The Blanch Herd

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Thursday Night Lights {aka Happy New Year!}

Last week for New Year's Eve we thought it would be fun to head up to Beaver Creek to see their fireworks show. A big selling point for us on this activity was that the fireworks were scheduled to start at 6:45 pm. It would still put us home after Cal's bedtime, but since none of us were planning to stay up till midnight to ring in the new year, it seemed like the perfect plan. Until the thermometer kept dropping and dropping and dropping (it was down near and below zero that evening) and Callie became more snuggly and cuddly and clingy. Yeah, turns out she wasn't feeling too great (you can tell when she chooses to sit in your lap that something isn't right), Gregg was starting to come out of his epic holiday cold, and I was just beginning my turn at the week long stuffy-nose-sore-throat-foggy-head fest. So . . . we stayed home. We ate our yummy New Year's Eve apps (little smokies, tortilla roll ups, cowboy caviar, and bruschetta) and watched Dumb and Dumber on Netflix (my first time ever - ha!). Cal got to bed at her normal time and Gregg and I got to bed a little later than normal but before midnight. (I was working on some rosters and posters and other January sorts of things for primary and Gregg was coding or something - we really know how to party!)

Anyway, fast forward a week. It's warmer (30s), we're all healthy (-er), and it's Thursday, which means Beaver Creek is again putting on a fireworks show and glow-worm ski down. Turns out they do it every Thursday from December through March and they call it Thursday Night Lights. Perfect! We ate some dinner after Gregg got home from work and headed to the mountain. We figured we'd be late to the show since we left home later than ideal, but it turns out we got to the base of Centennial Lift just as they were about to start sending the kids down with their glowsticks.

Sorry, no tripod for any of these pics, so most will be blurry.
But you get the idea.

All those colorful lights are the kids from ski school (level 5
and up) that ski down the run in a zig zag holding big glowsticks
for all the onlookers to enjoy.

It really is pretty fun to watch.

And then the fireworks began right there on the slopes. It wasn't nearly as big or impressive as the New Year's Eve show that we saw in the village a few years ago, but it was perfect for Cal's first fireworks. She even got the wows down pat.

Happy New Year!
(wink, wink)

When they were finished we took a spin through the village to check out the colorful ice sculptures and then headed back home. I think the highlight of the night for Callie were the bus rides up to the village and back down to the parking lot when we were done. "Inside a bus!" Simple pleasures.

Bring it on, 2015! We're ready for ya!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Photos from Phones - December 2014 Round Up

How is it already January? I swear we just got home from Utah after Thanksgiving and now it's New Years! December was lovely, snowy, cold, and full of good cheer. I've already posted quite a few posts of December-specific activities, so these that remain are mostly walks and randomness from around the house. One of our highlights this month was a visit from Auntie Ky. We explored Vail and Beaver Creek Villages in the snow, made cute button Christmas tree ornaments, went on some walks, and otherwise just hung out. We loved having her here! Here's to a new year full of many more fun and funny moments, and, I anticipate, a walk or two in the fresh air.

12.2.14
(Cal is playing with a little nativity set I
intentionally displayed on a little table at her
height - she loved it!)

12.2.14
(She played with the nativity figurines all the time, arranging them
in their own candle holes, among other places.)

12.2.14
(this was my attempt at photographing some
rather squawky geese on the river - I still am
trying to figure out what they were exactly,
but this photo doesn't help in my id quest)