Lotte performed the National Anthem at a CU Boulder women’s basketball game with her school choir!
And lots of cuddles and love, of course 😉
Brought these cuties to the airport with me to pick everyone up. We took our welcoming committee duties very seriously <3Love my sisterrrrrrrrrrrrr !And Grandpa, of course 😉Lyle the Crocodile at the Arvada Center was so cute! The play was adorable, and they had a little “how we make it come together” session afterwards with two of the actresses, and then they answered questions, too. Lotte & Grace got picked to ask questions and theirs were very good ones … if I do say so myself 😉Sunday was Rosalie’s birthday, and we had a Wicked-themed party that was so fun!Emilia couldn’t come with us to the Bubble Planet because she had ski lessons at A-Basin, but she made her own fun on the bunny hill 😉The Bubble Planet was great! The girls tore quickly through it, but it was still a really fun way to spend an hour on a cold day.Grandpa, takin’ one for the team!I’m a very cool aunt. This was probably our most favorite room.To infinity and beyond with this girl <3Trippy!Lots of love in this pic. They ended with a $10/person VR experience, which was sort of annoying. But Lotte, Rosalie, Grace & Grandpa really enjoyed it!Afterwards we went swimming at the Apex Center to say farewell to swim before Rosalie and Lotte got their ears pierced on Monday. It was SO BUSY, but the girls had a blast.This ropes course in the water was a particular hit 😉We ended the big birthday with a screening of Wicked in our movie theater room. The perfect topper!Lotte, Ro and my sis got their ears pierced on Monday! To be honest … Lotte was terrified 😉 She needed lots of pep talks and cuddles, but eventually, she did it!We requested to have it done at the same time. I wasn’t sure if she had one ear done at a time that she would actually get them both pierced!I was so proud of her for working through her fears! (Ro didn’t even flinch, hah!)Just a couple of pierced ear ladies <3Paddington (which was very cute) to celebrate!
The girls went back to school on Tuesday, but after we picked up Emilia from her half-day preschool class, Rosalie, Steph, Grandpa, Emilia & I headed back to Denver and to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
I’m glad that Emilia & Rosalie got to spend a little one-on-one time together while the big girls were in school <3The Science Museum is always a blast!The ladybug was of course a hit.We stopped by the new In-N-Out on the way home, too!Grandpa said it was only so-so 😉A quick hair salon sesh at night and that was it!
Rosalie and Steph left early Wednesday (tears), but Grandpa hung out one more day to catch Lotte sing the National Anthem with her elementary school choir at the CU basketball game!
So proud of these cuties!Jumbotron cuteness!
And now, it’s back to just us. Wah wahh. We miss our family, but so glad to have these memories.
It was the surprise of the century when Chris’ siblings showed up from Australia for his 40th birthday!
Happy end of October, friends! I just finished pulling off a MASSIVE surprise that I’ve known about since we were in Australia in December. All four of Chris’ siblings flew out to surprise him for his 40th bday bash, and it was epic and wonderful and all the things.
After our trip out to Disneyland earlier in October, these two big events made for a super fun month. I hope you’ve all been making the most of fall and gearing up to head into a holiday season filled with love and festive activities.
Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to lately <3
Nan & Poppa were the first of our Aussie fam to arrive, and the girls were so excited to show them around a day-in-their life!They came to gymnastics and swim lessons, school drop-offs and bus stop pick-ups. No rest for the weary!We were so lucky with the weather the whole time the Connors were here! It was fall in all her splendid glory!The grandparents arrived on Tuesday while Chris was out of town for work (which was so super helpful for me!), and the girls had off for fall break on Thursday and Friday, so that worked well! Obviously the Denver Zoo was on our must-visit list 😉It was all decked out for Halloween, which was an added delight.This bond. Just goes to show that distance doesn’t matter, if you put your heart into it.We had a picnic in Majestic View Park and took Nan & Poppa for a visit at the Majestic View Nature Center!We took advantage of the scenery to have a little photo shoot, of course.Surprise! The rest of the Connor clan arrived the Friday before Chris’ birthday party/birthday, and he had no idea. It was so wonderful <3The girls also had no idea, which was even MORE fun!I love, love, LOVE these people …I mean … they couldn’t be any cuter if they tried <3Grandpa flew in as a surprise for the party, as well!The girls don’t get much one-on-one time with their Aussie aunties and uncles, so that was a super special element of the trip, as well.Saturday was party time! We threw Chris’ 40th bday bash at the upstairs tiki bar at The Arvada Tavern in Olde Town Arvada. It was so. much. fun!People really leaned into the Hawaiian theme, which was amazing.We had food and drinks and 80s music … what’s not to love?!Sunday was Chris’ actual birthday, and he requested steak, of course 😉 So we all headed over to The Fort Steakhouse in Morrison. I had never been before, but Chris was there for a work dinner a few years ago. It was so much fun!There’s a ton of history associated with the place, and the food is top-notch. 10/10 would recommend!Love this crew <3Grace was sick for a few days while the Connors were here (a bummer, for sure, but she bounced back!), but Lotte managed to head into downtown Denver with the crew on afternoon after school. They visited the Mile-High step and grabbed pizza and checked out a bit of the city.Exactly one mile above sea level! (Allegedly 😉We headed into Fort Collins one day while the big girls were in school and, despite the weather being SUPER foggy, we took on the Horsetooth Reservoir hike. Uncle Ben even did it with Emilia on his back!I think they both enjoyed it <3Despite the fog, it was so, so pretty!Uncle Paul was desperate to try In-N-Out Burger, so we did that on the way home. Emilia thoroughly enjoyed it, as well!Our last meal with the fam before they flew home was at Jack’s, naturally.
And that was it in a nutshell, my loves. We’re so sad it’s over, but so happy we got to be a part of it at all. Life sure does move fast, friends. The only saving grace after saying goodbye to our loves was our first snow of the season.
