So remember back in this *Click_here* post about our big out west trip way back when?

Well since we actually live in the west now the mere thought of how close we are to all of this has us very excited!

On the very last day of that trip we stopped at a place in the Rocky Mountain National Park called Never Summer Ranch. It's an actually ranch that a German family built and lived on and operated it as a guest house up until the 70s

In the mid 70s the family sold the ranch to the park and has operated small tours of the ranch

You need to walk a bit to get to it and back on our trip, since it was our last day I stayed back to clean the rental camper so that we could return it ( jay stayed back with me ) and Scott , Ryan. And Ali went and had a blast.

They came back with this picture and it has been a family favorite for all these years. In fact it has been on Scott's desk at work since then!

Scott's birthday is next weekend and Ali won't be here so the kids decided to celebrate a weekend early. Ali made a delicious ice cream cake and a great card with some inside family humor thrown in for fun and we decided to spend the day at Rocky Mountain National Park!


( the fact that I can even say this is a day trip has me giddy)


Aaaaand. We visited never summer ranch ( with me Included this time ) and the kids surprised Scott by doing this 
isn't this just CRAZY????  I mean seriously? what a great idea as a gift for him... He is actually wearing the same shirt in both pics. ( the kids tried as hard to re create their exact positions as in the original pic :) 

ok.. we are headed out for pre- birthday pizza.. I just wanted to share this with all of you.

here are a few other pics from our day.... I'll spend more time on this tomorrow. 

smooch! 
 
there are lots of little things this week that are making me smile. here are few of them :) 


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my pretty 1950's inspired strawberry apron!
seriously, it just makes me happy :) 


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little bowls of frozen fruit!
I started with grapes , but with so much yummy summer produce available ( and affordable) I've been freezing all sorts of treats!


chilled pitchers of flavored water.... it feels fancy even thought it's really just... water!
my retro blue ball jars!  I saw these online a few months ago and thought that I haaad  to get them.. QUICK! before they sell out!  So I bought 3 cases. 

turns out they are in Target, Hardware stores, etc...  so the mad rush did not have to happen. It's ok.. I still love them.

and how about those super- bendy straws? just. plain. fun. 


pasta pie. have you seen it floating around on pinterest? welp, I made it this week and I'm kinda infatuated with it.


basically, you set up your cooked ziti ( tossed with olive oil and some cheese) with the ziti standing up all around the pan like little soldiers ( I used a springform pan)  ( so that all the holes in the pasta are facing up.)

then pour your sauce over-top, top with cheese and bake.  Allow to cool for a minute, remove springform pan and...


YUM!   I cannot wait to play around with other flavors... spinach and cheese... chicken broccoli alfredo..hmm...


unexpectedly having some of my kids here.  it's just so nice to have them here.. to enjoy thunderstorms, walks in the park, Friday night pizza trips and of course, the beloved Bonnie brae ice cream...



and despite that they are 18 & 20, they still love a good ol-fashioned tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich for lunch :) 



what's making you smile ? 
 
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Looky what I found today!
I saw this and just could not resist...  not exactly what you would think when you hear ' Colorado Herb' but this is MY kind of herb  :) ( plus the little kid in me could not help but to do this post!) 
While shopping at my new favorite store ( more on that soon) I came across this... I read the back and was intrigued...  
It is a live plant that is not meant to be planted outside, but instead in a small jar of water on a windowsill! Simply pinch the basil leaves when you need them and check the water every day or so.

I absolutely love this! 
pretty cool, eh? it's pretty, it smells good and for $2.99 it completely made my day! 

My house in Plymouth had a kitchen in the center of the house, so I have not had a windowsill in almost a decade.  It is so silly how  the fact that i have not one but TWO windowsills in my kitchen now makes me goofily excited. Almost to the point of forgetting about how tiny and poorly set up the kitchen actually it ;) 

( my other window sill is laden with oils, vinegars and spices) 

And coming up soon ( by the end of today... I just want to make sure that this site works and that those who want to read what ramblings come out of my fingers and onto this page can find me ) I will share the recipe that i used my first basil in!

cioa bellas!