Jude all set for his two week camp

Jude has a two week camp that started today. So, much of the weekend was spent getting Jude ready to go. Marcy worked like crazy to get everything together, it was a long list. In the end Jude seemed really excited to go on his camp, which includes a three night backpacking trip. Marcy got to see his cabin where he will be staying for most of the next two weeks, it is a beautiful mountain setting.

Anna showing off her new baseball at Coors Field after the Rockies game finished

Meanwhile Anna and I rode our bikes downtown to the baseball game. We had been given free tickets from a friend and we decided to skip the first few innings so we got there halfway through the game. It was just the right amount of baseball and we included a break during the seventh inning stretch so Anna could go shopping. She bought a souvenir baseball for $7 with her own money. Then we had dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery before riding home.

Evening family tennis at the local courts

Jude decided early this past week that he wanted to go and play tennis. He and I played one night and then for the next three nights we had the whole family playing. It became a routine thing after we put Olive to bed to ride our bikes to South High School to play tennis.

Olive gets a clean bill of health from the vet

The big news this week was that Olive can now run around like a normal dog. On Tuesday, Marcy and Anna took her to the surgeon who took an x-ray of her leg and said it was healing well. She was free to run around now like a normal puppy. She has been easier to deal with as well now that she is tired out at the end of the day. And we can also start really training her again now.

I have to mention the incredible morning of sport we witnessed this morning. The cricket world cup final was probably the best game of cricket I have ever witnessed. We were sad to see New Zealand lose but what an effort by England to take the cup. And between overs I would switch over to the Wimbledon final where Federer should have really won 9-7 in the fifth. Both games ended differently to what we had hoped but it was a truly spectacular morning of sport that I will never forget.

The traditional photo by the pool with all five cousins

We spent the past week in West Des Moines visiting Marcy’s family. Marcy, Anna and I arrived on Monday afternoon meeting up with Jude, who had flown out four days earlier. While it looked as if the weather might not cooperate we actually had a great week with just a couple of thunderstorms. As always, it was great to hang out with everyone and spend some time in the pool.

Waiting for the West Des Moines July 4 parade

Nate and Mandy took all five kids to Adventureland one day where they went on roller coasters and spent some time in the water park. On July 3, there was the annual West Des Moines July 4 parade. Ella and Chloe where in the parade on the VFW float and there were plenty of politicians as well. Marcy even got to shake Bernie Sanders’ hand.

Sparklers on July 4

On July 4 Nate and I went and played golf while the kids spent the day at Baba’s house in the pool, having a water balloon fight and then doing this fun food challenge based on Ellen Degeneres’ show. The kids were in teams of two, both blindfolded, with one tasting the food and then the other asking questions trying to guess the food.

Anna doing the blindfold game with Chloe trying to guess the food she is tasting (cinnamon)

On Friday Nate and I were gone all day, playing 36 holes of golf while all the kids went bowling with Baba and Grandpa. Then it was off to Dairy Queen for dessert.

Enjoying some DQ

Saturday was our last day and the kids decided to go to Living History Farms, where they have an 1850’s Iowa town and some working farms using 19th century technology. We visited various farmhouses, a church, a school and many of the businesses in the town. This also happened to be the place where Mandy and Nate got married so the kids posed for a photo under that very gazebo.

The gazebo at Living History Farms where Mandy and Nate got married

Jude stepping off the plane to meet Baba at the gate in Des Moines

It all started last weekend in a dinner conversation. Marcy talked about how she took a solo plane trip (actually she was with her then two-year-old sister Mandy) when she was 12. Jude said he wanted to do that, too. After he and I chatted for a few minutes we realized that there was no reason he couldn’t do it this week and fly to Des Moines early.

I went to United and sure enough there was a free ticket we could book for Thursday afternoon. So, we called Baba and it was all set. She was not going to tell anyone so Jude could surprise them. Marcy drove Jude to the airport on Thursday and was able to get a pass to go to the gate to see him off. The plane was a bit late but other than that the trip went off without a hitch. Baba was waiting for him when he got off the plane in Des Moines. She drove him to his cousin’s house and surprised them all.

