A belated birthday celebration for Jude and Anna

The day after Christmas, Boxing Day as I refer to it, we were up early and off on the 10-hour drive for the annual New Year’s trip to Iowa. It was a chilly day to say the least with the temperature not getting into double figures the entire way. So, there was no outside time possible on this trip. We arrived around 7:30pm Iowa time and were greeted by Baba at the bottom of the street in festive gear.

The next day the cousins all came up and as we do every year, we celebrated Jude and Anna’s birthdays. Baba had baked birthday cakes with their age and we all enjoyed singing happy birthday again.

Lily, Anna and Ella horsing around in the living room

As usual the week was full of fun activities. It was very, very cold so there was not much outside time although the kids did go sledding in the front yard a couple of times. There were lots of card games with Baba, plenty of great food, other games and a couple of outings.

The regular cousins trip to Perkins for breakfast…look at those yummy pancakes

The cousins all played together well for the most part with the occasional fight of course. They did best when it was not all five together. The twins loved playing with Anna and Jude did ok one on one with Lily. One morning Lily and Jude went down to help Uncle Nathan build a ramp for their old dog Buddy.

Jude and Lily helped Uncle Nathan make a ramp for their dog Buddy

We also had our regular boys night although this time it was a boys lunch. Jude, Uncle Nathan, Grandpa and I went to watch the Iowa State football team play their bowl game yesterday at a local sports bar. It was a fun game and a great time, Jude really likes his time away from all the girls.

Doing the kids countdown for New Year’s at around 6pm as we get ready for dinner

We had the annual New Year’s celebration with party hats, shakers, balloons, streamers, confetti poppers and some great food. The confetti poppers were the biggest hit.

The kids celebrate New Year with some confetti poppers

Happy New Year!

Confetti everywhere

The first afternoon of winter break was spent decorating gingerbread houses

The kids ended the school term on Thursday at 12 noon. Marcy took them to Chipotle and then it was home where they were greeted with their first present of the season: gingerbread houses. They proceeded to spend the afternoon decorating their new houses. By 4pm I was home and it was off to see the new Star Wars movie. We all absolutely loved the movie.

At the Brown Palace celebrating Christmas tea

On Friday we had a lovely Christmas dinner at the Briere’s house and then Saturday we had the long awaited Brown Palace Christmas tea. Anna decided to forego ski team to visit the Brown Palace for a special Christmas tea. We went for the first time last year and we all loved it. They do a fantastic job with special tea, sandwiches, scones and an assortment of sumptuous desserts.

A couple of inches of snow was just enough for some fun sledding on the hill by our house

On Saturday night we went to the Mile High Church for their Christmas service. It was pretty impressive. It is a big church and they gave everyone a candle as we came in. There was lots of music and singing and at the end everyone in church (probably over 2,000 people) got to light their candle and with the lights dimmed it was an amazing spectacle. It was a lovely service and we will be going back again. On the way home it started snowing and we woke up on Christmas Eve to about 2″ of fresh snow, our first significant snow of the season. So, the kids put on their snow gear and went out for some sledding on the hill by our house.

Gathering by the tree before the opening of presents on Christmas morning

Christmas Day finally arrived and the kids were super excited. Even though this was our first year the kids knew about Santa it didn’t reduce their excitement for the day. We started at sunrise with both kids ready to go downstairs and discover what presents they had.

Anna with her beautiful new red coat she got for Christmas

We had our traditional Indian lunch as we went to our local Indian restaurant for their lunch buffet. And I made fruit salad and whipped cream for dessert, just like I used to have at Christmas when I was a kid. We went for a family walk around the park in the brisk winter air and we finished off the day with Star Wars: Rogue One since the kids had never seen it.

Jude reading his Big Nate book, taking a break from playing soccer in the basement

Anna about to start her first school concert playing the cello

Every year the Waldorf School has a Christmas concert. All the kids from Grades 3-8 participate. So, this was Anna’s first and she did great. The third grade all use string instruments, Anna chose the cello at the start of the school year. They have been practicing for a while and they played three songs well.

Jude having a blast after playing clarinet in his 5th grade Christmas concert

Friday was Marcy’s birthday. We met for lunch downtown at a great new restaurant Marcy has been wanting to try. We had left over Indian food for dinner and then we went out to buy a Christmas tree.

