Snow day!

It's probably hard to tell by this picture unless you zoom in a lot, but that ruler reads 7.5 inches of snow! 

 

 Judith making a snow angel.

 Up to their knees.

Seven and a half inches of snow means deck sledding!

 

Mike shoveling our driveway.  Our other car was left on the corner of our street last night as we were unable to drive up the hill to our house.  Luckily a young man who was out looking for his cat was able to piggy-back Ezra up the hill while I carried Judith and Mike carried Jonas. 

 

Ezra's 6th Birthday Party

Ezra wanted a "Wreck it Ralph" birthday party this year.   Much to my surprise, there wasn't a whole lot out there for Ralph themed parties in the way of decor or activities.  Since I usually steal ideas from other people's blogs and have no creative thoughts of my own this is the best I could come up with.  :)

We just had a couple of Ezra's friends (and their families) over.  A few more were invited but had to decline for various reasons. 

Isaac is Ezra's friend from ACES (where he receives therapy), and Karma is a friend from school.

First, we went downstairs and did a "brick smash" game.  In this picture Ezra was "Ralph".  He's said, "I'm gonna wreck it!", and then he proceeded to smash the "wall" (cardboard boxes).

Isaac was "Fix-It Felix" who was trying to repair the wall as Ezra was trying to destroy it (just like in the game in the movie).

 

Next, it was Isaac's turn to be "Ralph" and Judith was "Felix".

  

Judith seriously loved "wrecking it" when it was her turn to be Ralph.

  

Then we went upstairs for some table activities.  We put together a Wreck it Ralph puzzle,

  

and did a cord untangle.

 

 Then it was time for cake and presents. 

The cake was supposed to the be apartment building that Ralph wrecks in video game "Fix-It Felix Jr." in which he plays the bad guy.

 

  

 

Blowing out his candle.

  

The kids playing with the Angry Birds game that Ezra received as a gift.

 

 

Too much fun for this little girl.

 

 Ezra (sporting a Kool-Aid mustache) and Karma.

 Ezra with Isaac and Avonleigh.

Our first born is 6 years old!

 

Ice Sculpture Festival in Cripple Creek, CO

Mike surprised us with a drive out to Cripple Creek last Saturday to see some ice sculptures.  It was the first day of the 2-weekend festival, so many of the sculptures were in the beginning stages.  It would have been cool to see them finished, but it was also pretty neat to watch some of the live scultping. 

 

These guys were working on what appeared to be a huge King Triton and ship being eaten by a giant squid (?). 

 

 

The kids walked through this little ice maze sculpture. 

 

In this picture they're looking at me through one of the walls of ice in the maze.

 

 

I can't remember what the sculputure looked like, but the kids could ride down the ice slide on this little sled. 

 

 

 

 

Judith went down last, but I was too busy making sure she didn't smash her face into an ice wall that I didn't get a picture. 

 Ezra, Judith and I sitting on a giant ice throne.  (Jonas is in the black hood on the right of the shot--he was protesting pictures for some reason.)

 

An ice globe (?).

 

It was pretty cold (obviously), but there weren't a ton of sculputres so it was nice to just walk around for 30 minutes or so, and as always, a beautiful drive.  Maybe we'll go back this weekend and see if more sculputres are completed. :)

Breckenridge, Take Two

Unlike last year, this year's sledding trip to Breckenridge did not end in 2 busted faces and a broken leg.  Yay!

 

This a wide expanse of nothingness kind of between two ranges that we drive through from Colorado Springs to Breckenridge.  It's down in a valley, but the temperature actually dropped like 15 degrees when we hit the bottom. 

 

 

Mike and Jonas are prepared for their first trip down the hill.

 

 

At the top of the hill.

 

Erin and Judith.

 

Jonas doing some body sledding.

 

Judith

 

The kids on a little snow hill.  This area is at the bottom of the sledding hill before you reach the green mesh fence that divides where the sleds go from where the folks walk back up to the top.  The little snow hill they're sitting on wasn't there last year.  We know because it was the fence post directly behind Ezra that the boys crashed into last year. 

 

Mike and Ezra.  :)

 

Ski runs at Breckenridge.

 

A little hot chocolate and Where's Waldo at Starbucks.