Woodland Park

Papa, Nana, and Matteo took off today to explore Woodland Park (while the rest of the gang went swimming - nice 60-degree day). It's about 45 minutes from home up Highway 24. Nana and Matteo had just fired up the idea of quilting some place mats, so our first stop was a quilting/fabric store, Nuts 'n Bolts. Lunch was the next order of business. We tried to go to Ute Pass Brewery, but alas it was in the process of moving out of its current space (landlord raised the rent). Not sure if/where they're going. The folks there were kind enough to direct us to Ute Inn just up the street where we had a delicious lunch (loved the steak fries!). Interesting history, particularly of the founder Bert Bergstrom. We strolled the town a bit with one stop for dessert at the Donut Mill (huge donuts, largest cinnamon rolls I've ever seen). Our last stop was actually our destination, the Dinosaur Resource Center. Small, but very interesting and well done. Matteo was fully engaged, and it was run by a group of young folks that were very "into it." We also discovered a very nice city park just off the main drag, Memorial Park. The whole fam could spend a few hours there. More photos here.

Matteo chose his fabrics at Nuts 'n Bolts.

That's Bert Bergstrom in the framed picture behind the tree at Ute Inn.

Ute Inn and Bar/Restaurant

Lynn got another chance to check out a mini vehicle.

The main drag.

Pikes Peak on the left.

Two "ice towers" at the My Nutra building,
"the creators of hemp paste."

Memorial Park

Ute Pass Brewery

Dinosaur Resource Center

New Year's Eve at the Club

Nana and Papa took advantage of a special rate offered at the Flying Horse Lodge for New Year's Eve. Following dinner in the Tack Room, we intended to join the big party in the Flying Horse Steakhouse from 10pm on, but we gave up early and went back to our room for some more Christmas movies. Then breakfast at the club the next morning after watching some of the Rose Parade, then back home. It was a very cold 24-hour period. You should have seen us walking/trotting between the lodge and the restaurant I don't know how many times! Overnight lows were sub-zero. It had been a while since I heard that particular crunch sound of snow under foot. Matt dropped us off (after we all saw "Mary Poppins Returns") and picked us up so we wouldn't have to leave a car out over night. Didn't want to test the antifreeze. More photos are here.

Tuna and avocado "tower." Delicious.

Way too cold to be outside.

At the stroke of midnight! We had confetti all over the room!

1200-bottle, 4-story wine room at the Steakhouse.
This is the top floor. Stairs encircle it on the outside.
In the photo's center above the door frame you can see
a dining table one story down in the distance. Two
levels are for the restaurant and two levels have space
that can be rented for personal storage.

Scileppi’s at the Old Stone Church

Nana and Papa found this little gem in "old town" Castle Rock today - Scileppi’s at the Old Stone Church. From the website: "Built in 1888, the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was the first one built in Castle Rock. In 1966, the parish built a larger church east of town and abandoned the building. It sat dormant until 1975 when it was converted into a restaurant, eventually, the one so many of you have known and loved. And now, in 2018 the torch has been passed to the Scileppis." Drinks were great, food was excellent. Now there's an option to the hospital restaurant.

Entry way.

At left, the confessional is a cozy table for two.

From the organ/choir loft.

From behind the bar. There are about 8 seats with this view at the bar.

A new area called Sliceworks Purgatory was added to one side of the church.
You might guess they specialize in pizza.

The men's room was also added outside the church,
see the church's exterior wall on left.

Photo in the bathroom of the original church.

Cold Day at the Zoo

Sam's home for the holidays and had yet to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. So off we went, in sub-freezing weather. And had a great time, for a couple hours. Sorry, just a few cell phone pics, my camera is rated only down to 32 degrees.

Christmas Day at the Compound

Grand Uncle Craig joined us for the festivities, and laughs, this year. We had to relocate dinner to the old dining room table in the kitchen because the big new table in the dining room was COMPLETELY covered with legos; there were at least 5 projects going on. Definitely the Year of the Legos. Gramma's Rolls (our posted recipes, including all mentioned here) did not rise (at all), and would not bake. The Bubble Bread made up for it, though, by growing to absurdly large bubbles. We sweated if we had enough braised ribs, but it turned out all right. AJ got Cheaters Monopoly, just sayin'. Matt and Papa enjoyed an Old Fashioned using Papa's new spherical ice ball maker. And where were Santa's gift this year?... In the outdoor stairwell by Matt's office. They went undiscovered till well into the afternoon despite the bigs checking about a few times. The bannock and Daou wine, thank you Nipomo, were gone very early (got a head start a couple days before). All the photos are here (including Christmas Eve).

The three littlest boys had dinosaur onesies.

Sandy out-grew here Christmas sweater, so it got cut to fit.

Matt was very excited about his new dollhouse.

Lexi's new doll eats and poops. Fina was a bit grossed out.

Ahhhh, quiet.

The last gift of the day got the best reaction.

A new old-style Nintendo was a huge hit with both generations.

So much so that Tracy dinged her knee.

Matt and Papa finished the day with a gar,
a fire, and watching Youtube videos
about Christmas legends.

Colorado Nutcracker Throne

Tracy and Lynn designed and painted the new throne for Colorado Ballet Society's "Colorado Nutcracker."

Fina atop the throne.

David and Lexi atop the throne.

The family at Pikes Peak Center. Photo by Ted Mehl.

Unexpected Snow Today

California girls Christmas shopping in Colorado. The news said nothing about snow! Let the fun begin!