peacock

among the pines | whimsy | swimming

Gwyneth attended Among the Pines camp again this year. We’ve had a girl scout at that camp for the past 3 years and I’m pretty certain we’ll keep signing up for a few years to come. It’s a pretty great camp and the girls have had such wonderful experiences. Annabelle took this year off, but after seeing all the fun that Gwyneth was having I think she was wishful that she had signed up again too. 
It was a week long camp and Gwyneth came home worn out at the end of each day. During those days I had some special one on one time with Annabelle. We played and we worked and we certainly kept busy. 
Gwyneth and her camp buddies:
One of the days  Annabelle joined her friend, Karsen at Whimsy. They painted these grumpy cats. I love it and it’s hanging in their playroom in our basement. Annabelle nailed it –  her cat sure does look grumpy!
We grabbed lunch at Hu Hot and the girls enjoyed some Smores for dessert. 
Annabelle and Karsen played at our house while we waited for Miss G to arrive home. She was pretty tired after camp but agreed to go for a swim. On the way to our neighborhood pool I got an update that the pool was closed because of a poo accident. Yuck, yuck, yuck. We quickly changed our plan and headed to the indoor rec center pool. Turned out to be a lucky change because it started raining not long after we arrived. 
More fun with the underwater photos: 

alligators at vista ridge | water world

The girls were pretty jazzed about their second swim meet. They were up and at ’em bright and early that Saturday morning. Naturally, we showed up at the wrong pool (along with several others) and scurried over to the right pool just in time for warm ups. 
They were legit with their races written on their arms in sharpie…that’s how the cool kids do it, you know. (I actually did  not but got schooled by my hip children). 
I don’t know if we just got lucky at our neighborhood pool for the last meet or if this meet was just chaos….I’m going to go with the latter. It was just nuts! There were three teams competing and it was crowded and not very organized. The kids had to wait for their heat in the parking lot. Not many of the parents felt comfortable just sending the kids out to the parking lot so the it was crowded out there. The kids without parents were running around the cars and creating havoc. It was nuts. Nuts I tell ya. 
Both girls did well, but it was a little too chaotic for their liking. It was also looooong. We were at the pool for almost 6 hours. 
They did it. A few more blue ribbons under their belts. 
I’m so impressed with their swimming and I get such a kick out of watching them. 
After swimming we headed straight to Water World for a birthday party. Karsen is a friend from school and was sweet enough to invite both girls to her Water World party. I stuck around too and we rode lots of water slides before the rain hit. It got super cold, super fast, but that did not slow these ladies down. 
I received a water proof camera as an extension of my birthday gift (40 was pretty great. Feeling spoiled). The girls are having a blast with it and love taking underwater snapshots of each other. 
That’s a lot of swimming for one day! 
And it’s a rap for these pruney little ladies! 

build a bear | boondocks

Miss Gwyneth had a gift card just burning a hole in her pocket. She could hardly wait to get to Build a Bear and build herself a stuffy. She’s a junky, really. She loves her stuffed animals so much. They all have names and backstories and her dad does these silly little shows with them at night. 
She can’t part with any of them and she knows exactly who gave her each one. Her stuffed animal collection is always growing and it makes her just the happiest little girl in the world. 
I had additional gift cards and coupons so Miss Annabelle decided to make an animal too. She loves her stuffies also, but she seems to still have the specialist place in her heart for that old shmoozie bear.
After our little trek to the mall we picked up some friends and headed over to Boondocks. 
The girls spent most of their time on the bumper boats. They got nice and soaked! They were all giggles and silliness. I loved hearing “hey, don’t get me wet!”. And I do believe they were serious. On the bumper boats. Silliness for sure! 
And then they did a little go carting. I may be a touch concerned about this one getting a drivers license some day. 
No time for messing around. Annabelle is a girl on a mission. 
And again there is this one who is not even looking at where she is going. oh my heavens! 

