Jude makes everyone laugh at River Run in Keystone

We were back from our RV trip less than 24 hours when we left for our annual trip to Keystone with the Dahlens. With commitments for all five kids this was the week that worked best, so we ventured up to the mountains last Sunday afternoon.

Jude teeing off at the Rover Course at Keystone

It was another great week. The first day was low key as everyone was a bit tired after so much driving to get here. Tuesday, Nathan and I played golf at our local course, the River, and then all the kids except Lily came out to join us for nine holes in the evening. It was a rainy day so we had the course pretty much to ourselves. The kids were unfazed by the rain.

Anna, Chloe, Ella and Mandy taking a break from their hike

As we do every year, Nathan and I played 36 holes of golf one day so the others went on separate hikes. Marcy, Jude and Lily all tackled Buffalo Mountain while Anna, Chloe, Ella and Mandy went on a less challenging hike nearby. They all met up for lunch at Chimayo afterwards.

Lily and Marcy on the Buffalo Mountain hike

We ate well all week. We cooked in pretty much every night and had a variety of treats as well. It was great to see the Dahlen girls create great dessert snacks with chocolate and nuts. And we had s’mores one night, not over an open fire mind you, just on the electric stovetop. The kids held their marshmallows close and they cooked just like a real fire.

Enjoying s’mores on the deck

We also went to the Farmers Market in Dillon one day, went wading in the river and went for walks around Keystone. It was all over too quickly but everyone agreed it was a great week.

The annual ritual photo under the kitchen island, this time with Olive

Anna dissecting a cow’s heart at her NYLF camp

Last week was our big road trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. But before that Anna finished up her STEM camp as part of the National Youth Leadership Forum. She loved it and wants to do it again next year. They did all kinds of interesting science projects including dissecting a cow’s heart and learning about snake bites.

Settling in at Brooks Lake Campground

Then it was off on our road trip. Last Sunday we rented an RV and drove to Wyoming, just outside Grand Teton National Park to Brooks Lake Campground inside Shoshone National Forest. It was a beautiful and secluded location. Our campground had just 13 spots, and was right on a lake surrounded by spectacular cliffs.

Family hike from our campground to Jade Lake and Rainbow Lake

Our first day we went on a family hike. There were several beautiful lakes in the area and we found a hike that visited some of them. We hardly saw another person all day, nor did we see any bears (but we had the bear spray ready just in case). It was a hot, dry hike that included parts of the Continental Divide Trail and we were all happy to be done after a bit over five hours on the trail.

Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

Our second day we jumped in the car (sans RV) and drove into Grand Teton National Park. We had planned to go canoeing and hiking but soon learned that dogs were not able to hike inside the national park, only on the paved trails. And Jenny Lake was super crowded. So, we drove to Jackson for lunch and then came back in the afternoon when it was less crowded. Jude, Anna and I rented a canoe and paddled across the lake where we went for a quick swim, while Marcy walked with Olive where they were allowed.

Playing chess at the campsite

The next day we broke camp at Brooks Lake and drove through Yellowstone to an RV camp outside the western end of the national park in Idaho called Henry’s Lake State Park. We stopped a couple of times but many of the places were closed to RVs so we left them until the next day. Ojo Caliente was our first exposure to a Yellowstone hot spring and it was quite something.

The Ojo Caliente hot spring in Lower Geyser Basin

After receiving some advice from the RV park managers we decided to take it easy the next day and leave for Yellowstone in the afternoon. This meant we could go out in the kayaks on Henry’s Lake before heading to Yellowstone around 2:30pm.

Jude wins the “kayak duel” with Marcy on Henry’s Lake

Waiting until the afternoon proved to be a good move. There was no line to get into the park and it was not crowded at all. We saw the Upper Yellowstone Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the painted pots which were really cool and then we had dinner in Canyon Lodge.

Upper Yellowstone Falls, the largest waterfall in the national park

We were keeping an eye on the expected times for Old Faithful and we decided to head there right after dinner for the 7:38pm eruption. Sure enough, at right around that time Old Faithful erupted probably 100 feet in the air right in front of us. There was not much of a crowd so we had a great view.