Jude surprising his cousin Chloe at her house

So, Jude arrived for the annual Des Moines trip three days early. I am writing this as we are driving along I-76 on our way there. He is apparently having a great time, he is hanging out in the pool a lot and they have gone bowling. It has been nice for him to be there without us.

Lily reading bed time stories

So, Marcy and I were empty-nesters (kind of, we still had an injured dog to look after) were a couple of days. We had date night on Friday night, the first one in Denver all year, we rode our bikes to Jax so that was nice. Then, Saturday morning arrived and it was time to pick up Anna. We were both so excited to see her and find out about her camp. There are no electronics allowed at camp, so we had resorted to communicating via the mail. Anna wrote us a letter pretty much every day and Marcy sent her one each day as well. I was traveling a bit during this time so I sent her two postcards from San Francisco and one from Detroit.

Anna with her Geneva Glen camp mates, the Prospectors, wielding pretend pick axes

We brought Olive along to pick up Anna and we saw where she slept and met some of her cabin mates. We also walked around the grounds a bit and Anna went to the camp shop to buy a blanket.

Where Anna slept for two weeks at camp

Anna loved telling us all the details about her first long sleep-away camp. While she truly had a great time she did miss us, particularly Marcy. She even sat in Marcy’s lap this morning before breakfast, something she hadn’t done in ages.

It was great for Anna to reconnect with Marcy

Marcy spent a good chunk of today working on her big sprinkler project she has undertaken. And then it was time to pack for our trip. We dropped Olive off at the boarding place where she will spend the week and we were on the road just after 4:30pm. We are only driving halfway tonight, staying in Kearney as we often do.

Olive sporting a new cast

Anna was at camp all week and we all miss her but we have been communicating with her via the mail (there are no phone or any electronics allowed). Marcy is writing her a letter every day and Anna is also sending a letter each day. I was in San Francisco this week and I sent her two postcards from there. From what we gather she has been struggling with bad allergies but other than that is having a great time.

Olive is slowly recuperating. She went in on Wednesday for a new cast but by Friday she was healing well enough to take the cast off. The challenge now is that she is still a puppy that is full of energy but she is not allowed to run on her fractured leg any time soon, so, it has been a bit of a struggle.

No cast but the dreaded cone

This weekend we actually had no plans whatsoever. It was unusually cold and rainy so we didn’t want to be outside that much. Jude and I watched a bit of the women’s soccer World Cup as well as the World Cup Cricket. We did play soccer in the park on Saturday and then Jude jumped on the trampoline in the rain with the neighbor kids.

On Sunday, the weather was a little bit better and Jude and I rode our bikes to Aqua Golf and then played basketball in the alley. Marcy got more work done in the yard and it is really great now.

Olive at the Vet hospital after surgery to her fractured leg

A lot happened this week. But the biggest news of the week concerned Olive. It all started with a tree, or more precisely a hole in the ground for the tree. We wanted to plant a tree in the backyard so we dug a hole but discovered a sprinkler line. So, we left the hole while Marcy worked to re-route the line. In the meantime it became a play area for Olive as she jumped in and out of this hole many times. Until one time she jumped in the hole and immediately started yelping and she didn’t stop. She could put no weight on it so Marcy called the vet and took her in. Sure enough x-rays showed two fractures.

Olive arrives home from hospital

She went to the vet hospital on Thursday night and had surgery on Friday. We all went to see her Friday night and she was a bit groggy and looked really sad. We kept her there overnight to give her a little time to recover from the surgery and we picked her up on Saturday morning,.She had no energy on Saturday but by this morning she was hopping around the backyard on three legs.

On our new trampoline before the safety netting was put up

We also got a new trampoline this week. Everyone, including some of the neighbor kids, helped put it together although Marcy did the lions share of the work. It has already been a big hit with Jude and Anna jumping on it every day and having a blast.

Anna with her end of elementary school ice cream cake

Anna finished up fourth grade a couple of weeks ago and we finally got around to getting her celebratory ice cream cake. At Ricks she will be in middle school next year as it starts in fifth grade. So, like we did for Jude last year, we all celebrated with an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

Marcy with the now infamous crimson maple tree

Before Olive came back from hospital Marcy had planted the tree and filled in the hole where Olive got hurt. It is a beautiful tree but will always be associated with the injury to Olive.