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! 

tiny town

We’re maintaining a wild schedule this summer. The girls practice for swim team each morning (well, Monday – Thursday) and then have early morning meets on Saturdays. Early! I’m not a morning person so let me say again these are EARLY! We have to be at the pool for warm ups at 7 a.m. On a Saturday. I’m so glad these girls are devoted to swimming and practicing and have so much fun at the meets. I don’t even complain about the early hour….well, on here I may a bit but the morning of the meets we hop up and off we head to the pool without a whimper. 
Seriously how flippin’ cute are these sisters together…
After swim my little ladies had to join me for some work errands. I do appreciate the patience and company of my girls. We were in a new neck of the woods and found an Italian restaurant we had to try for lunch. 
Amici’s is no where near our house which is unfortunate because the food was delicious. 
Cavetelli — yum, yum, yum!
After lunch we took a little detour to Tiny Town. We visit every summer and I love comparing pictures of the girls year after year. My oh my have they grown. 
Annabelle was playing around with lipstick and gave her sister a big ol’ smooch on the cheek. They both thought it was hilarious. 
The weather was not very agreeable so we hopped right on the train. We knew the rain would be rolling in soon and we didn’t want to miss our chance to ride. 
This place is so quirky. It’s so unique and Colorado. I just love bringing the girls here. 
The train conductors are volunteers and they are quite quirky themselves. They always have cheesy jokes and little stories to share with the kids. Seems like a fun way to spend retirement. 
My little ladies who are not quite so little anymore and that is all the more evident in tiny town. 
At the Library
Such a poser
So very serious. The make up has to go. She’s looking like a teenager and I need to keep her a tween for just a bit longer. 
Every year they pose on this little house. There was actually time when they could fit all the way on that porch. 
The Seussical house
Cracking me up posing by the saloon. 
And then it started to rain. We were not quite done exploring so we decided it was the perfect excuse for an ice cream break. 
This girl loves her chocolate ice cream. 
The rain cleared and the place was all ours so we did a little more exploring. 
We found this cute little gem in the trees.
I love they still pose for my pictures and they can be so sweet about the things they probably think are silly but still make me so happy. 
It was a good, good day!

colorado springs | cave of the winds and cliff dwellings

We had one more day in Colorado Springs and filled it up. Our first stop was Cave of the Winds. I was really nervous for this because of my fear of heights. I’m so glad we did this anyway, because it was one of my favorites! 
The view from the top is definitely a bit unnerving, but also absolutely gorgeous. 
Then you travel down into the mountain and explore the amazing caves. It’s quite impressive to see and pictures do not do it justice. You just have to get down there and explore! 
Just one of the very narrow passage ways
Everyone loved it!
View from the outside. I think B has a picture of me up here, but it was high, high, high and I was so nervous! We did it though. 
Look at little G up there. No fear!
We planned one more stop before heading home. 
We took a little detour to visit the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. 
The history of this place is amazing and you can read about it here. The girls both learned about the Cliff Dwellers at school this year, but Gwyneth was especially excited to see the dwellings up close and personal. 
All of these gems are nestled in the mountains just a short jog from Manitou springs. Of all the times I have visited that great little town I have never stopped. I’m so glad we took the opportunity this visit. 
By the time we left it was HOT. We were ready to get out of the heat and into the a.c. We had a quiet little drive home. I think everyone was pretty worn out from our excursions. 

