swim

swim meet | alligators at northglen

Final swim meet of the summer. I’m glad they are over and we get our mornings back – Gwyneth and I sure do love our sleep in the mornings – but I’ll be sad to not see these little swimmers in action. 
They have decided to try out for the competitive swim team in our town which practices year round. Try outs are in September. Until then we enjoy where we are…
Sweet sisters. 
This meet was run beautifully. It was just two teams and the event was very organized. The girls swam well and again, snagged themselves a few blue ribbons. 
We celebrate aftewards with Koana Ice
So proud of our ladies. Good swim, girls!!

among the pines | whimsy | swimming

Gwyneth attended Among the Pines camp again this year. We’ve had a girl scout at that camp for the past 3 years and I’m pretty certain we’ll keep signing up for a few years to come. It’s a pretty great camp and the girls have had such wonderful experiences. Annabelle took this year off, but after seeing all the fun that Gwyneth was having I think she was wishful that she had signed up again too. 
It was a week long camp and Gwyneth came home worn out at the end of each day. During those days I had some special one on one time with Annabelle. We played and we worked and we certainly kept busy. 
Gwyneth and her camp buddies:
One of the days  Annabelle joined her friend, Karsen at Whimsy. They painted these grumpy cats. I love it and it’s hanging in their playroom in our basement. Annabelle nailed it –  her cat sure does look grumpy!
We grabbed lunch at Hu Hot and the girls enjoyed some Smores for dessert. 
Annabelle and Karsen played at our house while we waited for Miss G to arrive home. She was pretty tired after camp but agreed to go for a swim. On the way to our neighborhood pool I got an update that the pool was closed because of a poo accident. Yuck, yuck, yuck. We quickly changed our plan and headed to the indoor rec center pool. Turned out to be a lucky change because it started raining not long after we arrived. 
More fun with the underwater photos: 

alligators at vista ridge | water world

The girls were pretty jazzed about their second swim meet. They were up and at ’em bright and early that Saturday morning. Naturally, we showed up at the wrong pool (along with several others) and scurried over to the right pool just in time for warm ups. 
They were legit with their races written on their arms in sharpie…that’s how the cool kids do it, you know. (I actually did  not but got schooled by my hip children). 
I don’t know if we just got lucky at our neighborhood pool for the last meet or if this meet was just chaos….I’m going to go with the latter. It was just nuts! There were three teams competing and it was crowded and not very organized. The kids had to wait for their heat in the parking lot. Not many of the parents felt comfortable just sending the kids out to the parking lot so the it was crowded out there. The kids without parents were running around the cars and creating havoc. It was nuts. Nuts I tell ya. 
Both girls did well, but it was a little too chaotic for their liking. It was also looooong. We were at the pool for almost 6 hours. 
They did it. A few more blue ribbons under their belts. 
I’m so impressed with their swimming and I get such a kick out of watching them. 
After swimming we headed straight to Water World for a birthday party. Karsen is a friend from school and was sweet enough to invite both girls to her Water World party. I stuck around too and we rode lots of water slides before the rain hit. It got super cold, super fast, but that did not slow these ladies down. 
I received a water proof camera as an extension of my birthday gift (40 was pretty great. Feeling spoiled). The girls are having a blast with it and love taking underwater snapshots of each other. 
That’s a lot of swimming for one day! 
And it’s a rap for these pruney little ladies! 

tiny town

We’re maintaining a wild schedule this summer. The girls practice for swim team each morning (well, Monday – Thursday) and then have early morning meets on Saturdays. Early! I’m not a morning person so let me say again these are EARLY! We have to be at the pool for warm ups at 7 a.m. On a Saturday. I’m so glad these girls are devoted to swimming and practicing and have so much fun at the meets. I don’t even complain about the early hour….well, on here I may a bit but the morning of the meets we hop up and off we head to the pool without a whimper. 
Seriously how flippin’ cute are these sisters together…
After swim my little ladies had to join me for some work errands. I do appreciate the patience and company of my girls. We were in a new neck of the woods and found an Italian restaurant we had to try for lunch. 
Amici’s is no where near our house which is unfortunate because the food was delicious. 
Cavetelli — yum, yum, yum!
After lunch we took a little detour to Tiny Town. We visit every summer and I love comparing pictures of the girls year after year. My oh my have they grown. 
Annabelle was playing around with lipstick and gave her sister a big ol’ smooch on the cheek. They both thought it was hilarious. 
The weather was not very agreeable so we hopped right on the train. We knew the rain would be rolling in soon and we didn’t want to miss our chance to ride. 
This place is so quirky. It’s so unique and Colorado. I just love bringing the girls here. 
The train conductors are volunteers and they are quite quirky themselves. They always have cheesy jokes and little stories to share with the kids. Seems like a fun way to spend retirement. 
My little ladies who are not quite so little anymore and that is all the more evident in tiny town. 
At the Library
Such a poser
So very serious. The make up has to go. She’s looking like a teenager and I need to keep her a tween for just a bit longer. 
Every year they pose on this little house. There was actually time when they could fit all the way on that porch. 
The Seussical house
Cracking me up posing by the saloon. 
And then it started to rain. We were not quite done exploring so we decided it was the perfect excuse for an ice cream break. 
This girl loves her chocolate ice cream. 
The rain cleared and the place was all ours so we did a little more exploring. 
We found this cute little gem in the trees.
I love they still pose for my pictures and they can be so sweet about the things they probably think are silly but still make me so happy. 
It was a good, good day!

