Since we've no place to go ...

While Monday's blizzard brought most of the area to a crawl, there were a few adventurous souls willing to brave the winter weather.

We caught up with a few of them:

Rick Thomas sat in his wheelchair eating a ham sandwhich in the parking lot of the Foxy Drive-in. The drive in was closed, but they still made the disabled Desert Storm Veteran a sandwich.

"I didn't think too much of what they're calling a blizzard today," Thomas said. "Storms like this were common on the Colorado plains where I grew up."

He expressed his happiness for the farmers while he ate his sandwich.

"I don't know if it'll break the drought, but it'll be real advantageous."

He said when he first went outside, he tried using his walker, but it was too slippery so he used his wheelchair to make the five-block trip to the drive-in.

He said wanted to get out of the house and enjoy being outside even if it was cold and snowy.

• • •

The towering snowman at the corner of Redwood and Beta streets was no simple task to build. It took 10 adults two hours to finalize the nearly 8-foot tall snowman.

CNJ staff photo: Kevin Baird

This snowman measured in at 7-foot-8. It was made by Danny and Lorena Sanchez, Isaac Garcia, Josh and Rosario Regalado, Marta Quiroz, Juan and Elicia Garcia, and Josh and Dalia Garcia.

"We didn't have anything better to do," said Danny Sanchez, the property owner.

They started out building an average-sized, snowman but when the middle section was added to the bottom-section it broke and fell off. That's when the construction crew's approach changed. They got shovels out and started packing the snow. They wanted to make a huge snowman.

Other than kids throwing snowballs, at them, these adults had no help from their children. They used a green chile for the nose, limes for eyes, rocks for teeth, and pinecones for shirt buttons.

Those involved in the project were Danny and Lorena Sanchez, Isaac Garcia, Josh and Rosario Regalado, Marta Quiroz, Juan and Elicia Garcia and Josh and Dalia Garcia.

• • •

The Baize kids made the most of their snow day.

CMI staff photo: Kevin Baird

Alyssa Baize, 7, ducks as she has a snowball fight with her brother, Matthew Baize, 10, in the family's front yard Tuesday afternoon.

They spent nearly the whole day outside having snowball fights, wrestling and building snowmen. In the late afternoon, the kids were still roughhousing in the snow with high energy.

"No. We aren't cold," 7-year Alyssa Baize said before running back into the yard to throw snowballs at her 10 year-old brother Matthew. Alyssa chased him down and tackled her brother, dropping him into the snow.

Veronica Baize, 14, was excited to sleep in and not practice for drill squad at Marshall Middle School. She went outside in her shorts and tank-top, but after nearly half an hour she opted for jeans and a winter parka.

• • •

Robby Ruiz, a 35-year-old with special needs, woke up and told his aunt Dejon Ruiz they needed to build an Abraham Lincoln snowman; Lincoln is Robby's hero.

"In the past when it's snowed there hasn't been enough." Dejon said.

It took them about an hour to build the Abraham Lincoln sculpture. Dejon helped him roll the snowballs, but Robby did most the work.

The snow wasn't all fun and games for the Ruiz family. Dejon Ruiz said she couldn't go out her front door Monday morning because a snow drift had jammed her door, so she went out her garage door and shoveled for half an hour until she could open her front door. She would shovel snow two more times that day.