First day of 5th grade, Anna is back to school

It was back to school week in our house this week. Anna went back on Monday and Jude on Wednesday. It was a big deal for Anna because 5th grade at Ricks is the start of middle school so she had to have a computer (we bought a Dell early in the summer) and there is a more rigorous academic program.

A quick selfie before Jude was out the door on his first day of 7th grade

Jude entered 7th grade and his second year at ISD. He liked his new home room teacher as well as many of the kids in his class. He seemed to be looking forward to going back and he said he liked the first three days. Sports start this coming week and he is signed up for both cross country and soccer.

Anna pouncing on the ball in her first competitive soccer game

Last season Anna played soccer in the Skyline recreational league. She decided she wanted to step it up a notch and play in the competitive league this season. She is up to three practices a week now and they have been going at it since early August. Yesterday was the first game of the season and we were up bright and early to make the hour drive to Fort Collins for her first game. She played well against a good team and they lost 5-2.

Anna transitioning from the swim to the bike in the Stapleton triathlon

This morning was the Stapleton kids triathlon. The kids have entered this a couple of times but it has been about three years. They wanted to do a triathlon again this year so we signed them up. After doing a training swim Jude decided to pull out because he felt like 100 meters was too far and he has not been swimming laps at all this summer. So, Anna was our sole entrant and we all went to cheer her on. She did great on the swim and the bike but the run was a bit of a struggle (she had forgotten to take her inhaler). But she finished strong and was glad she had done it.

At the summit of Mt Evans (and yes, we hiked it from Summit Lake)

Jude has been wanting to do our annual 14er and given how great the weather was supposed to be today I thought we could do Mt Evans given the late start we were getting. So, we headed from Anna’s triathlon to Mt Evans, or more accurately to Summit Lake a couple of thousand feet below the summit. We did the Mt Evans-Mt Spaulding loop which was surprisingly challenging, particularly the route down off Mt Evans. We started just after 12pm. Jude was a rock star, he is so much fitter than me now so he carried the back pack on the way up and I carried it on the way down. The 5.3 miles took us just under 4 hours of actual hiking time. Then we stopped at Echo Lake Lodge for dinner on the way back, we were starving and exhausted but satisfied after this strenuous hike.

Jude receiving his first place medal for the Race for Research 5K

This morning we all participated in the Cancer League of Colorado Race for Research 5K. One of our old Waldorf friends always organizes a big team and we did this race a few years ago. But this time Jude and I both trained for it. Jude had a fantastic race and won his age group (12 and under boys) with a time of 23:08. I had my fastest time in about 20 years with 26:51 but I couldn’t keep up with Jude. Marcy and Anna both walked the race and finished in under an hour.

Jude mountain biking near Bear Creek

This was the last full week of school vacation for both Anna and Jude. Marcy did lots of activities including a mountain bike ride with Jude. Ever since his Avid 4 Adventure camp he has wanted to go mountain biking, so Marcy took him on a trail in the foothills. She even went and bought a used mountain bike so she could lead him.

Anna next to her new middle school locker all ready for the start of 5th grade

Anna had a couple of play dates during the week and she also had three soccer practices in the afternoons. Then she had the annual back to school picnic for families on Thursday night and after soccer practice she really wanted to go to Target to get everything ready for the middle school orientation on Friday morning. Marcy was at the Mumford & Sons concert so I took her shopping. This worked in Anna’s favor because I basically let her buy whatever she felt she needed.

Marcy paddle boarding with Olive

Friday, I took off early from work and joined everyone for some stand up paddle boarding at Big Soda Lake in Bear Creek Lake Park. We even took Olive along and she had her first taste of paddle boarding. She was not a fan at first. She fell in the water a couple of times and Marcy had to pull her out (she was wearing a life jacket so we knew she would be ok). She was out on the water with Marcy for well over 30 minutes though and settled in by the end, sitting on the board and enjoying the sun.

