Ice Castles

January has been long...and cold...and it has been tough to get too excited about most outdoor activities, but once we told the kids that we had plans to go to the Ice Castles in Midway, that was all they could talk about for days.  We headed up to Midway on a perfect day, cold, but clear and sunny. 

As soon as we arrived the kids ran right in and it was tough to get them to slow down at all for a picture.  I finally had to pull the mom card to get everyone to pose for a few. 

Of course the slides are the best part of the whole adventure.  Luke and Ruby tried each slide several times and even convinced Tim and I to go down the biggest slide with them.  It was funny because when we were driving home Luke said that he liked the slides, but didn't like that they were so much smaller this time.  We tried explaining that he was so much bigger than he was when we last went two years ago, but he was convinced the creators just made the slides smaller this time. 

We arrived when it was light which was perfect to see all the details, then stayed till it was dark when the lights came on and the whole thing looked truly magical.  More than anything, I just loved watching Luke and Ruby explore and discover a whole new world made of ice. 

And of course, it was the perfect excuse for hot chocolate.

On our way out they were still finding snow banks to conquer.