Jude after refereeing the son of Peyton Manning (red arrow), he meets him after the game

Jude had his third day of refereeing. He is doing U9’s, so kids born in 2011, and it just so happens that Peyton Manning’s son is playing in this league. Jude and I both saw him before the game although we didn’t bother him. But after the game Peyton walked across the field and Jude introduced himself. It was a thrill for him to meet one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

Hanging out on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder

Anna had Monday and Tuesday off school so on Tuesday she and Marcy went and got their nails done and did a trip to Boulder, where they visited the Liberty Puzzle Factory, and the Celestial Seasonings Factory as well.

Jude after the finish of his cross country race

Friday afternoon Jude had a cross country race. I went and saw him run and he did well. He wasn’t feeling 100% but he still finished in 40th place out of 100 boys in the “A” flight (including 6th-8th graders) and was the first from his school to finish.

Jude playing with Olive at the park

Saturday night we went to the DU women’s soccer game. Anna’s Skyline soccer team played a scrimmage during the half time show and then Anna and her friend Clara were ballgirls in the second half.

Today, Jude had soccer tryouts for Colorado Select, but after from that it was a pretty quiet day. He and I watched the second half of the Arsenal game, a little bit of the Broncos game and then he had about three hours of homework to do. Marcy and I put the ping pong table together (Marcy did most of the work) and the four of us played on it just before bed.

Jude taking a break from refereeing

Baba and Grandpa came to visit this week, on Thursday afternoon. It also coincided with my arrival back in town after a very quick trip to London. I went straight from the airport to Jude’s school soccer game. His team had an easy win (10-1) and Jude scored three goals (a hat trick) including a penalty to start off the scoring.

Grandpa giving Olive some love

Baba and Grandpa went to see Jude referee on Saturday – he had a full day of four games. He was a little tired by the end of the day but he said he enjoyed it and he felt fine. Grandpa also spent a lot of time on Friday and Saturday helping us install a new toilet and some other odd jobs around the house. Marcy loves having help and advice in all the projects around the house.

Jude running away from the spray at Elitch’s

Today we thought about going to a Rockies game but instead I decided to head to Elitch’s. I had promised Anna I would take her before the end of the year and today was going to be a nice day. So, we invited Anna’s friend, Reed, and the four of us went off to Elitch’s. Anna and Reed liked to do the wild and crazy rides so they went off for a lot of afternoon while Jude and I did a few more of the reasonable rides which I appreciated. The big hit with all four of us was Shipwreck Falls where you get completely drenched.

After getting drenched on Shipwreck Falls

Jude getting set to start refereeing

For some time now we have looked forward to when Jude could referee youth games for the Rapids. It is a way to earn money doing something he enjoys. So, he completed a training session with the Colorado Rapids and yesterday was his first day on the job. He had three soccer games back to back in the hot sun. The first game he was shadowing a grownup referee but games 2 and 3 he did by himself with the referee watching. He did really well and most importantly he enjoyed it.

Jude playing with Olive at Anna’s soccer game

After a quick lunch it was on to Anna’s soccer game where her team played really well to win the game. Jude spent most of the game playing with Olive while also cheering on Anna.

At the top of the Manitou Incline

Today, Jude and I were going to do another 14er with one of his friends but the weather looked a bit iffy so we canceled those plans. So, we had a free Sunday and decided to do a family hike. Marcy had been wanting to do the Manitou Incline, a very steep climb just outside Colorado Springs. This was an old cable car track that has been converted into a challenging hike.

Basically, this is a 2,768 step staircase, going up 2,000 feet in about a mile. It was a great workout and we all made it to the top with no problems. We then hiked the 4-mile trail back down to the base. We walked through the really cute town of Manitou Springs where we had a snack before heading home. We all loved it and vowed to make this an annual trip.

In the meantime, since we were going to be gone more than four hours we needed someone to check in on Olive, as that is the longest we like to leave her in her crate during the day. So our neighbors agreed to come get her after her four hour crate time and let her play with their dog. Olive enjoyed her play time, but they told us it took quite a while for her to warm to the idea of staying there. It’s a good experience for her though, as we want her to be comfortable in different settings.

Olive with her happy birthday treat

This past week Olive turned six months and the kids wanted to mark the occasion with treats. So, they both went to the pet store and chose something for her. Olive enjoyed the treats, munching happily on her birthday cookie for much of the day.

This weekend we didn’t do a whole lot. Marcy had Ridhwan Saturday and Sunday and Jude was a bit sick with a cold so it was good to have a low key long weekend. It was super hot so we did take a trip to the pool yesterday. And the other thing we did, well Anna and I did, is get ready for the big party today.

Anna and Elsie working into the night preparing the pinata for the party

This was an idea that Anna and Elsie, one of the neighbor kids, had last weekend. They thought it would be fun if they hosted an end of summer party with the neighbors. It worked out that the three families all had time on Monday afternoon so we spent a lot of the weekend preparing. Anna created a list of games she wanted to play and she and Elsie made a piñata from scratch. We bought the candy to fill it. We bought balloons and streamers and the girls had all the party games worked out. .

Jude taking the successful shot that brought down the pinata

All the kids took turns at the piñata from youngest to oldest and Jude brought it down on the second round. Then it was lunch time where Anna had planned the menu – hot dogs for kids and sandwiches for grownups. After lunch we had a water balloon fight. This was a parents versus kids fight and everyone got wet – which was totally fine given it was a 100 degree day.

Anna about to let one fly in the kids versus parents water balloon fight

Then it was time for bobbing for apples. We filled the kiddie pool up with water and placed several apples inside. The kids were quite good at it with everyone getting their apple quickly, then throwing them back in to do it again.

Bobbing for apples

Unfortunately, it was all over by 3:30pm as the other kids had to go home. Anna was particularly sad to see it come to an end. She had put so much thought and effort into the planning that she found it hard to accept it was all over. But she recognized that the party was a big success because everyone had a great time.