princess

golden, colorado

Our friend, Dan, came to visit from Phoenix. We have been friends since Freshman year in college and what a treat to get our kiddos together. They were all staying with his dad, but we got to sneak in some time and met up in Golden. We had lunch at Table Mountain Inn which is absolutely delicious and it was so great to catch up with Dan. 
After lunch we went on the short tour of the Coors Brewery. My gals have been asking to go but when we got there all the kiddos held their noses from the smell of the hops. We decided the short tour was better than the long tour (and saved ourselves about 1 1/2 hours). The kids enjoyed root beers and we got to sip on free beers. It was a fun afternoon and we’re so glad we got the opportunity to meet up. 

sunflower farms and butterfly pavilion

Our first stop of the day was Sunflower Farms in Longmont. It’s a beautiful farm with so much activity. The weather was overcast which I don’t mind at all. I’m not a fan of the heat so a little break from the high temps was just fine with me.
Funny story: later in the day I was asked how the farm was and I kept saying “it was great. not too hot, a little hungover”. I said this several times before realizing I meant “OVERCAST” not “hungover”. Honestly I was not hungover but I think there are some mommas out there who now think I’m quite the lush!
Back to the day, Gwyneth’s friend Ruby joined us for the morning adventure. Ruby and Annabelle had a bit more fun. Gwyneth is more of an indoors gal who prefers to spend her time doing art and sewing (from her mouth!). They pet animals, took turns on the swings, and ran around a bit, but Gwyneth’s heart was not in it. She did her time and then we went back home for them to play games.
We met up with gals from both Girl Scout troops at the Butterfly Pavilion that afternoon. They earned a “Bug” badge and then we explored the Pavilion. They even got a chance to hold Rosie.

The funny face pose is always best!

children’s museum and more

I had a little anxiety this week when I realized school was just two weeks away. I have spent some time this summer playing referee to my little ladies, but mostly we’ve had our fun. Summer just goes by too darn fast and I’m not quite ready for the schedule of the new school year with homework, dance classes, swimming and all the other activities that keep me on my toes.
Instead of counting down the days until school starts I’m trying my best to enjoy every minute I can with these gals.
We had Taco Tuesday at the Kitchen. We made guacamole, chips, tortilla chips and of course tacos. We even made “taco” cookies.
We saw Ice Age 3D which the girls seemed to enjoy but the 3D glasses give me a headache. We were the only ones in the theater so I took off the glasses and checked emails for most of the show. It was $12 to spend time with my girls and get caught up on work emails – worth it!
Livin’!
The girls have been begging to go to the Children’s Museum all summer. It’s always crazy crowded and I thought they were too old for it, but I was wrong. They have redone the museum and it’s pretty spectacular. Something for everyone to do. It’s still their favorite.
Loving the ski lift swings outside the entrance
yeah, they are little whacky
They made it rain and got soaking wet and were all giggles. . Perfect ending to our trip to the museum. We all left laughing!
Thursday we had a pj and pancakes party at the Kitchen. The girls each had friends join them and then Gwyneth went home with Ella to play for the afternoon and Annabelle’s friend Morgan joined her at our house. A little space from each other does these sisters good.
Gwyneth and her buddies and their giant pancake!

georgetown loop

We woke up bright and early to a beautiful, sunny Colorado morning. Everyone was slightly tired; we woke up a few times from the thunderstorms overnight. We were happy to be warm and dry and ready for a new day. 
These girls don’t look sad, huh?
We wished we could stay just a little bit longer, but we packed up our gear and called our first camping trip a success. We learned a lot this trip and we know we’ll be planning a lot more trips. Look out Colorado!
On our way down the hill we stopped in Georgetown to take the train ride. We took Annabelle when she was a tiny baby, but this was a first for Gwyneth and honestly a first for Annabelle since she doesn’t really remember her previous ride. 
Again, spectacular Colorado views. 
Annabelle has developed a fear of heights, but luckily she had her dad to hang on to. 
Heading over Devil’s Gate Bridge
Annabelle was not loving that bridge
Gwyneth’s photog skills:
Annabelle’s photog skills:
We stopped in Idaho Springs for lunch and then drove the rest of the way down the mountain. I love these Colorado experiences and I feel so lucky to live in this beautiful place with this great family of mine. 

camping in frisco

I baked and frosted 1,150 cupcakes!
It was a crazy-big order for a Jeep Jamboree in Empire, Colorado. It took me two days and I had a bit of a hook-hand from piping, but I did it! I tried to get it all done in one day, but after many hours and still about 150 more cupcakes left to frost I just couldn’t. I had tears in my eyes (quite dramatic) and my hand was aching from frosting and B convinced me to just finish it up the next day. He’s a good one, because the next morning I was fully charged and cranked them out in no time. 
We drove up to Empire to deliver the cupcakes and I have never seen so many Jeeps. It was pretty cool. It was raining and overcast and those Jeeps were muddy! We swung in and delivered those cupcakes and I was so relieved and ready to relax. 

