Making the Most of a Long Winter

This winter seemed to go on and on and on.  Just when I would get my hopes up that the weather was getting warmer, another snow storm would hit.  We even got 2 or 3 snow days, which is usually unheard of in my district.  But I think that every year that I have lived here, I have gotten better and better about not letting the cold get me down.  I've learned how to bundle up properly and brave the winter weather so that I don't want to just sit in my cozy, warm house all the time.  So what did I do to make the winter more fun this year?

First, the best way to enjoy the snow is snowshoeing.  I tried out Meuller State Park to do something new.

Good snow coverage; apparently there is a road there

My favorite kind of snow: beautiful but still sunny

It's always worth the climb to the top to get views like this!

A cool finding, but can you imagine that someone actually
lived in that at some point?  I can't imagine in the winter for sure!

The old water pail is still hanging

and the springs from a mattress

I just thought it was a cool tree all twisted

Never ceases to amaze me

Snowshoeing has definitely far surpassed snow skiing on my list of fun winter activities!

We followed this up with a trip to Cripple Creek to see the Ice Festival. There were some pretty impressive ice carvings by some very talented sculptors.

The Batmobile

The Genie from Aladin

Inside the Flintstone House

There's Barney!

Probably my favorite piece of the whole festival

To make winter fun, it's also important to continue random and not so random celebrations.

Birthday parties at work
(this was actually made by one of my co-workers
and his wife.  They are quite talented bakers!)

Strawberry marshmallows - my first try at fresh fruit

A creative Valentine

Homemade fortune cookies!

More fun when you can put your own messages inside

Cookie decorating with sugar-crazy kids

They love that icing!

Nothing warms you up an a cold day like...

a huge pot of chili!

Enough for the whole admin building!

With two co-workers from New Orleans,
we definitely celebrate Mardi Gras with a
King Cake.  Who got the baby?

Random holiday gifts to let my School Assessment Coordinators
know how much we appreciate their hard work.

White Chocolate Cheesecake Day!

Sharing a new cereal to celebrate.
I would highly recommend this as a dessert cereal!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Marshmallows for PB&J Day
My first double layer marshmallows

I gladly welcomed guests to my home.  Nothing will cheer you up like time with good friends.

There are still days when it snows so much that you have no choice but to stay inside where it's nice and cozy and warm.  

 Those are the days that it's good to have a craft project.  This one was inspired by an idea my mom had seen.

I've always wanted to play with chalkboard paint

I picked a fun color and my mom suggested
the antiquing paint to give it a little more character

In progress

A little added touch

Voila!  A cute little chalkboard made from an old cabinet door.

Even when it snows some more...

I decided to not let it stop me from enjoying one of my favorite treats...

froyo!
It's still delicious even when it's below 0 outside

It continued to snow all the way into May.  I was definitely ready to see the end of that and feel the warmth of the summer sun.  But overall, I felt like I handled the extended winter pretty well this year.  It helps when you get better coats and better shoes and learn how to layer properly.  It makes winter more than purely survival when you choose to still have fun and embrace whatever comes!