Riding a see saw with Old Faithful still erupting in the background

Even though it was late we still wanted to catch one of the other real draws of Yellowstone. The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone’s Midway Geyser Basin is spectacular. We caught it right at sunset and the colors were amazing, rich orange, blue water and steam rising everywhere. It felt like we were on a different planet.

The Grand Prismatic Hot Spring was spectacular

We started the long journey home yesterday. Driving south through Idaho we saw the western side of the Grand Tetons. We drove almost 400 miles  all the way to Saratoga Hot Springs in southern Wyoming where we set up the RV in the dark. Then today, after a quick dip in the hot springs we drove home the scenic route which ended up being longer than anticipated because of a mudslide near Granby. We got home around 7pm and in less than 24 hours we will headed to Keystone for our annual week with the Dahlens.

First day of camp

We drove back from Iowa on Tuesday, it was a long but uneventful drive. It was sad to leave, we all enjoyed our time together, but we see the Dahlens out here in Colorado in just a couple of weeks.

Yesterday Anna went off to STEM camp. Officially called National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Pathways to STEM (run by Envision), it is a prestigious camp where one kid is chosen from each school and Anna was nominated by her fourth grade teacher to attend. It was supposed to happen last year but covid canceled it and Anna was really disappointed. She was super excited to attend there this year.

Doing a CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) experiment – Anna is on the right

She is staying in a hotel and has a roommate who she likes. She has a bit of downtime in the evenings and we have spoken to her both nights. She is loving it. Today, she built a robot and did a whole bunch of experiments in a CSI-style investigation.

Juggling the soccer ball in the backyard.

Jude spent a lot of the weekend focused on soccer. He really wanted to master two things ad he achieved both. One, was to juggle the ball 500 times with his feet without the ball hitting the ground. He spent almost two hours at the park focused on this today and he did it! He made 513 and we rewarded him with a new soccer ball (his old ones are worn out).

Doing an “around the world” and successfully keeping the ball in the air

The other thing he wanted to do was an “around the world” while juggling. This is where you kick the ball in the air and bring your leg over the top of the ball as you can see in this photo. It was really cool to watch, he recorded a video of it too.

At Adventureland – kids only

Our second week in Iowa began with the kids doing something they had not done before. Baba drove them to Adventureland, the amusement park, and left them. They had the place to themselves with no adult supervision. They had a great time and it sounds like it wasn’t that different to what they did when they had parents there.

How many Oreos can you balance on your forehead? Jude’s pile is about to fall

As always as Baba’s house there were lots of games. One afternoon they did an Oreo balancing competition. You had to see how many Oreos you could balance on your forehead. Anna and Jude topped out at six cookies while Lily managed seven. There were lots of Oreo pieces to enjoy afterwards. The other game was trying to move one Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands. That left them with chocolate crumbs all over their faces.

After a great day of family bowling

Today we all went bowling. Kids bowl free all summer at the local bowling alley so all five kids were joined by a few adults this time. This was the third time the kids had been bowling in the last 10 days.

Yesterday Nathan and I spent the day golfing 36 holes, just beating the severe storm that was threatening all afternoon. Jude and I spent time watching international soccer: Brazil vs Argentina last night and England vs Italy today. They were both exciting matches. We also spent more time down at the Dahlens helping them get ready for their kitchen remodel that begins tomorrow.

Jude has also been to the park a lot to play soccer. I have been with him sometimes but he has been very happy to go by himself. He broke his juggling record this week, keeping the ball off the ground 459 times.

Olive likes to snuggle in our bed

The traditional photo by the pool

On Tuesday we made the long drive to Iowa. We left at 8:40am Denver time and arrived around 7:30pm Central time, so we took less than 10 hours which is pretty good. The weather has been warm and we haven’t had a drop of rain yet so the kids spent plenty of time in the pool.

Getting ice cream at Adventureland

The first day the kids were off to Adventureland, all except Chloe who had a dance class. They did a ton of rides, went to the water park and, of course, had ice cream. It was a great start to the trip. They also went bowling one day and had plenty of time by the pool.

