On top of the Empire State Building looking south

Anna has always really wanted to go to New York City and around the dinner table a few weeks ago we were wondering if we could go on a trip to celebrate Marcy’s birthday. With cheerleading taking up so many weekends we saw there was a window in the week before Christmas. So, we cashed in a bunch of points for free flights and a free hotel room at the Sheraton Hotel just a few blocks north of Times Square.

With “Fearless Girl” outside the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street

We arrived Monday night and went straight down to Target in Times Square because we forgot the air mattress for Anna. Then the first morning we walked around Times Square, went to the New York Public Library and then brought in Joe’s Pizza for lunch at the office (the Fintech Nexus office is right in Times Square). Then it was on to the Empire State Building, still a beautiful and imposing building at almost 90 years old. That night we had dinner at a Peruvian restaurant in Hells Kitchen.

Getting their first taste of the NYC subway

Marcy booked a walking tour of Lower Manhattan on Wednesday so we all jumped on the subway to get the train downtown. We had a wonderful guide, Megan, who showed us all the high spots of Lower Manhattan including the City Hall, Seaport, Battery Park, Wall Street, the 9-11 memorial and more. It was one of the highlights of the trip. After another pizza lunch we decided to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and explore Brooklyn. We walked along the East River promenade and then to the Dekalb Market for an early dinner. Then it was back to Times Square where we bought tickets to see & Juliet, one of the popular new musicals. It was great.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

Thursday we walked through Central Park and on to Columbia University which is just a few blocks northeast of the park. We walked around the campus a little and tried to get into the library but it was closed. Not to worry we enjoyed taking in the beautiful campus. After lunch at Pret it was another subway ride to the pier for our Circle Line cruise. This was a cruise around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. It was a gorgeous day but a little cold. That night we went to Grand Central station and caught a train to have dinner at our work friend Joy’s house in New Rochelle.

On the cruise to see the Statue of Liberty

Friday was more walking (we walked around 13 miles each day). We started off at the Intrepid Museum which is on the Intrepid aircraft carrier that is moored in midtown Manhattan. Marcy and I have been there twice before for Fintech Nexus functions but we thought the kids would really enjoy it, which they did. We got to see a ton of old planes, including the one from the Top Gun movie. We also toured the bridge and the officers’ quarters and learned about life on an aircraft carrier during times of war.

At the Intrepid Museum on the aircraft carrier

From there we walked down the High Line to Chelsea Markets for a delicious lunch.

Walking through Chelsea Markets

Then we happened to be walking past Cornelia Street and we had to stop to get a picture of Taylor Swift’s old house.

Outside Taylor Swift’s old house on Cornelia Street

Then we walked through Little Italy where we stopped for some dessert at the Cannoli King. Next we walked through Chinatown before returning to the hotel. That night we went our separate ways with Marcy and Anna going to see Chicago while Jude and I went to see the Nuggets play the Brooklyn Nets – just a fluke they were in town while we were there. It was Jude’s first NBA game ever.

Outside the United Nations building

Saturday was our last day and we split up again. Jude and I wanted to watch the Arsenal game in one of New York’s bars devoted to Arsenal, so we chose Olde City in Chelsea. We had a great time, it was a very rowdy but friendly bar with lots of singing and drumming and yelling at the TVs. Meanwhile, Marcy and Anna rented bikes and rode to Holly Golightly’s apartment, from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Then they walked through Central Park to Columbus Circle to visit the Taylor Swift exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design.

Our last walk through Times Square

We then walked back to our hotel and headed to the airport. Our plane was a little early but it was still 11:30pm by the time we got home.

Yesterday was spent unpacking and doing laundry and, of course, getting ready for Christmas. It is a little easier now the kids are older but Marcy still puts in a big effort to make the day special for everyone.

Christmas Day lunch at Little India’s restaurant, a family tradition

Christmas morning began with the sharing of presents, and Marcy and Anna made cinnamon rolls. After a quiet morning we headed to Little India’s for lunch. We usually get takeout but this year we decided to dine in. It was a delicious meal and we had lots of leftovers to enjoy. This afternoon Marcy baked her nut rolls and I made a fruit salad, just like my mum used to make on Christmas Day in Sydney.

