Jude watching the girls state field hockey championship at All-City Stadium

On Thursday of this week it was cold and a little snowy. But we could hear the announcer at the local stadium, it is less than two blocks away, and Jude rememberd it was the girls State Field Hockey Championship. So, we put on our ski gear and all went over to check it out. It was fun watching the game although Anna and Marcy left at the start of the second half. Jude wanted to stay to the end and it went double overtime and then a penalty shoot-out. There was a decent crowd with lots of high school kids but it was 9:15pm by the time it was all over.

Anna’s soccer team after their undefeated season

On Friday afternoon we had the Fall Festival at the school with a bunch of fun activities for the kids including a Haunted House. They both got dressed up in their Halloween gear for the occasion. Saturday, as it has been every week for the past two months, was all about soccer. Jude was excited because he got called up to the next level, the “white” team. He has been on the Blue team since he started in competitive soccer over a year ago and he was excited to be moving up a level. He played well and his team won 6-0. in the afternoon Anna’s team came from behind to tie the game and kept their undefeated season intact.

On Saturday night Anna had her very first sleepover with some school friends. She had a little trepidation but was overall excited to go. We did say she could call at any time and she decided to do just that around midnight. She wanted to come home because the other kids would not go to sleep. So, Marcy drove over to get her, luckily it was a short drive. She was back in her bed quickly and slept in until after 9am this morning.

Jude relaxing on the hammock at home with his “sparks” also know as sparkling water

Sunday morning Jude had an indoor soccer tournament at the Rapids new facility. Called futsal, this version of indoor soccer has no walls and is played on artificial turf. Called the Community Cup the entire Rapids U11 league turned out for this game. Jude played on a team with some really great players and they were unlucky not to make it through to the finals.

Anna carving her pumpkin in the kitchen

Today, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch where Jude and Anna picked out their pumpkins. As soon as we got home Anna started work on hers, doing it all by herself. Jude was still into soccer so he went into the backyard and played against the wall most of the afternoon. We did take a break to run around the park. Jude and I actually had a race, it is about half a mile, and he beat me for the first time. While I can still beat him in a sprint he is a faster runner than me now over any kind of distance.

Anna doing Aerial Gymnastics at the birthday party

In Anna’s class they do group birthday celebrations by season. So, this afternoon the class celebrated the fall birthdays, with five kids including Anna celebrating their birthday. We booked out this aerial gymnastics place which was pretty cool. You get to hang on these silk ropes and go upside down. Anna wants to do it now on a regular basis (and so does Marcy).

Anna and Marcy get ready for their bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge

Anna turned 9 a couple of weeks ago and like we did with Jude, Anna got to go on a big trip to celebrate. She decided on San Francisco. So, on Friday right after school Marcy and Anna headed to the airport. Anna wanted to ride a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, so on Saturday morning they rented bikes and did just that.

Anna kicking back on their tandem bike

They ended up on this epic 22 mile bike ride from Fisherman’s Wharf, across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and around to Tiburon. There they caught the ferry right at sunset back to Pier 41.

Sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge from the ferry

Today, they walked to Chinatown where they saw how fortune cookies were made, had freshly made pot stickers and enjoyed the shops. And then they caught the open air bus to see many of the other sites of the city.

Anna with her Chinatown purchases in Golden Gate Park

Meanwhile, Jude had a sleepover with a school friend on Friday night. It was strange having the whole house to myself for the first time in over a decade. Saturday, after I picked Jude up we played some soccer in the park and then went to play mini golf.

Jude at the Halloween-themed Colorado Journey mini golf course

Today, was all about sports. Jude and I watched Arsenal play soccer in the morning. Then he had his soccer match, where he played really well even though his team lost. We came home and watched the Broncos game and then this evening went to our local sports bar to watch the first half of Sunday night football. Jude loved it.

Anna and Jude with their giant fortune cookies from San Francisco

Anna and Marcy returned home tonight from their trip. Anna loved telling us about her adventures and showing off the things she bought including these huge fortune cookies.

Anna doing her daily cello practice with a great morning hairdo.

