Jude in action this weekend for the Colorado Rapids

As we do pretty much every weekend in Spring we went to see Jude play soccer. He had another solid game and he was easily the best offensive player on his team. But they played a good team and lost 3-0. Jude was the only one on his team with some good opportunities on goal and one hit the post so he was unlucky not to score.

Anna showing off her baking skills

Over the last month Anna has started watching baking shows. The Great British Baking Show is her current obsession and we all watched the season finale of Season 1 tonight. It has also really motivated Anna to start baking herself. While she has always shown some interest in this it has reached a new level since she watched the show. She bugged Marcy for days that she wanted to make a cake so on Saturday she made one all by herself. It was actually pretty good.

Jude enjoying his special sundae as his reward

In fifth grade the big project they had to do was a state project. Jude was assigned Mississippi and he had to write a report and do a presentation on it. He worked hard on it and was excited to find out his grade. We said that if he got an A he would be rewarded with a special treat at Glacier, his favorite ice cream place. Well, the grade came in on Friday and he got an A-. So, we were off to Glacier today to celebrate.

Anna showing off her no hands skills on her bike

We have tennis courts about a quarter of a mile from our house. One of the neighbor kids asked Anna if she wanted to play. So, she got out her backpack and racket and rode her bike to the courts. She has been doing both golf and tennis lessons this spring and she likes tennis the best.

Anna baked the challah for our Shabbat celebration on Friday night

Our weekend began on Friday with Anna wanting to do a formal shabbat celebration. When Jude was in third grade (when they study Judaism in the Waldorf school) we had these nearly every weekend but for Anna we have only down it a couple of times. So, Anna found a recipe for challah bread, kneaded the dough and wrapped the braids to make the challah. The result was a delicious warm bread to have with our grape juice.

Jude making a “countdown” until the end of term, 23 1/2 school days to go

The weather was fantastic this weekend, the warmest of the year so far with both days close to 80 degrees. Jude had soccer on both Saturday and Sunday which made him happy. He also scored his first goal of the season and played well during both games.

Anna after her golf lesson with her new bag

Anna decided not to play soccer this season so she has had tennis and golf lessons. Tennis ended this weekend, it was just a four week program but Anna would like to continue to play. She is in the middle of the golf program and she seems to like that too. She also loves the accessories and we had to buy her a new bag because the one we got her last year broke. We picked up a nice $5 used bag that she loved.

Anna making her pizza crust

There was more baking tonight as we made our own pizza from scratch. This was something we used to do regularly a few years ago and it was Anna’s idea to do it again. Marcy made the pizza dough and we each made our own pizza with our favorite toppings.

Anna and Reed eating cupcakes and enjoying the fruits of their labor

We woke up on Saturday morning to snow. It is not unusual for late April in Denver but it is still disruptive nonetheless. We only had a about 2″ but it never stuck to the sidewalks or roads. It was enough snow that all sport was canceled on Saturday, this included Jude’s soccer, Anna’s tennis and Jude’s golf.

We just hung around at home most of the day venturing out to the bookstore and for Indian food at lunch time. Then on Saturday Anna went for a play date at Reed’s house while Jude had a friend over here. That evening Jude, Eric and I went to the school to see the senior projects which was really fun. Reed came over to our house for a sleepover – they slept on the top floor where they built a fort.

This morning they wanted to make cupcakes. So, Marcy found a recipe and for the most part left them to it. The made their own frosting and they were quite delicious.

The weather turned gorgeous today with bright sunshine and 65 degrees. Anna had her golf lesson at 10:30am and then afterwards we met up with her for lunch at the golf course and then did Aqua Golf (putt putt). It went much better this time than last time, with no meltdowns. Then we had a bike ride around Wash Park to end the day.

Speaking at LendIt Fintech USA 2018 in San Francisco

Last week was the annual LendIt USA conference. This is an all-consuming event that takes up a huge amount of my time. This year it was in San Francisco on April 9-11 which was last Monday to Wednesday. Marcy’s mom (Baba) came out to from Des Moines to stay with the kids so Marcy could make the trip to California.

The view from the Lounge where we had every meal at Half Moon Bay

On Thursday morning we checked out of the Marriott in San Francisco and headed to The Ritz-Carlton at Half Moon Bay where I had cashed in a bunch of Marriott points for three free nights. It was fantastic. The view in the above photo was literally our view for every meal we had there. We never tired of this.

Walking along the coastal trail at Half Moon Bay

We had a full three days in Half Moon Bay. On Thursday, we went for a long walk along the coastal trail that hugged the shoreline. Friday, I played golf on the Ocean Course while Marcy went for a 20-mile bike ride and explored the town. Saturday, we caught an Uber out to the redwood forest where we did another long hike but this one was in the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space so it was a forest trail the whole way. And we had some decent elevation gain along the way. We then rented bikes in the afternoon and went down to the end of the coastal trail.