Celebrating with Marcy’s birthday cheesecake

It was Marcy’s birthday on Friday and she wanted a low key day. She baked herself a lemon cheesecake because that is what she wanted for her birthday cake. Marcy and Anna had their nails done, then we all went for lunch at Modern Market. We played Pictionary and for dinner we had pizza from Whole Foods.

This weekend was all about Anna’s cheerleading. It was the first competition of the year for Cheer Athletics and they had been working on their routine for more than four months.

Anna and her team about to start the Frost Cats routine

Anna is on two teams: Frost Cats and Whit3 Out. Frost Cats performed early, around 9:15am both days and Anna needed to be there at 7am. I took her early on Saturday and Marcy on Sunday. Whit3 Out performed late afternoon both days so Anna was there around 12 hours each day. Each performance is 2 1/2 minutes and each team performs on both Saturday and Sunday.

Anna was so excited this morning when Frost Cats won their division with a flawless routine. Whit3 Out also performed well, hitting zero in both performances but unfortunately, they came in third place, a big disappointment for the team.

Whit3 Out after the awards

Frost Cats at the end of their routine

After training since June, the Cheer Athletics season officially began today with the Blue Debut at the National Western Complex. This is the day when they perform their routine in front of an audience of a couple of thousand people but they are not graded and it is not an official competition.

White Out doing a stunt (Anna is the base closest to the camera)

Anna is in two teams this year at CA. She started off in Frost Cats which is a level 2 team and then a spot opened up on White Out, a level 3 team, and Anna was invited to join. So, she has two teams as well as her high school team. This is a lot but we are ok with it as long as Anna keeps up her grades which she is doing.

Today, the teams did well although they didn’t “hit zero” meaning zero mistakes. There was a small hiccup in each routine but Anna was so happy to be back performing again, she just loves it.

Jude came today and saw both routines. There was a 90-minute break between them so Jude and I went to a sports bar to watch some of the Broncos game.

Anna with her favorite cheer coach, Coach Eddie who coached her last year

After dinner at Wash Park Grill to celebrate Jude’s birthday

The kids were off school for Thanksgiving break all week. And Jude turned 17 on Thanksgiving Day. So, we gave him the option of going out somewhere for dinner on Wednesday and he chose Wash Park Grill. It was an incredibly delicious meal.

Off to do the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning

On Thanksgiving morning Jude and I headed out to do the Turkey Trot, a four-mile run around Wash Park. I think this is the fourth time we have done this run, so it is becoming a bit of an annual Thanksgiving tradition. Jude and I both had our fastest runs to date (Jude’s time was 26:34 and I did 32:29).

Sitting down to our Thanksgiving feast

We gave Jude a PS5 for his birthday so he spent some of the day playing with his new console. But we all contributed to Thanksgiving dinner. Anna made the bread rolls and pumpkin pie. Jude made the twice-baked potatoes, I made the turkey and gravy and Marcy did the sweet potato casserole, green beans and cranberry sauce. It was one of our best meals ever.

Jude celebrating his birthday with pumpkin pie

We celebrated Jude’s birthday after dinner and he chose pumpkin pie as his “cake” of choice.

The day after Thanksgiving we drove up to Pine to visit Marcy’s cousin Michele and her husband Tony. They have a beautiful house and are real foodies so we had a delicious pasta meal paired with some truly incredible red wine (Opus One is to die for).

At the Broncos game vs the Browns

Today, Jude and I went to see the Broncos game at Empower Field. It was a gorgeous sunny day, although it was a little brisk at 38 degrees. It was a good day for the Broncos, they won quite easily against the Browns. Jude had a blast.

South Cheerleading team at League

Anna’s two-week imposed break because of her concussion is over. She was back to her practices this weekend which made her very happy. But she was disappointed to miss out on the first high school “League” competition this past week. She went along to cheer on her teammates but she could not compete. Hopefully, this is the last time that happens.

