princess

cake boss: annabelle style

Annabelle is our best saleswoman for Blue Mountain Kitchen. She is always so proud of the Kitchen and tells everyone she knows to come on in and give us a try. She’s an amazing helper also. She does dishes, bakes, cleans, and I’m certain she could run most of the classes and parties on her own already.

She asked to host a Cake Boss party at the Kitchen for her friends and we couldn’t refuse. We found an open evening a bit after her birthday and let her schedule her event. She came up with the ideas for the cakes and was so helpful to everyone she invited.

I have to admit: I find this age challenging. Nine. Wow. She’s not a baby anymore, but is she really a tween? (As the urban dictionary describes it – “ages 9 – 14… too old for toys, too young for boys”. My heart just died a little right there)  She’s changing so much, testing us, and emotional. So, so emotional. She’s also pretty darn amazing and we have great conversations and she’s very passionate and opinionated.

Just as we are starting to figure this whole nine year old thing out, we got a whole Kitchen full of nine year olds. Her friends all came for her party and they are tweens (I enjoy this new label for her and her crew). They are all changing so much and are a bit goofy. They are trying to be mature, maybe a little too mature at times, but they still have those great giggles and can still be silly. They hug and laugh and they are all starting to be a bit more insecure and they hang on to each other a little more. I’m glad she has some dear friends that she has known for ages and made some new friends from her new school. She’s fiercely independent, but also a really, really great friend. Nine is an interesting new age and I sure do love her.

We made little treat bags for her friends. The bags included a spatula, chocolate chip muffin mix and a birthday cake sucker.

Ready to party
Our cake boss: 
I couldn’t take pictures during the party because these kiddos kept me on my toes. I did get manage to get a few of Annabelle with each group and their cakes. 
Annabelle’s crew. Four gals, four different schools, but the sweetest of friends. I really enjoy these ladies. She has known them for years and they have great families and are good friends to her. My only sadness is that  Olivia lives so far away – only about 25 minutes or so but they almost bought the house right next to us. Could you imagine??? Even with the distance, they fall right back in step together and I just couldn’t be happier. We try and get them together as much as possible over the summer. 
The girls made a Harry Styles/One Direction cake. Annabelle’s cousin, Madison would be so proud. 
Annabelle and the boys. They made a Denver Nuggets cake! Nat is from school and Rhys and Wyatt are her camping partners in crime. 
The beach, swimming team. Annabelle’s friends from school and girl scouts. She was so happy to see these gals.
The emoji cake. Yes, that’s a big poo emoji right in the middle of that cake. I just couldn’t be more proud. 
The emoji cake was the winner. Of course, what kid isn’t going to vote for a poo emoji?
Singing happy birthday to this creative, organized, fantastic 9 year old. 
Kyla came for the party too and Annabelle just couldn’t have been happier to hold her. She waited all night to ask and then didn’t want to put her down. She could hold Miss Kyla all day long. 
Gwyneth and Bella showed up with matching braids. Great minds…

secret life of pets

We had a girl night at the movies tonight. I picked up Bella and we had dinner at Red Robin and then went to see The Secret Life of Pets. B met friends for a beer, which was good because he would not have enjoyed this film. I thought it was cute and loved the Snowball character voiced by Kevin Hart. The girls all loved it and had a blast together. All giggles and happiness. 

It’s a rough, rough life I tell ya! 
Hard to believe these girlies have known each other for almost 8 years. 

sprinklers

We had a very quiet weekend. Gwyneth woke up Friday morning throwing up and with a fever. She spent the entire day in bed. Poor G. 
Saturday was a beautiful day, quite hot and Annabelle requested a run through the sprinkler. Gwyneth couldn’t help herself and joined in also. The rest of the weekend was spent in pj’s, watching movies and doing crafts. We don’t have many weekends like this, but it was relaxing and just what Gwyneth needed to feel better. 

into the woods

Off to the theater! 
Annabelle invited her friends Olivia, Sofia, and Makayla and Gwyneth invited Ella to join us for a night of Into the Woods. The show was at the Candlelight dinner theater which is fun, but not my favorite. The girls love it though. They enjoy the food and the ice cream and being able to sit in the very front row. 
Annabelle is nine and finding her independence. We booked two tables next to each other and Annabelle and her friends got their own table. She informed me that was “very, very cool”. 
The first half of the show was great, but the second was a bit long. I didn’t love this show, but the girls really enjoyed themselves and I enjoyed the company. 
Annabelle and I put together little favors for her friends: 

Oh my Gwyneth is going through quite the growth spurt. Her and her friend Ella are just too stinkin’ cute together. 

Annabelle and her girls

Waiting for the show to start:
Ready for dinner:

Ice Cream time:

independence day…and beyond

I’m a midwest gal and grew up on marshmellowy, fruit salad goodness. The girls like to ask about my childhood and this fruit salad my mom makes came to mind. We went to the grocery store and got the ingredients and it was a fabulous blast from the past. 