It was a short school week with the kids on a four day weekend for Fall break. I was in London for our annual Europe conference and I missed the first snowfall of the season with a couple of inches falling on Monday. We decided not to go away for the long weekend and just have some time at home. But before the weekend, on Thursday night, we went to see Jude’s fifth grade play, The Ramayana. They have been working on it for over a month and it came together quite well. Jude did great. He nailed all his lines and was confident throughout.

Jude doing a monologue in his school play

On Friday the kids had a busy day. They went to the zoo in the morning and out to Chatfield Botanic Gardens for the corn maze in the afternoon where they also had some other fun activities. Saturday was soccer day with Jude playing early and Anna playing late. By the time Anna’s game came around it was cold and very windy. I think it was the windiest it has ever been for a soccer game so Anna was dressed for it, while the parents all froze on the sidelines.

Anna playing soccer on a cold and windy day

Sunday was a beautiful day, although it started off quite chilly. We had decided to go for a hike but we waited until the afternoon when it was warmer. We found this beautiful hike, less than 30 minutes from our house. It was a solid 5+ mile hike gaining over 1,000 feet of vertical that took over three hours. The kids did great and I found myself not even able to keep up with them on the way down.

Hiking at Mt. Galbraith Park in Golden

We promised the kids ice cream if they completed the hike. So, after dinner we went to Glacier where Jude had his new favorite: a root beer float.

Jude enjoying his root beer float at Glacier

Reed and Jude singing Happy Birthday to Anna

As usual we had been building up to Anna’s birthday as soon as the month turned to October, Anna’s birthday month. We got an early start to the real celebrations as Marcy baked a carrot cake yesterday and with Reed doing a sleepover at our house we decided to start on cake last night. It was delicious.

Anna woke up early on her birthday and was greeted with lots of presents (it is still dark outside)

We wanted to get an early start on Anna’s birthday because Jude had a soccer game at 9am and Anna wanted to do go-kart racing which also started at 9am. Anna and Reed were up well before dawn with Anna understandably excited. She opened her presents and then it was off to “berries and cream” (Original Pancake House) for breakfast. We used to go here for birthdays when the kids were little but it has been a few years.

Blowing out her pancake candles at breakfast

After breakfast we went our separate ways with Anna and Reed heading to Unger Racing for a morning of go-kart racing. They have both done this several times before and it is what Anna really wanted to do on her birthday. They had a blast going around in four different races.

Anna leading with Reed in hot pursuit

Unfortunately, I had to leave around lunch time to head to the airport. We have our Europe conference starting in London on Monday and I had to leave. Anna and I were both pretty sad about it but I was grateful to celebrate at least half her birthday with her.

[From Marcy]: In the afternoon Anna had her soccer game where they won the game, and then she got to go home with a teammate for an impromptu playdate.

On Sunday the celebration continued for Anna when a friend invited her to go zip-lining in Castle Rock. It worked out very well, since Jude’s team made it to the tournament final and had a game at 1pm. They played a great game, but lost to come in second place. We went out for ice cream after the game though, and the kids really did have a great time.

Anna makes pancakes now all by herself

Anna has been mixing the batter on pancakes for years. But today she did all the steps by herself – she got out all the ingredients, plugged in the griddle and poured the batter on. And of course she flipped. The end result: delicious. Anna likes to cook and we love this newfound skill.

Walking by the Australian Embassy in Washington DC

I was on a business trip this week to Washington DC and San Francisco speaking at two different events. It is the first time I have ever flown coast to coast, the funniest thing was I flew right over Denver on my way to SF.

Anna getting a cute new look

This weekend Jude’s soccer was canceled but Anna had her game and her team had another good win. Then I took Anna to get her haircut where she got a bit of a new look. Very cute in my opinion. Saturday night Marcy and I had a date night – we went to a “Grease” themed school fundraiser at a garage. It was actually really cool with a lot of old 50’s, 60’s and 70’s cars.

Jude and me going through his lines for his fifth grade play

Today was a quiet day. we stayed home and I even got to read the newspaper. I made some green chili, we went to the gym and watched the Broncos game. Jude had to learn his lines for his school play but, ever the procrastinator, he left it until Sunday night. But we spent an hour helping him practice his lines and by the end of it all he had pretty much memorized everything. Their play is in 10 days.