Jude arrived back from Nepal last Sunday night after an epic trip where he flew from Kathmandu to Delhi, then to Zurich and on to Denver. It took almost 36 hours door to door.

He was tired but in good spirits. He enjoyed his last few days at the National Park and then his two days in Kathmandu before flying out. He made a couple of American friends at the hostel and went out with them and just wandered around the city. He has had a quiet week at home as his body adjusts back to Denver time.

Marcy and Anna with David in downtown Greenville

Meanwhile, Marcy and Anna left first thing on Monday morning to head to Greenville, South Carolina, for Anna’s first college trip. Marcy’s aunt and uncle (who are basically the same age as Marcy) live in Greenville, so Marcy and Anna stayed with them the first night. They both went to Clemson, so they were happy to sell Anna on how great their alma mater is.

Clemson is number one right now

They visited Clemson, Charleston, UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. Of the five colleges, Anna said that Clemson was her favorite. She said NC State was her second favorite. She loved the feel of both campuses, and they also have a great cheerleading program.

Stopping for lunch at the top of the mountain

With Jude still in Nepal, for Father’s Day this year it was just the three of us. I decided we should go for a hike in the mountains so we were out the door by 9am and on the trail just after 9:30am.

With my favorite girl on top of Bergen Peak

We did Bergen Peak, a trail near Evergreen, that is a good challenging hike and not that crowded. Marcy and I did it about 20 years ago but I don’t think we have been back since. It was a hot day but thankfully we had some cloud cover for the second part of the hike. We did the 11.6 miles in around 5 1/2 hours, which included a nice break on top of the mountain for lunch.

Jude with his favorite elephant called Rupa

We hear from Jude most days. He is enjoying his time in Nepal but it is hard work at the Elephant Sanctuary and he is exhausted at the end of the day. He only has two more days and then he spends his last four days in Kathmandu before flying out on Saturday night. We can’t wait to see him when he lands back in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

Just after Jude’s high school graduation ceremony

It was a big week.

Jude graduated from high school, and Anna finished her sophomore year. Then, Jude left for a big end-of-high-school trip to Nepal via Dubai.

His official graduation photo

Getting to the finish line for Jude was not easy as he had a bad case of senioritis. But he buckled down and did what he had to do to make it through. His grandparents drove out from Iowa to be with him which I know he really appreciated.

Jude receiving his high school diploma

The big day was this past Wednesday. He had to be at the DU, where the ceremony was, at 9:30am. We arrived by noon and the ceremony got going at 1pm. As these things go, I thought they did an excellent job. The speeches were good, and not long winded, and they added some nice touches. I particularly liked hearing from the dozen seniors at the end, many of whom came from difficult circumstances around the world.

The celebrations begin as all the graduates throw their caps into the air

The immediate family celebrate with Jude

When it was over we met Jude outside and he was happy, I think it was a relief to get this all over with. Marcy’s cousins, Michele and Tony drove down from Pine and we all gathered for a celebratory dinner of Indian food – Jude’s choice.

I had to take a redeye to NYC on Wednesday night as I was speaking at a conference on Thursday. So, I wasn’t around as Jude got ready for his big three-week trip to Nepal. Luckily, I was able to make it back in time to see him off at the airport.

Jude in Dubai in front of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

He flew from Denver to New York, then to Dubai where he had a 17-hour layover, and on to Kathmandu, Nepal, where he arrived on time early this morning our time. He hooked up with his volunteer group, where he is spending two days for orientation and then on to Chitwan National Park where he will be volunteering at the elephant sanctuary.

All together on Mother’s Day

We had beautiful weather for Mother’s Day this year, warm and 83 degrees. Marcy wanted to spend the day in the yard, like she so often does. So, I went out to get mulch and then we both attacked the back yard garden, with Marcy doing most of the work. For dinner, it was Basil Docs pizza with champagne.

Anna was out most of the day, volunteering at church and then she started a new job at Dunkin’ Donuts. She has been looking for a summer job, having applied to 50 or so before finally landing this one. It was just the first day, but she liked it.

This coming week is Jude’s last day of high school. Hard to believe we are here. His graduation present is a three-week trip to Nepal that he starts at the end of the month. He is volunteering at an elephant shelter there through IVHQ.

Pickles doing what Pickles does

Anna and some teammates with their Peak Performance award, meaning they hit zero on Day 1 of Summit

Marcy and Anna spent most of this week in Orlando for “Summit,” the prestigious end-of-season international competition. Teams have to be invited to compete at Summit, and Anna’s team, Avalanche, was one of those teams, along with around 1,200 other teams from all over the world.

Celebrating with Mom

In cheerleading, there is this concept of “hitting zero,” which basically means you perform a routine with no major mistakes (no falls). Anna’s team had not hit zero all season, but in the last and toughest competition, they had their best performances. That means they qualified for the final day, which Anna had never done before.

