OK, it hasn’t exactly been a winter wonderland the past six weeks or so. This has to be one of the mildest winters I can remember. It seems like every week we hit at least 60 at least once. We’ve even reached into the seventies a couple of times. It’s been grand, though I do like snow. Even though, with the three small girls, it’s much easier to let them slip into their Crocs, put on a light fleece jacket, and head out the door, rather than donning boots, a heavy coat, gloves, and a hat. Phew! Just writing the list of winter wear makes me exhausted.
We’ve been busy with activities almost every weekend since Christmas. Besides the snowshoeing, we finally renewed our membership at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and have already visited three times including today. I have taken the girls twice so that Bruce could work on homework. One of the times, we went to the Planetarium for the first time, seeing some Zulu animated adventure to learn about the planets. Mythili’s career goals at the moment, heavily influenced by her favorite exhibit, Space Odyssey, are to be an astronaut/painter. She wants to paint while she’s in space. Isabella wants to be an artist like Grandma. Needless to say, they all loved the show there and the neverending round screen.
We also participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. “marade” for the first time this year. Marade is a combination of the words parade and march, and was actually coined by the former mayor’s wife, Wilma Webb. The Denver marade is the largest MLK event in the country. We decided to participate this year because the temperature was 65 degrees. We met at City Park next to the MLK statue and walked downtown along Colfax Avenue to Civic Center Park, 2.1 miles. This time, I just took Mythili and Isabella and the umbrella stroller, so they took turns riding in it. It was a beautiful day, full of friendly faces of all colors and walks of life, and happy onlookers cheered us on. As we walked, I told them all about Martin Luther King and his influence on history, as well as pointing out a bit of Denver’s historical buildings and the importance of Colfax, the longest uninterrupted city street in the nation. The girls didn’t whine a bit, especially when I piled them on top of each other for the 2.1 mile trip UP capitol hill on the way back and bribed them with a stop at Lik’s, the SECOND best homemade ice cream in the city (nothing can beat Bonnie Brae). I have to admit, after the beautiful walk and the subsequent trip to the zoo that was having a free day, it really made me miss living in Denver. I miss all those old neighborhoods and being so close to the huge parks with their gigantic trees, the cultural facilities, and just… the urban atmosphere. Despite my early childhood upbringing in a small town, I have really decided that I am a city girl.
Yesterday and Friday, we celebrated Isabella’s sixth birthday, though the official date is Tuesday. This year, she had her neighbor friend Kiara spend the night. We took everyone out to Cici’s Pizza, not my favorite place, but exorbitantly affordable. The kids love the buffet and the balloon lady. Then we came home, they watched the new Tinkerbell movie, and went to bed SUPER late (10 o’clock). The next morning, they went over to Kiara’s for chocolate chip pancakes and then came back for us to go to Skate City. Isabella, an amateur skater, just liked to dance around in the middle of the rink underneath the spinning mirror ball. We then came home and had a nice crockpot meal of smoked paprika chicken with broccoli and acorn squash on the side. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for lunch and the “red” Waldorf cake. Isabella loved her presents of dresses (especially the “spinny” dress Grandma bought), the colored pencil drawing of the little girl under an umbrella, and some over-the-shoes roller skates which she put on promptly this morning, rolling across the main level floor and waking up Bruce and I.
So, she’s six… soon to be fifteen! She’s already full of sass, independence, and is not afraid to talk back. But she also still likes me to read her stories, cuddle with me on the couch, and is still a bit frightened about going to a friend’s house alone. I just can’t believe how quickly they grow.
Meanwhile, Bruce and I have been super busy. He is taking 11 credits and has class 3 nights a week. I recently started training for a new part-time job at the University of Phoenix Online. My evenings are now fully dedicated to online forums and assignments, while he is either gone or working on homework. We’re both looking forward to the end of the school year when we can just breathe… gotta love the teaching schedule. 
Our winter wonderland has hardly felt like winter at all. Can’t wait till spring, especially since in Denver, March is the snowiest month. Gotta love the paradoxical city of my heart.
