princess

whimsy

I fulfilled two big summer requests today for my ladies. Art and basketball. Although I enjoy both, teaching them these skills does not come naturally to me (I can play a mean game of HORSE or PIG, but true basketball chops are not in my repertoire). 
The girls went to Whimsy with their allowance carefully placed in their purses to buy themselves snacks. I love that they get up every morning and get themselves ready, clean their rooms and complete their chores. They earn a dollar a day for completing their entire chore chart. They don’t always earn their allowance (I’m pretty strict about those chores), but when they do, they are so excited to save that cash and spend it on special occasions likes treats at a painting class. Annabelle informed me that Skittles taste so much better when you buys them yourself and she is generous with her money and bought her sister extra treats too. I am proud of the character that we are developing and growing and nurturing this summer. 
Each of the girls painted their very own giraffes and had a fabulous time!
After a busy morning of painting, Annabelle went to basketball camp. This was a four day camp at the high school near our house. It was run by the high school girls and their coach. Annabelle LOVED it. She thought the girls were so very, very cool and learned so much. It’s been fun watching her become so passionate about basketball and she’s working hard to master these new skills. 
While Annabelle was at camp Gwyneth worked on her sharpie tie dye shirts. She has been quite obsessed with these too. She really does love all things artsy and crafty. 
Annabelle was so tired after a busy day she barely had enough energy to finish up her shirt. That’s a lot of dots though…kinda makes me dizzy! 

sewing stuffies

The girls are not signed up for much this summer, but one of the activities they requested was a sewing a class. They participated in two classes and learned to sew their own stuffies. Gwyneth loves all things sewing and stuffies related so this class was right up her alley. Now I just need to set up my sewing machine so they can keep on sewing…
Sewing Stuffies at Blue Sky Creativity

pool revisited

Our girls had friends over and spent 5 hours at the pool. Yes, that’s right — FIVE HOURS! We went home for lunch and then returned and the girls could not get enough swim time.
Our neighbors had a vow renewal at the rec center and B catered their event. He was there for 4 hours and the girls were happy to just hang out and swim. We wished our neighbors well at the party and then back in to the pool they went. Everyone slept very well that night!
The first at the pool in the morning:
Heading back to the pool for the vow renewal. Wearing some fancy coverups:

louisville

B had a super busy weekend at the kitchen. He was catering several events and none required baking so the girls and I were on our own. We decided to check out the Louisville farmers market….and little did we know the Taste of Louisville was happening as well. I’m not a gal for crowds and just as I was about to turn in around and head home a parking spot opened right in front of our eyes and just steps from the festival. We couldn’t resist staying and checking everything out.
The girls found hoola hoops, and chocolate covered strawberries and it was a beautiful day for lunch outside — which is another thing I usually avoid, but the girls found a table at one of our favorite restaurants right in the middle of the action. It was a great spot for people watching.
Ella joined us for dinner and a sleepover. The girls spent the evening making chalk designs on the sidewalk, painting rocks and enjoying snow cones. B had to run to the mall for new work shoes and Annabelle tagged along with him. She scored herself a new pair of dangly earrings. It was a good night for all.

tiny town and dinosaur ridge

Tiny town has become a summer tradition for us. The girls still love to visit and requested the trip today. They still enjoy the train ride and the tiny little houses. 

It was a warm day and nice to sit down inside for lunch at The Morrison Inn. I have such fond memories of eating there before concerts at Red Rocks. It’s always fun to share some of my old favorites with my girls.

For the first time, we explored Dinosaur Ridge. It’s a beautiful hike when you get to the top of the mountain, but a steep incline to get there. We opted for the tour, that was $6 and gave you a great history of the area as well as a nice cool ride to the top. We had many opportunities to view fossils and explore. It was really hot day and the girls were pretty tired so we didn’t stay as long as we would have liked. We can’t wait to get back again.

From the top of the ridge you can see the Red Rock venue and we could hear the bands warming up for the concert tonight.

summer break

We are officially in summer mode! No more uniforms or homework or bedtimes. Yep, it’s chaos. 
My goal this summer was less hustle, fewer schedules and camps, and more family time. It’s week one and we’re happy. Check back in with us in a few…
Remember those pesky schedules I gave up? Sometimes those are good. We zipped up to Boulder to get my flat tire repaired at the dealership, got a lovely ice cream snack and then I dropped the girls off at dance….an hour early! The holiday weekend got me all out of whack and I thought it was Monday instead of Tuesday and dropped them off for dance an hour early. I’m really winning at this mom thing. 
The girls didn’t care one bit. When they were picked up from dance they laughed and said they got to watch the other class for an hour. No biggie. Oh boy, we sure are starting this summer off with a bang. 

I don’t even….I have no words…

memorial day weekend

We had a weekend full of dance classes and birthday parties, but squeezed in a little time in Boulder and had some friends over for a cookout. 
I picked the girls up from dance and surprised them with a trip to 7-11 for slurpees. I even let them get coke slurpees. I may be setting the bar too high these days. 
Movie night. Malificent, popcorn and cream sodas…and stuffies. Lots of stuffies and snuggles. 

Mountain pie at Beau Jo’s. Yum, yum, yum!
Water balloon fight with friends:

last day of school

The school year ended with a talent show. I was so proud of the girls for signing up and trying out for the show. They did their tap dance and were absolutely fantastic. It took a lot of courage to get up there and perform in front of their peers. I had a blast watching them and everyone else who participated. The show was about 2 hours and then it was time to say goodbye to school friends and say hello to summer! 
Rocking the stage: 
Goodbye 2nd and 3rd grade!
We jumped right into summer.  I don’t think it’s bad to be bored — in fact, I think its quite good. Some of our best moments come from boredom and imagination. 
I like to be busy though and I like to set goals. The girls and I love to create our summer bucket list (although I’m certain it gives the husband a great deal of anxiety). We created our list of places to go and things to do this summer and we got right to it. 
The girls enjoyed the freedom of summer and road bikes and hung out while waiting for their dad to get home from work. 
We took off for the aquarium where we had a snack and explored the exhibits. It was super crowded so I’m glad we snuck this one in early this summer. I’m sure we’ll back though – we have our season passes and these girls are suckers for a mermaid. 

crazy hair day

The last day of 2nd and 3rd grade and this is how I send them off into the world: 

The girls fully embraced crazy, hair day. They did this to themselves (minus the upside down braid in Annabelle’s hair – I may have had a small part in that).

They teased their hair and sure made a mess of it. 
And they absolutely loved it. They thought it was hilarious! 

pink and blue day

The last week of school has arrived! The girls couldn’t be more excited for summer. To keep their interest there seems to something fun planned everyday this week. We’re doing our best to keep up and enjoy the adventure!
Each class picked a color and the girls picked their close. Gwyneth’s class chose Blue and Annabelle’s class chose Pink. 
Annabelle was pink from head to toe
Gwyneth wanted to be “fancy”
Gwyneth’s class wrote books and today they shared them with the class. 
Her teacher planned a little party for the writers and invited all the parents.
Gwyneth was so brave and sweet and gave her book summary to the group. She’s so stinkin’ cute. 
She’s made some great friends at her new school. She has plenty of girl friends but when my camera comes out all the boys seem to gather around her. Oh boy!
Look at that face!
She received the “Skittles” award for her colorful ideas. 
I surprised Annabelle and took her out for lunch. I told her she could go anywhere….anywhere that she wanted. She chose Jack in the Box. I fear we may have failed this child. I don’t know where we went wrong.