Girl Scouts in Colorado - Days 1 and 2

Sarah's Girl Scout Troop made it to Denver on Wednesday morning.

My girl asleep on the plane.

In the airport all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

On the airport shuttle.

At bunch.

Sarah texted me this picture.  She chose overnight oats, almond butter and an English muffin for her breakfast.  She was trying to be healthy and I think she succeeded!

The girls headed to their AirBnB, got unpacked and then went to get some groceries and other necessities from Wal-Mart after their late breakfast.  Then I think they all just crashed.  Sarah texted me that she took a nap in the evening and didn't wake up until 8:00PM. She said she thought it was morning.  But they had ordered in Chinese food and after she ate that, she showered and then went back to bed and got a good night's sleep.

And it's a good thing because day two was full of adventures!

They started with a horseback ride at Bear Creek Stables.

The

Sarah said her horse just wanted to eat!  Isn't it beautiful there though!?

Then because they were under budget from the day before thanks to only eating two meals (the girls have a budget and review it nightly to make sure they are ontrack) and since they had free time before their next activity, they went paddle boarding in Lakewood!

Then they went zip lining in Idaho Springs!

It's hard to tell from this grainy picture but that's the girls up at the top of that hill.

You can see the hill a little better. 

My girl conquering her fear of heights.  Although some of the other girls also did a bungee jump at this place to which Sarah said, "Nope!"

They finished their day at Beau Jo's Pizza.

These girls are having quite the adventure!!!

She has her permit and now she's off!!

With all the birthday excitement over the weekend, it didn't dawn on Sarah that she might need to study for her driver's test until Sunday night.  Then panic set in after she did a  practice test online and she had a conversation with her brother. 

Sarah:  I did great.  I got 6 out of 10!

Peter:  Um, that's horrible.  That's a 60!  You have to get 20 out of 25 correct at the DMV which is an 80.

Sarah:  I'm going to fail!!!

And then Sarah started to really study and I started to really pray.  (St. Joseph of Cupertino is a great intercessor so next time one of your kids is struggling with an upcoming test, ask him to pray for them as well!)

Thankfully by Monday afternoon she was ready and....

SHE PASSED!!!

Now she has a year to practice her driving skills before she can officially test for her real license.  She drove over to her friend Gracie's house last night where she spent the night because at 1:45 AM they got up and headed to Charlotte to catch a plane to Denver.

Her Girl Scout troop is going to be gone for a whole week!  They have so many fun things planned that I must admit, I'm a little jealous not to be going.

She has been looking forward to this trip for a long time and the girls have been working hard to raise funds to help cover the cost.

Here are the girls and their leaders in the airport at 3:45 this morning.  Look how wide awake and happy they all look!

Their flight took off at 6:00 AM eastern and will land in Denver at 7:30 mountain. 

Have fun ladies!!

A full weekend!

Our weekend of celebrating the end of school year and Sarah's 15th birthday was pretty awesome!

On Friday night we headed to Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse for our traditional end-of-school dinner.  We started going there after the kids completed their first year at Our Lady of Mercy (3rd and 2nd grade).  We chose that restaurant because it was near the school so it seemed fitting and because going to a Japanese steakhouse is like a little party in itself.

My mom and my brother joined us.  Part of our tradition is not making a reservation and waiting in the bar.  Lots of shenanigans ensue (anytime my brother is around there are shenanigans) and we made use of our wait time by trying to get some decent photos.  I won't tell you how many pictures we took trying to get these but trust me when I say that everyone else waiting in the bar area probably thought we were crazy.

 Because between my brother's eyes and my eyes being closed for at least 50% of the pictures taken of us and the fact that my mom hates 95% of the pictures taken of her, we have to take a lot of pictures just to get a couple of decent ones.  And you know who hates that?  Peter, Sarah, and Dan.

Here are a couple of pictures from dinner:

On Saturday morning, Dan's sister arrived from D.C. for Sarah's birthday.  We were planning on going to Hanging Rock for a hike but the weather was horrible. There  were a lot of storms and flooding so we decided to skip the hike and we headed to Reynolda House Museum.

We had never been there before.  It was the country home (even though it was literally only three miles from downtown Winston and the city home) of R.J. and Katherine Reynolds.  In case you aren't from around here, R.J. Reynolds was a tobacco magnate and founder of Reynolds Tobacco Company.

The house was built in 1917 and looks like it did then.  It also serves as an art museum with paintings and other works from American artists.  We had never been there before and we really enjoyed it.  Plus they are participating in the Blue Star program right now so because Dan was in the miliatry, we all got in free!

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house but we did get a few around the grounds and indoor pool.

On Saturday evening we cooked out burgers and just enjoyed each other's company.  On Sunday morning, we headed to Mass and then met my mom, brother, uncle and family friend at a local restaurant to celebrate Sarah's birthday:

After lunch we came back to mom's house where we enjoyed punch and birthday cake and presents:

And then after lunch, I took Sarah to the nail salon to get a fresh pedicure.  She is headed with her Girl Scout troop to Colorado.  They leave tonight and I already miss her!!