We sure did manage to live it up for these 7ish weeks, though 😉 Here’s a bit of what we got up to after heading back from Down Under.
Camps!
I feel like we really hit our stride with camps this year. Rather than sticking to the same exact one, we switched it up.
Two weeks at the Arvada Center — for four camps total — was just the right amount of time. Even Emmy got to join in on the fun!Horse/riding camp at the Community Farm was a huge hit! The girls loved farm life, were obsessed with all the animals and, according to their instructor, were amazing at riding. The big girls did a week-long bike camp with Pedalheads. Lotte improved on her skills, went on road and trail rides, rode to the park and the library and just generally had an amazing time.And Grace finally learned how to ride! Turns out, with the proper instruction, she picked it up super quick 😉The big girls finished out their camp excursions with some awesome visitors <3 They attended “Muddy Buddies” camp at the Majestic View Nature Center and TKTKTKTKT. Which brings us to ….These cuties <3<3<3<3
Visitors!
We love our summer visitors. This time we were SO LUCKY because we had Grandpa and Mojo, Aunt Stephie and Ro, and our New York friends Carla, Fiona & Jake (who did camp with the girls). We sure do have the best time showing our loves around our Colorado home.
I love when my sister is here <3Steph & Ro & Gpa were here for Lotte’s birthday, which was so. much. fun!On Lotte’s birthday, one of her friends from school was having a birthday party at a local pool that Lotte wanted to go to. That made it super easy on us!Ro & Em got some quality time alone when the girls were in camp. It was predictably adorable.We went to Big Soda Lake one day, which was SO HOT, but also lots of fun!Sister <3We had lunch at the aquarium restaurant the day before Steph & Ro flew out.And walked through the downtown aquarium itself as well!Having a dog in the house — Grandpa’s Mojo — was a lot of fun, too!Besides going to camp together, we showed Fiona & Jake some of our favorite spots. That included, of course, the Butterfly Pavilion.
Miscellaneous
When we weren’t camping it up or entertaining guests, we managed to have a lot of other fun, too.
Grace’s first concert, and Lotte’s second, was BILLY JOEL at Coors Field!! How cool/fun is that?!We had so much fun with these cuties <3We spent a weekend at Auntie Moe’s where we rode the Buckhorn Northern Railroad train and visited that quintessential summer institution … Dairy Queen 😉Dad had a date with Lotte at Meow Wolf!Dad had a date with Grace … at Meow Wolf 😉Mom & Emmy celebrated her last day of camp with a date at McDonald’s 😉We had neighbors over for the sweetest little birthday celebration for Lotte <3We continued our annual tradition of testing books for the Good Housekeeping Kids’ Books Awards. So many great ones this year!I took Emilia to what was likely her last-ever toddler story time. She was pretty over it. That is absolutely the end of an era for me. I CAN’T EVEN!Tie-dying tees was a huge success!Who doesn’t love an outdoor/backyard summer movie night situation?!
And now, we welcome the next season of this year. So far, it’s been a pretty great one, and I have a pretty good feeling about this school year, as well. We still have quite a few fun adventures planned before we say goodbye to 2024, but until then … bis bald, friends.
Not a bad way to spend the beginning of October <3
Another one bites the dust, my friends! So here we are, with 2023 in the rear view mirror, and what a year it was. Travelwise, it was simply stellar. Things in the world, of course, continue to throw me (and everyone paying attention) off kilter. With that always in my mind, I continue to be forever grateful for the opportunities I have with my family to explore and enjoy what’s beautiful about this great big earthwe all live on.
So, without further adieu, here’s what we got up to in 2023!
January
Celebrating 10 years married (!) in New Zealand!
At the beginning of the year our family was still on the other side of the world. Chris and I rang in the New Year (ahead of everyone we know!) on our anniversary trip in New Zealand, then finished up our Australia visit with a trip to Chris’ families’ favorite beach, Forster. The girls got to check out the Sydney Harbor area for the first time, too!
Views from Skyline Queenstown dinner!Love you, boo!The girls and dad at the Sydney Harbor Bridge.Forster with the fam. We love you Auntie Sare-Bear!What a cute crew!
Once we were back in the states, Emilia and I packed our bags (again) and turned around fairly quickly for a trip back east to meet my new twin baby niece and nephew!
We do love ya, NY!There is literally nothing better.
We love you, Miles & Stella!The Butterfly Pavilion always hits!We also checked out Meow Wolf, which was so trippy!Meow Wolf Denver
March
My three cuties <3
In March we celebrated “spring break” with SO MUCH SNOW at Grand Lake! We stayed in a tiny cabin, walked on a lake, rode sleds off our roof and traipsed through Rocky Mountain National Park up to our knees in fluffy powder. It was a delightful (if somewhat cold) time!
Glorious lake views!Rocky Mountain National Park!Grand Lake, CO
April
Glacier National Park!
April was a big month, what with ME TURNING 40 AND ALL! We celebrated with a tick off my bucket list: A trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. She was all that I could have hoped for and more. So stinkin’ beautiful!
You can’t go wrong with a hot tub in nature!Polebridge Mercantile was an extra-special treat, especially with the puppies we played with outside!Thanks for making my bday extra special, Montana. She was one I’ll never forget <3
June
The Museum of Natural History was such a highlight on our kick-off-the-summer trip to NYC!
Right when the girls got out of school we hit the road! We headed back to one of our favorite spots — New York! — but this time with a twist. We stayed in one of my bestie’s Brooklyn brownstone basement apartments and let our family come to us! We traipsed around the city and took in so many sites (blogged about here, here and here). It was the trip of a lifetime, and so much stinkin’ fun!
