Anna in her flower girl dress for Aunt Robyn’s wedding

On Christmas Eve we went to a church service in Boulder where our good friend Scott is the minister. It was a beautiful service and it was great to connect with him again. That night we watched Mary Poppins and we (really, it was 99% Marcy) got everything ready for Christmas morning.

The presents were stacked under the tree when the kids awoke on Christmas morning. The kids appreciated their gifts with Anna spending most of Christmas Day upstairs putting together her 800+ piece Harry Potter lego set. Jude played with his Perplexus but like most days his thoughts soon turned to soccer. It was a pretty nice day so we went out in the afternoon and played a family game of soccer in the park.

Playing soccer in the park on Christmas Day

The day after Christmas, as we do most years, we left on a drive to Iowa. So as to make Christmas Day a bit more relaxing we decided to leave after lunch and just drive part of the way. There was a winter storm on I-80 in Nebraska so we decided to take I-70 to Kansas City. It was raining a good part of the way and the drive was a little nasty with heavy rain but there was no snow thankfully. We made it to Topeka where we spent the night before heading to West Des Moines on the 27th.

Jude wearing Baba’s battery powered Santa hat

Jude and Anna were so happy to see their Iowa family again. The kids have been playing really well together for the most part and as always there has been lots of fun activities. There have been lots of games, breakfast at IHOP, a trip to the indoor trampoline park, a movie theatre outing and more. Jude, Nathan and I even went to play indoor golf in a simulator where we “played” Pebble Beach.

Breakfast at IHOP with Baba

There has been lots of playing around the house as well. The kids have been playing with Lola who at 16 years of age just keeps on going.

Sharing Lola’s favorite chair

The entrance to Cherokee Ranch and Castle

On September 4, 2004 Marcy and I got married at Cherokee Ranch about 30 minutes south of Denver. We had not been back there since…until yesterday. They now do a Christmas tea and so instead of the Brown Palace this year the family drove down to Sedalia to Cherokee Ranch and Castle.

In the Churchill Room amid the beautiful Christmas decorations

We had a delicious afternoon tea and then were treated to a tour of the Castle, something we did not do 14 years ago. It has an amazing history with more historic objects than most museums. The last owner of the ranch was a very well known and wealthy landowner who was invited to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1952 as well as the inauguration for Ronald Reagan. It has been hosting weddings and functions since after she died in 1999.

The cutest photo of the two kids that we have taken in a long time

We went up to the turret, where we took a bunch of photos 14 years ago. It was a lot colder but the view was still fantastic.

In the turret at the top of the Castle

On our way out we stopped in the courtyard which we found out used to be a pool several decades ago. It was where our ceremony took place.

Standing on the exact spot where we were married in 2004

On to more somber news. Our dear friend Jen Heth passed away on December 9th after a long fight with breast cancer, a disease she faced with amazing courage and grace. Her husband Rick, has been one of my best friends since I arrived in the US in 1991, Rick was in our wedding, and they were an integral part of “food group” our regular dinner party gathering. Her funeral was on Wednesday and it was an amazingly beautiful service. The church, where Rick and Jen have been regulars for a couple of decades, was packed with 600 people. She touched so many people and Marcy and I were blessed to call her a friend.

Jen Heth, with her husband Rick, taken at our engagement party in 2003

Friday night was the annual Briere Christmas Party and it was great that Rick decided to come along. We all had a lovely time and the kids enjoyed the food and of course the movies that are always on show. The kids had their latest night in a long time as we were the second last family to leave just after 10:30pm.

Marcy’s birthday dinner at Charcoal

Saturday was Marcy’s birthday. The weather was decent so Marcy wanted to spend some time outside. First, she wanted to clean up the trash on the main road near our house. She takes this walk regularly with Anna, walking her to school, and the amount of trash is quite staggering. We picked up about 10 trash bags full as well as five election signs that were on the side of the road.

Cleaning up trash along University Boulevard

In the afternoon we played soccer in the park with the neighbors. It was quite an epic game, it lasted a full 90 minutes and we were all delightfully exhausted in the end.

After the epic soccer match in the park

In the evening we walked down to South Gaylord Street and had dinner at Charcoal, a place where Marcy actually had her birthday lunch last year. We ordered a cheesecake for dessert and we all sang Happy Birthday.

Speaking of birthday’s, our neighbor Hilmar turned 80 this week. So the kids got together at his place to help him celebrate.