We drove the rest of the way up to Frisco for our first tent camping adventure. We could only stay one night but we wanted to give it a try. It’s a lot of work for one night, but it was amazing!! The views were spectacular, our camp site was gorgeous, and we were all eager to enjoy this new experience.

We had a few set backs, the biggest being the downpours that happened. We knew the forecast called for rain but we were optimistic. We were not quite so lucky and it poured on us. A few times. The sun would pop out of the clouds and tease us and then it would start raining again. We are now certain our tent is waterproof and we can withstand the cold, wind and rain. It’s probably not the most ideal weather for a camping trip, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a night for the books and I’ll never forget it.

How’s that for a view? 
My goodness, Colorado is a little bit of heaven. 
Our “villa”. 

Our tent is roomy (slight understatement) which came in handy when we were all waiting out the storm inside together. I think it may be a bit obnoxious, but it’s easy up and easy down and has plenty of room. I see this picture and can’t wait to get back in the mountains in this thing.

We were just a 5 – 10 minute drive from Frisco but it felt like we were miles and miles away. It was so peaceful .

Mountain life does her well. 
Even the girl with California aspirations can enjoy this life. 
This is my happy place!
After the first of the rain storms passed we came out of our tent to find these views:
Gwyneth said her favorite part was being so high in the mountains we could touch the clouds. 
Yes! Yes, indeed! 
We got a fire going and made smores. We explored and we sat and we ate up the view. 

While B and Annabelle worked on the fire Gwyneth and I explored some more: 

Happy, happy place!
In case it’s not obvious, I’m hooked on camping which I never would have expected in my wildest dreams. 

wizard of oz

Our day started with an American Girl doll tea party at the Kitchen. My gals missed the last one and were so excited to join this time around. We made lots of delicious mini-food and the party was a hit. 

Gwyneth invited a few friends to see Wizard of Oz with us at the Candlelight Playhouse. She had grand plans for her friends and found these shoes on sale at Walmart. What a fun little take away!

She was joined by a fabulous group of girls. I couldn’t ask for sweeter friends for her. Annabelle has so much fun with them all as well. My heart is full.

Friends since they were three…
friends since kindergarten…
besties! These two are inseparable. 
girl scout friends and neighbors.
sisters!
love those shoes!

The girls were wonderful at the show. So much kindness and their best manners. They had front row seats and a table all to themselves. Living the dream!

All the girls stayed over and were up until about midnight. They started the next day with donuts. Yum!

zoo

The girls are attending Creative Writing Camp for the next two Wednesdays at Blue Sky Creativity. They love writing stories and this camp was right up their alley. They created their journals this week and will finish up their stories next week. I can’t wait to read what they came up with…

After camp, we took a little trip downtown to the zoo. Oh boy, was it hot! We didn’t stay long, but had plenty of time to drink LOTS and LOTS of water, enjoy ice cream, take a train ride, cruise around on the carousel, and oh yeah, see a few animals.

After dinner I pulled out my sewing machine to help a friend with a project. It was just sitting on the table and Gwyneth couldn’t resist. She made a yellow brick road sleeping bag for her American Girl doll. This girl could sew all day. She has even started a “clothes binder” which holds all her drawings of dresses and outfits. I would find the drawings all over the house so I got her a binder and I love to flip through and see all her creations.

My friend, Senecca asked me to help her to turn a pair of pj pants into a pillow. I was quite nervous about this project because the pants belonged to her sister, Ashton who passed away last year at the age of 29. Her other sister is pregnant and she wants to give this pillow to her as a baby shower gift. It’s such a personal gift and my heart swelled helping her to make it. I was so nervous tearing the pants apart for fabric, but we were able to get enough material for the pillow and we even re-used the draw-string waistband for an accent.  We spent the night cutting, sewing, drinking wine, and catching up. It was such a lovely time and I couldn’t be happier with how the pillow turned out. I hope her sister loves it!

cinderella

Cinderella joined us for a tea party at the Kitchen. It was quite magical and the girls were all star-struck. Annabelle was feeling a bit too old for princesses, but she got in on the fun and was a really good helper. Gwyneth soaked up the princess time and was all smiles. 
After two parties at the Kitchen, we headed downtown to celebrate Gus’ birthday. We had dinner with Gus, Misti, Sheila and Lance at Mellow Mushroom. We sure do love their pizza. 