Marcy and the kids celebrate her birthday dessert assortment

This weekend Anna had ski team again and Jude didn’t want to go so I took Anna, we drove up early Saturday morning and then stayed the night in Keystone. She had another great day on the slopes with more terrain open and then at the end of the day Anna went for a few extra runs with me. Jude stayed home with Marcy and went to a synagogue, something he has been wanting to do for a while. He and Marcy both enjoyed it and want to try again there, as well as other places of worship. Jude has been wanting to watch more movies that are not appropriate for Anna, so Marcy indulged him with Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean. Jude was excited to share Pirates with Anna (after he and Marcy decided it wouldn’t be too scary), so Anna got to watch that one on Sunday.

No photos this week as Marcy and I both forgot to take any. It was another busy travel week for me with a trip to both DC and New York. Thankfully, I made it back by midday on Friday this time so we were all able to head up to Keystone together on Friday afternoon.

Anna has ski team every Saturday from now until March. Yesterday, she had an evaluation by the lead coach on the ski team and she said she did well. It seems like Anna is the fastest in her group but she needs to work on her form which they will be doing a lot over the coming weeks.

Jude was a reluctant visitor to Keystone this weekend. He would have rather stayed at home even though he had a good time when I took him up the mountain.

We have started looking at new schools for Jude for next year. He is looking for a change from Waldorf and we agree that it is a good time for him to look at other schools. He will be going into middle school next year so many parents are looking at new schools. We have already been to open houses at two prospective school: The Denver School of Science and Technology and the Boys School of Denver. We think both would work well for Jude.

On Wednesday this past week Marcy toured the International School of Denver. Unfortunately, I was out of town and couldn’t make the tour. Marcy liked it and she thinks it might be the best fit for Jude moving from Waldorf. He will spend the day there shadowing just after the New Year.

Selfie with the Rentons and Miers outside our condo in Keystone

This week I was in New York for work and when I flew into Denver on Friday night I drove straight to the mountains. We had some dear friends from Australia visiting, the Miers, and we spent the weekend with them at our condo in Keystone. They had actually been there since Monday, we just joined them for the weekend. This was their third visit to Colorado but the first in 14 years and the first without their kids (who are now adults).

The first morning of Anna’s ski team in Keystone

Saturday marked Anna’s first time on Ski Team. She loves skiing and loves to go fast so she was excited to join the team at Keystone. She is with a small group of other nine-year-olds and they will practice together every Saturday until mid-March. They will also compete in some formal races starting in January. Anna loved her coach and her group, she said she had a great day and is already looking forward to next Saturday. The rest of us skied all day on Saturday and we actually caught up with Anna’s group on their last run of the day.

Anna, Elaine, myself and Scott at the top of Keystone

Today, we went up the mountain just for the morning. Jude didn’t want to go so he stayed back with Marcy but the four of us went up for some runs. It was way less crowded than Saturday which meant short lift lines and more open spaces on the slopes. I took a video of Anna as she was flying down the mountain.

The weekend was over all too fast and we said goodbye to the Miers after lunch today. We won’t see them again until February, 2019 when we are back in Australia for my sister’s wedding.

Anna loved snuggling with Elaine on the couch

Jude enjoying his birthday donut

On Thursday Jude turned 11 years old. For the second year in a row he celebrated his birthday in Sydney. It was Thanksgiving Day but obviously they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia. Jude called the shots on Thursday. We went out to his favorite breakfast place in Manly, Three Beans, and after that he wanted a donut. Then we spent the rest of the day on the beach. That night we met up with his Australian family for dinner and another birthday celebration.

Everyone singing Happy Birthday to Jude at dinner

We visited Luna Park, Sydney’s amusement park, this week where the kids got to go on some rides and eat some fairy floss (the Australian term for cotton candy). We incorporate a visit to Luna Park on every trip and it is a small place so the kids know every ride well. Unfortunately, the roller coaster called the Wild Mouse, was under repair which is one of their favorites.

Riding the big slide in Coney Island at Luna Park

We took a trip out to my good friend Richard’s farm one day this week. We have missed him on our last couple of visits so it had been almost three years since our last visit there. The big draw for the kids, apart from their backyard pool is the alpacas. Richard breeds alpacas for their wool and has about 30 animals on his farm near Sydney. He has 100 more on another farm further west. The kids got to feed the alpacas and pet them a little although they are not super friendly.

