Building an epic snowman in the park

Last Monday arrived and it was a Snow Day for everyone. We ended up with about 18″ of snow and the snow day was good timing as Jude and Anna could hang out with their cousins for the day. They worked on a huge snowman in the park and played in the backyard for a lot of the day.

Tuesday it was back to school and then Wednesday, Baba and Grandpa, along with Ella and Chloe drove back to Iowa. Of course, Baba left a bunch of gifts for the kids, including candy, which they have been enjoying all week.

It was a nice warm ski day in Keystone

With so much snow it took a while for it to melt so consequently Jude’s first soccer game of the season on Saturday was canceled. I had a feeling this would happen so I booked us a day of skiing at Keystone.

Unfortunately, Jude woke up on Saturday with a sore throat so he decided to stay home. Anna and I had a great day, it was warm and mostly sunny, it really felt like Spring skiing.

This morning Jude was still not feeling well and he was really stuffy, So, Marcy took him to get a covid test but thankfully it came back negative. So, today was a quiet day for him, he did try to kick a soccer ball in the park this morning but he didn’t have much energy.

Anna is so surprised to see her grandparents

On Thursday afternoon the kids had a major surprise. Their grandparents had driven out from Iowa along with their two ten-year-old cousins. They had no idea and were both so excited to see everyone.

Playing on the trampoline with their cousins

Baba and grandpa came into the house first and the cousins were hiding in the back yard, jumping on the trampoline. Jude saw the girls first whereas Anna just thought that Baba and Grandpa had come to visit. She was even more surprised to see them and then it was straight out to the trampoline to do some jumping.

Getting ready to go sledding and snowboarding

This weekend we had a monster snowstorm. It snowed a little on Saturday but by Sunday it was coming down fast. The sledding hill had plenty of snow so they took the sleds and snowboards this morning and had some fun.

Chloe getting some snowboarding lessons from Anna

Then it was home to warm up before heading outside again this afternoon.

Ella and Anna were covered in snow when they came in

This afternoon we told the kids they needed to clear the snow off the trampoline and off my car as well. We thought they would be out there for 20 minutes or so but they ended up being out for more than two hours. They built some snow steps up to the trampoline and then some snow chairs and were well on their way to building an igloo before they decided to call it a day.

Clearing the snow off my car (they did a great job)

As of tonight the snow was still falling. The official tally was 16″ so far in Denver with another 3-6″ expected overnight. It was a good night to stay in. Baba decided to teach the kids how to play poker. We had all four kids playing for a while and then after dinner Jude and Anna had Baba to themselves. They were getting the hang of it by the end of the night.

Baba teaching the kids how to play poker

Anna in the photo shoot

For the past few months Anna has been taking acting and modeling classes. She really wanted to do this because she wants to start acting in commercials and other things. She really enjoyed working on the school musical and was extremely disappointed when it was canceled this year (and last year). So, this has been a great outlet for her to learn more about what it takes to be an actor.

Part of the course is a photo shoot that Anna actually did several weeks ago but we finally got the photos this week. There are many great photos, we are just including two from the more than 60 photos they took.

My favorite photo from the shoot

It has been 10 days since a foot of snow fell here and this weekend was warm and sunny with today being the warmest day of the year so far. So, the snow has all melted. Whereas last weekend we we trudging through snow at the park this weekend Jude was out in shorts and t-shirt and no shoes.

Catching the football at the park

Jude had his first refereeing game of the season yesterday, it was good to get back into it he said. Today, with the warm weather Anna and the neighbors decided that they wanted to hook the hose up to the trampoline and jump. It was kind of like a trampoline shower and as you can see they are having a blast.

Cooling off on the first warm day of the year

It was a bit too much snow for Olive

On Wednesday night we had a big snowstorm. It was supposed to only be 3-6″ but we ended up getting around 12-14″ at our place. They said it was Denver’s biggest snow storm in five years. The kids loved it because they called a snow day for both schools so it was a fun day in the snow for them.

