princess

road trip | white sands

Just an hour drive from Las Cruces, White Sands is a special treat that I have very fond memories of from college. The girls didn’t really know what to expect but were thrilled when we arrived. White sand as far as the eye can see. They both agreed it looked like piles of snow, but oh boy is it hot there. 
We spent the morning jumping around in that sand. We climbed, we rolled, they wrote their names. I’m so glad we added this adventure to our road trip. 

B showing them how it’s done…

B spotted this little guy who almost perfectly blended in with the sand. 
Love that these silly ladies still pick out matching clothes for themselves. 

A nice family let the girls borrow their sleds. We were reluctant about getting sleds because we didn’t think they would love it so we are very grateful this family let them have a try. They thought it was fun, but were happy to give the sleds back after one ride down the hill. They seemed to prefer just rolling down those big ol’ sandy hills!

We hopped back in the car, a little sandy and maybe a little itchy, and headed toward Santa Fe. It was about a 4 hour drive, but we took a less traveled route and enjoyed the quiet and open space. The girls have been amazing through this entire adventure. They are wonderful travel companions.

road trip | old mesilla

We beat the heat by heading out early to explore Old Mesilla.  I loved this part of town when I was in school. I couldn’t wait to show it off to the girls. It’s quintessential New Mexico. 

The town is known for jailing and trying Billy the Kid for his crimes. The jail and courthouse is now a souvenir shop, but it is on the National Register.

We had lunch at our absolute favorite restaurant in town La Posta. It was every bit as good as I remembered it. Don’t you love it when places live up to your memories? 

It was a hot, hot afternoon but we were determined to explore the Organ Mountains. 
B used to hike these mountains often and take pictures. 

“A” mountain = “Aggie Mountain” = “Annabelle Mountain” according to our girls. 
And then it was back to the pool to cool off. 
These girls crack me up with their jumps

We dressed up and headed to Cattle Baron for dinner. This was the nicest restaurant in town at the time and we would only go when our parents came to visit. Have I mentioned we were very poor college kids? We had to go back for nostalgia. I really didn’t remember it much, but I did remember the feeling of being treated to something special back then. It felt pretty special to be able to take our girls with us now.

We got back to the hotel and the girls received a special treat from the chef at our hotel. He gave them chocolate covered strawberries and they gobbled them up! A perfectly sweet ending to a lovely day.

road trip | las cruces

The second leg of our trip was only 3 hours which was a piece cake compared to the 6 1/2 hours the day before. 
We stopped about a half hour outside of Las Cruces for lunch. We had heard of this quirky little restaurant in Hatch, NM and had to see if for ourselves. It was definitely worth the stop. Hatch is known for it’s green chili so it’s no surprise the chili cheese fries were amazing. The girls loved their milk shakes and B gobbled up a chili cheese burger. The quirky decor was an added bonus. 
Enjoying their milkshakes:
Next stop was Las Cruces; home to New Mexico State Univeristy our alma mater. It has been years since we’ve been back to visit. Too many years to even count. So much has changed, but it still felt the same to me. 
It did feel bigger than I remembered and the girls both said it was bigger than they had expected. It is nice to see it growing and improving. 
Our first stop was the student union. We had to show the girls the student restaurant where we complained endlessly about our meal plan all those years ago. The food was not gourmet, but we sure do have fun memories of eating there with friends. 
The library
Our old dorms. Wow! What a dump. Seriously. 
There were not great when we lived there, but they have since built new residence halls and turned these into offices. 
B’s old room
The stoop. The gathering place. There was always someone hanging out here looking for trouble fun. I was never bored in college and have the best memories of my time in the dorms. I met great friends, played hard, and even attended a few classes on occasion. 
My freshman dorm. Seriously, what a dump!
The girls were melting during our tour.  They asked to take a little break in the shade to cool off. 
Campus
We stopped at the book store to buy some NMSU gear. Annabelle quickly picked out a water bottle
and Gwyneth found a stuffed bear that she quickly fell in love with.
One last cruise around campus
We showed the girls our first apartment which is also quite run down and they were not at all impressed. I loved that place though! We told them lots of stories of walking to classes, pulling all nighters and some pretty mischievous parties. 
B’s 2nd apartment, Alamo. I think this may still be one of his favorite apartments. It was quirky and fun, but a pain since it was a bit far from campus. 
After our campus tour we checked in to our hotel and the girls were in their swim suits in no time. Our old roomate from college, Anthony was in Las Cruces also and came over to the hotel to meet us. I’m beating myself up because I didn’t get a picture with him. It has been many years since we’ve seen him, but we fell right back in to our routine and it felt like no time had passed at all. He was heading back to New York the following week so I’m so, so grateful our time in NM overlapped. 
Pool time