At the golf course on Fathers Day

Today being Fathers Day, I got to do whatever I wanted. I decided that I wanted to head to the golf course with Jude and Anna. Marcy stayed home with Olive. We headed to CommonGround Golf Course where they have a nice Par-3. It was filled with other dads playing with their kids. We had a nice time with both kids playing decent golf.

This afternoon was a big deal for Anna. She headed to Geneva Glen for her first ever two week sleep-away camp. This camp is quite famous in Denver, it is almost 100 years old, and supposedly one of the top camps there is — some families have had multiple generations attend camp there. Jude and I said goodbye to Anna, and Marcy drove her to camp this afternoon. She has a good friend from the Waldorf School going but otherwise she won’t know anybody. It is going to be strange not having her around for the next couple of weeks.

Finally, my last fun part of Fathers Day was watching the US Open. I was able to sit and watch pretty much the entire final round starting with the leaders. It was a real treat.

Fresh off her first grooming

Olive received her first grooming this week and she came home as soft and cuddly as a teddy bear. There was no soccer or other sporting activities this weekend. Although Jude did have a babysitting class all day Saturday. He wasn’t all that keen on going but he committed to it a few weeks back as he is thinking about ways to make money this summer. He didn’t hate the day and he did come out of it with his babysitting certificate.

Jude saying goodnight to Olive

Saturday was a quiet day for Anna and me. We spent most of the morning at home with Olive but then took her to the Cherry Creek farmers market, where she met dozens of people and a lot of dogs as well. She was a big hit and was in constant demand the entire time we were there. We came home and she was exhausted and happy to be put in her crate. Saturday night we walked down to Reivers for dinner, a bit of a reward for Jude for completing the babysitting class.

Sunday, we did some work in the yard. We dug a hole for a new tree but discovered our sprinkler line straight down the middle of the yard so we had to postpone that project. Then in the afternoon Anna did some more work for her lawn care and gardening service. We also started to assemble our new trampoline which was delivered this week.

We ended the week with Food Group at our good friend Rick’s house. It was a lovely time but a little bittersweet as it was the first one hosted at their house since Jen passed away six months ago.

The five girls in Winter Park

Anna finished school at lunch time on Friday. Then she came home and drove to Winter Park with Marcy. There was a sleepover birthday party for one of her school friends who has a place in Winter Park. A couple of moms went along as well including Marcy. Jude and I stayed home, ordered pizza and watched a movie.

Anna and Marcy in the woods in Winter Park

Jude’s soccer team had their annual end of season tournament at Aurora Sports Park. They had three games and because they were undefeated they also made it to the final. Unfortunately, they lost the final but it was a great tournament for them, they have improved so much over this season.

Jude relaxing with Olive after a soccer game

Anna and Marcy went to see Wicked on Saturday afternoon and they both loved it. It was a pretty crazy day for Anna. She started the morning in Winter Park, had to drive back down to Denver and then quickly get changed to go downtown to see Wicked. Meanwhile Jude and I were at the soccer fields most of the weekend.

They had a weather delay in the soccer which meant Jude’s first game today was at 7am so it was a bright and early start for the two of us this morning. He had two more games, at 11am and 4pm so he was pretty tired at the end of it.

Olive loved the snow

We often get a May snowstorm or two in Denver and this past week we had, what will likely be, the last snow of the season. It was just a couple of inches and only stuck to the grass but it gave Olive a chance to get acquainted with the fluffy white stuff.

Anna with her two school friends presenting their business idea

Anna’s class has been studying entrepreneurship and business and for the culmination of this unit they had to present their business idea along with prototypes of their product. Anna’s group chose a business called CampItOut and they had two products; one was an Alumi-Blanket (a blanket lined with aluminum foil to help campers stay warm) and a “Bag-o-Matic” that was a warming and drying bag for wet clothes. Marcy and I went to school to see her group present their business.

