Mouse Cakes and More...

That would be the "Mouse Cakes" breakfast entree 

at the Butterhorn Bakery in Frisco.

We found ourselves in the mountains, the glorious mountains, last week. We were taking advantage of Grandma & Grandpa Sander's timeshare in Dillon, and so we headed up for a quick one-night stay.

If you find yourself at your in-law's timeshare in Dillon anytime soon, I recommend taking a quick trip up the damn dam road to Frisco for breakfast. 

At the Butterhorn.

I've seen some trippy restaurants, yes siree bob, 

but never one with a skiing dog crashing through the roof. 

Justin said it was fake, but Eisley thinks he was just posing for pictures. 

I am to be punished for never giving my mom a serious picture when I was growing up. 

{Do you taste the sweet revenge, mom?}

This baby is always embarrassing us...

Pie highly recommends the Mouse Cakes. 

I recommend the mocha au lait. 

Justin recommends some Mexican dish he got...

Vi recommends... never you mind.

Then we hopped over to Breckenridge.

We love Breck.

Playgrounds in the mountains are not made of plastic.

Playgrounds in the mountains are created out of boulders. 

That's just how we roll here...

Here's a little secret, if you find yourself in Breck anytime soon, we've discovered the BEST little coffee shop. It's the cutest little yellow house of the main street...

It's called Starbucks, look it up next time you're in Breckenridge, you won't be disappointed.

{Try the cake pops, they're delicious.}

Though I don't think they see many kids in there. 

A few people sitting around with laptops, and they all glared at us. 

{And she was well behaved, I hate to think what they would have done if she'd been in tantrum mode.}

Then we headed up Guanella Pass above Georgetown, which just re-opened after a couple years of being under construction. 

We had to follow a pace car up half way, but that only meant we got to go slow and enjoy the breathtaking views - of which I took no pictures. Sorry.

Oh but there's this. 

Here we are above timberline...

And this is when I realized...

it's been waaay too long.

Mountains, how I've missed you.

I spent half of my youth up here, practically. 

What, with my grandparents living in Conifer, and a father who took us camping/fishing/hiking every chance he got. The Rocky Mountains are a part of me. 

And I will never go that long without visiting these mountains again. 

{It had been quite a while...}

I forgot how much I loved them.

Last leg of our mini-trip, I demanded that Justin take us to the place I'd always wanted to go as a child. It was first located in Conifer, where my grandparents lived, but a few years ago they put it on a truck and moved it up to Bailey.

I knew we'd be passing it once we came down off Guanella Pass, so I insisted we stop there for a late lunch.

Behold, the giant hot dog:

Aso known as Coney Island. 

Oh yes, we did.

I have to say, the ambiance of their new location is lovely.

You know, for hot dogs in the mountains, and all:

The fresh mountain air, the sound of the water wheel, the taste of... hot dogs.

Eiscream.

I like Coney Island's new location much better.

The best part of the trip???

The 99 cent aqua Snowflake print Pyrex dish I scored at a thrift store in Dillon...

I'm just kidding. 

The best part was being in the lovely mountains with my lovely family.

{Blah, blah blah...}

Yeehaw!

This weekend our neighbors held a yard sale, so being good neighbors that we are, we headed over to take a look.

I love yard sales and thrift stores these days, you never know when you'll find your treasure. But yesterday it was Eisley who found a treasure. She came across the star to her very favorite movie, Toy Story. Up until now, she's only had tiny, 2" plastic characters to play with. She has plastic Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye. She plays with them every. single. day. exclaiming, "Yeehaw! Ride 'em, cowboy! Buddabum! Buddabum! Buddabum! Buddabum!" 
And then they have all sorts of adventures together...

So just imagine the stars in her eyes when she found this at the yard sale:

He was in really good condition, and his pull string works. But in a real-life moment that paralleled the movie, in which a man at a yard sale is thrilled to find Woody, but moans over not having his hat, when suddenly he finds it in the yard as well. And that's exactly what happened for Eisley.

As I watched her play, I dorkily (is that a word? it should be...) said the line from the movie, "Oh, if only you had your hand-stitched polyvinyl hat!!"

And then Eisley reached back down into the bin and pulled out, quite proudly,

A straw bonnet. 

It's no cowboy hat, but we don't have the heart to tell her.

After a few tantrums that the hat wouldn't "STAY ON!!!!" I fixed it with an elastic band to hold it on Woody. See how happy she is? And how... dapper?...Woody looks in his straw bonnet? What a fashion statement for a cowboy to make!

This doll goes for $55 on Amazon! Sure, he only has his straw bonnet instead of his cowboy hat, but it's a good find nonetheless. The neighbors were so sweet and insisted on her taking him home for free, despite our insisting on payment.

Eisley is having a cowgirl birthday party this year, based on her love for Toy Story, so we were planning on saving up for these pricey dolls anyway. Now all we need is Jessie. This is why we thrift!

It's time...

Time for a photo montage!

Today's theme: Vi-Pie.

That's all you get, for today. 

Springtime 2011

"See! The winter is past...

... the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth...

 ...the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves ...

...is heard in our land. 

The fig tree forms its early fruit;

...the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. 

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.”

"My beloved is mine and I am his...

he browses among the lilies.

Until the day breaks 

   and the shadows flee, 

turn, my beloved, 

   and be like a gazelle." 

"Like a lily among thorns...

 is my darling among the young women."

"My beloved spoke and said to me,

'Arise, my darling...

my beautiful one, come with me.' 

- taken from Song of Solomon, Chapter 2

Happy Springtime