boating and for lunch and ice cream in Louisville. We talked about the upcoming school year, what is making her nervous, what is making her excited, what is making her a bit scared. I love that one on one time.
We had planned to head downtown for dinner at Mortons because that is our place. Well, everyone was pretty worn out by dinner time. The girls requested Outback because it was closer to home and they didn’t have to get dressed up. We had a low key dinner and then just like that it was time to get ready for the big 1st day of school tomorrow…
And just like that summer break came to an end. It was a good summer indeed. 

cupcake wars

We hosted an appreciation event for my Color Me Mine employees at Blue Mountain Kitchen. B was amazing, of course, and made us a delicious meal. We enjoyed gnocchi, hummus, and bacon wrapped dates…my favorites. 
After dinner we had a friendly game of cupcake wars. Everyone was so creative! 
I have a few employees heading off to college in a few weeks. It was a wonderful opportunity to say thank you and wish them well on their next journey. 
Annabelle and Gwyneth were big helpers too!
It was a great night and I’m so appreciative of these ladies. An extra special thank you to my husband who went out of his way for us on his day off. I couldn’t ask for a better husband. He takes such good care of us. He’s a pretty darn good chef too.