Anna treated us all to Dairy Queen to say thanks for a great summer

Tonight was the last night of school vacation for Anna (Jude goes back on Wednesday). She wanted to buy everyone Dairy Queen with her own money as a way of saying thanks for a great summer. Olive was happy to come along too. Anna and Marcy also spent several hours today at Ikea and they bought a desk and chair for Anna the office so she can do her homework. So, now Jude, Anna and I all have desks in the office.

Anna and Reed floating down the creek near Lyons

I had my first work trip in more than six weeks as I had to go to New York for three nights this week. And the kids ended up with nothing scheduled so it was a completely open week. They went standup paddle boarding one day at Bear Lake but they got rained out after an hour or two. They also took a trip to Lyons to go tubing with Anna’s friend Reed, They went down the creek many times and also did some cliff jumping off about a 15 foot cliff.

Anna started soccer practice at Skyline this week and she had her first friendly game this weekend against one of the really good teams. Anna was able to hold her own and played really well, setting up her team’s only goal.

Jude had refereeing class today. He is training to be a referee which you do at the Rapids once you are 12 years of age. He will start refereeing his first games after Labor Day, for 9 and 10 year olds and he gets paid $8 per game. If he likes it, when he turns 13 he can get certified and earn $20 per game. Jude is quite excited about this as an avenue to make some money.

Teeing off on #18 at Bethpage Black in New York

While I was in New York I took a morning off to play golf with my work colleague Todd. He lives just 5 minutes away from Bethpage State Park which has five golf courses including the famous Bethpage Black Course, which has hosted several majors including this year’s PGA championship.

Olive trying desperately to play with Pickles

Olive is starting to get along a little better with Pickles. She tries to play with her but Pickles, being a typical cat, is generally not interested. But that doesn’t stop from Olive from continuing to try to play.

Roasting marshmallows on the makeshift campfire in the driveway

The past week with the Dahlens went by so quickly. It was a busy week with the kids in camp all week. The girls all did Keystone Science School and Jude did his last Challenger Soccer camp (they are only open to kids 12 and under). They all said they loved their camps.

Hiking Chihuahua Gulch trail after a big snow season meant lots of (very cold) water

Nate and I played a lot of golf this week including two rounds at Red Sky Ranch, a truly beautiful course about 40 miles west of Keystone. On Tuesday, Marcy and I did a great hike with Mandy and Nate near Keystone. We did the Chihuahua Gulch trail, one of of favorite hikes (and also the hike where I proposed to Marcy). But with the great ski season we had there was a ton of snow melt which meant way more water than usual. What were usually easily navigable creeks were roaring torrents that posed some difficultly in getting across. It also meant we missed a turnoff on the trail because it was flooded so we didn’t make it to the lake. But it was still a beautiful hike and I know Mandy and Nate were blown away by it.

We took the kids golfing (twice) at The River Course at Keystone

While Nate and I played a lot of golf, the kids (except Lily) decided they wanted to get in on the action. Kids golf for free at the River after 5pm, so on two of the evenings after camp this past week we headed out with the kids. Anna and Chloe loved it, Jude played well but was not that into it and Ella just liked coming along for the ride.

The family Five Crowns Championship

Over the past year we have played a lot of the card game, Five Crowns. And four members of the family have all had a perfect score in different games. So, the idea was conceived of a family championship among those four. We had planned to do it in Iowa over July 4 but had never got around to it, so it happened at Keystone this past week. Mandy came out at number one, and now we are back to the beginning with everyone getting the chance to achieve a perfect score this year and compete in next year’s championship round.

The kids all used to be able to stand under the kitchen counter…no more

The Dahlens drove back on Saturday morning. Jude had a soccer tryout on at 11am so we also left then. Marcy and Anna drove back later that afternoon. We didn’t do much the rest of the weekend. Jude was so happy to be home having spent only six days out of the past 34 days at home. Olive was also glad to be home.

Olive back in her dog bed at home