Probably the most scenic kids playground in Colorado – by Lake Dillon

We have settled in now to Keystone. We have been here two weeks and we are all enjoying the extended stay in the mountains. This past week Jude and Anna did tennis lessons and golf lessons which they both enjoyed. They had a couple more visits to the kids area for some bungee jumping on the trampoline and mining for minerals. We have been riding our bikes around, we also did some hiking and Jude and Anna tried their hand at fishing.

Jude trying his luck fishing in Lake Dillon but the fish weren’t biting

Yesterday we went on a long family hike. After watching some World Cup soccer in the morning we had a hearty lunch before heading up Angler Mountain. This was a 5-mile hike up and back with 1,200 feet of elevation gain – it was rated moderate. Jude and Anna did great, making it past the two-mile mark up the mountain before we turned back. They were both troopers, particularly Jude who ran the last mile back to the car with Marcy.

Anna looking good on our hike yesterday

Halfway up the Angler Mountain hike near Silverthorne

Yesterday was very exciting for Jude and Anna. They had been talking about it for weeks. It was the day that Grandpa, Baba and Lily arrived in Keystone. By the time we arrived back from our hike they were already in our driveway having just arrived before us. All three kids were thrilled to see each other and have been playing together almost nonstop since then. Lily came out early with Baba and Grandpa so all three kids can go to the Keystone Science School camp next week.

Jude and Anna were very enamored with Lily’s iPad

On Father’s Day we went for a hike along Cherry Creek – a jungle in the heart of the city

It has been a busy last two weeks. We are getting some major renovations done on our house, so in the last two weeks we have moved most of our furniture out of the house and into a storage unit. We spent two nights in a hotel in Denver before heading up to our place in Keystone where we will be spending most of our time this summer.

One of the kids’ favorite things to do in Keystone is the bungee trampoline. We have bought them a season pass for all the activities and we have probably already got our money’s worth. Jude is now doing triple back flips on the bungee and Anna has mastered the single back flip.

Anna and Jude on the bungee trampoline in Keystone

Every Friday afternoon Keystone provides free gondola rides to the top of the mountain where they have a live band, games and dinner. It was a glorious afternoon this past Friday so we took advantage of it. Jude and Anna were not into the band or the games – they loved playing on the snow despite the fact that Jude was wearing his crocs and Anna her flip flops.

Anna and Jude on the top of a snow bank at the top of Keystone mountain

One of the things that both Marcy and I like to do is go for hikes. We both intend to take advantage of this a lot while we are in Keystone this summer. We have a great short hike directly behind the condo which we will be taking turns to do on many days. Then we also want to get the kids out hiking as well. Marcy took them on a 5-mile hike this past week and both kids were strong the whole way, with snacks along the way, of course.

Jude stopping for a a berry snack wile on a hike this past week

This weekend we had the Fergusons visiting us in Keystone. The kids had a blast together, it was a good break from hanging out with just the two of them. All four kids were very sad to say goodbye this evening.

The Ferguson and Renton kids playing by the lake in Keystone Village

Anna outside her school on the last day before summer vacation

Summer vacation has officially started. Anna had her last day of school on Thursday and Jude on Friday. The whole family went to the school Rose Ceremony on Friday that marks the last day of the school year.

First grade has been a big year for Jude. For the most part he has loved his school and his teacher and he has made some fantastic progress this year. To mark the end of this big year the first grade play a major role in a Rose Ceremony that is attended by the entire school.

At the beginning of the school year every first grader is paired up with an eighth grader to help them navigate this new world. The eighth grader presents their first grade buddy with a rose. They have a sit down lunch together every week and form quite a bond over the course of the year. Then on the last day the first grader presents their eighth grader with a rose as a thank you for all they have done this past year, and to send the eighth grader off to high school. It was a cute but also a moving ceremony with lots of tears flowing.

Jude playing in the new kids area at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

We have been going to the Museum of Nature & Science for over five years now. Both kids still love the place and they have just opened a new wing with a great new kids area. They had a member preview earlier this week so Marcy took both Jude and Anna along to check it out.

Anna getting some pink highlights in her hair

Anna had a haircut this week, going to Marcy’s regular hairdresser Shannon. She felt so grown up going there particularly with some pink highlights Shannon put in her hair. And then the next day Marcy reapplied the pink highlights for a birthday party Anna attended.

Speaking of being grown up Anna really wanted to get some regular shoes with laces. These are her new favorite shoes now, wearing them everywhere. She loves to tie her shoe laces now, she even showed Jude how to do it. Although he still shows little interest in such things.

This is the last week in our house before the builders come to do some major renovations. We are moving out on Saturday as the movers come to put all our furniture into storage. We will stay in a hotel in Denver for a couple of nights before heading up to Keystone.

Anna feeding the rainbow lorikeets at the Denver zoo

When we were living in Sydney in 2012 we had rainbow lorikeets visit our balcony all the time. Jude often enjoyed feeding them. Being native to Australia we don’t see these birds in Denver….except at the zoo. So, in our trip to the zoo yesterday both Anna and Jude spent a lot of time feeding these beautiful birds.

Jude, partially hidden under his new hat, giving the lorikeets some lunch

After all the rain of the past couple of weeks it was great to have a fine and sunny weekend. And we had quite the busy weekend. After tooling around the house on Saturday morning Jude said he would really like to go to the zoo. It was such a beautiful day we decided to ride our bikes spending several hours there. Then in the afternoon there was an end of school party at a friend of Anna’s house so we all went to that. They had an inflatable water slide and a trampoline so both kids went non-stop the whole time we were there.

Today Jude had football at noon (one hour practice then a game) so we decided to head out for Sunday brunch. Again, we rode our bikes to Solera, just six blocks away, and had a delicious meal. Then it was off to football, still on bikes. Jude is still loving it so much. And today, he scored on a pass play for a two-point conversion – he caught the ball from the quarterback and had to evade two defenders to score. He was thrilled.

Then, as has become customary after football, we went to the museum. The field is directly across the street so it makes it a very easy trip. Then it was back home to fire up the grill and, of course, more football. Not to be left out I played some softball with Anna and then after dinner we went riding around the block.

A big weekend – they should sleep soundly tonight.

Last Monday, being Memorial Day, we went to Elitch’s for the first time this year. It was crowded but the kids enjoyed the rides and were so well behaved they earned themselves some ice cream.

Enjoying their ice cream at Elitch’s