Snow shoeing is hard work

Anna was on Spring Break this week so she and Marcy stayed up in Keystone on Monday and Tuesday. Monday they went snowshoeing up near Montezuma and then they went tubing in the afternoon back at Keystone. On Tuesday, they both tried cross country skiing for the first time. The nordic center at Keystone is the golf course so they both rented skis and skied down the open fairways.

Cross country skiing on the 10th hole at the River Golf Course

They arrived back Tuesday afternoon as I had to fly to DC for work. After a very active four-day weekend, while back in Denver Anna and Marcy saw a couple of movies, had a mani-pedi and both thoroughly enjoyed the week.

Enjoying the mountains on Spring Break

We had snow on Friday night, just a couple of inches, but it was enough to cancel all soccer games on Saturday. So, we ended up with a quiet weekend at home. Jude and I played some soccer, Anna ran errands and cleaned out her bedroom with Marcy and then on Sunday morning we went to the car show.

Sitting in a purple Dodge Challenger they both thought was cool

We got there right as it opened and the kids got to sit in some of the cars. They had a Jeep terrain park which was fun and I got to see some of the latest cars. But they were a little bored after about an hour or so. But they both want to come back again next year.

With the AAA robot who was amazingly life like

At the top of the Outback in Keystone

The four of us had not been up to Keystone all ski season. So, when my my birthday weekend came around (today was the big day) I said I want us all to go and ski both days. Jude was not that happy about it because he had to miss a soccer tournament for it and he said he didn’t like skiing any more. But it was my birthday so up we all went Friday night.

My two favorite kids wishing me a happy birthday

Yesterday, we took it pretty easy as it was Jude and Marcy’s first ski day of the season. And I was recovering from being sick on Thursday. Marcy cooked a nice dinner last night and we had my birthday pie (I prefer it to cake). This morning the kids were super excited about my birthday and gave me my presents before breakfast.

Then it was on to the slopes. What was crazy is that Keystone was pretty empty today. The longest we waited in line all day was 2 minutes and most of the time we just skied straight on to a lift. We went all over the mountain including a couple of epic runs through the trees on the Outback.

The kids did great skiing the trees

The kids also wanted to race against each other so they did the race course both days. While Jude won both times what was interesting is that their times today were four seconds faster than yesterday. And this was at the end of an epic day. We skied 15 runs and over 20,000 feet of vertical today, longer than either of them had ever skied before. And Jude ended up having a blast and said he wanted to ski again next season.

The start of the kids official ski race

We had a snow storm on Wednesday that ended up closing school for two days although it really wasn’t that bad, barely 6″ of snow. But the kids were excited because that meant two snow days. Anna spent the time building a fort in the basement with one of our neighbors, where they napped, watched movies and hung out during the bad weather. Of course, there was also lots of sledding to be had.

The completed five-room fort in the basement

On Thursday Anna woke up not feeling well at all. She threw up a few times so she had a very quiet day in bed. Jude was unaffected and played outside quite a bit as well as enjoying more than the usual amount of screen time including a few movies.

This weekend Marcy had class and Anna was feeling a bit better although, as often happens with her, the illness had spread to her lungs and she was wheezing a bit. The little exercise she did left her coughing and feeling worse. So, we were back on the schedule of nebulizers several times a day and that did make her feel better.

Anna showing Jude her latest ipad game

Jude gets a bit antsy when he doesn’t get a lot of outside time. And his soccer game was canceled this weekend because of the snow. We did manage to play in the park each day and on Saturday Jude stayed out a bit longer and played in the standing water that was on the field. He came back completely soaked and full of grass from sliding on the snow-soaked ground. But he was happy.

Playing soccer in the park this weekend

Preparing the Arsenal poster together

We started the weekend bright and early, leaving for Jude’s first of two soccer games at 8:30am on Saturday. Jude played quite well in both games but they lost both of them. Saturday afternoon Jude played with the neighbors and Anna had a gymnastics function. Both were exhausted by the time they went to bed.

Sunday, Jude was super excited about the Arsenal game. One of our neighbors are big Manchester United supporters and they put up a sign in front of their house. Jude said we had to do an Arsenal sign (they were playing each other in a big game in the Premier League). Anna wanted to help so both kids worked on the poster and we had it ready to go before the game. BTW, Arsenal won 2-0.