annabelle is ten

Oh my, oh my…Annabelle is ten! She woke up this morning and it felt as though she grew up over night. She just seemed older. She seemed a bit more mature. 
Although it’s going way too fast I know that growing older is a gift. Watching my babies turn into these beautiful, amazing young woman is not something that I take for granted. 
Annabelle is confident, fierce, passionate, beautiful, smart, funny and I absolutely adore her. She is my buddy and I really do enjoy spending time with her. The one on one time I have with her is so valuable, because she loves to share stories and make me laugh, 
I can’t imagine a life without this amazing child and she deserves the happiest 10th birthday!
Cake for breakfast. A Paz tradition. 
This girl loves her emojis and specificially requested the “poop” emoji piece for breakfast. 
(what’s with kids and that poop emoji? gross!)
singing happy birthday to the 10 year old!
Present time. This girl is so happy to be double digits. 
After much deliberation and many, many conversations Annabelle’s birthday wish came true and she received a phone. We have survived the first day and although she is a bit obsessed right now she was very responsible and respectful with it. 
Gwyneth gave her sister a new phone case
We were sad to say goodbye to the California cousins today. We dropped them at the airport after lunch and no one was happy about it. We had a great visit and of course, are already planning our next trip to see them. 
We picked up a few of the girls’ friends and headed to The Bay.  That wasn’t our original plan, but due to some afternoon rain showers and maintenance issues with our neighborhood pool Annabelle decided The Bay was our best bet. We don’t go very often and the girls absolutely loved all the slides.
I tell ya, this girl is out little fish!
Over and over and over and over….they couldn’t get enough of the slides! 
Annabelle requested BBQ for dinner so we hit Lulus in Louisville and then finished the evening with ice cream from Sweet Cow. It was a busy, busy day and Annabelle loved every minute of it. 
Happy birthday to our amazing 10 year old! 
How lucky we are to get to  be  your family and celebrate this day with you. 

swimming with cousins

These girls are so full of energy! They spent hours at the pool just swimming and swimming. I love having them here and we can’t even think about them heading home. 
Annabelle has been working really hard on her diving for swim team. 
She is freaky fast.
My goodness, I love these girls so much!

gator breakfast

We had pancakes at the pool this morning celebrating the first swim meet for the Anthem Gators. They took team pictures and some individual shots. Our little ladies are definitely embracing swimming and once they got over their initial nerves they have decided they can’t wait to keep on competing. It’s been a lot of fun and thankfully B and I are able to tag-team drop offs and pick ups because this is a daily commitment. 
I feel very lucky to have this great opportunity at the rec center right in our own backyard. 
Our girls are in the back row:
Having pancakes with Molly who they are working on swimming relays with…
Cute little friends. Molly is just a month younger than Annabelle, but in the same grade as Gwyneth. We’re finding this is becoming more and more common. Luckily our girls are good buddies and enjoy sharing friends. 

swim meet | alligators at home

After a long night of dance, the girls were in bed around 11 p.m. They were up at 6:30 a.m. for their first swim meet. Luckily this meet was at our home pool so they could roll out of bed and head right over. 
It was a bit chilly in the morning and we were not quite prepared. This was our first swim meet and we didn’t know much about bringing blankets, chairs, etc, etc. Luckily we were close to home so we could grab some much needed things for the big event. 
The girls have been swimming for a while now, but have never competed. Annabelle was all nerves. She is a very competitive and was worried about embarrassing herself. Silly girl. Her first race she was so anxious and just swam her little heart out. When it was over, she asked “how did I do?”. It was a lot of fun to be able to tell her “You won!”. Once she had that first win under her belt she calmed down a bit and got out there and had a good time. She’s a fierce swimmer and is really quite fast. She won 1st, 3rd, and 4th in her races. Not too shabby at all for her first time!
Gwyneth just seems to be good at everything she does. She also won a 1st place for the breakstroke and two fourth places. She was nervous too, but she laughed the entire time. She was actually laughing while swimming and still managed to pull off a 1st place win. This girl is wacky! 
B and I really enjoyed watching them swim. I didn’t expect to like it that much, but it was so great to see them out there competing and also having a lot of fun!
So cold

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.

sun | great wolf lodge

Our last day at Great Wolf Lodge was all about swimming. The girls were up again bright and early and ready to hit the pool. It was the busiest day of the weekend at the pool and luckily we got a cabana so we could all have a good meeting point and quiet place for lunch. 

The girls spent the majority of their day on the slides. They went over and over and over again. They absolutely loved it. They were all smiles and laughs!

Annabelle’s friends spent the day at the pool as well so we had very happy girls all around.

More wave pool fun…

I don’t have quite as many pics of Annabelle from the day because she was a water slide junky. She stopped long enough for pizza and then back on the slides she went.

Pizza break

It was a whirlwind weekend – I feel like we need a vacation from our vacation. I’m very proud of Annabelle for joining the choir and working so hard. I’m also grateful for the school they attend, the friends they have, and the other wonderful parents who worked so hard to make this weekend a success.