More Cousins in Town ~

 Justins cousin Anna was down from Alaska visiting her dad, and swung by our place on the way.  Jenny stopped by to see her too (they all went to school together at Poudre Canyon back in the day, and Jennys dad, Patrick, was their teacher).

 Jennys Aunt married into the family, so shes like a cousin too, so it was fun to see all these "cousins" and school chums hanging out together for the afternoon.  We commandeered this old swing set and slide from the playground of their old school before they tore it down, so naturally they had to take a few photos on them.

 Anna always brings out a ton of salmon to share, and this time she brought out some vodka too (which is almost gone i might add :)  Very smooth vodka...ill have to see if i can find it in the lower 48s.  We've been talking about taking a trip to Alaska soon, Anna wants to take us fishing on her boat, etc, so maybe we can get it together for next summer!  Anna lives in Anchorage, and her sister is in Bethel, so we have a lot of ground to cover while we're there.  I think it would be awesome!

 Anna brought her little brother Wolfie out with her, so Jordyn had a great time playing all day with her cousin.  These two can spend hours in the yard jumping on the trampoline, doing battle with aliens, playing on the island, and just chasing each other around the yard.  They always have a blast together.

 We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and ice cream dessert at Aunt LeAnns, and then it was time to call it a night.  A very relaxing weekend filled with great company and lots of fun stories!

St. Pattys Day ~

 Okay, so we arent dressed in green, but we were all weekend, so that counts for something doesnt it :)  Jordyn was wearing a green shamrock necklace, but she had to take it off to play with her new cousin Parker.  Ali was up at Aunt LeAnns for a visit, so Jordyn raced up there to meet her new cousin as soon as we got home from Christys house.  He's 7 months old...which is such a fun age...soo much personality.  And what a personality he has...so cute and cuddly...and all smiles :)  Jordyn loves her new little cousin and it looks like he loves her too!

 And of course, Ali had to pop in at the black bear cabin, to show Parker where she grew up!  Hugs to both of you, hope we see you again soon!

Spring Break in Denver ~

 

We hit all kinds of traffic heading down to Denver so instead of a 2 hour drive, it ended up being almost 3 hours!  ugh!  Needless to say, i was a bit beat...and i was feeling the onset of a headcold...boo :(  That didnt stop us though...we went out to dinner for Mexican food (of course), and then went back to Christys to watch a movie.  We had tickets to the Modern Masters exhibit at the DAM at 10am the next day, so we didnt stay up late!

The exhibit was wonderful, and i found a few artists i was curious to research.  One of the things we like to do is pick our favorite piece in an exhibit.  I had two favorite pieces in the exhibit, Untitled by Lee Bontecou (1960) and Hotel Lobby by Max Beckmann (1950).  I couldnt wait to get home and learn more about them...i loved their work!  Jordyns favorite painting in the exhibit was Convergence by Jackson Pollack.  Now, I'm normally not much of a fan of his work, but i have to admit, that piece was pretty cool!  There were a lot of neat things going on in the piece, and i loved the colors.  We all enjoyed the exhibit so much, that we went back to the beginning and walked back through again.  Let me just say, that we had perfect timing, as it was really starting to get crowded when we left.

After a trip to the gift shop, we decided to check out more new things in the museum.  One of the many neat things about the DAM are the kid friendly interactive stations throughout the museum.  We stopped at this "workshop" and made some cool things to add to the wall.

As you can see, several others have already added to it!  I wonder how often they have to change this out?

 

This piece reminded me of a crazy quilt, in fact, im surprised it wasnt in the new textile display... instead it was in the contemporary wing.

 

This room was very colorful and fun...you couldnt help but feel happy in here!  You could also climb on the "word" pillows and bean bags, and make yourself comfortable while creating your own sentences.

We took a stroll to the new textile exhibit and we were quite impressed.  There were soooo many cool things to look at we didnt know where to start!

Once again, they had a bunch of neat things for the kids to explore...a giant wall weaving display the kids could try...two needlepoint tables for anyone to have a go at and even a woman making thread.

We were getting hungry, so we headed over to our favorite place, Pints Pub, and had some lunch...

on our way over, we enjoyed the new gold dome that was recently replaced on the capital building...isnt it gorgeous!  Now...back to Pints Pub...

where we enjoyed bloody marys, shirley temples, homemade chips and tasty burgers!

And while we were there, we ran into some of Aunt Gwens neighbors...Bob Hirsch and his grandkids!!!  Naturally we took more photos!!!  After lunch we headed back over to the DAM to check out more exhibits.  We spent the entire day there, and finally headed home around 4:30...and we were pooped!

We stopped at the liquor store so i could try this new liqueur someone was telling me about, and was it tasty.  In fact it tasted a lot like the "oatmeal cookies" i make.  All in one easy bottle :)  What a fabulous ending to a fabulous day!

 

On Sunday, we were supposed to be heading back home, but the weather was just too fabulous to go home.  We woke up late and went out to breakfast (naturally we hit all the crowds, but we didnt mind).  After breakfast we decided to drop in on Gwen and Jim.  They were out in their garden, and yes, i was totally jealous!  We have a few more months before i can even think of working in my garden.  We relaxed on the porch a while, drinking a nice cold beer from Jims keg and then we decided to run a few errands.

We went to Joanns of course, and i purchased some jewelry making supplies.  I want to make some earrings to donate to the schools spring swing in May, and of course, make a few pair for me too.  Ive always wanted to try making jewelry, so now im good to go!  (just what i need...another hobby)  Anyways, naturally a trip to Barnes and Noble was in order, and then we went home to relax.  We set the leprechaun trap that night, but to much dismay, we caught no leprechaun.  He stole the sacajawea coin we left, and also ate the mini donuts, but he did leave a very cute pair of leprechaun leggings and a candy purse.  Thanks for a fabulous time Christy...im looking forward to another trip soon!

Making Leprechaun Traps ~

 We kicked off our spring break by going to a leprechaun trap making party!  Its become a tradition at Stephanies house, but we missed it last year, so we were excited to partake this year!  First the kids paint the boxes different shades of green, and then when the box is dry...they decorate to their hearts content...there were ribbons, stickers, wire, foam shapes and even some glitter. 

 Then the kids made a mini box of donuts as bait for the leprechauns...dont they look delicious! They are made from Cherrios dipped in chocolate, and then dipped in assorted sprinkles.  Yum!  She's sure to catch a leprechaun this year!

 I love this bunch of ladies!

 Jordyn adds the finishing touches to her box...and then it was time to run around with her friends!

 and here are those crazy friends...i bet you didnt know Spiderman was Irish!  :)

We're all set now...next stop...Denver...but first...a Shamrock Shake!

Girl Scout Fun ~

 At our last meeting, Darlene from the library offered to do a painting class for the girls.  She shared a book about different artists, use of color, and shapes, and then let them loose on their canvases...

 the girls had an absolute blast, and could have painted for hours!!!  Maybe this will be our next sleepover craft :)  Here is Jordyns finished piece.

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!

 Ive fallen a little behind on my blogging, so i thought i would get caught up over spring break :)  For Dr Seuss birthday we enjoyed green eggs and ham at school...then we had a visit from the K99 guys who read Seuss books to the entire school!  Oh, did i mention it was crazy hat day too!  :)

Craft Day ~

 Jordyn and daddy being silly on a Sunday morning!

 Then we decided to try some new crafts...shaving cream painting...

 Swirl the design in the shaving cream, then press a piece of paper onto the design, and...

 scrape away the shaving cream, and this is the result...

These can be cut into pretty shapes and used for all kinds of crafts.  Looks like we might make every Sunday, craft day :)  cheers~