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National Museum of WWII Aviation

Published February 21, 2018 by Carrie in Home & Family, Things To Do & See

It’s not often included on lists of “must-dos in Colorado Springs”, but if you have a WWII or aviation buff in your family, you should definitely check out the National Museum of World War II Aviation here in the Springs. It’s located next to the Colorado Springs Airport, and recently I had the chance to check it out with my son and two of his friends. (I suspected that an aviation museum was probably not going to interest my four girls, so I swapped kids with a friend for a morning.)

The museum hosts many restored WWII-era planes, and the boys were constantly spouting out strings of letters and numbers: “Oh look, there’s a P-130-F!” I totally made that string up, but it was nice to know that they actually do absorb some information after the hours they’ve spent poring over military history books!

Paint Mines Interpretive Park

Published January 3, 2018 by Carrie in Home & Family

Paint Mines Interpretive Park was on my to-hike list for most of 2017, but I intentionally waited until autumn to take the kids there, knowing that there would be no shade and that it could be quite warm in the summer. Because of this, I think it could be a great winter hike as long as you go on a day that’s not windy.

Merry Christmas!

Published December 19, 2017 by Carrie in Expired, Home & Family

I hope all of you have joyful celebrations with your families, and that the joy continues throughout the year with the joy and peace that only Christ can give. Merry Christmas from the Isaac family and our team at Circa Real Estate Group!

Springs Bargains will be on Christmas break for the rest of December, but I’ll be back in January. I’ll leave you with some photos from our annual pick-your-own-Christmas-tree event that we held for our clients and business partners on Thanksgiving weekend. This event is quickly becoming a highlight of the Christmas season for our family and company. It was fun to meet some of you who are blog readers and now clients as well!

Helen Hunt Falls/Silver Cascade Falls Hike

Published December 5, 2017 by Carrie in Home & Family, Things To Do & See

Colorado has so many beautiful winter days that are warm enough for getting outdoors that I’m going to be publishing a few fun hikes that we’ve done recently even though I know hiking is the last thing on most people’s brains in December. It just feels so good to get outside and be active in God’s creation that I want to encourage you to put on a few layers of clothing and do it!

We recently visited Helen Hunt Falls – which is not a hike at all; you park right at the base – and then took the trail up to Silver Cascade Falls. Though the water is low at this time of year, it was still an enjoyable, easy hike that got us out in the fresh air and gave us some great views.

Family Favorite Recipe: Sichuan Green Beans

Published July 31, 2017 by Carrie in Home & Family

I made Cook’s Illustrated’s Sichuan Green Beans quite a few years ago, and it’s been a family favorite ever since. Actually, that’s not true – it is now a family favorite but it was one of those recipes that I had to serve multiple times before my kids started to like it. Now they love it!

It involves a slightly spicy sauce with blackened green beans and ground pork or beef, with lots of ginger and garlic. We eat it over short grain brown rice, and I love that it’s a pretty simple meal but with lots of vegetable matter. I once told a friend who’d been to China that I didn’t really know if it was authentic or not since I’ve never had it elsewhere, but she said she thought it tasted pretty legit!

I’ve modified the recipe a bit from the original, so here’s how I fix it for my family of seven: [Read more…] about Family Favorite Recipe: Sichuan Green Beans

Breckenridge’s Fairy Forest Hike (Detailed Directions)

Published July 21, 2017 by Carrie in Home & Family, Things To Do & See

We recently spent a few days in Breckenridge with my sister and her family, and took a fun hike to the “Fairy Forest”, which is one of the top things you’ll find if you search for things to do with kids in Breckenridge. Our kids, especially the girls ages 5-10, really loved the Fairy Forest and their excitement as they discovered new fairy houses along the trail was really cute.

We spent quite awhile trying to find the trail to the Fairy Forest, and apparently we weren’t the only ones, as we encountered more than a few other families asking if we knew the way.

I thought I’d share more detailed directions to the Fairy Forest than we were able to find, with the hope of helping other families find the right trail rather than wandering around taking dead-end trails like we did! So, keep reading for detailed instructions, photos of the entire hike, info on parking, and GPS coordinates. (Yes, it seems like a bit of overkill but we sure wish we’d had it when we were hiking with our small people!) At the end I’ll also share a couple of other fun things we did with the kids in Breck.

Why My Freezer Contains Glow Sticks

Published July 5, 2017 by Carrie in Home & Family

A friend taught me this trick last year and while it probably would have been good to share this before the 4th of the July, the day after is the best I can do.? If you put glow sticks in the freezer, they last a long time.

I bought red, white, and blue glow stick wands at Dollar Tree for 4th of July last year, and I took the tip from my friend and stuck them in the freezer after we’d used them on the 4th. My kids would get them out and play with them over the next few evenings, and then put them back in the freezer, and they kept glowing for a long time. I don’t recall exactly how long, but it was close to a week with repeated usage. We’re doing it again this year to stretch out the 4th of July fun!

I know some moms might be dying to get rid of glow sticks as soon as possible so I promise I won’t tell this to your kids. But if you want to prolong the fun, try putting them in your freezer after each use!

The Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls, and Toys

Published June 23, 2017 by Carrie in Home & Family, Things To Do & See

After a visit to the Denver Mint and Hammond’s Candy Factory, we made our final stop at the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls, and Toys. I’m not sure I would have heard of this museum except for the fact that they do a pay-what-you-can admission day once a month so I’ve been including that on the monthly free admission days post for quite awhile.

This museum is located in an historic home near Denver’s City Park, so for me it was as much an architectural tour as a toy museum.

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