garden of the gods

My girls always seem to surprise me. I suppose it's a lesson in life about never being type-cast (if life was a movie!).... I fully expected Annabelle to cling to us and Gwyneth to go off exploring at Garden of the Gods. Quite the opposite. Annabelle wanted to "climb the mountain" (those are her words!). She was amazing! Well, let's be honest, my girlie girl struggled at first, but I told her "Annabelle, its ok to get your hands dirty" and soon she was liberated! She climbed and could have climbed all day. Gwyneth stayed close to either me or her daddy and most of the time wanted to be carried. I blame it on those stupid crocs the girls love so much. Not good climbing shoes, but GG really wanted to wear them. She always wants to wear them. Thankfully summer is almost here and sandals weather is approaching.

One of my favorite memories from high school is when my good gal pal, Diane came out to visit and we went to explore the Garden of the Gods and had lunch in Mantiou Springs. I loved it and I wanted my girls to see it. Maybe next time she can join us??? (hint, hint - if you're reading Double D!)

Here are the highlights:

Annabelle and her mountain.  "I want to climb that!" Makes a daddy proud!

"C'mon let's raise this rock, girls!"

Annabelle loved it! Gwyneth started to get the "too high" shakes - I hear ya, GG, I hear ya! Stick with your momma...

Our family

Me and My Girls

Gwyneth Grace exploring the rock

And Annabelle danced...

Exploring with daddy

Annabelle climbed right up on this rock and requested "Daddy, take my picture"

Um, Gwyneth - you might not want to look up!

No rock too high or too low for Annabelle. She was in heaven!

After exploring the Garden of the Gods we grabbed lunch at the Phantom Cafe, in downtown Colorado Springs. This is a favorite of our friends, The Carlsons, so we had to give it a try. Delicious! It was just as good as it was hyped up to be. Quite possibly the best kids mac-n-cheese I've ever tasted. Yep, I do taste their dishes on occassion. I'm a sucker for a good mac-n-cheese.