peacock

yaya is here

Yaya arrived this afternoon and the girls were quite excited to scoop her up from the hospital. We had a few errands to run so we hit the mall. They are at that age where they just love it. We stocked up on a few needed things and then stopped by Build  A Bear for something fun. 
Annabelle found herself a silly little sloth. 
Gwynth got a Beary Bear. 
Yaya had a coupon for a free dessert so off we went for dinner at Olive Garden. It may have been the longest meal ever….and we like long meals. It was a bit crazy as they messed up most of our meals and entrees were coming out before salads. It was nutty, but we didn’t really care all that much. We were just happy to hang out together. 

my valentines

We’re pretty romantic around here…you know, burgers and beers for us for special occasions. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 
B and I grabbed lunch while the girls were at school and enjoyed a few tall boys and shared a veggie burger. We haven’t been to the new Waterloo location so we decided to check out. It’s just as great as ever. We had a lovely time. 
After school and math club and all the many kiddo activities we made it home for a few gifts. 
I’ve got kind of a dinosaur obsession and the girls think its pretty funny. 
We all have quite a Harry Potter obsession and these alarm clocks are a hit. 
We also love our games around here. We spent the night playing Wheel of Fortune! 

girl scouts at color me mine

After a busy mountain weekend, we were right back at it with Girl Scouts on Monday night. Our painting meeting was rescheduled a few weeks ago due to weather and the girls were pretty excited to be in the studio. 
They are a very sweet group of girls and were eager to paint. They did a great job and I was so impressed that they cleaned up their entire space before leaving. Looking forward to seeing these gems come out of the kiln. 

bastiens with tendlers

We scurried down the mountain to meet up with our friends, the Tendlers. Connie’s birthday is this week and they are super busy folks. We were glad they could squeeze us in for a celebration. 
They introduced us a new restaurant, Bastiens. Mitch is a researcher extraordinaire. We know if he’s taking us somewhere that it’s going to be good. Bastiens feels old school and cool, but honestly we would passed it right up driving by on Colfax. I loved my steak, but the biggest hit was the grilled caesar salad. It was such an interesting flavor – something I’ve never had before and it was delicious. 
We had a great time, as usual, catching up with these fabulous friends. Love that family! 

mountain trip with girl scouts

We joined Gwyneth’s girl scout troop in the mountains for a ski weekend. Well, the troop skied….between me being sick and Gwyneth’s leg we didn’t do much but enjoy the beautiful, snowy hill. We are not complaining at all. The one good thing about getting so sick this past week is that is has really forced me to slow down. There’s more quiet time together, more reading books, more movies and netflix, more sleep which is something we can all appreciate. 
Friday we picked the girls up from school and made it up to Idaho Springs for a late lunch. Oh man, oh man, oh man, I love Beau Jo’s. I feel as though I’m the only one in the family who really loves it. I think everyone else just appeases me.
Annabelle was goofing around and dropped all the toppings off her slice. For some reason that really struck a chord with me and I got a ridiculous case of the giggles. The girls love when that happens. I can be pretty obnoxious when I can’t control my laughter. 
We dropped Gwyneth off at her friend’s house in Silverthorne. All the girls stayed together there Friday night. Thank goodness for those kind mommas who stayed with 11 little ladies that night. Gwyneth had a blast and even managed to get a little sleep. 
I received this picture from the troop leader – G is in the pink sleeping bag. 
We spent the night in Breckenridge and then B went down to pick up Gwyneth before the group headed off to ski. She needs a lesson but wants to wait until after her surgery. 
Two of her friends and their moms didn’t want to tackle the traffic heading down the hill so they stayed with us Saturday night. There was lots of giggling. It was a pretty great night. 
Sunday morning all were tired. We cleaned up, packed up, locked up and headed back down the mountain. For not doing a whole heck of a lot this weekend we sure were worn out. 
This girl was hangry!
I stumbled onto the listing for a bar and grill in Golden called Wrigley’s. Total divey Chicago bar with Chicago dogs, Maxwell Street Polish, pizza, Italian beefs, etc. Our taste-buds were in a Midwesterne feast heaven. B went as far as to say the Maxwell St polish was better than Portillos (I’m fairly certain that is blasphemy!). My little foodie family raved about this meal, which naturally gives  me a way over-inflated ego for finding this little gem. Can’t wait for our next visit. 

super {boring} bowl

I’m sure there are people out there who were excited for this Super Bowl, but it certainly wasn’t us or our friends. Oh man, I couldn’t have cared any less about the big game this year. We took the opportunity to have a few friends over and it proved to be one of the most boring games I can remember in some time. Luckily, we had those fabulous friends to keep us entertained. 
I didn’t get many pictures but did manage a small few…

the most interesting game played all day (HA!)

afternoon tea

B had to head into the Kitchen for parties today but the girls and I had a pretty clear calendar. We asked for a late check out and had a lackadaisical morning. We had breakfast in the club and then took turns slowly getting ready while watching tv and lounging. It was truly a relaxing and peaceful morning. 
Gwyneth’s fancy braid
Before check out we grabbed lunch at the hotel. We made the most of our stay and I do believe the staff knows us by name there. I’m not complaining one bit. I hope we go back again soon. It’s definitely my favorite in downtown Denver. 

lunch with a view

We scooted off towards home to pick up girl scout cookies and to meet some friends for afternoon tea.

Our tea date was at the Huckleberry in Louisville with our friends, Randi and Kenna. They live just down the road from us but it takes a tea date to finally get together. Life is busy for everyone. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to meet with them.

Our tea time was perfect and included lots of cucumber sandwiches and valentines inspired tea cakes. We talked and talked and our afternoon tea turned to evening and when we left it was well past dinner time and the sky was dark. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to meet up with those lovely friends.

wizard of oz ballet

The girls and I had tickets for the ballet tonight and miraculously B didn’t have to work. He’s not a big fan of the ballet, but wanted to join us for the night downtown. We took advantage of a great deal to stay at the Ritz which included an upgrade to club level. 
We checked in and then enjoyed lots of snacks. In fact, we enjoyed so many snacks that we we cancelled our dinner reservations because no one was hungry before the show. 
The Ritz’s signature cookie. My absolute favorite. YUM!!
pretty girls ready for the show

B walked us down to the ballet and then explored the theater district before heading back to the club. He enjoyed some complimentary beverages and sports while we enjoyed the ballet. It was a pretty perfect night for all.

I wouldn’t recommend the box seats at the ballet. I love them at the Buelle theater, but at the ballet there are some blind spots. It makes the girls feel fancy but they agreed that the views are not the best.

The performance was delightful. The highlight was definitely those ruby slipper toe shoes. 
Walking back to the hotel, the city was emerald. 

The girls decided they needed a little snack on the way back so we stopped in at Rock Bottom. I’m not sure where Annabelle learned the proper techniques for pouring beer, but she determined her iced tea was the correct two finger pour. Ha! That girl.

Gwyneth and B were done and headed back to the hotel. Annabelle is my party girl and ordered us another round. We sat and watched the Nuggets game and enjoyed raspberry iced tea. What a wonderful night!

world thinking day

Oh boy, I really have to pay more attention at our girl scout meetings. I had no idea what I was getting myself into tonight. I thought it was a girl scout event, but it was a school event that we joined with the troop. The kicker it was at the girls’ old public school….which I haven’t been to in years. That was a blast from the past and we saw lots of old friends and familiar faces. I even ran into Annabelle’s old kindergarten and 2nd grade teachers who were quite surprised to see us there. 
Gwyneth did a great job setting up her booth and she seemed pretty happy to run in to a few of her besties along with spending a fun night with her troop.