President's Day Weekend

Our kids were all away this weekend. Katie and Peter got to sing in a President's Day program at Mt. Rushmore with their choir. I can't find them in this picture but I know they are there somewhere. They were gone for 4 days and 3 nights. They had a great time!

Thomas was sad to be missing out on all the fun so we decided he could spend a few days in New Mexico with his grandparents. He pretty much is ruling the roost down there and having a lot of adventures. We keep getting texts with pictures like the one below.

Ruby Hill

There is a park in Denver named Ruby Hill. It is an urban ski, snowboard, and sled park. Denver, in a partnership with Christy Sports and Winter Park Ski Resort, has turned this park into a winter wonderland. Winter Park brings snow makers the first week of January and turns 1 million gallons of water into snow and gets a great base layer started. Christy Sports offers skiing and snowboarding equipment for free so kids can see if they like it. Half of the hill is for skiers and boarders, the other half is for sledders. The kids have to walk back up the hill, instead of hopping on a ski lift, but it helps them sleep better that night.

Last Saturday it was 55 degrees. We took a bunch of kids from church and decided to check it out. I couldn't believe it was all free. Even skis, boots, and helmets. Fitted for you and free for the day. My kids haven't been skiing a lot and this was a perfect hill for beginners. It was so warm that jackets and gloves were shed in the first few minutes. Thomas and Peter abandoned their gear for the sledding hill after only a few runs. We had a great time!

Peter's Favorite Food

A few Saturdays ago Little Peter was facing a not so fun break from the school week. Thomas was going to a friend's house for a Nerf gun battle birthday party. Katie was heading to another friend's house to watch romantic comedies and eat a ridiculous amount of junk food. On Peter's list for the day? A haircut and cleaning the garage. I think the kid would rather smash his fingers in a car door than get a hair cut. He hates it that much. So my dear husband and I tried to think of something to help his day be a little more tolerable.

Last year for Denver Restaurant Week we took the kids to our favorite fancy restaurant. They have great deals during this week so it is a little easier to take our party of 5 and not die when the check comes. Anyway, we went to Rioja and ordered an amazing appetizer for our family to share. It is called the Rioja Picnic and looks like this.

The menu describes it as a trio of artisan meats, warm pine crusted goat cheese, Italian Mountain gorgonzola, olives, truffle fennel salad, orange confit, and almonds. He loved it so much that we decided to take him back and let him have the whole picnic to himself. He said it was one of his best Saturdays ever. Even with garage cleaning and a haircut. What 11 year old boy digs this kind of food? Peter does!

Darth Vader

Our favorite Superbowl commercial yesterday reminded me of some awesome pictures we have of Thomas. He is just wearing a winter hat, but his shadow makes him look quite ominous.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I love an unexpected day off of school. It ranks up there with Christmas and 4th of July. We only got about 4 inches of snow, but it is so cold, they cancelled school. The high today is supposed to be -1. We are planning on drinking a lot of


And watching a lot of