Our neighbor Hilmar celebrates his 80th birthday

Today, we went to get a Christmas tree. We usually like to wait until after Marcy’s birthday before we get fully into the Christmas decorating here. Anna and Marcy dressed the tree just like they always do with Marcy marveling at the age of some of these ornaments. This afternoon Anna and Marcy went to Wash Park to meet with one of Anna’s school friends and Jude and I played another game of soccer in the park.

Our Christmas tree for 2018

Anna showing her style on her first ski day of the season

We had a couple of special guests this week at our home. Our brother-in-law, Nathan, was out in Denver on business this week so Marcy’s sister, Mandy, came out to join him. They stayed at our house on Thursday night and then went up to the mountains for a long weekend.

On Saturday night Anna and I drove up to Keystone for our first ski day of the season. Anna had a birthday party Saturday afternoon and we headed up right after that. Sunday was a cold but mostly sunny day in Keystone and we had a great day on the slopes. It really wasn’t that crowded for a Sunday and Anna wanted to go non-stop. We did about 12 runs and were still done by 2:15pm; more accurately, my knees were done so we called it a day.

That evening Mandy and Nathan came over to our place in Keystone for dinner and what was the last night of their trip. We had takeout pizza before heading back down the mountain.

Sunday night pizza dinner in Keystone with Nathan and Mandy

Meanwhile in Denver today Marcy and Jude had a quiet day. They played a little soccer at the park, and Jude played baseball with the neighbors. Jude discovered a new favorite movie, Pants on Fire. And then in the afternoon, Jude went to a birthday party for a new school friend.

Visiting the Arc de Triomphe on our last day in Paris

Our week began in Paris with one last day on Monday. It was a cold and somewhat drizzly day but we braved the elements. Jude and I caught the train to the main soccer stadium to visit the soccer store there where they had a jersey Jude wanted. Then we met up with Marcy and Anna at Luxembourg Gardens. We were hoping to try the remote control boats on their lake there but because of bad weather they were not available.

Jude and Anna wanted some familiar food and thanks to the wonders of American franchising there was a Chipotle less than half a mile away from the gardens. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the comfort food that Chipotle provides, while Marcy wandered around the block to find a crepe.

Digging in to a Chipotle lunch on our last day in Paris

We left Chipotle to go to the Arc de Triomphe. We decided to ride scooters most of the way which the kids loved, it put them in a far better mood than if we had walked. We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (277 steps, both kids counted) but we did not linger given it was pretty cold.

Tuesday we had to get up very early to catch our train back to London. We awoke at 5:50am, two hours earlier than the day before and then it was a taxi to the train station to catch the 7:43am train. We then took an Uber to Heathrow and the direct flight back to Denver. All in all it was about 18 hours of travel to get home. The kids did really well considering but they were super tired when we got home and were in bed by 6:30pm.

Waiting for our luggage at Denver airport

Wednesday morning everyone was up early as both Jude and Anna were awake by 3:30am. They have been jet lagged really until today with neither kid sleeping past 5:30am. They have been so tired they have been in bed by 7:30pm most nights.

This weekend was a very low key one. Jude had nothing planned and we stayed at home the entire weekend but for a lunch at Noodles on Saturday and a trip to the bookstore. Anna went to the Waldorf School Holiday fair on Saturday and brought Reed home for a playdate afterwards. Today, Jude and I watched the English soccer in the morning and the Broncos later in the day while Anna had a friend from her new school over for a playdate.

Jude and Anna come on stage during my opening of Day 2 at LendIt Fintech Europe 2018

The fifth LendIt Europe event was in London again this year and it also happened to be on Thanksgiving week. This is, of course, Jude’s birthday week so we decided several months ago that we would cash in some miles and bring the whole family to Europe. I left on 9 days ago on the Friday with Marcy, Jude and Anna supposed to follow me 24 hours later. But their flight was canceled so they were delayed a day, arriving on Monday morning.

The conference and hotel where we were staying just happened to be walking distance to Arsenal’s stadium (called The Emirates). So, the first afternoon Marcy took the kids to see the stadium. They did the official stadium tour and Jude was in awe. He got to go through the players’ tunnel, go down by the field, visit the locker room and more.

Jude by the field at The Emirates, Arsenal’s home stadium

Tuesday, I still had to work at the event but I did involve Jude and Anna as I brought them up on stage on the opening morning. I am the emcee of these events so I always introduce the speakers and before I did the first speaker on day one I introduce Jude and Anna to the audience. The kids loved being on stage and many people came up to me afterwards to tell me how happy they were I did that.

At platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station with Anna wearing her Slytherin scarf

We went to Kings Cross station to see the Harry Potter shop and Platform 9 3/4. They both bought some Harry Potter gear at the shop and got to pose for a photo.