We were impatiently eagerly awaiting our friends’ arrival for the weekend so we went to look at houses (more on that later, maybe) and then stopped in for a snack and beverage at Lazy Dog. B ordered the star spangled margarita and took one sip of that syrupy sweet treat. It looked pretty!

Finally, our friend arrived from Missouri! We were so excited to see them. We were able to visit, have dinner at our house and then head downtown to see the Lacrosse game. I’m not a huge fan of lacrosse, but they have the  most amazing firework show after the game. We joined our friends The Tylers, Gus, and Misti for a fun evening. I can’t take my camera in to the game and I’m not good about taking pictures with my phone so I was only able to capture a few…

First time trying cotton candy. Now, that’s a vacation!
The next day we grabbed lunch at Oscar Blues  and the girls were so sad to say goodbye to Felix. They had such a fun visit. It was great to catch up with our friends, Erica and Curtis too and I hope that we will be able to get out to visit them much sooner than later! 

The rest of our day was filled with friends. I had hoped to get some work done but the girls each had a friend over and the house was filled with fun and laughter which is the absolute best kind of distraction.

Annabelle has been asking to hang out with her friend Olivia all summer and were were finally able to make it work. These two fall right back into their friendship even after spending so much time apart. I adore them!

Gwyneth and Ella. Such sweet little souls. 

They talked me into a trip to the pool. I’m a sucker for these girls. There’s no doubt about that.

Gwyneth and Ella switched up their bathing suits. They had us cracking up and were quite pleased with themselves.

Swimming with the mermaids…as one does! 

cooking, cornhole and camping

We hosted a little cooks and books party at the Kitchen called Seussical Cooking. We read lots of Seuss stories and made whimsical snacks. We had a great turn out and all the kids did a great job. It was a busy catering day also the Kitchen was hopping. 

On Saturday morning we hosted a cookie decorating event which is a lovely time for parents to drop off the kiddos for two hours and have a nice break over the long weekend. They decorated LOTS of cookies, we ate pizza and played games. Smashing success.

The girls were so happy to see their friend Clara. We haven’t been able to meet up over this hectic summer so they were thrilled to have the time with her.

We went to a BBQ and cornhole tournament on Saturday afternoon. There were 19 teams and it was an absolute blast. B was pretty good and I was absolutely terrible. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t trade me in for a better partner next year (he really should, except I’m so much fun!).

There was tons of food and drinks. It was a great shin ding. There were rows and rows of coolers. I checked them out and told the girls the front row was for kids (non-alcoholic) and they could help themselves. I turned around to find this…

uh, no! no, no, no! like this girl needs a mountain freakin’ dew!
She found this instead. I don’t know what to do with her…
Let the tourney begin.
What’s wrong with our faces?
Having fun with Mona and Missi

The girls have been begging, so we set up our tent in the basement. We wanted to have a backyard camp out but the pesky dogs next door and the haphazard fireworks being shot off around our neighborhood were not a winning combination. We set up the basement campout and we had some very, very happy girls. This tent may or not be the size of my first apartment…

basketball

Annabelle got two fantastic gifts for her birthday from my dad and Melissa. She received a new basketball hoop and a new bike. For a girl who loves to be outside, what more could she possibly ask for? The answer to that question is a pool, which she asks for constantly, but she’s going to have to just keep on dreamin’. 
B set up her hoop and she’s been out there playing ever since. I love it. I love to watch her practice and see her determination. 
Don’t mind the messy garage and trash can in this shot. Such a cute pic without them. 
Gwyneth typically volunteers when I say I want to take pictures and play around with my camera. At that point, Annabelle is usually no where to be found. Put a basketball in her hand and she was game. I had to take advantage of the moment. 
Couldn’t resist snapping of few of this eager model also. 
One of my favorites!
And then back to shooting hoops
And then off to ride bikes…