Showing off their creative work before the big Arsenal game

Later today, Anna went to a friend’s birthday party and then Jude and Marcy went to see Captain Marvel which they both loved. While they were doing that Anna went to cotillion where she learned manners, eye contact and the foxtrot.

All dressed up for cotillion

Jude had Friday off this week because of parent-teacher conferences (he is doing well in school) and he went with Marcy to Anna’s school where they were doing a presentation on a big group project they had been working on. It was on the respiratory system and Anna talked about what they did.

Anna presenting her school project

The entire Renton family at the Heath-Renton wedding

We thoroughly enjoyed our week at the beach on Manly. The weather was pretty good for the most part and we spent part of every day on the beach. Both kids got really good at catching waves on their boogie boards as they spent many hours honing this skill.

Jude catching a wave on his boogie board at Manly

We also did some ocean swimming and Anna did her first Shelley Beach to Manly swim, over half a mile in the ocean. Jude did several runs along the beach and there was a lot of just playing in the sand and surf. Then, of course, we had the daily trip to Moevenpick for ice cream. We also had an afternoon of standup paddle boarding on the calm harbour beach of Balmoral. Marcy had a bit of an issue one day that led to three hospital visits in a ten hour period. She dove under a wave and came up with something in her eye. And then she couldn’t close it. She was in a lot of pain so we got to the hospital where they said there was some loose skin in her eye and a abrasion on her cornea. She is ok now, thankfully.

Stand up paddle boarding at Balmoral

The reason for our trip back to Sydney was for Robyn, my sister, and Mark’s wedding. On Saturday morning we drove about 2 hours to the small town of Moss Vale for the wedding. Anna was a flower girl in the wedding and was beyond excited about it. We dropped her off a couple of hours before the wedding so she could get ready with the bridesmaids and Robyn.

Getting her hair done with the bridesmaids just a couple of hours before the big event

I had the honor of walking Robyn down the aisle given our Dad passed away six months ago. She was a bit nervous but carried herself well. The ceremony was beautiful and funny at the same time. The celebrant was quite the character and he put everyone at ease.

Walking Robyn “down the aisle” and across the bridge at her wedding

Robyn arrived at the wedding, along with Anna and the bridesmaids, in a horse and carriage. And Marcy actually hitched a ride as well. It was an outdoor wedding on a country estate and they got married by a lake. Anna had a basket of flower petals and she walked in front of Robyn and I throwing out rose petals. Then she stood with the bridesmaids through the entire ceremony.

The flower girls, Anna and Sarah, with the bride and groom in front of the horse and carriage

After the ceremony they had some outdoor games setup which helped Jude stay amused. There were not many kids there but Marcy and I played with him. I thought that Jude and possibly Anna would be bored by the time the dinner came. But they actually both had a great time. Jude loved playing with his cousin Sarah and Anna was happy to be at the center of it all. By

Jude showing Sarah a Pez dispenser

By the time the dancing started it was quite late but Anna was raring to go. I had several dances with her and Jude joined in as well. Little Sarah was also tearing up the dance floor with her dad, Ian.We ended up staying to the very end and we got back to our hotel at about 11:30pm. The kids did really well and slept soundly that night.

Celebrating Sarah’s fourth birthday

The next day we drove back to the coast and celebrated Sarah’s 4th birthday. She was actually turning four on Monday but we celebrated a day early since we were all together anyway. Ian chose this beautiful restaurant overlooking the Wollongong beaches.

Jude taking a last swim in the Pacific Ocean before heading to the airport

We spent the last two nights at Maroubra which was the closest ocean beach to the airport. On our last day we drove to Coogee and Bondi where the waves were perfect for boogie boarding. The trip was over all too quickly and on Tuesday morning we had one last swim in the ocean before heading to the airport.

Anna in the cockpit on the plane from LA to Denver

The trip back was ok, but long of course. Anna has often said she would like to be a pilot when she grows up so when we boarded the flight to Denver from LAX I mentioned this to the flight attendant and they let her in to the cockpit. She was thrilled.

This weekend was a cold and snowy one. Jude’s soccer tournament was canceled but he did have a sleepover birthday party on Saturday night which kept him entertained. Anna also had a sleepover on Friday night. Then this afternoon Anna had her first cotillion class so she got all dressed up for it.

Anna all ready to go to her first cotillion class