princess

anthem hike

After the fun run yesterday Annabelle took off to a party and then ended up having a sleepover. She stayed up most of the night and came home quite tired. She was not at all pleased with me when I told her Gwyneth and I were planning a hike and that she needed to go with us. I should have left her home to nap, but it was such a beautiful day and I thought the fresh air and exercise would do her some good. 
Gwyneth was in heaven hiking around our neighborhood. Annabelle was a good sport. We ended up walking about 2 miles for lunch and then another 2 miles home. It felt great to get out and enjoy that warm Colorado weather and you just can’t beat the mountain views from our little neighborhood. 
Off we go! 
Annabelle wouldn’t walk with us before lunch. She was either a few paces ahead or behind. Did I mention she wasn’t very happy with me?
She got in to the swing of things and was climbing and exploring in no time. 
A well needed rest after that 4 mile walk!

fun run

It has been raining and dreary here for the past week. The skies dried up and the sun came shining down this Friday. We had perfect weather for the school fun run. 
The girls had gathered donations from friends and family and raised money for a new playground at their school. They each ran over 3 miles today! The both had a blast with friends and were worn out. I’m so proud of them for giving their all and I love the memories they are making. I couldn’t have asked for a better school for them. 
Some good stretches before running…
Best buds. Love these three together. They are just the sweetest of friends!
Soaking wet after running through the sprinklers!

happy birthday, ryan

We gathered with B’s family to celebrate Ryan’s 13th birthday. The cousins were very happy to be together for the evening and B made us a delicious dinner. 
Before family arrived I sweet-talked the girls into letting me take some pictures of them. They were both dolled up and looking quite grow up. I didn’t want to miss a chance to snap some shots of them. 
I was trying to get one of them together and B walked in the garage to throw out some trash. This is not staged…they are just nosey! Ha!
I love a great posed shot, but this is the real Gwyneth and I think I like these photos most of all. 
I swear this wasn’t posed either. I sure got lucky with the photos today. 
The cousins arrived and I was able to convince them to let me take a few pictures also. I’m not sure if they were happy about it, but they did manage to have a little fun. 
Happy 13th to this guy!
Look at all that curly hair! Reagan sure has come a long way in the past year. 

walking buddy

Gwyneth was the queen of the sleepovers this weekend. She had one Friday and another on Saturday. I asked Annabelle if she wanted to have a friend over and she said she wanted to have some ‘mom-and-me’ time which made me pretty happy. I think we all appreciate that one on one time. 
Friday night we went to the movies and saw “I Feel Pretty”. It was a pretty silly movie, but a very empowering message for girls of all ages. After the movie I received a very early Mother’s Day gift – a new bike! I haven’t had one in years and I’m not very good at riding, but I love it. Annabelle and I went for a late night ride as soon as we got home. I loved it! 
Saturday morning Annabelle and I woke early and went for a 1.5 hour walk. She was a trooper and I was so happy to have the time with her. After we got home B joined us for an hour bike ride. 
That smoothie was well deserved!!
Walking home Annabelle asked me to take this goofy picture of her “YaYa’s hill”. My mom fell down this hill years ago when she pulling the girls in a wagon. I’m sure my mom appreciates that she has such a great memory.

rockies game #2

Two Rockies game in one week….not too shabby!
I joined the girls on their school field trip to Coors Field today. We were bummed that B couldn’t make it too. It was a Wednesday and that is always a super, super busy day at the kitchen for him. 
Our morning kicked off with the Weather and Science day presentations. I gotta be honest here….it was a little weak. They did some cool stuff with liquid nitrogen, but the hot air balloon didn’t rise and all the other experiments were kind of a bust. There were tons and tons of kids there and it was really loud and they were just not grabbing and keeping their attention. About 30 minutes into the presentation we decided to ditch the madness and grab lunch with friends. 

We feasted on stadium food – hot dogs and nachos all around – and then hit the ramps to find our seats for the game. As Annabelle’s teacher said “We’ll see you in the nosebleeds”. We were in fact quite near the top, but the view were outstanding! I love Coors Field and the areas surrounding it. All the surrounding rooftops were filling up for game time. It was a beautiful day, although a bit chilly. Nothing a beer on a rooftop couldn’t help though! 
We joined the girls’ friends and classmates for the game and had a great time. Slowly people started to leave and I waited for the girls to ask to go too. We made it to the end of the game and we were the last ones there from school! It was well worth it as we saw the Rockies pull off a win and the girls declared themselves the Rockies’ good luck charms. 
It was a great day for a baseball game!

rockies game #1

Miss Annabelle had a bit of a rough afternoon. Both girls had dentist appointments, but Annabelle had 2 teeth pulled. She was pretty sore and quite a bit grumpy. We had tickets for the Rockies game tonight and we gave her the option of whether we all go or stay home. We were happy to stay home with her and let her rest, but she wanted to go! That girl is such a trooper

We had dinner at the Denver Chophouse before the game and she feasted on mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. All soft foods and no straws for that girl tonight.