Anna on her snowboard at the local sledding hill

It ended up being a sunny day, although it was pretty cold. The kids spent time on the sledding hill with their snowboards and then Jude tried to chase Olive around the park. Olive was her usual perky self in the snow, even though she had to work hard she just loved it.

Olive is a bit too quick for Jude

Yesterday was Olive’s birthday, she turned two. To mark the occasion Marcy and kids took her to the pet store and bought her some new toys. Then they went to our favorite ice cream place, Glacier, and got some special doggie ice cream which Olive enjoyed. Of course, there was ice cream for the humans, too!

Eating her birthday ice cream

Skiing the trees on the Outback

The kids were really looking forward to getting back in the mountains again. So, on Friday night after dinner we drove to Keystone and were greeted with a warm day when we woke up on Saturday. We had a great day, skiing all over the mountain. Jude really liked skiing the trees on the Outback and he even preferred going to where the trees were really tight rather than more open. They both have improved dramatically this year, particularly on the moguls. I did the most bump runs (around 7) I have done in probably 10-12 years and my knees were hurting by the end of the day.

Anna doing a jump in the terrain park

Today was much colder and it was windy as well. We had a bit later start but we were all ready for a lunch break by 1pm. We had cold feet and hands and Jude wasn’t feeling well. So, after lunch we just did one run and called it a day. This was fine with me as I was still sore from yesterday.

Jude had the week off school this past week. He spent the days playing soccer in the park and playing video games.

Anna with our neighbor at their mountain cabin

This weekend was the first really cold snap of the season. I mean really cold. The temperature never made it into double digits all weekend and the high today was 5 degrees (which I am not even sure we hit). As I write this it is -4. That’s Fahrenheit folks, for the metric enthusiasts that is -20C. Needless to say, the only time I went outside today was to get the newspaper this morning.

Anna had other ideas, though. When the neighbors said they were going to their cabin in the mountains today she jumped at the opportunity. They have a great remote cabin that is off the grid and Anna braved the cold to play outside with them. They went sledding, ice skating on the river, exploring and Anna learned how to whittle a stick.

Anna had a sleepover with some school friends

On Friday night Anna invited some school friends over for a sleepover. They played games, watched a movie and generally had a good time. The next morning they all painted photo frames for this photo here. They even slept reasonably well.

Hard at work on his Rubik’s cube

Jude had a quiet weekend. It was too cold to ever play soccer. He went out once, but was back five minutes later. He went out today with some of the neighbor kids but again only lasted a few minutes. So, this was an inside weekend for him. There was lots of soccer on TV which Jude enjoyed and then he spent a lot of time on his Rubik’s cube. He can solve it regularly now in under 40 seconds but he wants to get faster so he has been trying a new method.

Finally, we received Jude’s school photos recently and I couldn’t resist including it here.

Jude’s official photo for the 2020-21 school year

A gorgeous Superbowl Sunday had us at the park throwing the football

Every year for the past 20 years we have hosted a Superbowl party at our house with chili and brownies. But covid put a stop to that this year. So, what we decided to do is make our chili and brownies like we do every year and deliver it to some of the regulars who come. So, we drove around town making deliveries before the game.

Before that, though, we spent some time outside. We played catch with a football in the park this morning while Olive went for a run. Then I took Jude for his second drive in my car, still just around the local parking lot. And before the game we went for our regular Sunday run around Wash Park.

Jude practicing his shot at the sports ground.

Since the summer Jude has been going to the South High School sports field to practice. They have a football field and track with multiple soccer goals set up. We have a key so we can go and practice at any time. It is only a five minute walk and Jude has been going multiple times a week. I try and get out at least once with him every weekend but he is also happy to go by himself. He likes to practice and he is getting so much stronger. I can even tell he has a more penetrating shot than he had even over the holidays. His soccer team just started practicing two nights a week which he loves. With all of his practice he has progressed to become probably the best player on his team now.

