Ice Castles

Last weekend we braved the cold, wet weather, and went to Midway to see the Ice Castles.  I was excited to see what had been created from the ice.  The kids mostly wanted to see the princesses.  We had been telling the kids for a few days that Elsa and Ana would be there and they couldn't even nap the day we were going because they were so excited.  Ruby had been telling us that she was going to give them a hug and a love and all of the fun they would have.  But the minute she had a chance to interact with them, she got completely shy and completely clung to my legs.  The princesses were so sweet and really tried to get her to talk to them but she did not budge.  In fact, I'm just happy we got pictures of her standing near them.  Don't worry though, she apparently still had a great time.  She spent the rest of the time talking about how fun it was to see the princesses and routinely stares at the pictures murmuring "so beautiful".  Luke was apparently a little disappointed by the whole encounter because Elsa didn't have icicles coming out of her hands.  

I had seen lots of pictures from other people's trips to the castles but I really didn't know what to expect.  I was amazed at how large it was and all that had been done with some sprinklers and water. It's funny though because every time I hear about the Ice Castles, I can't help but think of the movie from the 80's named Ice Castles about the blind ice skater.  I used to play the theme song (Through the Eyes of Love) on the piano and thanks to this excursion, I have the song permanently on repeat in my brain and can't seem to get rid of it.  

The kids loved exploring the caverns and tunnels and gave the perfect responses by being so impressed with everything we saw.  If I thought it was cool, I can only imagine what their little minds thought.  

They had two different slides.  The was the smaller of the two, but it was perfect for Luke to climb up and go down repeatedly.  Ruby wasn't so sure.  She was fine until she got to the tunnel right before the entrance and then she wanted to bail.  Tim eventually just had to put her up on the slide in a place that she could at least have a little fun.  

Never miss a chance for a selfie.

 

We stayed until the lights started to come on.  After admiring the lights for a bit, we all realized how cold it was and decided it was time to head out to the car.  After getting rid of all of our wet clothes, we drove back down the canyon and stopped for a family date at Milagros.  It was definitely an adventure worth repeating.