Love, love, love this stinkin’ crew!Meeting up with the fam in Cold Spring was a big perk <3We love the Museum of Natural History whale!We had tea at Alice’s Tea Cup!We saw a Mets game!We went to the Color Factory!Dumbo, BrooklynBut really … it was about being with our loves <3
Red Rocks, ColoradoLotte’s first concert at Red Rocks!Grand Colorado on Peak 8, BreckenridgeSecond baseball game for the girls! Seeing the Rockies play in Denver, this time.Rode the gondola up to the mountain resort above our hotel.C Lazy U RanchIt was a memory-filled summer, indeed.
August
Meeting up with my oldest friends from elementary school in Savannah Georgia!
To celebrate the big 4-0 for all of us, three of my besties from elementary school and I met up in Savannah, Georgia, for a weekend filled with fun and walks down memory lane! We had the best time catching up, checking out a new town, and just generally cheers-ing to life!
But how cute are we, though?We took a historic tour and a nighttime haunted stories tour, both of which I would highly recommend!Just love this crew <3
September
Back in NY!
For Labor Day weekend we headed back to New York (as I was fond of saying, New York was needy this year!). My little twinsies were baptized — and Chris & I were the godparents! — and we got to see all our fam again, which is always the best. I even went back to New York at the end of September — all my myself — for my cousin’s adorable and delightful wedding.
Always reminded of how very, incredibly blessed I am <3The three littlest <3<3<3Grandpa and some of his littles.Such a fun time watching my baby cousin get married in such a beautiful place!
October
DIsneyland!Happy 40th, babe!
Oh, October, how delightful were thee! I consider October to have been split into two EPIC events — the first was our trip to Disneyland with Grandpa! and the second was Chris’ 40th birthday adventures with ALL HIS IMMEDIATE FAMILY IN TOWN FROM AUSTRALIA!
Look. The joy I felt in Disney — watching the absolute love on my kids’ faces — was very, very real.Thanks, Grandpa, for joining in on the fun/mayhem!Simply the best!
We were home from Disney for two days before Chris left for a work trip to Disney World, and then his parents arrived two days after that! Little did Chris know, though, that the rest of his siblings — all four of ’em — were also Colorado bound. It was so. much. fun!
Celebrate good times, indeed!Look at this cute crew!Happy birthday babe — thanks for giving us another reason to all be together <3
December
We started our holiday season with a quick trip back to New York (yup, again!) for Grandpa’s surprise 60th and a delightful visit with our besties in the city for some holiday shenanigans!
Happy, happy birthday to the BEST Gpa!The girls saw their first Rockette show!We had lunch with our besties!Bryant Park is a delight during the holidays, even in the rain 😉
To close out our holiday season — and the year! — we took an EPIC European holiday trip to Germany and France, Switzerland, and Iceland with Chris’ parents. We visited Christmas markets, ate delicious food, soaked in a geothermal hot tub and just generally had the time of our lives.
Black Forest, GermanyBaden-Baden, GermanyGengenbach, GermanyStrasbourg, FranceThe Rhine River in Basel, SwitzerlandBasel, Switzerland City HallGlorious Iceland.Northern Lights from the hot tub!So beautiful!Icelandic horses … also beautiful <3
Phew … what a year! And now, blink, it’s 2024. We can’t wait to see what unfolds.
Happy Monday, friends! We celebrated the holiday weekend with a visit from one of my oldest friends and her husband and kids. Another one of my high school friends moved to the area recently, and this little mini-reunion between the three of us — along with my kids getting to hang out with Faye’s kids — was everything my soul needed.
Highlights included sledding in Majestic View Park, a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, checking out Meow Wolf Denver, lunch at Avanti in Denver … and of course all the extra special bonding time. It’s sappy but true — old friends make the best friends.
It snowed quite a bit the day our NY friends arrived, so hanging in our back yard and having snowball fights was a highlight, as well.The cuteness between these two is off the charts <3Love this girl.And this whole gang!
Here’s a bit more of what we got into — hope you all are having a happy weekend, as well!
Majestic View Park Sledding
Sledding down slick hills is THE BEST!Snow cuties.<3 <3 <3
The Butterfly Pavilion
My friend Moe is not a fan of butterflies, but she faced her fears for the sake of the kiddos 😉Lotte held a tarantula ….Grace gave her a “high five”!This place is so interactive and hands-on, it’s amazing for kids.Butterflies!This particular butterfly was in love with us and kept coming back …Such a friendly butterfly!
A Day in Denver
On Saturday we headed into the city to check out the interactive Meow Wolf experience (AMAZING, if not somewhat overwhelming!) and have lunch.There were four floors (I think, it was honestly hard to keep track!) and SO MANY interactive, amazing things to check out!The exhibits all bled into each other so you spend the entire time in these realistic “worlds”.I can definitely see how it would be overwhelming for some, but our kiddos all loved it!This was OBVIOUSLY my favorite room … BOOKS!We had a big group and we got separated for most of the visit, but we all met up for the lunch after and agreed that it was well worth the trip!I told them to make faces like aliens were coming to get them.My loves <3Lunch after was at Avanti, and the weather was so wonderful we were able to sit on the roof with views of the city.
It was a fun visit with some very sweet moments that we’ll always treasure.
I can’t even <3We had a birthday celebration for Faye’s husband after our Denver day, and the mini cowboy hats were a big hit.So were the moustaches.Come back real soon, friends <3
