Beautiful Colorado

The past month we went out to Breckenridge / Keystone for a long weekend.  As always, we are in awe of the beauty of this area.  It was so nice to be out in the snow with sunny skies!!!

 One of the afternoons we went dog sledding.  We thought it would be a fun thing to try 

at least once and it did not disappoint!  

We had one minor roll over - thanks to Brett's great skill at steering the sled - but it was so much fun.  The dogs were so happy to just be out running - it is on our "to do again" list. 

After the dog sledding afternoon we went out snowshoeing for a short while on a trail that we have hiked a lot with the kids in the summer.  We got a few miles in before it started to get dark.

The snow pack was just right that we decided that the next morning we would do the whole thing from Breckenridge to Frisco - 10 miles.  

It was such a fun day topped off by a stop at our favorite burger place in town.  

Great Visit With the Duecks

Had to post this for our memories----look how long we have come J & J!  Six kiddos added to the mix and all smiling happy faces except for the little guy - its classic!  Gavin- where are you???

Snowy Niagara Falls

Such a cold winter that we have had this year.  Even Niagara Falls practically "froze" over.  Yes, the water was still running but there were some dramatic ice formations to be seen.  We took advantage of a slightly warmer Saturday morning (it was finally in the 20's) and walked around the falls to see it for ourselves.  

Toronto Aquarium

 It was a COLD COLD day up in Toronto a few weeks ago - but we braved it anyway and I took the kids up to the new Ripley's Aquarium for the day.  We met up with another family there so everyone had a friend to pal around with for the day.  I think the highlights of the outing were petting the stingrays, the boys taking lots of pictures with their own cameras, and just not being in school!

A Winter of Ice Skating

We love that we have an ice rink up in town for the beginning of the winter.  It is a perfect place to bring the kids up to skate for an hour or two.  Brett took them weekly on Mondays to play hockey with neighbors.

Love the look on Brenna's face and Matthew hitting the ground in the back.

This winter Buffalo open up the largest outdoor skating rink in NY.  It was a FRIGID day but sunny out when we went skating.  I think we only lasted an hour because it was so cold but the kids were treated to coffee and pizza afterwards so they warmed up quick!

The last place we skated this winter was up at a local country park where they have 2 rinks.  Often we were the only ones there so it was perfect to bring a friend and play some pond hockey.