Day 49 & 50: Fox Run Regional Park and Rosie's Diner

Our Colorado summer is well underway, and we have been tearing it up! Our first week, we explored Fox Run Regional Park, which might be my favorite park in the city. It is so delicious! We pretty  much drove through a forest to get there, and Claire exclaims, "Mom! Are we in a forest?!" And I got to say, "YES!" See:

This is the gorgeous view from my blanket where I sat watching the kids play:

Pike's Peak, I love you.

The air felt cleaner, fresher, and slower up there. Maybe we just chose a good-weather day, or maybe we really were in an enchanted wood.

I've been there once before, but I was so glad we decided to explore it again. It is absolutely stunning and lovely. Since we were farther north in the city, we hit up a local diner with friends, which was quirky and fun. It might even have been good food, too. Happy Summer to you!

Day 43, 44, & 45: Horseland, the Dutch Bakery, and Feeding the Geese

I feel like we are in constant conversation with locals about what to do here in the Springs. We just want to check it out for ourselves. Dustin discovered these horse stables from our dental hygienist on a Wednesday and we visited that weekend. These pictures are actually from January of last year, but they are some of my favorites of our many, many visits to what we have named, "Horseland." This name comes from a favorite Netflix show of the girls. If your kids are also obsessed with horses, check it out.

Look how to tiny Blake was!! 

So, these are horse stables on public land, so anyone can walk through and say hi to the horses. On this particular day, one of the horse owners was exercising her horse, and she offered to let my kids groom her. How amazing is that?

After walking through all the stables and saying hello to all 60 horses, this opportunity was more than a cherry on top.

We've taken visitors here several times because it is free and it's pretty fun to pet the horses and even feed them sometimes. And, almost always afterward, we visit Boonzaaijer's Dutch Bakery because it is amazing. I wish I had pictures, but I couldn't find any, and I definitely wanted to include this gem WITH Horseland because for us they go together. I've ordered the Napoleon and chocolate cheesecake. We've also brought home an entire loaf of banana poppyseed bread, which was really yummy. Besides the delicious baked items, they also have a small grocery section of dutch goods, which I'm totally into.

After picking up our treats, we head over to what we call 'the duck pond' even though I'm pretty sure we've only ever seen geese there. If we remember, we bring them some bread.

The picture above is from last winter, and the following two are from last summer. Sometimes we don't even take pictures, so this trifecta of activities really does make it into our weekend activity mix quite often. My favorite part is obviously the bakery, but making my kids happy usually makes me happy, so these are pretty great activities for checking that one off the list. In fact, maybe we'll do these this week for our first week of summer!

Day 42: Chef Sugar

A few weeks ago, a good friend showed up on my doorstep with this:

Pretty, isn't it? Also, it was delicious.

The flavor pictured above is lemon something or other, and it was divine. I could have listed the bakery it came from, Chef Sugar, based just on that one cupcake, but of course, I did some reconnaissance for you. ;)

Straight from gymnastics, we stopped by in person to see what else Chef Sugar had to offer. Honestly, it was a little uptight inside the shop, so I didn't take any more photos inside, but it was pretty cute with a black, pink, and sparkle theme. The shop has been open for 5 years. They specialize in wedding and party cakes, but that didn't stop me from ordering cupcakes. Buy 5, get one free.

It was kind of like being at a chocolate shop. A glass case displayed all the beautiful cupcakes. There were probably 30 flavors on display, and when I asked where the delicious lemon one was or the s'mores flavor I had heard about, guess what the answer was? 

THERE ARE OVER 80 FLAVORS!!! They rotate them. If that's not enough to keep me coming back, I don't know what is. Avery has the strawberry shortcake in her hands above.

Here's the pretty box:

And, be warned, these are all cell phone pictures, so the cupcakes might not look quite as good as they could. Below we have a key lime, chocolate peanut butter, salted caramel, and two more. Haha! Can't remember. We sliced them up and shared them all at home.

We didn't eat at the shop because I didn't really feel like the kids and the mess they bring with them were as welcome, so there is that. Also, the shop is in a strip mall, and I don't know, but I'm against strip malls. They are just so . . . not charming.

I think the ideal way to enjoy these cupcakes would be to pick them up for a fun girls' night. Dustin didn't appreciate the cupcakes nearly as much as any one of my girlfriends would have, plus they are kind of pricey to buy for kids who are equally happy with a Hostess cupcake. So, if you're in the Springs, grab a dozen for a girls' night and thank me later.

Days 20, 21, 22, & 23: Breakfast Places

Breakfast is the most necessary meal of my day. I've gotten better over the years, but Dustin clearly remembers thinking it was strange when we were first married that I would wake up in the morning because I was hungry, and I would need to eat right away. Because of this, when I do get invited to a brunch situation, I have a really hard time waiting until the breakfast date to eat.

This means I eat two breakfasts on those days, which means these recommendations come from not a starving stomach, so they must be good, right?

Here are the four places I would visit again. I'm glad they're here even if I already did eat breakfast before I went. ;)

Day 20: The Egg & I: At the Powers location, kids eat free, so when you are toting your kids, it's a great choice. The eggs benedict was delicious and reasonably priced.



Day 21: King Chef Diner: We've been meaning to try this one for a long time, and although it wasn't super convenient with the kids, it was fun. The food was delicious and filling and the atmosphere was SO fun. Comic books are stacked on top of the bookshelf along the front window, and it's crowded and happy. For sure, have some chile verde on whatever you order. I guess it's a Colorado/New Mexico thing.