Anna with the drill helping with the kitchen demolition

The Dahlens are getting their kitchen redone and before the contractors can start they need to have demolished the old kitchen. So, we all went down to help, removing the carpet and padding, taking out the door frames and anything that was attached to the walls. We managed to get quite a bit done, almost filling their dumpster with all eleven of us working for several hours. In the evening there was the annual July 4 parade with Ella and Chloe throwing candy from the first float.

Trying to guess what they are eating

As always when we come to Iowa there are plenty of games. Today, while Nathan and I were out golfing they played this game where they are blindfolded and have to guess what they are eating. They also played a game called Danger Word where you had to guess a word and if you got it wrong you got drenched with a water pistol. And of course we had the usual favorites like Codenames and cards and a round of Family Feud.

Playing with sparklers on July 4

Today, being the fourth there was sparklers out and there are plans to go and watch the fireworks later. But it doesn’t dark here until after 9pm so they don’t start until late.

Jumping into the inflatable rings

Anna’s Geneva Glen camp group: Cabin 15 (not 14) – Anna is front row, second from right

Marcy and I ended our six night stay in the mountains on Wednesday morning. We had a lovely time at Keystone, just the two of us. But we wanted to have a couple of nights at home before the kids got back from their respective camps.

The first night of camp with his friend Chris from school

Jude was first. His camp ended on Friday at 2pm, so we both drove out to Windy Peak to pick him up. He had a great time but he was happy to see us. He wanted to stop at a gas station to get some junk food on the way home, so we did, and then stopped at Dairy Queen for a blizzard, too.

Doing some rock climbing

Jude did a four day backpacking trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, where he had never been. He loved it and he came back with sand in everything just like our trips to the beach.

Backpacking in Great Sand Dunes National Park

We picked up Anna on Saturday morning and she also had a great time. They spent all the time on the Geneva Glen property but they had a ton of activities. Anna liked shooting rifles, archery, alchemy (making products from nature), Wild (learning to make a fire and other survival skills) and all the games they got to do. The food was really good and Anna made several good friends. They have a group chat going with everybody.

Now, we just have one more day at home before we drive to Iowa on Tuesday.

Starting out on Colorado Trail Segment 6 from Kenosha Pass

With both kids away at two-week long summer camps Marcy and I decided to do something we had not done in decades and had never done together: take a backpacking trip. I have been semi-obsessed about the Colorado Trail for some time so we decided to head up to Keystone and tackle most of Segment 6 from Kenosha Pass. Officially it goes to Breckenridge but we diverted to Keystone for the last part of it so that we could walk home.

An hour in and we have beautiful views of the valley towards Fairplay

We started at 6pm Friday after getting a Lyft ride to Kenosha Pass – which is 56 miles by road from Keystone. We will get back to Keystone via a more direct route which is 32 miles. Friday evening started out a bit dicey with threatening clouds and we got rained on a little but it wasn’t too bad and we made it to camp just after 8pm, hiking six miles of relatively flat terrain in a little more than two hours.

The highest elevation of the hike on Georgia Pass at around 11,900 feet (above tree line)

Saturday we knew would be tough. We climbed 2,000 feet up to Georgia Pass (11,900 feet), which was spectacular – you could see what felt like 100 miles in every direction and began a long descent until good camping by a river after around 13 miles of hiking. My feet were bothering me and I had some issues with my pack so I struggled the last few miles and we didn’t make it to camp until almost 7pm.

Setting up camp on the evening of day two

Today, we faced the steepest incline of the trip with over 1,000 vertical in less than three miles. We did pretty well on the way up but then we began the long decent (almost 10 miles) back to Keystone. By lunch time my feet were shot and I wasn’t sure how I would continue on. But we were right by Keystone Gulch Road where you can drive cars so Marcy had the great idea that I could ditch my pack and we could pick it up tomorrow.

Olive loved playing in the snow at the higher elevations

So, we made it back to our place in Keystone by 5pm enough time for me to catch the last hour of the US Open golf. Then we went to the local Mexican place for dinner. I counted eight different blisters on my feet and I have a lot of aching muscles. Marcy did great, she said at dinner tonight that she could have easily stayed out on the trail another week. It was a great trip overall and we know how to make some changes so it is better next time.