Jude and Anna outside Buckingham Palace

Wednesday was my first official day of vacation and we had a full day. We went to the top of The Shard, the tallest building in London, toured Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, did a river cruise on The Thames, saw Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and finished off the day at Buckingham Palace.

At Windsor Castle where Harry and Meghan got married earlier this year

Thursday we rented a car and left London. First stop was Windsor Castle, the royal residence just outside London that was originally built in the 11th century. It was amazing and we could have spent the entire day there. But we also wanted to get to Stonehenge, which was more than an hour’s drive from there. We arrived just a few minutes before they stopped taking visitors, so it was close to sunset. Stonehenge was spectacular, seeing the massive stones and learning about the ancient civilizations that built them. It was the perfect time for us to visit, late in the day on a cold, weekday afternoon so it was not crowded.

Stonehenge at sunset

Friday was Jude’s birthday and he had decided weeks ago that he wanted to be up early that day to head to Paris. So, we caught the 7:55am train and arrived in Paris around 11:15am (you lose an hour). We checked in to our hotel and then it was off to the Eiffel Tower where we had a 2:30pm booking. The weather was ok but it was a little cloudy right at the top.

Enjoying French Champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower

From there we were on a mission to find a birthday cake for Jude. We went to all these wonderful French patisseries but none of them had birthday cakes, it does not seem to be a thing here in France. I found a place on Google about two miles away that was worth a try but it was a long walk. So, we spotted Lime scooters, which are also in Denver and I use them occasionally, so Jude and I went the fast way to the pastry shop. We found a raspberry cheesecake type dessert that Jude wanted and we brought it home.

Jude trying to first scooter ride with me in Paris

We arrived back to the hotel to find the staff had left Jude a chocolate mousse-type cake so we ended up with two birthday cakes. Jude was a happy camper and loved turning 12 in Paris.

Jude celebrating his 12th birthday in our hotel room

On Saturday we had a booking at the Louvre at 10am. Marcy had booked us a museum guide that would help us navigate the museum with the kids. She was absolutely fantastic. Her name was Eva and she had a real passion for the museum and could totally talk at the kids level.

With our Louvre museum guide, Eva, telling us stories about Aphrodite (aka Venus de Milo)

We hit “The Three Ladies”: Venus de Milo, Nike (the Goddess of Victory) and the Mona Lisa. While Marcy and I could have stayed with our guide all day (or all week) after two hours the kids were getting restless. So, we called it a day but we were thoroughly happy with our tour.

Taking in Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa

On Saturday afternoon we went our separate ways with Jude and I heading out to Parc des Princes to watch Paris St. Germain play soccer in a French Ligue 1 clash. We had bought the tickets on Stubhub and Jude was excited to see some of his favorite players. His favorite, Cavani, was the star (with Neymar and Mbappe injured) and he didn’t disappoint scoring the only goal right in front of us.

At Parc des Princes watching PSG play in the French soccer league

Meanwhile Anna and Marcy went walking around Paris and found an amusement park near the Louvre.

Marcy and Anna on the ferris wheel near the Louvre

Sunday was a bit of rest day. Both kids were exhausted from lack of sleep and going non-stop all day. So, we stayed at the hotel until 12:30pm while Marcy went out exploring. We met up in the afternoon at Sacre Coeur on Montmartre (the Sacred Heart basilica), it was amazing but the kids were not into it. We came home early and played some cards, while Marcy did a bit more wandering on her own.

Jude’s official 6th grade photo

It is school photo time so here are the official photos for both Jude and Anna. They are just the cutest kids you will ever see…

Anna’s official 4th grade photo

Anna had the day off school on Friday because of teacher conferences. Marcy and I met with her teacher and she is doing really well even though she still doesn’t love it at her new school. Then on Friday afternoon Marcy drove Anna to the mountains because she had a sleep away camp at Keystone Science School. It was called: Tech in the World of Fashion and Trends in  Outdoor Recreational Gear, and it was part of their Girls in STEM program and was for girls in 3rd to 8th grade.

Showing off her headband design at REI in Dillon on Saturday night

Anna loved it. She made a headband using the latest high tech materials which she presented at REI and Marcy was there to see it. Anna made some new friends as well and intends to keep in touch with some of them.

Jude enjoying donuts at the start of his community service morning

Meanwhile Jude and I stayed home in Denver. On Saturday we did some community service that is required as part of his school. We went downtown to Volunteers of America where we got our assignments. We were to rake and bag leaves for some senior citizens around town. Our group of three families were assigned to three houses in the Hilltop neighborhood.

