peacock

rehearsal

Today was a restful day — we call it the “sleepover hangover”. The girls had their dance recital rehearsal which was five hours so we wanted to have a low key morning.  
We had some make up issues…as in, Gwyneth didn’t want to wear it. She rubbed one eye clear of make up and Annabelle had some interesting streaks happening. Luckily it was only dress rehearsal. I should really have my friend Amy do their make up for these things anyway. I wear lip gloss and that is the extent of my beauty regimen. I’m ill equipped for this. 
Notice the one eye with lots of make up and none of the other???  
It reminds me of one of those before and after commercials. 
 Whatevs. She’s still cute. 

cupcake wars and american girls

We hosted a cupcake wars at the kitchen today. It was a camp, but we have done so many of these birthday parties I think I can run them in my sleep. 
This is still one of my favorite parties. I came up with it when we first opened the kitchen and we tweaked, adjusted, and baked until it was perfection. 
I love when my girls participate and I love when they are judges. I love watching when B runs the show and see how he changes things to better suit him. I love when the kids leave and I hear them telling their parents “that was the best party EVER!!”. I love when those same kiddos come back again and again for parties and camps. 
It’s an amazing feeling knowing I get to part of something really special. We send kids out the door with big smiles and lots of cupcakes. That’s not a bad day. 
My ladies with their red velvet and chocolate cupcake:
We hosted a double sleepover – American Girl Doll style. Annie and Kate spent the night and brought their dolls and had a blast. Annie and Gwyneth were asleep first. Kate and Annabelle were the last to sleep and the first awake. I love these gals and I appreciate how well they all play together. With my girls only being a year apart I love when their interests and friendships overlap. 

happy birthday: kate

We hurried down the mountain just in time for Kate’s birthday party. Both girls have such a great time with her and were so excited to celebrate with her. There were lots of kiddos zip lining and rock wall climbing. 
Happy birthday to Kate!
After the show, the girls quickly changed and then off to Beauty and the Beast. We have seen this show before in Chicago and let me tell ya, it was a lot better. This one was a bit boring. We had great seats and B even joined us so it still made for a fun family day!

keystone

We had absolutely nothing planned for our Saturday and decided as a family (through many votes and a blind ballot) how we should spend our day. We all finally agreed that we should head up to Keystone and ride the gondola. We had talked about the adventure park in Breck and a hike, but I didn’t pack great shoes which I think may have been my passive aggressive way of getting a lazy, relaxing weekend. 
We rode the gondola, took in the gorgeous view, played ladder ball, practiced walking the “tight rope”, played games and had lunch at the resort and then headed back to Breck. We spent the rest of our day playing shuffleboard, hot tubbing, watching the foxes and even on vacation B made us a delicious lasagna for dinner. I couldn’t have asked for a better day! 
Not quite sure where they think they are going?
Annabelle, the photographer snapped this one. 
My, how things have changed…

whimsy

I fulfilled two big summer requests today for my ladies. Art and basketball. Although I enjoy both, teaching them these skills does not come naturally to me (I can play a mean game of HORSE or PIG, but true basketball chops are not in my repertoire). 
The girls went to Whimsy with their allowance carefully placed in their purses to buy themselves snacks. I love that they get up every morning and get themselves ready, clean their rooms and complete their chores. They earn a dollar a day for completing their entire chore chart. They don’t always earn their allowance (I’m pretty strict about those chores), but when they do, they are so excited to save that cash and spend it on special occasions likes treats at a painting class. Annabelle informed me that Skittles taste so much better when you buys them yourself and she is generous with her money and bought her sister extra treats too. I am proud of the character that we are developing and growing and nurturing this summer. 
Each of the girls painted their very own giraffes and had a fabulous time!
After a busy morning of painting, Annabelle went to basketball camp. This was a four day camp at the high school near our house. It was run by the high school girls and their coach. Annabelle LOVED it. She thought the girls were so very, very cool and learned so much. It’s been fun watching her become so passionate about basketball and she’s working hard to master these new skills. 
While Annabelle was at camp Gwyneth worked on her sharpie tie dye shirts. She has been quite obsessed with these too. She really does love all things artsy and crafty. 
Annabelle was so tired after a busy day she barely had enough energy to finish up her shirt. That’s a lot of dots though…kinda makes me dizzy! 

sewing stuffies

The girls are not signed up for much this summer, but one of the activities they requested was a sewing a class. They participated in two classes and learned to sew their own stuffies. Gwyneth loves all things sewing and stuffies related so this class was right up her alley. Now I just need to set up my sewing machine so they can keep on sewing…
Sewing Stuffies at Blue Sky Creativity

pool revisited

Our girls had friends over and spent 5 hours at the pool. Yes, that’s right — FIVE HOURS! We went home for lunch and then returned and the girls could not get enough swim time.
Our neighbors had a vow renewal at the rec center and B catered their event. He was there for 4 hours and the girls were happy to just hang out and swim. We wished our neighbors well at the party and then back in to the pool they went. Everyone slept very well that night!
The first at the pool in the morning:
Heading back to the pool for the vow renewal. Wearing some fancy coverups:

louisville

B had a super busy weekend at the kitchen. He was catering several events and none required baking so the girls and I were on our own. We decided to check out the Louisville farmers market….and little did we know the Taste of Louisville was happening as well. I’m not a gal for crowds and just as I was about to turn in around and head home a parking spot opened right in front of our eyes and just steps from the festival. We couldn’t resist staying and checking everything out.
The girls found hoola hoops, and chocolate covered strawberries and it was a beautiful day for lunch outside — which is another thing I usually avoid, but the girls found a table at one of our favorite restaurants right in the middle of the action. It was a great spot for people watching.
Ella joined us for dinner and a sleepover. The girls spent the evening making chalk designs on the sidewalk, painting rocks and enjoying snow cones. B had to run to the mall for new work shoes and Annabelle tagged along with him. She scored herself a new pair of dangly earrings. It was a good night for all.

tiny town and dinosaur ridge

Tiny town has become a summer tradition for us. The girls still love to visit and requested the trip today. They still enjoy the train ride and the tiny little houses. 

It was a warm day and nice to sit down inside for lunch at The Morrison Inn. I have such fond memories of eating there before concerts at Red Rocks. It’s always fun to share some of my old favorites with my girls.

For the first time, we explored Dinosaur Ridge. It’s a beautiful hike when you get to the top of the mountain, but a steep incline to get there. We opted for the tour, that was $6 and gave you a great history of the area as well as a nice cool ride to the top. We had many opportunities to view fossils and explore. It was really hot day and the girls were pretty tired so we didn’t stay as long as we would have liked. We can’t wait to get back again.

From the top of the ridge you can see the Red Rock venue and we could hear the bands warming up for the concert tonight.

summer break

We are officially in summer mode! No more uniforms or homework or bedtimes. Yep, it’s chaos. 
My goal this summer was less hustle, fewer schedules and camps, and more family time. It’s week one and we’re happy. Check back in with us in a few…
Remember those pesky schedules I gave up? Sometimes those are good. We zipped up to Boulder to get my flat tire repaired at the dealership, got a lovely ice cream snack and then I dropped the girls off at dance….an hour early! The holiday weekend got me all out of whack and I thought it was Monday instead of Tuesday and dropped them off for dance an hour early. I’m really winning at this mom thing. 
The girls didn’t care one bit. When they were picked up from dance they laughed and said they got to watch the other class for an hour. No biggie. Oh boy, we sure are starting this summer off with a bang. 

I don’t even….I have no words…