annabelle is nine

Annabelle is nine! 
We celebrated the beginning of her last year of single digits today. How is that even possible? Time really does seem to fly when you are having fun. 
She received the new American Girl doll, Lea from my mom. Yaya knows just what to get these gals!
Annabelle does not like breakfast so she requested a smoothie from Jamba Juice instead. 
We wanted to check out a new water park for her birthday and found the Brighton Oasis Water Park. It had great water slides, a lazy river, wave pool, rock climbing wall and water basketball. The girls did the water slides a few times but wanted to spend most of their day in the lazy river which is my favorite part too. 
It was an interesting park, cheap admission, a bit crowded (I would recommend getting there early), but the perfect day for our birthday girl. She was all smiles and splashes!
We headed home to clean up and told this girl she could have anything at all that she wanted for dinner. She requested Dave and Busters and a Dr Pepper (is she like her YaYa or what?). We shared a few snacks and meals, because let’s be honest we’re not there for the fine cuisine. We are here to play some games! The girls are always super lucky and hit jackpots and score tons of tickets. 
Enjoying her birthday Dr Pepper: 
B and the Birthday Girl!
Me and the G:
We told the waiter it was her birthday and she got this whipped cream, brownie monstrosity that she happily shared: 
Deciding on the perfect birthday wish:
Playing games and hitting the 1,000 ticket bonus:
Annabelle shared the secret and Gwyneth hit the bonus too!
They combined their tickets and got walkie talkies to share. Annabelle got an emoji pillow and Gwyneth got three little Shopkins stuffies. I love that they share tickets, they get what they want, and don’t worry about “fair” or how many points the other spends. They are good sisters. 
Annabelle had requested lemon blueberry cupcakes so of course, I made them and even though we were all full from the dessert at dinner we had to sing Happy Birthday to this girl and let her make one last birthday wish. 
We had a lovely day and I couldn’t be more grateful for our family time and this sweet girl. 
Happy, happy birthday Annabelle!

sound of music

We came home from camping with just enough time to hose off and head downtown for the Sound of Music. B was suppose to join us but he was still not feeling great from the weekend. Luckily it passed pretty quickly after a shower and a good nap. He was doing much better when we returned home. 
The Sounds of Music is Annabelle’s favorite movie. She knows all the songs and can practically recite all the words. I’ve always liked, but didn’t LOVE it. The show was something else. It was truly one of the best I have ever seen. I’m such a sucker for live theater and special experiences with my girls. 
When we arrived home, Annabelle found her basketball hoop put together. Even though he wasn’t feeling his best, B still used his day off to put it together for her. Such a good dad. 
She changed so quickly and was out shooting hoops in no time! Such a happy girl. 

jellystone

I don’t particularly enjoy my birthday…especially now that I’m getting even closer to 40. It doesn’t really bother me that I’m getting older. Not everyone gets to age, so in fact I appreciate it. I just don’t really need to celebrate it. 
I am very appreciative of this little family of mine and I was glad we got to spend the weekend together. We booked a cabin at Jellystone Park in Estes Park. We headed up for some “glamping” with friends for the weekend. 
Our first stop was for lunch at Oscar Blues in Lyons. We enjoyed their microbrews, root beers, and fried green tomatoes. 
Then we checked in to our cabin for the weekend. We reserved one of the last spots and there were only two cabins left. One for us; one for Gus and Misti. Our cabin was in a great location, right in the heart of the camp grounds and overlooking the pool. It was one room with a bathroom, a full size bed and a bunk bed.  It was charming and cozy and our weekend was off to a great start.
We indulged ourselves and rented a golf cart for the weekend. The one downside was that we didn’t hike as much as we had planned, but we spent the weekend zipping around the camp. It was the girls’ favorite part! We cruised around and talked and it created a lot of special one on one moments with my ladies and special memories. 
Our cabin had a deck with a picnic table and a spectacular view. You just have to love Colorado. There is no better place.
Our camping crew, minus Misti who seemed to have wondered off just when were taking the picture. I tell ya, it’s like herding cats. 
The Tyler’s
Gus and Misti and our little rascals
The chefs for the weekend. 
B prepared a delicious feast for Friday night of ribs, beans, and coleslaw and Sheila made dinner Saturday night with burgers and hot dogs. Yum! We were all feeling quite spoiled. 
This little face…
Annabelle ran off with the boys to explore. Gwyneth stuck around for a bit to give me extra birthday hugs. 
Sheila had the most delicious carrot cake made for my birthday. It was perfection! I do love me some carrot cake. This cake pleased our sweet tooth the entire weekend. 
Now, that’s a cake!
Smores by the campfire with great friends. What a birthday!
The next morning we enjoyed the french toast breakfast provided by the campgrounds. You know Gwyneth liked that! 
Then the girls panned for minerals
Then they went for a dip in the pool
Those would be Annabelle’s legs. She’s the queen of the pool handstand. 
Annabelle showing off her mad skillz. She’s mastered the cannonball and is now working on some fancy twists and turns. With this beautiful backdrop, I could have sat and watched her jump all day! 
Then it was time to paint pottery
Then it was time for cotton candy
Then they went on a tractor ride with Yogi Bear
There were more treats and visits to the arcade and then more treats and more time playing with friends. Our kids fell in love with Jellystone Park! 
Our adorable little cabin. 

Unfortunately B got quite sick the last night of our trip. He missed the final campfire and smores and went straight to bed. He was sick most of the night and took the rest of the weekend to recover. Luckily no one else got the bug, but we are sad that he missed the last night of shenanigans. That only means we have to head back up again sooner than later…

Goodbye Jellystone. It was a blast!