The tradition dates back more than a decade, back when Nicole’s uncle, Marc Cadez, owned the house. Nicole says the blue lights started in 2006. Back then, there were just 39,700 lights total.

“This was his baby—the house and the Christmas lights,” Robert says of Cadez, whose favorite holiday was Christmas.

“I think he did it because everybody enjoyed it. He didn’t do it because he wanted to be recognized; he did it because everybody loved it,” Nicole says. “He brought joy and happiness to everybody who came and looked at them. And he loved Christmas.”

Cadez passed away in April of 2019. Nicole inherited the home, as well as the lights. Cadez’s will dictated that the light show continue for at least two years after his death. 2020 was the second year.

“As long as we’re here, we will continue to put them up,” Nicole said in 2020. “He was like a second father to me. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for everybody. He would give you the shirt off his back if he had to. He just had a great heart.”

Setting up the light show takes about 10 weeks. The Quintanas start building out the installation on September 11, and they leave it up from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. The lights are on from 5 to 11 p.m. each night and from 4 to 7 a.m. every morning for people commuting to work (the house is visible from the interstate).

“With all this COVID going around, it’s something positive for us to look forward to,” Robert explained, "for everybody to come out and just have a good time and enjoy it.”

Brian Willie is the Content Production Manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.