We are still plugging away at our Summer Bucket List before Dempsey starts school next week and managed to check off Belleview Park on Sunday, plus we watched a bunch of movies, had a kindergarten playdate and took our first trip to Spirit Halloween!

Joey took the kids to Grandma’s on Friday morning and I had nothing planned so managed to watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 while working and made some really good peanut noodles à la Ina for lunch. Joey and I had tickets to Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma that afternoon and what a movie! I’m still trying to put my thoughts into words but I was not expecting it to be as funny as it was. This was the same feeling I had while watching I Saw the TV Glow but Jane Shoenbrun’s films are just so singular. Hard to tell which pieces of the plot are actually happening and which are happening in the imagination of the character and I’m not really sure it matters either way. Afterward, we picked our crazy kiddos up and got them home and into bed before watching Thursday’s episode of Big Brother.

Spirit Halloween is open! So after breakfast (some very good vanilla shakeratos for Joey and I and whole wheat buttermilk pancakes for everyone), we headed out. We went to a different store than last year and they didn’t have as much space for animatronic set up, so Dempsey’s already begging us to visit another one 😅 But he got some neon skeletons and Lydia got her Halloween costume already! How cute is she as cheerleader Addison from Zombies 3? 😍 The rest of the day involved chores and rest time and then we had a park playdate for incoming kindergarteners. We were all a little shy at first, then ended up making friends. Dempsey is already asking when he will see his friends again 🥹 Back at home, ribs, tomato salad and French fries for dinner before shower/bath and bed for the kids. Lydia asked me to take that photo of her in her crib and then Dempsey needed to take one too 😂 Joey and I started Blue Moon afterward and one of us fell asleep like eight different times but I’ll let you guess who 😋

Sunday, featuring breakfast and a cup craft, Joey’s first braid, a trip to Belleview Park and dinner/ice cream with Grandpa Steve and Lorna. It was a very good day! The kids had so much fun riding the train, petting the animals and playing in the creek. Plus Joey had never been and I thought it was so sweet that Dempsey wanted to go on a weekend so he could join us ❤️ We only pulled a few pieces of glass out of the sand in the creek 😮

We had dinner at Acova and I think it’s been something like eight years since we’d been there. I thought it was really good! Lydia was acting insane and climbing all over because she was tired, but what can you do? Afterward, we drove down the street to Little Man for ice cream. It was early enough that the line was short and the kids had so much fun playing afterward. It was a really nice night. Got the kids home and to bed before finishing our movie and honestly… I really liked it! It was more or less Ethan Hawke talking the entire time and he was amazing!!! I’d never even heard of Lorenz Hart so it was educational too.

We are diving back into our last full week of summer with both kids and I’m hoping to make the most of it. I hope you all have a good week too!

Earlier this year, Joey mentioned wanting to run the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon again and since we had so much fun last year, I was in! Then we decided to tack on our annual trip to Glenwood since we’d already be headed that direction. Happy to say it all made for such a good and fun summer vacation! We watched Joey crush his race, had just so so much fun in the Hot Springs pool, got to hang out with my family (including my uncle who drove in from New Orleans), did some cave tours, oh and saw a bear 😱

I have spent too much time worrying about Dempsey’s fear/refusal/intolerance for water on his face and he just turned an insane corner during this trip and was doing cannonball after cannonball in the pool. I could honestly cry! And my Lydi girl loves the water and was so brave going down the slide all by herself for the first time. Just very cool to see your kids face fears and know all your worrying was for nothing 😀

Headed up to Georgetown late Friday afternoon then stayed in the same hotel and ate at the same brewery as last year, because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We took a little stroll by the lake after dinner then headed back to the room for TV in bed and a mostly painless bedtime for the kids. Joey got up early the next morning and took Dempsey downstairs for hotel breakfast and the pancake machine was his favorite thing 😂 Joey headed out to the start line shortly after and then the kids and I made our way outside to watch him run by nine minutes later. After, we hopped in the car and drove to Idaho Springs where the finish line was. Lori, Delaney and Chad joined us too and it’s so sweet the way the kids get so excited seeing the runners finish. Even a child can grasp how amazing it is to finish a race! Joey zoomed by and gave them all high fives. He was in pain 😅 but did really well! Hung out to grab coffee afterward then headed back to our hotel to pack up and hit the road for Glenwood.

Opted to stay at the Hot Springs Lodge this year because we’d heard their renovation was really nice and your pool entry and breakfast are included! We really liked how it worked out and we’d stay there again. After grabbing a quick lunch, we checked into our room, then headed to the pool. Being able to do a half day was a major bonus of staying at the Lodge. We stayed for a couple of hours then got out to clean up and head to dinner. Popped over to Casey Brewing (always order a beer called Hoppy Wife) while we waited for a table at The Pullman and then when we got over there my dad had accidentally made a reservation for two people 😅 Luckily, the Glenwood Canyon Brewpub was right next door and got us in right away. Joey and I shared a giant plate of pulled pork nachos and I’ve never been happier.

Snuck out of bed the next morning and headed to Annie’s Bakery, which was a new find for me and I really liked it! Couldn’t resist an almond croissant and peach danish, which were both still warm ☺️ Afterward we headed over to the pool and spent most of the day there. We had a blast! Dempsey went from jumping in with us catching him, to jumping in on a “poodle noodle,” to jumping straight in and going completely under water. Both kids made their way over to the kid area and went down the slides on their own too. Who are they?? It made me just so happy to see! Got out around 4 because we had dinner reservations at Smoke and I think that place is pretty good. Ended the night with ice cream from Sundae and a little dance party over at this new plaza on the north side of the bridge. I loved it 🥰

Tried to sneak out and join my mom, sister and Wayne for coffee on Monday but a certain little boy was up and wanted to join. Fine by me! We got coffee at Wild Coffee Roasters and that place is just okay but always so busy. Joey and Lydia joined us once she was awake and then we walked back and decided to spend the day at the Adventure Park. Dempsey wasn’t feeling up for any of the rides he was tall enough for but we did hit both cave tours, one of the trolls, lunch, fossil/gem panning and 10 minutes of me rolling my eyes while my husband climbed through some wooden cave simulator maze that’s apparently called a “speleobox” and was definitely made for children. Aaaanyway, it was hot and I was at my daughter-carrying limit by the time we left but we had a good time and riding the gondola was really nice. We rested in the hotel for a bit then we all met back up at Casey for beer and take out pizza from Rocky Mountain Pizza Co. It was huge! But also really good. On our walk back over the bridge we saw a bear walking along the river!!! Cool, but that’s the absolute closest I’d ever like to be to a bear that’s not at the zoo.

Got up the next morning for one last solo walk to get coffee and then we met my mom at the gift shop where she proceeded to buy my kids those silly sunglasses 😂 The four of us spent a couple of hours in the pool and it was a good last hurrah. Dempsey got in as many last minute cannonballs as he could and Lydi tried to make me dive for my own sunglasses before soaking in the mineral pool with me. Boys and girls split up to shower off afterward and I hope no one heard my daughter screaming “WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME???” over and over after insisting she wash herself and getting a bunch of soap in her eyes 😅😅 Our drive home was totally uneventless and we were back by 4:15, which was nice. Had time to unpack, do laundry and order in ramen ☺️ Got the kids to bed early and caught up on two episodes of BB!

I’m so happy we’re able to take this trip every summer, it truly feels like a vacation and I love being with my family for three solid days. Till next year, Glenwood!