Hiking in the redwood forest

Today, we went down to the beach. If you know this area you will realize that at any time of year the ocean is cold but in April it is downright freezing. We planned on spending a bit of time walking along the beach but after a few minutes our feet were numb from the cold so we headed back.

Walking along the beach with the hotel in the background

Meanwhile, back in Denver the kids were having a great time with Baba. They had ice cream every day, watched movies and Baba drove them to their regular weekend activities like soccer, golf and tennis. But they were both happy to see us when we arrived home this evening.

Enjoying some frozen yogurt at Pinkberry

Outside the Buell Theater getting ready for Hamilton

We got very lucky back in January when Hamilton tickets went on sale in Denver. There were tens of thousands of people going for only a few thousand tickets. Tickets were allocated at random and we got in early so we got good seats for the Thursday matinee show while the kids were on Spring Break.

Jude was not all that keen to go as you can see in the above photograph. But he ended up loving it, as did all four of us. Despite the hype and the buildup it was the greatest show I have ever seen and Anna said it was the best night of her life. Marcy wants to see it again in New York or even Puerto Rico where it will be playing in January.

Decorating Easter eggs at our neighbor’s house

With the kids on Spring Break this week and no major commitments they were very much into the Easter spirit. We decorated eggs at home yesterday and then went over to our neighbor’s house for dinner where the decorated some more. Last night Marcy and I set the eggs in the backyard and some in the house for the kids Easter egg hunt. They found them all pretty quickly. They were filled with coins or candy.

Doing the backyard Easter egg hunt

The big presents we gave the kids were golf clubs for Jude and a new bike for Anna. She was eager to test it out so she went for a solo ride around the neighborhood. Then we all got on our bikes and went to Aquagolf, the local putt-putt place.

Anna testing out her new bike for the first time

Finally, in these pages I focus on the highlights of our week and I intentionally leave out the difficult or painful parts of our lives but of course these things do happen. Today was one of those days that was difficult. We all went to mini golf and what started out as a fun family outing ended in screaming, crying and worse as Jude and Anna had a huge fight. We tried to deal with it as best we could but it was very, very difficult for all of us. It lasted most of the rest of the day and we could not get past it. We continue to work on managing conflict and meltdowns, and it is by far the hardest part of parenting for us right now.

In the outdoor hot tub at Keystone the night before the last ski team

A two week update this time as I was on my way to London last Sunday. That weekend marked Anna’s last on her ski team. She had a great final day and was sad to have the season end. She has progressed so well as a skier this year and is now pretty much the fastest skier in the family.

I enjoyed these ski team weekends as I took Anna to the majority of them. We would hang out on Friday night and then I would drop her off to ski team bright and early on Saturday morning. Then I would usually do some work in the morning and then head out to the mountain after lunch and meet up with Anna where we would ski a few more runs together after ski team.

Yesterday was my birthday and even though I had just got back from London late on Thursday night I decided that I wanted to spend my birthday weekend in Keystone. So, on Friday night we drove up to the condo. We awoke Saturday morning to 6″ of fresh powder so we made an earlier start than usual, getting to the lift by nine.

It ended up being a perfect ski day as far as conditions go. It was warm and sunny and we had fresh snow. At the top of the Outback in Keystone they have a Snowcat ride where they take you to the outer bowls where you can make fresh tracks. This is my favorite type of skiing so I wanted to do it given the great conditions. It was challenging for the kids but I had a great time skiing the fresh powder.

Anna happy to be skiing the fresh powder at the Outback in Keystone

We had a pretty full ski day and we all tired and sore by the time we called it a day. We all went to my favorite Mexican restaurant right by the condo for dinner and then we came home and watched a movie, Apollo 13. It ended up being a bit of a late night but it was a thoroughly enjoyable birthday.

Enjoying my birthday margarita with my two favorite kids

This was the first time we had left our cat, Pickles, at home by herself. We left her extra food and water to get through the two days she would be alone. She seemed to do fine. I think some of us missed her more than she missed us.

Jude was very happy to be reunited with Pickles again

Jude and I like to go for runs around the local park here. A lap around the park is about half a mile and Jude and I have done some races there. He is now officially faster than me at that distance and he is getting stronger all the time. We had another race last weekend just before I left for the airport.

Running a lap around the park

In the hot tub at Keystone the night before ski team

I have been taking Anna to most of the weekends for ski team. We originally thought all four of us would go up to Keystone most weekends but Jude decided this year he really didn’t like skiing any more and so we only did that a couple of times.

Anyway, on Friday night Anna and Marcy drove up to Keystone. Our condo was booked out so we used some points to get a place at Keystone resort right on the lake for Friday night. As you can see they spent some time in the hot tub and pool. Saturday was a cold and miserable day in Keystone so Marcy decided not to ski. And then they had the drive back from hell, taking four hours to get home, a drive that takes an hour and fifteen minutes with no traffic.