Day 22: Kneaders: I'm pretty sure this restaurant has it's roots in Utah, and it rocks. We drove all the way out to the location on Powers on Christmas Eve in search of cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, but of course, they are so delicious and life-changing that we weren't the only ones that thought of it. No cinnamon rolls for us. The french toast breakfast is only, like, 5 bucks, and all you can eat. They just know how to make bread-y items.

Day 23: Over Easy: Just went here for the first time on my birthday, and I really, really liked it. I heard the downtown location has better atmosphere, but the food was great, and by the size of the crowd waiting, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. I ordered some pineapple, coconut water, mango drink that was super delicious, and of course, eggs benedict. I don't like making it myself, so I think it's fun to order when I'm out.

So, there you have it. Over Easy is probably my top pick because of location and I want to try their pancake platter next time - bananas foster and the like. It's basically dessert. Where do you like to get some brunch when you get the chance to go out?

Days 13 & 14: Drifter's Hamburgers + The Views

The girls and I tried Drifter's Hamburgers after our girls' night out tonight. Dustin told me the burgers tasted just like In-n-Out, and I'm all about that. On top of that, Claire is all about cheeseburgers, and Avery loves fries, so, in theory, it is a match made in heaven.

First things first, a bathroom stop. Definitely nothing special.

The details were weird. The building was all New Mexico ghetto, and the artwork was 'let's pretend we're at the beach!' Which. I'm all about pretending to be at the beach. I just can't blame them for that, but you tell me:

The view was pretty good. It pretty much usually is in Colorado Springs. Should that be it's own day? You know, something like, 'You can always get a good view here! Even at Panda Express! Or Costco!" (I'm not even joking about either of those locations, so yes, I'm going to add it right now as Day 14.)

This is before she sprayed hand sanitizer IN HER EYES.

This is after:



I probably shouldn't share it, but at the same time, this is my life.

This weird, NON-atmosphere restaurant makes it on the list of things to like here strictly for the burgers. If I could go to In-n-Out, it absolutely wouldn't make the cut. I like the red palm trees and non-sticky tables AND chocolate shakes at the real In-n-Out too much, but since it's over a day's drive to the real deal, this is it.

Claire wasn't worried about the differences, and she wasn't worried about Avery's stinging eyes either. She went to town on that burger and ignored Avery completely. Avery didn't even start eating til Claire had finished her cheeseburger.

Also, hello little bunny. Because, Colorado.

Days 7 & 8: Sunny Day at Ivywild School

I didn't always know it, but having a handful of unique places to eat baked goods or grab some hot chocolate is pretty important to me. I'm not talking about Dunkin' Donuts here, although I have been known to enjoy the Dunkin' from time to time. For me, it's not completely about the delicious eats even. It's the atmosphere. Is that lame? Well, I don't care, because I found one, and it's got it all - atmosphere and deliciousness PLUS room for rowdy kids.

Enter Ivywild School. It's even got preservation, history, and upcycling on it's side. It is really, truly an old school re-purposed to be a bakery, coffee shop, brewery, fresh market, and cool Colorado t-shirt . . . place. It's a capital 'C' Cool place. The Principal offers libations. See?

These kids might just be waiting their turn in line. Hope they're not in trouble! ;)

I love when the details matter. I love that the 'bakery windows' are real, re-purposed windows:

Avery ordered a piece of the chocolate cake once. As far as cake goes, it's a winner on flavor, but doesn't it look pretty as well?

I felt a little bit french today buying a fresh baguette out of a basket. It's not so bad feeling a little bit french. I liked it very much.

I learned that Blake, Avery, and I should share this very large cinnamon roll with an excessive amount of cream cheese frosting on top. This is as far as the three of us got:

I now realize that the pictures below are slightly crooked, so I want you to imagine the scene of a 5-year-old girl talking to you relentlessly, always requiring a response, while an almost two-year-old boy begs to be held, and all you want to do is take a pretty picture to remind yourself of the good things.

I still think those rows of bottles of water and glasses and stacks of pretty linens is very lovely, crooked or not.

The hot chocolate isn't sweet. It reminds me of a thick bowl of chocolate I ordered at a french restaurant in Seattle. It was served it with a bowl of cream so you can soften the bitterness just a bit. This beautiful cup of chocolate isn't quite so dramatic, but if you order one, don't expect Swiss Miss is all I'm saying.

We hung out on the large patio out front with 5 kids running around and no one else to be annoyed. The sun beat down on our backs and faces so that I was reminded of another perk of living here. Did you know that Colorado Springs boasts 300 days of sun? I've just now come to believe that is a good thing. I missed the cozy nature of the low-hanging clouds of Seattle for a little too long, but sunny days are pretty awesome. I don't think I can write an entire post about it, so I'm adding it as a day of it's own here.

The kids played hide-and-seek under the tables and just ran and giggled. That outside patio allowed us moms to enjoy the sound of our own voices for a solid 2 hours. Miracles do happen.

We looked out at this ever-changing sky:

Do you see that weird tractor just kicking it in that equally strange field in front of the school? (Hello, 1998 - 'kicking it'.) Well, we played on that, too, and picked dandelions.

Goodbye, Ivywild. I am enchanted by your lovely name, wood floors, baguettes, and thick frosting. I will most definitely see you again soon.