Anna with the Bronze Champion banner

Then, they performed even better in their last performance ever as a team. This meant third place, which is a really, really big deal. It means third in the world for your division. Anna and her teammates were over the moon.

On White Ranch’s Belcher Hill Trail

Meanwhile, back in Denver, Jude and I had a good week. Jude did a lot of refereeing but took the day off today, so we went for a hike with Olive to White Ranch Park. It was a gorgeous day here, and it was good to spend some time on the trail.

Birthday dinner at the Ski Tip Lodge in Keystone

It was so fun to get the family together for a long weekend in the mountains. On Friday evening we drove up to Keystone for my birthday weekend.

Skiing the powder with Marcy

Saturday, it snowed all day and it was a little cold and windy but that meant that Sunday was an epic day. We had 8″ of fresh snow on Saturday and Sunday and warm and sunny. The kids wanted to do their own thing so Marcy and I hit the powder on the Outback. It was fantastic,

Marcy and Anna goofing around outside after dinner

My birthday was today but Anna had cheer so we decided to celebrate on Saturday night. We went to the Ski Tip lodge which we had been to a couple of times before but not for many years. It was delicious.

It was a little windy on our winter hike

Today was my birthday and I took the day off work. Marcy and I decided to go hiking along a popular mountain biking/ATV trail. It is popular with snowmobiles and cross country skiers in winter, but today we were the only people on the trail. I decided to leave our snowshoes in the car because I thought it would be hard packed and we wouldn’t need them. I was wrong.

Olive enjoyed the deep snow on our hike

We got about 2.5 miles in and the snow was getting deep. It was windblown and we were postholing up to our waist in some parts. So, we decided to turn home and made a mental note to bring the snowshoes next time.

Celebrating with my birthday pie and one heck of a candle

As I do every year, I chose birthday pie instead of cake. Anna bought a delicious cherry pie and we celebrated in Keystone right before we all drove back home. It was a wonderful long weekend.

Getting a turn at the wheel on the Tall Ship

Robyn and Mark bought us all a trip on one of the old Tall Ships that cruise around Sydney Harbour. I remember them from the big bicentenary celebration in 1988 where they were an integral part of the festivities on the Harbour that day. It was a blast to be on it, particularly when they cut the engine and we just sailed back on the nor-easter.

Jude with the Levitating Gold Man at Circular Quay

We caught the ferry to Circular Quay a few times during our trip. And every time we saw the Levitating Gold Man doing his thing on the east side of the Quay. Jude wanted to tip him and when we did he invited Jude for a photo. We also walked around the Botanic Gardens while we were there and saw them setting up for the big NYE fireworks celebration.

Near Mrs Macquarie’s chair with the iconic Opera House/Bridge view

We had a very interesting New Year’s Eve. First, I played golf with my old mates Tim and Matt (I first played golf with them in the early 1980s) at Wakehurst, a local course. Meanwhile, Marcy and the kids went into the city to visit the Australian Museum and …

That night we had decided to go watch the fireworks at North Head, just like we did two years ago. But Tim had also invited us to watch the fireworks from his house in Seaforth which has beautiful views of the city fireworks. So, after the 9pm show at North Head, we walked back to our place and then drove to Tim’s house for the midnight celebrations.

Midnight fireworks on New Year’s Eve from my friend Tim’s house

A few minutes after we toasted the New Year we noticed that our car wasn’t there. Sure enough, it had been stolen while we were inside celebrating, Anna had left her AirPods in the car so we were able to track the car so we chased the car all around the North Shore but were always 10 minutes behind so we never caught up with them. We called the police but it was a busy night for them. We had left our keys in the car so we had to spend the night at Tim & Jo’s house – they were super helpful during this time. The car was found just before we left and returned to Avis with Anna’s AirPods intact.

Jude learning to surf

Our place came with a surfboard that Jude and Anna both tried but it was not really a beginner’s board. So, we decided to get surfing lessons one day for all four of us. We all got to stand up on these beginner boards and it was a blast. So, we decided to rent boards the following day. Surfing has a steep learning curve but both kids were able to stand up while catching a wave at least a couple of times.

Anna catching a wave

On our last night we decided to eat at the Pantry Restaurant which is right on the beach. It opened in 2010 (in the old Beach House that was built in 1919) and so we have been past it literally hundreds of times over the last 14 years on our stays in Manly. We have always been curious about it and so we decided to give it a go. The food was excellent but the view is what enamored me. We were able to get a window table with the best view in Manly.

Our last night in Manly, dining at The Pantry

The two weeks were over too fast. We had a fantastic time. The weather was perfect, we loved catching up with friends and family and enjoyed our beach time every day. The Manly to Shelly Beach ocean swim was done numerous times, including on our last morning where it was a picture perfect sunrise.