Anna takes a selfie on the long drive home

Jude and I watched a movie on Friday night, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and then on Saturday we had a free day. We ran some errands, went to Chipotle and played football in the park with some of the neighbor kids. Marcy and Anna finally got home at 8pm on Saturday night.

Today, we went to watch the new movie, A Wrinkle in Time, which we all loved. It was such a great movie. Marcy and Anna had listened to the entire book on Audible in the car yesterday on their very long drive. This afternoon we hung out at home, did the family crossword puzzle and played some soccer at the park.

Doing the Family Crossword in the Denver Post with lots of clues the kids know

We had some sad news in the Dahlen family this week. They had to put their beloved dog Buddy down. He was an old black lab that had been part of the family for 15 years. The kids both loved him and were sad to see him go. Jude talked about Buddy quite a bit this weekend.

Doing a toast to the Dahlens dog Buddy while out for dinner on Thursday night

Jude is very happy that Spring soccer is under way

This weekend marked the kickoff of the outdoor soccer season in Colorado. Yes, it is still winter but the Colorado Rapids begin their season every year with the Ice Breaker tournament on the first weekend of March. Jude was excited because he was promoted to the White team for this tournament after spending last year on the Blue team.

While Jude’s team won this tournament last year this year they did not do as well this time around. Jude played really well but his team did not do so well losing all three games in the Round Robin. But that didn’t bother Jude that much. He knew he played well and played hard so he was happy with the performance. Hopefully, this will mean during the regular season he will be promoted to White – we find that out this week.

Anna worked on crafts a lot this weekend, finshing her diorama and other things with her clay

Marcy got a call at lunchtime on Friday that Anna wasn’t feeling well. She had been coughing a bit all week but on Friday it got really bad. So, she had to miss ski team again. On Saturday morning while Jude was playing his first game Anna and Marcy went to the doctor. No strep or flu but they gave her some antibiotics because she had fluid in her lungs and we definitely want to prevent an infection. She is doing a bit better today.

Today, Jude had another morning game but we were back home by 10:45am. The rest of the day was spent at home watching a movie and relaxing.

Anna celebrating her successful race in Breckenridge

I spent the entire weekend with Anna in the mountains. We drove up Friday night and went to Anna’s favorite pizza place and then ice skating on Keystone Lake. Saturday, we were up bright and early for ski team. It was a cold day but Anna was toasty warm she said. I joined her for a few runs after ski team ended at 3pm and she took me on some really challenging black diamonds.

One of Anna’s closest friends at school is Reed. His family has a place in Breckenridge so we stayed there Saturday night. It meant we could sleep in a little later but it was still another early start to be there for the race meeting at 8:15am. It was a bitterly cold day, I think it was the coldest day of skiing I have had in over 20 years. The high was 11 and there was a 30 mph wind blowing. But Anna was a trooper the whole time.

She had two runs down the race course. The first run she was really pushing it hard and fell going over the jump. The second race, which I recorded below, she started slower and made adjustments and finished the race well.

Reed and his dad came to watch Anna race and we skied with them most of the day. It made for a really fun day that was about more than just the race. It was quite a long weekend away from home, we didn’t arrive back until 6pm Sunday night.

Meanwhile Jude stayed in Denver and chilled at home quite a bit. Our old neighbor Graham came over on Saturday, and Sunday he spent quite a bit of time with our current neighbors. Otherwise, he and Marcy watched movies and old Star Trek episodes. The original show is currently on Netflix and both kids are enjoying it.

Jude going up the climbing wall

Both kids had the past week off school so Marcy organized quite a few activities for them both. Earlier in the week they went to a climbing wall again.

Finally, Marcy took this cute photo below of the two of them watching Youtube videos. It was nice to see them getting along as that has been somewhat rare lately.

Watching YouTube videos on Marcy’s iPad

Anna on her school field trip to the indoor farm

Once a year I go on one of the kid’s school field trips. On Tuesday, I joined Anna’s third grade class on their trip to the Growhaus, an indoor farm in North Denver. It was a fascinating place where they grow a ton of vegetables indoors and they introduced the kids to concepts such as hydroponics and indoor gardening. I think I got more out of it than Anna did, I thought the place was great.

Jude and Anna tackle the climbing wall at REI

This weekend I had class so Marcy took the kids to REI to do the climbing wall. They also did a bit of shopping there.

A game of mini golf in shorts and a t-shirt on a mid-February day in Denver

Today, was the warmest day of the year so far, almost hitting 70 degrees. So, I left my class a little early and took Jude out to play some mini golf and then we went to the park to kick the soccer ball around. It was a little windy but apart from that it was a beautiful day.