On the Continental Divide atop A-Basin

They have been getting great snow in the mountains even this past week so Anna and I decided to get one last day of skiing in. Keystone closed six weeks ago but our pass is also good at Arapahoe Basin which is just five miles away. We drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed at our condo. We were up bright and early Sunday and were on the slopes by 9am. It was a little crusty in the early morning but by 10:30am it was warm and the snow softened up. We had a great day. Anna skied Pallavicini (twice), a double black and one of the steepest runs in Colorado.

Anna about to tackle one of the steepest runs in Colorado

Meanwhile back in Denver Jude and Marcy were having a fun time with Olive. Jude donated one of his old socks to Olive and they had an amazing tug of war with their teeth.

A teeth tug-of-war between Jude and Olive (and yes Olive is airborne)

We also got out the old kids pool and gave Olive a good soaking after she spent a lot of the afternoon playing in the grass and mud. Jude even got in on the act.

Jude joined Olive for a backyard bath

Arriving ay Union Station in Denver 

This weekend Baba and the Des Moines cousins, Lily, Ella and Chloe caught the train out from Iowa to Denver. Lily and Baba had done this before but the twins had not. It is an overnight train and a big adventure for everyone. The train was supposed to leave before 8pm but it didn’t end up leaving until 11:30pm so they were late getting in to Denver.

We had a surprise for the twins when they got here. They didn’t know we had a puppy so they were so surprised when Jude and I answered the door with Olive in our arms. Anna had baked chocolate cookies to welcome them all so we all had them for dessert that evening, along with ‘hamburgers’ (cupcakes) from Baba’s neighbor Ruth.

All five cousins with their desserts

Speaking of dinner, it was quite a production on Saturday night. We had chili for dinner but the girls prepared printed menus and put a lot of effort into preparing the rest of the meal.

Sitting down to a lovely Saturday night dinner

Today, Anna had a soccer game in the morning so we all went out to cheer her on. It was her last game of the season and once again Anna had a great game but her team narrowly lost. They all went for lunch at Noodles afterward. I picked Anna up from there and she went straight to a school friend’s birthday party.

Anna’s Skyline soccer team

The kids all had a great weekend. Olive was a hit with everyone and she was exhausted at the end of each day. And the girls all wanted Jude’s attention this trip and even a big fight broke out over who would sit next to him in the car. We have all really appreciated their visit but they all leave on the train home tomorrow night.

Jude and Ella arm in arm

Marcy spent part of Mothers Day working in the yard

This weekend was dominated by kids sport. Both Jude and Anna had soccer games on Saturday and Jude also had a track meet. So, we had to divide and conquer. Jude had a 9am game at Dicks Sporting Goods park so he and I were on way before 8am. Jude had probably his best game of the season in a closely fought 0-0 draw. We barely had time for a quick lunch and then it was on to the track meet.

Jude running down the final stretch in his 400m race

Jude ran in the 1600m and 400m races. The 1600m was first and he did well coming in 5th out to 10 kids. His time was 6:29, pretty good for a mile. In the 400m Jude came third and ran a great race. He said as we were leaving, “That was so fun”. So, he will be doing track again I expect.

Anna looking after Olive on her way to soccer

Today was Mother’s Day. Marcy wanted to spend as much of the day in the yard and both Jude and Anna had makeup soccer games. I decided to take Olive along to both games to keep socializing her and also to make sure Marcy was able to get some things done. Anna played her best game of the season today and was very unlucky not to score a goal. She was playing so well that the coach never subbed her off. Jude played in the afternoon and they had another good win. With seven wins, one draw and one loss Jude’s team won their league.

After presenting to Anna’s 4th grade class at Ricks

On Monday, my week started off with a presentation to Anna’s class. They are doing a unit on business and finance, so I came to talk to them about starting a business and we also played a fun little business game that Anna and I devised. It seemed to go over quite well.

Saying goodbye to the play set that has been part of their lives for the past six years

This week we said goodbye to the play set. We got this back in 2013 at our old house and the kids got hundreds of hours of use out of it. But they have pretty much grown out of it now so Marcy put an ad on Nextdoor and someone came to dismantle it and take it away. Now, another family will get to enjoy hundreds of hours of fun.