road trip | albquerque

We started our summer off with a road trip. We decided to head south and show the girls where we went to school. We made a grand trip out of it and although we were in the car for quite some time, we had a wonderful time!
I really didn’t think I was a big fan of road trips, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was quite relaxing and we didn’t stick to a schedule. We just went were we wanted and did what we wanted. As a planner that really goes against my nature, but honestly I had the best time.
The first leg of our trip took us through Southern Colorado and these girls were great sports. 
Gwyneth read books the entire way while Annabelle slept. She made through two chapter books on the first day!
Annabelle had no trouble sleeping in the car. Getting comfy…
We stopped in Las Vegas, New Mexico for some junk food
When we were about an hour out of Albuquerque we decided we were done driving for the day and booked our hotel on my phone on hotels.com. I was so nervous about not having lodging booked all along our way, but it made it really easy to stop when we needed and we got exceptional last minute hotel deals. A little anxiety was well worth the fun.
B and I visited Albuquerque when we were in school, but we never explored historic old town. We stayed at the Hotel Albuquerque which had all the New Mexico character and charm that I love and have missed. 
We kicked off the weekend properly with New Mexican food, explored the town square, and the girls swam their little hearts out in the hotel pool. 
There were tv crews and equipment all around the square as they were taping an episode of Graves. We’ve never seen the show, but researched it and it looks right up our alley. 
The most familiar sites of New Mexico. 
After dinner we were pretty worn out, but the girls never miss an opportunity to swim. The hotel had a beautiful pool with an even better view. 
My little fish
B hung out with the girls while they swam and I explored the hotel. It had so much character and I fell in love with the chapel. Maybe we should renew our vows so we can go back?
View from the chapel:
The energy these two possess is unreal. 
They just swam and swam.
We all got a good night sleep and declared the first day of our adventure a success. 

3rd grade celebration

We have had a wonderful experience with the girls’ school, but many of the kiddos are moving on to new schools next year. We have really enjoyed getting to know these families and will be sad to see this great group of kids split up. 
We hosted an end of year 3rd grade celebration for Gwyneth’s class. Unfortunately not all the families could make it, but we had a pretty good turn out. It was so nice to have the opportunity to catch up with the parents and all the kids played so sweetly together. A good time was definitely had by all! 

mother’s day

I had the most lovely mother’s day. I feel very special to be spoiled by these lovely little ladies and one pretty fabulous husband. 
We hopped in a Lyft and headed downtown for lunch at Mellow Mushroom. After lunch we strolled over to Coors Field and watched the Rockies beat the Dodgers. It was an awesome game – high scoring and lots of cheering. We ended the evening with dinner at Morton’s. We ate in the bar which was a first for us at the new location.
We filled the day with fun and were all quite worn out when we returned home. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I’m so grateful to have spent the day with with my amazing family! 

girl scouts | painting party

Tonight was the last night of Brownies! What a journey we have been on with these little ladies. We started as Daisies in kindergarten and now they are going to be in fourth grade and Juniors. It has certainly been an adventure. 
I asked around to see if anyone wanted to keep on going and we had just one girl drop out of the troop. Soooo, we celebrated tonight, we’re taking the summer off, and we’re going to start up again next year for our FIFTH year. I feel quite lucky to be a leader for this amazing troop of young ladies. 
We had our end of year celebration at Color Me Mine. I thought these ladies (especially mine) would be sick and tired of this place, but nope! They all still love to paint and throw in a little pizza and the night was a big ol’ hit. 

Not all the girls could make it tonight, but the ones who did brought along a few siblings (and a few sneaked away before I could get a group photo).

triathlon

The girls were pretty excited for the triathlon this year because they decided to be on a team! It gets pretty intense and can get very competitive, but they just take it all in stride. 
Annabelle did the swimming, Gwyneth did the biking, and their friend Karsen did the running.
Annabelle was nervous about swimming. She doesn’t realize how good she is. She was all nerves and chewing on her nails, but she hoped right in the pool for that race. 
There she goes.

She rocked it! She came in 2nd place and 3rd overall for the entire school. Her teacher came over and made a big point that the first two swimmers compete and practice several times a week so it was pretty darn good that she came in behind them by only seconds. I’m so impressed with this little lady! She has the swim bug and luckily we found a swim team for her this summer.

Gwyneth’s turn!

She did awesome. I didn’t take any more pictures, because kids were wiping out and the biking portion just gives me a ton of anxiety.

What I love most about watching Gwyneth is that she took is slow and steady and she never lost her smile. Her smile is contagious! I love watching these kids root for each other.

Gwyneth’s friends were showing off their injuries…and since Gwyneth didn’t have any she ate watermelon. 

Time for the running portion. My girls were happy their part of the triathlon was over and they could just cheer for their friends.

More watermelon
My little shorty pants and her buddies. 