Hitting the slopes in Keystone

This weekend Jude, Anna and I went to Keystone. Marcy is still recovering from foot surgery so she decided to stay home with the pets. We skied a full day yesterday cruising all over Keystone and then today Jude and I just skied in the morning so we could get back and watch the Packers game that started at 1pm. The kids continue to get a lot better and Anna likes to go off by herself these days. She knows the mountain pretty well and she spent this afternoon by herself skiing, doing five extra runs.

Socially distant lunch at the Outpost

You can only do lunch on the mountain by reservation and they keep the restaurant at 25% capacity. It worked out really well, you get seated at your own table instead of having to fight for a lunch spot as in previous years.

Jude’s first time behind the wheel

Last weekend Jude had his very first time behind the wheel. While he has driven a golf cart from time to time he has never driven an actual car. He is only 10 months away from when he can get a learners permit and he is keen to start learning. So, we went to the local parking lot and I gave him his first lesson. He circled the lot successfully about four times, pulled into a parking space and reversed the car out. He said it was a lot of fun and wants to do it again soon.

Anna working on her school project

Both kids went back to school on Tuesday, Jude with online school and Anna went in-person. Jude is back tomorrow with in-person school which he is very happy about.

Anna had to do a passion project for school which involved cooking several dishes. She baked scones, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, hot cocoa cupcakes and thumb print cookies. She also cooked a dinner with salmon, green beans and potatoes. She had to do a presentation to her class on her project and her teacher sent us a note afterwards telling us how great she did. She worked really hard on it so it was good to see it come together well in the end.

Jude cheering on the Cleveland Browns tonight

We didn’t do much this weekend. The weather wasn’t great, it was a cold and snowy Saturday but Jude was fine – all he wanted to do was watch football. While he didn’t watch every minute of all three games each day he did manage to catch some of every game. And it all culminated with the Cleveland Browns beating the Steelers on Sunday night. We are all Browns fans here, since Marcy spent the first eight years of her life there. We got Jude a Baker Mayfield jersey for Christmas which he proudly wore for tonight.

The kids did get outside some. They went sledding this morning with the neighbors, jumped on the trampoline with the neighbors a few times, and Jude and I went to the soccer field to play both days.

Setting off party poppers on New Years Eve

Like everyone we were all very happy to see the end of 2020. We celebrated with a sushi dinner and party poppers that shot confetti all over the dining room and kitchen. It was a lot of fun but Olive did not like it at all, going upstairs and not wanting to come back down.

Jude and Anna decided they wanted to stay up to midnight this year, so I stayed up with them. We watched the Avengers and then just before midnight switched to NBC to watch the (delayed) Times Square ball drop. At 12:05am it was off to bed.

Jude solved the megaminx, a massive 12 sided Rubik’s cube-type puzzle

New Year’s Day was quiet and the kids were a bit irritable after staying up so late. One of the themes of this year’s holiday season was solving Rubik’s cubes. Jude has conquered the 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, the pyraminx, the megaminx and a twisted 3×3. He has become quite the expert and enjoys the challenge of trying to solve them quickly.

Anna solves the skewb

Meanwhile, Anna has been getting in on the Rubik’s craze at the Renton household. She took it upon herself to solve the “skewb” (yes, it is a thing) pictured above. She is the only one who has figured that puzzle out so far.

On the Santiago lift at Keystone

Today, we had our first ski day of the season. It was one of the few activities I have done during the pandemic that didn’t feel that much different. The lift lines are better spaced and the crowds are smaller but overall I would say it is a better ski experience. We only skied for four hours and did over 17,000 vertical feet. Apart from the first lift of the day we didn’t wait more than two minutes in a lift line. The kids had a blast, as did I.

Marcy continues to recuperate from her foot surgery and that is actually going quite well. However, she had a tumble down the stairs a few days ago and when she went to get x-rays found out that she had two fractured ribs. She is in a lot of pain when she sneezes, laughs or moves around too much. So, it means she is stuck with an even lower key recovery than planned.