Herding the alpacas on Richard’s farm

We spent some time pretty much every day on the beach. The swim from Manly to Shelley Beach is about a half mile, and Marcy and I did that several times. Jude loved playing catch with a tennis ball and kicking a beach soccer ball as well as going in the ocean. Jude even did an open water swim over about 300 yards to Shelley Beach one day. Anna loved catching waves on her boogie board and playing in the sand. In fact, she spent probably more time just playing in the sand than in the water. We had lunch on the beach many times and made the most of the good weather we had.

Anna catching a wave on her boogie board

It was all over too quickly and we arrived back in Denver on Saturday afternoon. It was a quiet day today as we were all pretty jet-lagged. Although to the kids credit, they slept great last night and we hope they will be well rested for back to school tomorrow.

Anna completely buried in a huge hole on Manly Beach

On the Manly Ferry into Circular Quay

We have taken advantage of the beach every day this week. The weather has been pretty good for the most part so we have made a point of spending as much time at the beach as we can. But we have also spent time doing other things.

Lunch at the Sydney Oyster Bar

We all love catching the Manly Ferry into the city. It is a half hour ride with some of the nicest views in Sydney, particularly of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We spent half a day in the city walking around the Botanic Gardens and then heading to our favorite lunch place, the Sydney Oyster Bar which is right on the water near the Opera House.

Watching the Australian Soccer Team beat Honduras to make the World Cup

A couple of weeks ago Jude was tooling around on the ESPN app and we noticed that the qualifying game for the World Cup was going to be in Sydney while we were there. We went to a World Cup qualifying game for the US in Denver earlier in the year but this was a big game in Sydney, the final qualifying game. The winner got to go to the World Cup next year, the loser did not. It was a very exciting game but Australia came out victorious in the end, 3-1. Jude and I both had a great time.

Anna showing her surfing skills

On Thursday the Miers kids came to visit and they brought their old surfboard, this was the same board that we borrowed when we were living here for six months in 2012. Anna wanted to go out so both Alicia and Emily went out with her and helped her catch some waves. She did well, getting up a few times and catching many waves with their help. We also bought some boogie boards for the surf and Anna has taken a liking to that as well.

Out with my old college friends

As I do an every trip I organize a gathering with my old college friends. This time we met up in the city on Friday night at my favorite Sydney night spot, the Opera Bar, right by the Opera House. It was a very enjoyable evening catching up with everyone.

The entire Renton clan together for Robyn & Mark’s engagement party

Back in August I noticed a post on Facebook that my sister Robyn was engaged. I called her immediately and found out the great news. Her partner of 20+ years had popped the question (not sure what took him so long :-)). They had their engagement party at the Baulkham Hills Sports Club and my Dad was able to make it so we had everyone there. Mark’s extended family was all there as well.

Anna getting friendly with Gally one of Robyn and Mark’s horses

After the engagement party lunch we drove out to Robyn and Mark’s farm out near Bargo. The kids had been really looking forward to this visit, they are very fond of their aunt and uncle and they love all the animals. Unfortunately, the horse they used to ride passed away a while ago and the other horses are not suitable for riding by young kids. So, they had to be satisfied with just petting the horses.

Jude petting Bud, their young and frisky horse

Anna and Jude hitting the beach on our first day in Sydney

On Thursday afternoon we left Denver for our annual trip to Sydney. The kids were super excited about this trip, particularly about spending time on the beach and with their little cousin Sarah.

The now traditional visit to mum’s grave on our first morning

After an uneventful trip we landed in Sydney on Saturday morning their time (still Friday afternoon in Denver). We rented a car and headed straight for the cemetery where my mother is buried. We have done this every visit since she passed away in 2014 and it nice to spend some time there honoring and remembering my mum. It still feels strange that we don’t get to see her on these visits.

Anna, Sarah and Jude

Saturday afternoon my brother and his family came over to our place at Manly. Anna said the thing she was most excited about for this trip was seeing her cousin Sarah, who is almost three. Both Jude and Anna enjoyed playing with her and then we all decided to go for a walk along the beach and to dinner.

Today, we went to visit my dad in the morning at the nursing home. He has aged in the year since we last saw him but he was in a good mood when we saw him. We sat and chatted with him for a while and I could see that cognitively he has declined a bit in the past year. But he is not doing badly for 91.