As we ate dinner the rain started but it managed to dry up a bit as we headed over for the game. We were feeling like good luck charms at the game – the Rockies were up by 1 run. We had to leave early since it was a school night and by the time we got home the tide had changed for the Rockies. It was a pretty ugly ending and the Rockies lost 13 to 5.

We purchased a ten game pack for this season so we’re looking forward to many more games!

eltich gardens passes

We woke up to a little spring snow, but that wouldn’t deter us from getting our summer Elitch Garden passes. It worked out quite well actually. Not many people were nutty enough to stand out in the cold and snow for their passes (let’s be honest, it really wasn’t that cold). We arrived when the gates opened and didn’t even have to stand in line. Usually the lines are wrapped around the parking lot and the wait can be several hours. I think we were all pretty grateful for those snow flurries. 
Unfortunately the snow did keep us from riding the rides. All the rides were closed when we arrived. We have our season passes in hand along with our drink cups and friend passes so we are all set for warmer weather! 

We had planned to meet up with Kierra and her family at Elitchs but since the weather didn’t cooperate she came over to play for the afternoon. They may have been a bit disappointed the amusement park didn’t work out, but they were all giggles playing together in the basement.

aladdin

Many, many months ago I received an email with a special offer for Aladdin tickets. The girls had just attended an Aladdin drama camp and were very excited to see the show. B wasn’t as eager. He’s not much of a Disney fan so he opted out for this one.
I jumped at the offer and bought tickets for us girls. And then I kinda forgot about it. 
Month went by and the night was finally here. Before the show we had dinner at Oceannaire which is conveniently located across from the theater. I love this restaurant. The food is delicious and they have $10 valet parking which is valid through out the show. It’s pretty fabulous after the show when you can just walk across the street and your car is waiting for you. No more fighting crowds to get out of the parking garage.

Although the parking is a great deal, I suppose we make up for it with Gwyneth’s love of lobster. That girl has expensive fine dining tastes. She is certainly not timid in her ordering either. “I’ll have the 2 lb lobster please….oh yes, cracked tableside please” Oh my!  

Annabelle is always happy with a bowl of clam chowder. It’s one of her absolute favorite meals.

Off to the show we go…

I didn’t remember what seats we had, I just knew we got a good deal. The girls were beyond thrilled when they sat us in a box. The seats were amazing!

This is the second time now that B has opted out of a show and I absolutely loved it. (the last time was Sound of Music).  I have to say it was one of the best I have ever seen. The songs, dancing, costumes, and sets were all brilliant. We laughed our way through the show. The genie cracked us up! If Aladdin every makes its way back to Denver, we’re going to have to drag B along with us for the encore.

breckenridge

We took advantage of a small break from school and were able to head up to the mountains. B was able to get away for the weekend and Don and Lisa joined us for a night as well. We didn’t have much planned just a few days of relaxing. I really enjoy the down time playing games. It’s such a wonderful treat. 
B had to head back down Sunday night for work, but I was able to work from the mountains and enjoy the Monday and Tuesday the girls had off school. 
We played around town and then I spent Tuesday morning picking up the house to head back home. I took a little too long and we left about an hour too late. It started to snow and by the time we made it to Silverthorne I was very uncomfortable with the limited visability. We got a little nervous and turned back. We stayed an extra night and the next morning was all sunshine making it much easier to get home.  
A lovely day in Breck

We grabbed lunch at Empire Burger and then wandered around town. It was a beautiful day.  

Our lunch spot
The girls requested a crafty afternoon. Annabelle decided to try her hand at canvas painting. 

Gwyneth and I gave mosaics a try. 

Annabelle did a great job on her painting and left it as a gift for my dad and Melissa. 

The mosaics were really fun. Gwyneth and I loved our pieces (after they were cleaned up). We’re eager to try it again and I’m trying to figure out if I can offer it at my studio.

We spent our night playing games and watching movies. Our favorite game these days is Farkle. I’m a risk taker in that game and it never seems to work out for me. The girls beat me every single time.

Tuesday morning started off gorgeous. A bright sunny day….who would have though we would end up snowed in!

We grabbed lunch at Eric’s and then played around town.

And then it started to snow. Just nice fluffy flakes at first. I love snow! I just don’t love driving in it.

This cracks me up! Gwyneth was loving the snow and Annabelle was counting down the days until she moves to California.

Annabelle really hates the snow. She is our beach babe! 

Luckily my dad and Melissa didn’t mind us staying another night in Breckenridge. We went back to the house and snuggled up. Sadly I had tossed out all our food because I thought we were heading home. We didn’t have much with us so we braved the weather for dinner at Breckenridge Brewery. The rest of the night we laid low, watching movies, and playing games.