Denver nuggets

We've been looking forward to this vacation for months -- good thing Denver never disappoints. I was a little worried a few days before the trip because of all the flooding in Boulder. But thankfully, Denver escaped the worst of it. The weather has been absolutely beautiful for all but the first day of our trip.

So far, we've been to the Denver Aquarium, enjoyed BBQ with the Thomes (my friends from NU), took the scenic route through the foothills to Golden, CO, had dinner with the Colorado Overbeys, and tested out the playground equipment at multiple parks. And tonight, the adults head to Red Rocks to see The National!

It's hard to believe we have to leave tomorrow. Why oh why didn't we plan on staying for the full week?!

Will has been waiting to set up this train table for weeks!

The brothers with the cousins

Ready to go see some fish

Sweet

More hugs. Cora and Molly - future Wildcats

Hanging out in the foothills

Ice cream tastes better in Golden

Howdy Folks!

Swing time

Slide time

Slide times two

Ain't no mountain high enough

Round and round they go

Thanks so much to Megan, Jeremy, and Will for being such wonderful hosts.

Tiny dancer

I made the rookie mistake of telling Molly about a month too early that we signed her up for ballet class. At least once a day for the last month, Molly has asked, "Are we going to ballet class today?" And I have had to answer, "No, not today. We're going soon though." Finally, yesterday was the day. I got to dress Molly up in her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes, and drive over to Dance Center Evanston for her first class.

Parents were only able to look through a small window, but it was easy to see that Molly was having the time of her life in there with her friends Izzy and Bianca. She got a little distracted by the big mirror and probably spent more time looking at herself than she did paying attention to the teacher. But hopefully she'll get better at following directions as the weeks go on. If I looked this cute, I guess I'd get distracted too!

Can't hardly wait

Meeting the teacher before class

Prima ballerinas

I don't mean to brag, but...

Sometimes it just happens! I brought my pride and joy to the office today and could not get enough of showing her off to my coworkers. Molly was being her typical adorable self in my boss's office and I found myself saying, without even thinking, "Her teachers say she's really creative." Groan. I knew as soon as I said it that I was being that parent. And it's early. Molly hasn't even started elementary school yet. She hasn't joined any clubs or played any sports (though the odds of her doing anything athletically brag-worthy are slim). What's going to happen in a few years? Will people start rolling their eyes behind my back or automatically tuning me out whenever I start gushing about my perfect child? I've had coworkers like that. I've been the eye roller. I need to remember that no matter how cute and wonderful I think she is, other people have limits. I need to save my bragging for the grandparents. And the blog.

On the train -- Molly was so excited to go to work with me

Lunch at Millennium Park

Couldn't resist those fountains

Letting Barbie have some fun too

Molly x 2

Why not? It's the bean!

Wide open spaces

Troubleshooting

On our way home after a hard day's work

Get 'em while they're hot

I don't have the final tally because Jason and Jon are still on their way home after packing up, but I think they sold around 50 pieces this weekend. What?! So if you were eyeing something on Etsy, better get that order in while supplies last :)

We could not have picked a better weekend for the fest. It was sunny and gorgeous all weekend, a little hot on Sunday, but Jason and Jon were lucky and had their booth in a shady location, right in the middle of everything.

Molly and I didn't actually spend too much time at the booth because there was so much else to see and do. Molly fell in love with a group of Indonesian dancers, probably because they had shiny costumes and head pieces, so she kept wanting to hang out over by where she saw them, hoping they'd come back. The only way I could get her away from that area was to promise some kind of unhealthy snack (lemonade, sno cone) or a trip to the playground. It was a little exhausting (for me), but still fun overall. Here's the evidence:

Taking care of business

Jason put one of Molly's prints up for sale too - guess which one

Mom and daughter

Balloon art - bet she was the only kid to ask for a duck in a heart

She's finally got the hang of the trike

And she's off

Run, Molly, run!

Come one, come all

Jason and his brother Jon will be displaying their wares tomorrow and Sunday at the Bucktown Arts Fest -- booth #44. Come check it out!

Molly and I will probably be there from about 11-2, unless we decide to bag the nap and push through until 7. Who knows!

If you can't make it, but still want to check out Jason's awesome work, visit his Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RepeaterPrinting. Jake and Jon have their posters on Etsy as well: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BCPrintMedia?ref=ss_profile.

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful weekend and there will be lots to see and do at the fest. Come join us!

Happy baptism

My nephew James handled his Greek baptism like a champ today and hardly fussed at all during the head-to-toe oiling and triple dunking. Changing into this outfit, however, was a different story...

Congratulations to Archie and B! Time to celebrate!

James - living large

The Wall

No, this is not a Game of Thrones post, though at some point I may have to tackle that topic. It's a home improvement post. After a few months of not really doing anything to our house, we have recently had a little flurry of activity. I hit a sale at Macy's and ordered some new furniture to start filling in the front room. I thought we needed something other than Molly's Barbie veterinarian office to decorate the space. Copper coffee table? Yes, please. Pictures to come after it gets dropped off and we sell the extra couch. I also hope to hit up Home Goods one of these weekends to snag some cheap lamps.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jason has been as busy as a bee screen printing in preparation for the Bucktown Arts Fest at the end of August. He's got quite the operation going on in the basement, so we decided to put up a wall and officially separate the TV area from the screen printing area (aka, the mess. Did I just say that?).

Archie's friend George came over and in approximately two hours of hard labor (thanks, George), one big room became two smaller rooms. The best part is, we now have two extra surfaces on which to display the wonderful prints that Jason is creating!

Before the wall -- since this photo was taken, we've added 2 screen printing tables and a drying rack to the area behind the couch

Our new wall

What will become a nice, cozy TV room

The great divide

The new home of Repeater Printing (Etsy link to come whenever Jason finishes uploading his images)