We headed to 1-Up, which is a bar/arcade with lots of old school games including tetris, donkey kong, pac man, ski ball, and much more. We had a blast playing games.

We ended the night with cocktails at the View House. As the name suggests, it’s an upstairs patio with an amazing view of the Denver skyline. What a night of celebration with pretty amazing peeps.

happy birthday, gwyneth

Gwyneth is EIGHT!!
Gwyneth was so excited for her birthday. She kept saying the day before was the longest day of her life. She had grand plans for her birthday and we were thrilled to celebrate with her. Gwyneth is one of the silliest, kindest people I have ever known. She is beautiful from her sweet, sweet smile to her delicate little soul. I’m so grateful to be her mom. 
By request we started off the day with gifts. She received so many packages from family and friends in the mail. Such a lucky little lady. 
Gwyneth loves breakfast and is quite the little foodie. Her birthday celebration was centered around where we would be dining for each meal. Birthday breakfast at Le Peep:
She had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket so we took a trip to the American Girl doll store. 
The girls got their dolls’ hair done, finger nails painted and ears pierced. 
Gwyneth paid for it all with her own money. She even bought Annabelle an outfit for her doll. I offered to pay for at least Annabelle’s portion and she wouldn’t have it. She wanted to spend her money treating her and Annabelle that day. I tell ya, this girl is good stuff. She has a heart of gold. 
They both left the store with two very pampered dolls (is that even possible??) and a new outfit for their dolls (those giant bags are deceiving).
Birthday Girl
2nd meal request: BBQ ribs with baby dolls
The restaurant across the way has doll chairs and the girls love it.
Our little foodie ordered an appetizer of shrimp cocktail. I love how adventurous she is and is willing to try anything. By the way, she loved the shrimp and is becoming impossibly expensive to dine with.
Still more to do on her birthday agenda. Paint Pottery! She received a gift card for Christmas and has been saving it for a very special occasion. 
My favorite picture of the day:
She wanted spaghetti from Ragazzi’s for dinner. Monday night is all you can eat spaghetti. They have delicious homemade noodles and bread. This girl knows her food. After a very full day, we finally made it home for some cupcakes and snuggles!
Happy, happy birthday to this fabulous eight year old!

among the pines

This week was all about Girl Scout camp for the girls. They attended Among the Pines camp which was a five day camp that included a sleepover on Thursday night. Annabelle attended last year and loved the adventure. Gwyneth was old enough to join her this year too and couldn’t wait. They were both so excited. 
They came home very tired each night so we didn’t plan much for our evenings. We did manage to escape for some ice cream Tuesday night. 
My little ladies were joined by a great group of girls. Annabelle was in a group of her own for fourth graders and I am so proud of her for being brave and making new friends. The rest of the girls were in a group of 3rd graders and all the moms took turns car pooling. My days to pick up were Wednesday and Friday. The Wednesday drive home was happiness. The girls were tired, but were all giggles and camp songs the entire ride. 

The Fridayafternoon ride was a little different story. There were some tears and a little sleep and the girls were so exhausted from their camp out the night before. They were all very kind to each other, but these girls just wanted to see their mommas after a long few days of camp and my Gwyneth really needed sleep. Annabelle was doing just fine. She is our little night owl and was still all smiles and singing on the way home. Even with the exhaustion, the girls had so much fun and can’t wait to go back again next year. 
Snaps from the sleepover on Thursday: 

So many crafts from camp: 

Friday night we had dinner with the Conleys and I held baby Kyla for a few hours. That’s what I do. I’m a bit of a baby hog. We stayed at a local hotel for a mini staycation and the girls were able to swim for a while. Friday night the pool was quite crowded and G was so tired from camp, but Saturday morning they had the pool all to themselves.

We have been in a little family cocoon this summer, spending a lot of time together. The girls attended a roller skating party for Ellie, Gwyneth’s classmate, Saturday afternoon. It was really nice to see so many school friends and families. We’ve missed them this summer.

This girl loves to roller skate especially on these old wood floors. 

Annabelle talked us into giving Gwyneth an early birthday gift. I’m usually pretty good about waiting but these girls wore me down. Annabelle picked it out…

and Gwyneth loved it!!

We wrapped up a busy weekend seeing Footloose at BDT Stage. It was a little more PG-13 than we had realized (oops!) but I’m hopeful most of that went over the girls’ heads. They liked the music and the dancing and thought it was quite silly that it would be illegal to dance. We also told the theater that Gwyneth’s birthday was tomorrow and she received a shout out which made her day.