Anna turned 16 on Monday of this past week. But the celebration started before that. Because her birthday fell on a Monday and she full night of cheer class and practice she wanted to do our special dinner on Saturday night.

She decided she wanted steak with beets and beet greens along with fresh-basked rosemary sourdough bread, which I was happy to do. It was a delicious meal that was topped off with Marcy’s apple crisp.

The big day finally came on Monday and we went out to the Original Pancake House on Belleview for breakfast. We spent many a birthday here at “berries and cream” when they were little and it was the perfect place for an early Monday breakfast. Anna then spent the day at school followed by cheerleading and then we around 9pm we gathered for the Happy Birthday song and some homemade cheesecake (Marcy’s cheesecake is the best!).

The celebrations didn’t stop there. When we asked Anna what she wanted for sweet 16, she decided she would love a trip to New York City. So, on Thursday night Marcy and Anna caught the red eye to Newark where they have been all weekend. They get back tomorrow.

So, with the girls away for a long weekend and Jude off school we decided to go down to Manitou Springs on Friday and do The Incline. We have done this hike every October for the last several years and this time Jude and I both broke our records. Jude broke 30 minutes for the first time (29:49 – quite an achievement) and I did 41:35. We had a great time.

Here is Jude’s senior photo for varsity soccer, where they are currently in the hunt to make the playoffs.