The girls finished in 3rd place overall and were pretty pleased with themselves.

take your daughter to play

Today was take your daughter to work day. 
Let’s be honest here. Everyday at our house is take your daughter to work day. They spend countless hours at the kitchen with B or at the paint studio with me. They spent a great deal of their spring break in my kiln room (proof of that here) and they can expect a lot more where that comes from this summer. 
Last night while the girls were getting ready for bed B and I talked about what we had going on the next day at work and who should go with who and how everyday they watch and learn about taxes, scheduling, supply ordering and inventory, deliveries, revenue, costs, budgeting, cash flow projections and on and on and on. This is their every day.
We quickly declared today to be TAKE YOUR DAUGHTER TO PLAY DAY. 
I made arrangements to have the studio covered for the day and we gave them the option to pick whatever they wanted to do. They were so excited! They asked to go for Jamba Juice and then play at the Children’s Museum. I agreed to all of the above. I also stressed that since we were playing hookey today they had to bank this work day for the summer when I needed their patience and help when my business was hectic and the days felt too short. They agreed. We shook on it. 
Off for our adventure. 1st stop: Jamba Juice

We pulled up to the Children’s Museum to find a few buses and a very full parking lot. I’m not one for a crowd. Without prompting the girls asked if we could explore the aquarium and have lunch there while the crowds hopefully died down at the museum. Fabulous idea!

We had perfect timing at the aquarium. We were sat at a table right by the tank and as we finished up our lunch the mermaid show started.

The girls used their allowance to buy these stuffed seals (seals right? I’m not sure about all these stuffed animals)

We headed over to the Children’s Museum and again the timing was perfect. The buses cleared out and it seems the younger kiddos were heading home to nap. The girls were able to explore everything!

Snack time

After checking out the exhibits inside we headed outside. There is so much to do and I should have allotted more time for it.

They could have spent hours on the zip line and with no one else in line they got to take plenty of turns.

I told them it was time to wrap it up and head home. How could I say no to just a few more minutes?

This is definitely the way to spend a day!

Love this!

We took a little rest on the chair lift before heading out. 

Oh and then had to stop at the park on the way to the car before truly heading home. 

It was such a great day. I hope when we are feeling overworked and overtired and over-scheduled this summer we will remember this peaceful play day we had together.

happy easter from great wolf lodge

The girls had a three day weekend from school. We took advantage of the day off to head down to Colorado Springs. We spent two nights at Great Wolf Lodge including Easter which a night at hotel and swimming has been a great family tradition for us. 
I get asked a lot “is Great Wolf Lodge worth it?”. Well, it depends. Its crowded, overpriced and the food is absolutely horrible BUT our girls love it and we have a wonderful time together as a family. So for us, it’s worth it. It’s great. You just have to know what you are getting yourself into. 
Day One

After a morning of catering, we loaded up the car and headed down south. It’s not a bad drive at all and we made it in time for lunch. We were still a bit early and our room wasn’t quite ready so we played a round of mini golf. 

The girls did a scavenger hunt that took them all over the resort and they each won a little prize.

We finally got checked in to our room, swimsuits on and hit the water park. 

We spent the rest of the day in the wave pool, screaming our way down the water slides, and even convinced B to just eat pizza at the resort. The pizza isn’t terrible. We blame B for being the food snob picky eater in the family but none of like the other food options so we were happy to go out for the rest of our meals.

I didn’t take many pictures that first day because I was happily swimming with my little ladies. I did get a few shots of them in our room. They loved having the bunk room all to themselves.

We had a beautiful view from our patio. Great view of the Rockies and the Air Force stadium.

Day 2

Happy Easter! The bunny found us again. The girls left him a note asking him not to hide eggs because they didn’t want to waste any time searching when they could be at the pool. Annabelle received a new basketball and Gwyneth received a new robe which made them both very happy.

Some chocolate favorites from the candy shop

Off we went to the water park. We were one of the first there which was nice because the hotel was sold out for the evening and quite crowded.

We had a very full day of swimming! 

We left the resort for lunch (Cheddars – which is not good, but cheap and we could actually get a soup and salad). We also left again for dinner and ate at the Colorado Mountain Brewery. I would highly recommend this.

Have I mentioned that our kids don’t like to order off the kids menu anymore? They are not huge fans of mac and cheese and chicken tenders. This has become a bit expensive when we go out but it’s always worth it to watch them try new things. Annabelle ordered penned the Penne Bolognese with bison. She loved it!

We bowled a game (I won, just in case any one is keeping score. I have to gloat because I’m fairly certain that has never happened before). 
And then it was back in the water. The Meyers shut the place down!
These girls were not quite ready for bed. 
So we enjoyed some ice cream

And sat in the lobby and watched the dance party (they didn’t want to partake…they were worried we would embarrass them. We would), and made silly faces. It was a very full and fun day!

Day 3

We were up, packed and off to the pool bright and early. There are only 3 elevators so it can take some time to get down to the lobby. Add several bags of luggage and it could take 30 – 40 minutes. B was awesome, as usual, and offered to load up the car while I took the girls to swim. We spent hours at the water park again. I would definitely say these ladies got their money’s worth. 
A fun little surprise – we ran into a few friends that we didn’t know would be there that weekend. 
 We cleaned up, grabbed some pizza and got ready to head home….
 but not before surprising the girls with a trip to the Scoops salon. 

 Gwyneth had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about visiting the spa. They each got a manicure and pedicure and were deliciously spoiled! Gwyneth choice chocolate lotion for her hand massage and made us hungry the whole drive home.

 How cute and very, very pink!

It was a fun-filled weekend and even though we were just 1 1/2 hours away from home we really felt like we got to get away from it all!