colorado springs | seven falls and the broadmoor

We planned this little mini – “staycation” for the week of the 4th. It’s pretty quiet at both of our businesses this week due to the holiday. We wanted take advantage of that down time and have a lot of family time. 
The morning we were set to leave was a bit of a whirlwind. We had stayed downtown the night before because we didn’t want to drive home with all the crazies after the game and fireworks. We didn’t get back to our hotel room the previous night until almost midnight so we had some tired girls. 
B received a few surprise orders and had to head back to the Kitchen that morning to do some cooking. I had to do payroll and get a few other work things done which I did from the hotel room in the dark. The girls were sound asleep from our previous night’s adventure. 
B and I were a bit flustered about starting our little trip later than expected. He scurried off while it was still dark and we both worked away. Our little ladies slept through it all! They didn’t wake up until about 10 am. They got ready for the day and we were waiting in the lobby when B pulled up to pick us up and head down south. 
It’s funny the things that get us worked up sometimes and then turn out to really be nothing at all…
On to our adventure!
I may love Colorado Springs more than anyone else in the world. Yes, the entire world. There is so much to do in that beautiful little town. So many natural treasures…and man-made ones too. I joke with B that I’m going to end up buying a vacation home there and he genuinely looks concerned. I really do love it. No matter how often we go there is never enough time. There is just so much to do. 
I have started quite a little journey of visiting the resorts there. We tried out the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and the Garden of the Gods Resort and this year we stayed at the Lodge at Flying Horse. The only resort left on my list to stay at is The Broadmoor. Someday. Soon. 
The resort was beautiful and the rooms were very nice. The views were stunning. It had more of a neighborhood feel though with the clubhouse and restaurant being across the parking lot and catered to residents. It was a bit far from the sites also. We had a really wonderful time and it was gorgeous, but given the price tag I will definitely rank it below the other two resorts we visited on prior visits.  
Our first stop was Seven Falls.
This one has been really built up for us. When B was a kid he made this place “Eight Falls” and the girls just think that story is hilarious! I did very little research on this outing and thought it would be 7 individual water falls. It wasn’t quite as expected. I think the girls were a little let down but they laughed all the way to the top thinking about their dad as a little boy peeing off the side!
This trip really took me out of my comfort zone. I’m terrified of heights and was so nervous. I got a little shaky up top but I did it. 
We stopped at the Golden Bee for a quick snack. The restaurant is located by the shuttle to Seven Falls and the Broadmoor. It’s a great little pub with the best smoked salmon appetizer. 
After our snack we wandered around The Broadmoor. It’s such a gorgeous hotel and the grounds have the most amazing views. I love the history of the place with well-known visitors. 
As we were leaving we noticed this guy just hanging out on the lawn: 
You’d think the girls would have been worn out by now, but nope! They were still up for a swim. They spent the rest of the evening going down this slide. Over and over again. They loved it! 
After a busy, busy day they were so hungry so we appeased with room service. I think that may be there favorite part of traveling. It was a busy, busy first day and lots more fun planned ahead…

independence day | outlaws game | fireworks

We have a fun tradition for the 4th of July. We attend the Outlaws game (lacrosse) at Mile High and stick around for the fireworks show afterwards.
Here are the last two years that we’ve gone:
2016
2015
I have to admit I’m pretty indifferent to lacrosse. I don’t know much about the game and I don’t really pay attention while we’re there. I sure do love the people we go to this game with though. The fireworks show after the game is one of the best I’ve ever seen. We all love it and it’s such a fun way to spend the 4th. 
A big thank you to the Tyler’s for organizing. They sure can put together a fun night! 

super diamond | hudson gardens

“There are two types of people in this world.. Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don’t. My ex-wife loves him.” – Bob Whiley, What About Bob
We fall in the love ’em category. We have seen the real Neil, but we always get a kick out of the Surreal Neil…Super Diamond! The concerts are such a kick. Amazing people watching. Great music and friends. It’s a can’t miss! 
We met Don and Lisa for a pre-show dinner and then walked on over to Hudson Gardens. We had a fabulous time dancing away to our favorite hits including Sweet Caroline, Forever in Blue Jeans, Coming to America, I am I said…the list goes on and on. 
Annabelle wasn’t as entertained with our dancing, but Gwyneth boogied away with us. We all enjoyed the firework show after the concerts. The evening was truly a blast!

Waiting for the show to start…

graduation party | kaylee and brennan

How is it even possible that our friends have children that are graduating from high school?
I’m far too young for this. Well, I wish I was far too young for this, but it is happening. We attended our first graduation party of the season and we had a great time. Kaylee and Brennan were just one month old when we got married and now they are 18. Yowsas!
The party was at our friend, Don’s photography studio. You know I always have my camera with me so I snapped some photos of the girls as they were playing around. I love his studio and I am trying to book some time to get in and take pictures of their girls in their dance costumes. I’m a bit intimidated by the studio and all the amazing photographers that work there though… 

I didn’t get any pics of the grads because they were hanging with friends so I borrowed this one from Kaylee’s facebook page. They sure do look happy and we are very proud of them. How far they have come and they are really great kids…well, I guess they are adults now. Oh jeez!