Doing a back walkover back handspring on floor

Anna nailed her back handspring earlier this year and she has been working on the back walkover into back handspring combination. For the first time this week she was able to do this on floor and we have the video to prove it.

It was a quiet weekend after a busy week for everyone. Anna had cheer practice both days but no refereeing and Jude took the weekend off. He is tired by the time Saturday comes around with school and a soccer practice or a game every afternoon.

Enjoying some TV time

So, there was some relaxing in front of the TV, where we have a new surround sound system.

Olive is so cute!

It was a beautiful sunny day at the Broncos game

Today was the season’s opening home game, and we got our free tickets for this game. It was a warm, sunny day and we were in the sun all afternoon, so we were hot. The game was a good one for the Broncos, getting their first win of the season, so it was a fun afternoon.

Jude in action as a referee

Yesterday, both kids had their first games refereeing this season. They were both at the same field at the same time which made it handy. And it was good for Anna because she had a rough first game with some aggressive parents and Jude was able to provide some support for her after the game.

Anna’s cheerleading team, the Cool Cats (Anna is middle right)

Anna is on a schedule of a long cheer practice on both Saturday and Sunday now. She continues to love it so much and loves her team. They work really hard and she is pretty exhausted when she gets home. But she always looks forward to every practice and would be happy to do it every day.

Anna doing a “scale” at home

Jude practices juggling a soccer ball every single day. Here is a video of him doing it today.

In the ER after my bike accident

On Tuesday morning, I rode my bike to work like I have done 1,000 times before. It is only 2.5 miles, and a good chunk of it is through our local park. On Tuesday morning, as I was half a mile from work, a car cut right in front of me as he turned into a parking lot. There was nothing I could do. I barely had time to hit the brakes. I hit the car and then fell to the ground. I was a bit beaten up but ok.

Thankfully, some people saw it, and they called 911, and the ambulance showed up in just a couple of minutes. I texted Marcy, and she came to pick me up. The EMTs strongly suggested I head to the ER, so Marcy drove me there. I couldn’t really put any weight on my left leg, but the X-Rays revealed nothing broken, thankfully. Needless to say, though, it has been a sedentary week for me. But I am on the mend.

Yesterday was cold and rainy, and both kids were supposed to be refereeing their first games of the season. But all games were canceled. So, it ended up being a quiet weekend. Anna had cheer practice, and Jude spent time in the park practicing soccer. Marcy and I went shopping for a rowing machine.

On the summit of South Boulder Peak

Yesterday Marcy and I celebrated our 18th anniversary. We decided to go for a hike not too far from home, so we chose South Boulder Peak. It was going to be a hot day, but we didn’t think it would be that bad. We reached the summit, hiking up 3,000 feet of elevation in three hours. It was nice and cool up at 8,300 feet.

We realized we didn’t bring enough water, and it kept getting hotter and hotter on the way down. Marcy was fine, but I was struggling, as was Olive. The last hour was brutal, 95 degrees, no shade, and no water, although we luckily stumbled across a creek that made Olive a very happy camper. We all made it back in one piece and had some cold sparkling water waiting for us in a cooler in the car. Phew.

That night we ordered sushi and shared a bottle of nice champagne. It was a delicious end to a challenging day.

Sunset on the beach at Dana Point

Last week I spent three days in California for a work conference we hosted. The event went really well, although attendance was lighter than we had hoped. But we stayed at the Ritz Carlton right on the beach at Dana Point. It was spectacular. My room looked out on the ocean and had a fire pit outside my doors. The room came with a Smores kit that I did not use but brought home for the kids, and they made it their dessert on Saturday night.

Roasting marshmallows on the grill for their S’mores

Apart from our anniversary hike, it was a pretty quiet long weekend. We cleaned the garage and now have two cars in there for the first time in over a year. It was hot every day, but Jude still made it to the park for soccer practice each day, and Anna went for her daily walks.