Jude about to head off to Windy Peak for two weeks

Today, we did something we had never done before. We sent both kids off to camp on the same day. For the next two weeks Anna is going to be at Geneva Glen and Jude will be at  Windy Peak. Yes, both kids will be away at the same time, the first time that has ever happened.

Anna ready to head off for two weeks at Geneva Glen

We dropped Anna off first as she was on the way to Jude’s camp. It was quite the process with all the Covid protocols but we were out of there in 30 minutes. Jude’s was a little easier and by 4pm it was just us and Olive. We decided to do a late afternoon hike and we discovered the Colorado Trail ran right by Jude’s camp so we did a two hour hike there.

Jude and the victorious Rapids burgundy team (he is in the front, third boy from the right)

Jude has been playing on the white level Rapids team for some time. He is now one of the best players on the team and he has been wanting to go up to the next level for some time. The call up finally came this week. He was invited to practice with the burgundy team and then play in their season ending tournament this weekend.

He made the most of his opportunity getting better with each game. This morning, the third game, he set up the game winning goal and it was great to hear all the parents yelling out, “Great job Jude!” Needless to say, he was very satisfied with his performance and he hopes he has done enough to earn a permanent spot on the team.

Anna and Daddy date at Urban Putt downtown

Anna and I used to go on date nights semi-regularly but the pandemic put a stop to that. But with Anna now fully vaccinated (well, the two weeks after the final shot is this Friday) we decided to head downtown for a date night. We rode our bikes downtown and went to a burger place, then Urban Putt for some indoor golf and finally to an ice cream place. It was a great night.

Jude addressing the crowd at his graduation ceremony

On Wednesday this past week Jude graduated eighth grade at the International School of Denver. The past three years have flown by and we find it hard to believe we are about to have a high schooler. Jude really enjoyed his time at ISD, it was a good fit for him and we were really pleased with the school. He has become very proficient in French, his favorite subject. He ended his middle school strongly with his best grades of his entire time there.

The family photo after the ceremony

The ceremony it itself was really cool. Rather than just call each student’s name the teachers get together and decide on one word that best describes each of the students. Jude’s word was “candid” as he is always forthright in telling the truth, a quality his teachers clearly valued.

Throwing the caps in the air

This weekend was all about soccer with the annual end of season tournament at Aurora Sports Park. Jude’s team played four matches over two days. They won one, lost one, and drew one and that was enough to make the final. But they lost to a team from New Mexico who were really good. Jude played really well.

Jude gets around this defender and has a breakaway up the field

Tonight, Marcy, Jude and I went to see the US Mens National Soccer Team play Mexico in the final of the Nations Cup which happened to be in Denver. It was a wild and crazy game which the US won 3-2 after a penalty from Christian Pulisic (our biggest star). The fans were wild, in a negative way, and the game had to be stopped a number of times because of objects on the field. But it was an epic match and we were all glad we went.

Watching the USA play Mexico at Mile High Stadium

Anna is officially on summer break…relaxing with a video game

Anna had her last day of school on Friday so she is done with 6th grade. She is out on summer break now and has two weeks until her first camp starts. We have been lenient this long weekend on screen time so she spent a good part of this weekend playing video games, mainly Minecraft Bed Wars with friends.

Jude still has two days of school left before he graduates middle school. More on that next week.

Jude and I completed the Bolder Boulder 10k in Greenland Open Space

Today, Jude and I competed in a 10k. The Bolder Boulder is a huge race that happens every Memorial day in Boulder. It was canceled last year and this year they decided to have it in multiple locations. We chose the all-dirt trail in Greenland Open Space. While the weather looked dicey it ended being perfect for running. No rain, cool weather and soft ground. Jude ran it in 49:41 minutes and I did 58:50 (my goal was to break the hour). We went out for a celebratory Mexican lunch in Castle Rock afterwards.

Marcy doing gardening in the rain

Marcy spent most of this weekend in the garden. She bought a number of plants yesterday and has been planting like crazy since Saturday morning. Even though we had steady rain all afternoon that didn’t stop her, she still spent several hours in the garden.