Anna with her instructor at skateboard camp

Ever since Marcy first mentioned the idea to Anna about skateboard camp she has been very excited about it. And the camp lived up to her expectations. It was just two hours a day but Anna had a blast. Even when she had a bad fall one day she still loved it and wanted to go back for more. Now, I guess, we will have to get her her own skateboard.

Jude decided not to do skateboard camp – instead he kept his tennis lessons going which he is really enjoying as well. Jude has become quite the sports kid this summer. We play soccer in the driveway every day and then Jude does tennis and golf lessons pretty much every week. And being in the mountains we have thrown hiking into the mix as often as possible.

On the Tenderfoot Mountain trail overlooking Lake Dillon

We have done quite a lot of hiking here this summer and once they get going the kids love it. But sometimes convincing them to go for a hike or even to keep hiking once we have started can sometimes be a battle. Today they both complained they were tired after about 10 minutes but then proceeded to run for a lot of the next 90 minutes. They are certainly getting stronger with all this exercise.

A roaring fire in our driveway with wood collected by Jude and Anna

We got out the fire pit this week for the first time in Keystone. Marcy had the kids collect some wood. We cooked some hotdogs and then, of course, roasted marshmallows to make s’mores. Always a big hit with the kids.

I had a “Jude and Daddy date” this week and Jude wanted to do the exact same thing that I did with Anna. Head to Breckenridge and go on the roller coaster there. So, we did that and then went out to dinner for a burger and strawberry shortcake. While we were doing that Anna and Marcy headed down to Keystone Lake for some Stand Up Paddle boarding.

Marcy and Anna on Keystone Lake doing Stand Up Paddleboarding

Jude trying to catch something in his net at Lily Pad Lake

After two previous attempts we finally made it to Lily Pad Lake. It was a simple one hour hike to the lake from the correct trailhead. What a place. The kids loved the lake we came to because it had thousands and thousands of lily pads. The main Lily Pad Lake had far fewer lily pads but was great for swimming. Both Jude and Anna gave it a try.

Jude and Anna take a dip in Lily Pad Lake

Jude and Anna had their second week of camp this past week and they both loved it. They seemed to enjoy it even more than their first week of camp. They both asked if they could go to camp again this week. The Keystone Science School, where the camp is located, do a great job and there were never any complaints about going in the mornings.

The tooth fairy was busy this week. Anna lost her second tooth one day at camp, she proudly came home one afternoon clutching it in a little baggie. Then nonchalantly at dinner on Friday night Jude announced that he lost a tooth that day. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to save it but we could see the gap in his mouth as plain as day.

Anna loses her second tooth, just two weeks after losing her first

It has been months since the last Anna and Daddy date. So, I decided to do something about it this weekend and took Anna on a date to Breckenridge. They have a great kids area there, more extensive than Keystone’s, and being Sunday afternoon it was not crowded at all. Anna did the bounce house, the maze, the climbing wall and the bungee, but the highlight was definitely the roller coaster. It is a pretty cool ride – you can go in pairs and you get to control how fast you want to go. Of course, Anna wanted to go as fast as possible. We topped the afternoon off with a lovely dinner at Seven’s at the base of Peak Seven.

Going up the hill on the roller coaster at Breckenridge on an Anna and Daddy date

Anna in the sandbox at the Mexican restaurant – buried by her cousins

This week started off with the Dahlens still in Keystone. Nathan and I squeezed in one last round of golf and then it was off to the Mexican restaurant for the final dinner before they headed back to Des Moines. This place is great in summer because they have an outdoor area for the grownups to sit and chat while all the kids play in the sandbox.

Anna and Chloe both just fit under the counter in the kitchen still

When the Dahlens left on Tuesday morning it was back to our normal Keystone routine. This means tennis lessons on Tuesday, golf lessons on Wednesday and then tennis lessons again on Thursday. Then, of course, there was the world cup soccer happening on TV. Jude is so into sports these days – we spent some time every day playing with the soccer ball. We have made a goal in the driveway and we have these epic “World Cup” matches where he chooses a team to play for and I usually play for Australia.

Keeping with the sports theme this week we came down to Denver on Thursday afternoon to check on the house (not much progress unfortunately). I worked all day Friday and then Friday night we all went to a Rockies game. Jude wanted to stay to the very end and he was delighted that the Rockies won.

At the Rockies baseball game

We made it back up to Keystone on Saturday afternoon. Marcy and I both commented about how glad we were to get back up here. It is so nice and relaxing here in summer, and Denver felt hot and dirty, particularly staying downtown. It is cool, clear, uncrowded and quiet up here. We have resolved to spend as much time as we can up here every summer.

It gets dark so late we decided to light the sparklers even though it was still light out

The kids love driving around in the Mini with Grandpa

We have had quite the full week here in Keystone. Jude, Anna and Lily had camp this week at the Keystone Science School. It was a gold mining theme at camp and all three kids enjoyed it. Anna was a little disappointed because Jude and Lily were in the same camp group and she had to go by herself with people she did not know. But she didn’t complain after the first day and was happy going off to camp each day.

Anna, Jude and Lily on their last day of camp at the Keystone Science School

We had a major milestone occur this week that none of us were quite expecting. Anna lost her first tooth. She was opening something for Lily with her teeth when it just fell out. She was so excited and proud, particularly having her extended family there. Anna carried her tooth around everywhere that evening and unfortunately lost it somewhere in the thick carpet of our bedroom. We looked and looked but couldn’t find it. Lily had the great idea of replacing it with a little pebble about the same size and then writing a letter to the Tooth Fairy explaining what happened. And sure enough there was $2 on Anna’s bedside table in the morning.

Anna losing her first tooth

This week, of course, was July 4th and we did the usual kids bike parade at River Run at Keystone. We all rode our bikes over and got them decorated in red, white and blue. The kids were raring to go by 11am and they did many laps of the bike circuit.

Lily and Jude ready to go in the July 4th bike parade at Keystone

Before the bike parade Marcy took the kids down to the Dillon Farmer’s Market for some yummy crepes.

Anna and Chloe enjoy their strawberry and cream crepe

One of the themes of this week as far as Jude is concerned was soccer. He is really into the World Cup and he watched a couple of games with me in their entirety. Then every morning he would ask who was playing that day. And he would ask for scoring updates throughout the day. Then we would go outside and play our own game of soccer. We would use the garage as one goal and then we placed two stones at the end of the driveway to mark the other goal.

Jude showing his style and focus during our driveway soccer match

We also took advantage of some of the Colorado outdoors this week. Nathan and I played several rounds of golf and we also enjoyed some hiking in the mountains.

Hiking on the Lily Pad Lake trail near Keystone

It has been quite the busy week and the kids have all gotten along really well for the most part, so it was good to end the week with a quiet movie.

Anna, Chloe, Lily, Ella and Jude enjoy a movie in bed