Wind, Snow & Sun

I've been trying to put together this posting for 2 days now. It seems I can never get more than 5 minutes of free time at once! Anway, Colorado sure has some crazy weather! The cool thing is that no matter what, you can count on the sun to shine soon. This weekend we decided to get out and go somewhere new so we took the kids (and dogs) to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. We packed a lunch and planned on spending the day hiking and having a picnic. When we got there it was really windy but after about 15 minutes, it started getting hurricane windy! We could barely walk and there was dust being blown in our eyes and mouths, it was just crazy. We decided there was no way we could hike or eat a picnic in that wind so we turned around and went back. Kevin's grandparents live in Colorado Springs so we decided to head over to their house and visit. We spent a really nice afternoon over there and his aunt and cousin came over and we ended up staying pretty late just hanging out and talking.

Hiking at Garden of the Gods (before we got blown away)

Getting blown away by the wind!

On Sunday we woke up to another white blanket of snow (the last snow melted after 2 days). This time it snowed all day (around 6 inches total) and got really cold - I think the temp during the day was 24 and at night got down to 16! We made a fire in the wood stove and alternated between going outside and playing in the snow and coming in and warming up by the fire. We baked cupcakes and made a pot roast, it was so cozy! We got the kids a sled and they had so much fun sledding down the driveway. I really enjoyed sitting by the fire and watching the snow fall, there is something so cozy and serene about that. Of course the next day (Mon.) the sun was back out again and now on Tues. almost all the snow has melted again. The temps this week are in the 60's and 70's with clear skies. It's funny how on Sunday it looked and felt like winter, snow falling and freezing temps but by Thurs we will be at the park for playdate and it will be 75 and sunny. You gotta love that Colorado sun, I think that is what makes this such a unique place...you get the snow but you also get tons of sun and warmth. There is something like 300 sunny days per year here - it's like California but with snow in the winter. I think we'll take the kids up to a ski resort this weekend so Katie can get her first ski lesson - I better remember to bring the sunscreen though! :) LOL Here our some pics from our "blizzard" - as Katie was calling it:

Katie sledding down the driveway

Making snow angels

And some pics from yesterday when the sun came back out:

Gorgeous blue skies again :)