Her White Out team with their community service project

This week, Jude started a business. This is something he has been talking about for months and we finally sat down to do it this week. He decided to do a dropshipping business on Shopify and his store is TopSoccerGifts.com. He has a rudimentary store up right now but he will be working on it every day with the goal of launching it before Thanksgiving. Now that soccer season is over he has a lot more time on his hands.

On our date night downtown

Last weekend Marcy and I went on our quarterly night away from the kids. This is the fourth time we have done this and this time we stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Denver (using points of course). We had a wonderful meal at a Mexican restaurant next to the Denver Milk Market. We also went out for breakfast the next day at another great place called Onefold.

A bald eagle in Wash Park

When I went out for my afternoon walk on Friday I noticed a bald eagle flying and landed in this tree. Very cool to see one of these in the city.

Jude (No. 12) in action for the South Varsity team

It was quite an eventful Wednesday night here in the Renton household. Jude had his first playoff game ever for South Varsity team. They came in ranked #31 in the state which means they had to play the #2 ranked team: Ralston Valley who were undefeated.

The boys played the game of their life and it was 1-1 after regulation time. Jude came on in the second half and played really well. But the referee made a dubious call in overtime awarding a penalty to Ralston Valley and the game was over. Still, South gave one of the best teams in the state a run for their money and with a little luck would have beaten them.

Meanwhile Anna was at her high school cheer practice that same night. When one of the stunts went wrong one of the other girls fell on Anna’s head and gave Anna a concussion. Marcy was called and it was decided they should go to the ER to get Anna checked out. She was diagnosed with a concussion but nothing worse than that. But Anna was told she had to take two weeks completely off. No sports, no driving, no lifting anything. This would be a forced break.

With her care package from Baba and Grandpa

This weekend we had our first snow of the season. About 8″ fell at our place so all outdoor activities were canceled, including Jude’s refereeing and his Real soccer tryouts. “Stupid snow”, said Jude.

Jude relaxing at the top of the Incline

On Friday I took half a day off work so we could all go to Manitou Springs to do the Incline. I think this is the fifth year in a row we have done this and with the kids on Fall break we headed down south. It was a beautiful crisp and clear day, perfect for the challenging climb. I climbed the 2,768 steps slightly faster than last year at 41:41 and Jude also lowered his record to 30:59. We all enjoyed a delicious lunch in the town and the kids had their traditional funnel cake afterward.

At Falcon Stadium on a chilly fall night

Anna did a cheer camp at the Air Force Academy this summer so she wanted to go back to see a football game. On Saturday afternoon we headed down to the Springs to see the Air Force Falcons defeat the Wyoming Cowboys. There was the usual flyover, with an AC-130 bomber this time, and they also had a bunch of paratroopers drop into the stadium.

One of the actual falcons the Air Force trains (the headgear is to help keep them calm)

The highlight for me at a Falcons game is watching the actual falcon fly. It came out at halftime and flew around the stadium for a couple of minutes. They are such amazing creatures – the fastest living thing on the planet, they can fly at speeds of up to 250 miles per hour. We got to meet one on our way out which was really cool.

the cheerleaders in action at the homecoming football game

This was homecoming week at South High School and there were all kinds of festivities. The big homecoming games were on Friday night. First, the varsity soccer team played at 5pm. They had an easy win, 5-2. But what was really cool, for us at least, is that the cheerleaders came by in the second half to cheer them on. So, Jude was on the field with Anna and her team cheering them on.

Taking a break at the football game

The main event, of course, was the football game. Marcy and I volunteered to work at the concession stand but they let us out just before halftime so we could watch the cheerleaders perform. They were great.

About to head out for the Homecoming Dance

On Saturday night was the homecoming dance. Anna was really looking forward to it and we bought her a new dress for the occasion. Jude was less enthusiastic (and he declined to have his photo taken) but they went together at around 7:30pm. Anna had a good time but was home by 9:30pm, Jude about half an hour later. Marcy and I used our free night to play backgammon for the first time in decades.

Jude’s official soccer photo

The official photos of the soccer team came out this week. Jude looks great in his varsity uniform.