We have made it to Estes Park, Colorado! While the weather is freezing cold, we have enjoyed sledding, roller skating, arts & crafts, and lots of games - and the beautiful scenery.
We had a late start yesterday morning and did not leave the house until about, oh, 9:30 a.m., and then had to stop several times early on due to Syrup Emergencies and other delays. It started blowing snow in western Kansas and continued the rest of the drive, which added an element of excitement.
Colorful Colorado! Always one of our favorite landmarks.
Annika read the 6th Harry Potter book the entire way. The kids had previously loved the audio book of Ella Enchanted, so we tried A Wrinkle in Time, but Daniel's picture shows the kids' reaction to the beginning. Made on the drive back.
We never actually saw the mountains on our drive since it was so cloudy and then dark, but did have lots of road advisory signs for entertainment.
At last - Estes Park!! The downtown was all lit up beautifully for the holidays. It was a little eerie seeing how deserted everything is in the winter after the craziness of the summer.
Checking in at the YMCA of Estes Park!! Will and I stayed here with our church friends for the marathon this summer and thought it would be fun to go to this YMCA camp this time rather than Snow Mountain Ranch. We were super happy to arrive safely and to warm up.
Our (very spartan) room! No TVs, no housekeeping, no bathtub....but room for six people to sleep, and the kids are thrilled that they can each sleep on the top bunk.
Our first order of business last night was to go to the on-premises roller skating rink. That is one thing I love about staying at the YMCA - all of the awesome free activities. We skated for about an hour and I especially loved all of the songs and the nostalgic disco ball.
Oh dear word was it cold. So cold that we forgot how to spell.
That evening, we went for pizza in a really cool pizza restaurant that was part of an old hotel built in 1874. We were the only guests there the entire time and the hotel appeared to be closed for the winter, making it seem just a little bit too much like The Shining. But this awesome kids' play place totally made up for it.
Another cool thing - UNO card game on every table!
View from our lodge room this morning. Breathtaking.
It was so cold on our hike this morning from our room to the dining hall that my hair froze. Oh, and my hair was dry.
How cold? Very cold.
After breakfast, we headed over to the fabulous arts & crafts center. Annika picked out a wood dolphin to mosaic, and Daniel painted a wooden hot plate stand? Tile? Something wooden.
Daniel's completed product.
Will was the official grouter for the mosaic projects.
The cross that Will and I made together.
Annika's dolphin, pre-grout. She chose white grout and it turned out really well.
After lunch, the sun started to come out and we could see the breathtaking mountains even clearer.
The after-lunch project - sledding at Rocky Mountain National Park!! We are only about two miles from the park, so Will was able to take the kids sledding with the sleds that we brought. The kids shared that it was bitterly cold but an absolute blast.
Daniel especially had a great time and wants to come back tomorrow.
The boys.
After sledding, we headed over to the Y's community center for a rousing evening of Bingo with fellow visitors.
Well, all of us except Annika, who finished book 6 of Harry Potter and was chomping at the bit to begin book 7.
This continued to dinner. We went to Ed's Cantina in Estes Park, which was delicious and very not-deserted, giving Annika more time to enjoy her book.
Now, we are back in our lodge room getting ready for an exciting day tomorrow....but are having some excitement of our own right now as we have just discovered that I have LICE. YIKES. I appear to be the only member of the family who is infected, but this is what I get for being all pleased that Daniel was the only one who was infected. Oh, karma.
We hope that you are enjoying your own Winter Wonderlands!
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