Visiting my father, Grandpa Jack, at the nursing home

This afternoon we spent some more time on the beach and then went to visit an old friend from high school and his family. They have a boy just a year younger than Jude and they had a blast playing on the tennis court there. Anna played with their second eldest girl who is about three years older. They both want to go back.

Reed and Anna about to go Trick or Treating in our neighborhood

Tuesday was Halloween night and the kids were excited to get into their costumes and head out trick or treating. Anna dressed up as a huntress and Reed created a homemade plague doctor outfit which was truly impressive. Jude went his own separate way over to his friend’s house for trick or treating. They both scored an impressive stash of candy but like we have done every year they were allowed to keep a few pieces and the switch witch came and took the rest in exchange.

The Grim Reaper (Jude) and Blockhead (Santi) ready to hit the neighborhood on Halloween

This weekend we were up early again for Jude’s soccer game, his last one of the season. His team lost against the white Rapids team but Jude played quite well. He will hopefully find out soon whether or not he moves up to white next season.

Anna and me at the Air Force Falcons football game

After Jude’s game I went on an Anna and Daddy date, something we had not done in a while. Anna has shown some interest in the Air Force Academy so I decided to take her to a football game there. We went and saw the Air Force Falcons take on the Army Black Knights although football was only of secondary interest to Anna. She enjoyed the pre-game entertainment the highlight of which was an Air Force jet flying very low over the stadium. We left at half time and went to the Visitor Center there which was nestled right up against the mountains. The whole campus is just beautiful.

Anna doing a cello recital with her teacher

Today, we were up early again, this time for Anna’s soccer. She had an indoor tournament at the same place Jude did last weekend. After that we came home briefly and then Anna had her very first cello recital. She was very brave as she was the first student up in front of about 100 people and she did great. She played the song from memory and didn’t miss a note as far as I could tell.

Jude watching the girls state field hockey championship at All-City Stadium

On Thursday of this week it was cold and a little snowy. But we could hear the announcer at the local stadium, it is less than two blocks away, and Jude rememberd it was the girls State Field Hockey Championship. So, we put on our ski gear and all went over to check it out. It was fun watching the game although Anna and Marcy left at the start of the second half. Jude wanted to stay to the end and it went double overtime and then a penalty shoot-out. There was a decent crowd with lots of high school kids but it was 9:15pm by the time it was all over.

Anna’s soccer team after their undefeated season

On Friday afternoon we had the Fall Festival at the school with a bunch of fun activities for the kids including a Haunted House. They both got dressed up in their Halloween gear for the occasion. Saturday, as it has been every week for the past two months, was all about soccer. Jude was excited because he got called up to the next level, the “white” team. He has been on the Blue team since he started in competitive soccer over a year ago and he was excited to be moving up a level. He played well and his team won 6-0. in the afternoon Anna’s team came from behind to tie the game and kept their undefeated season intact.

On Saturday night Anna had her very first sleepover with some school friends. She had a little trepidation but was overall excited to go. We did say she could call at any time and she decided to do just that around midnight. She wanted to come home because the other kids would not go to sleep. So, Marcy drove over to get her, luckily it was a short drive. She was back in her bed quickly and slept in until after 9am this morning.

Jude relaxing on the hammock at home with his “sparks” also know as sparkling water

Sunday morning Jude had an indoor soccer tournament at the Rapids new facility. Called futsal, this version of indoor soccer has no walls and is played on artificial turf. Called the Community Cup the entire Rapids U11 league turned out for this game. Jude played on a team with some really great players and they were unlucky not to make it through to the finals.

Anna carving her pumpkin in the kitchen

Today, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch where Jude and Anna picked out their pumpkins. As soon as we got home Anna started work on hers, doing it all by herself. Jude was still into soccer so he went into the backyard and played against the wall most of the afternoon. We did take a break to run around the park. Jude and I actually had a race, it is about half a mile, and he beat me for the first time. While I can still beat him in a sprint he is a faster runner than me now over any kind of distance.

Anna doing Aerial Gymnastics at the birthday party

In Anna’s class they do group birthday celebrations by season. So, this afternoon the class celebrated the fall birthdays, with five kids including Anna celebrating their birthday. We booked out this aerial gymnastics place which was pretty cool. You get to hang on these silk ropes and go upside down. Anna wants to do it now on a regular basis (and so does Marcy).