On Sunday we were supposed to do the Candy Run in Wash Park but it was cold and snowy and neither of us wanted to go so we stayed home and watched the Premier League soccer.

Anna showing off her new look

Finally, Anna went to the hairdresser this week and decided to get some color in the hair. She choose the aquatic color and she loves it. The color will last 6-8 weeks.

Anna carving her pumpkin

Halloween was on a Wednesday this week. So both schools had some serious Halloween fun. At Anna’s school the day was basically filled with trick or treating around the DU campus Anna said they just had two classes all day. Lots of candy and fun. Jude’s school had a Halloween parade and lots of candy there as well.

That night the kids were initially not all that enthused about trick or treating but once they got going they were really into it. I took them around the neighborhood and they produced a major stash. Jude left very little for the Switch Witch while Anna donated about 1/3 of her candy.

Jude dressed up as our cat, Pickles, while Anna was a Roman empress

On Friday afternoon Marcy had her first Ridhwan weekend in five years and she decided to stay up in Louisville at a hotel. Jude had his first ever school dance and I took him and our neighbor Thomas to it. Anna came along to drop them off and then we went on a little shopping date at the mall. Jude arrived home just before 10pm and he had had a great time. They did some face painting and he hung out with his school friends most of the night. Not much dancing was done at least by Jude and his friends.

Jude after his school dance with his face painted

Saturday morning was cold and rainy. We felt for sure that Anna’s soccer game would be canceled but we got an email at 7:45am, saying her 9am game was still on. So, we scrambled to get Anna out the door and we arrived 15 minutes before game time. It was drizzling throughout the game and pretty miserable from a spectator standpoint. But Anna was into the game and she played really well again. She was unlucky not to get a goal as her team lost again. The kids thawed out with some hot chocolate at Starbucks after the game.

Anna taking a free kick in her rain-soaked match

Sunday was a little nicer. Anna baked some muffins in the morning and then had a playdate with a school friend. Meanwhile Jude and I went to Colorado Journey miniature golf. I dropped Jude back at home and picked up Anna to take her to her cello recital at her old school.

Playing mini golf at Colorado Journey

She is still taking cello lessons from the teacher there so she was invited to play. Anna loved being back and seeing a few of her old friends.

Anna during her cello recital

Jude relaxes with Picky on “the cloud”

Jude had the week off from school and as he is wont to do he spent a lot of time relaxing at home. There was soccer on TV almost every day and of course he spent time with Pickles, our cat. He and Marcy did a few outings, they came into my work for lunch one day but Jude generally had a low key week. He even said by the end of it he was looking forward to going back to school Monday.

Enjoying chocolate crepes on the last day of the farmers market

Saturday, the kids and I had a haircut and on the way back we stopped at the farmers market in Cherry Creek. It was the last weekend and we wanted to stock up on the tamales that Jude loves. It was such a beautiful day and the kids decided to get some yummy chocolate crepes. Saturday afternoon Anna had her soccer game. She had another strong game even though her team lost again. Saturday night Marcy and I had our first date in many months when we went to our friend Maggie’s 50th birthday party.

After raking leaves in the front yard Jude decides to jump in the pile

Today was an even nicer day so we used the opportunity to get some yard work done. Jude and I raked leaves in the front yard and Marcy did the backyard. Anna meanwhile got out the archery set and played with the neighbors most of the day. And of course, Jude and I watched some of the Broncos and Packers games as well as the Arsenal game this morning.

Anna and some neighbors lighting leaves on fire with a magnifying glass

Pickles brings us a present, her first mouse

We have been letting Pickles out a couple of times a day now for several months. But one day this week she decided to return with a present for us for the first time: a little mouse she had found on her travels.

Making s’mores on the gas fireplace at Halloween at the Zoo

It was a gorgeous weekend. Both days were warm with barely a cloud in the sky. Saturday, Anna had her soccer game where she played really well again. Then she had a play date with one of her school friends. On Saturday we went out to TAG Burger and then to the zoo for their Halloween celebration. The kids made s’mores and we checked out all the pumpkin carvings they had made. And of course, we saw the animals, those that were still awake in the dark.

Jude showing his style at Harvard Gulch

This morning after chores were done Jude and I went to play 9 holes at our local Par 3, Harvard Gulch. Jude has really improved this year, particularly off the tee and giving him two shots a hole it was a very close match. He would have beaten me but for some bad putts on the last hole.

Practicing for her cello recital

Anna had a tennis lesson while we played golf and then when she got home she needed to practice for her cello recital. We have kept up cello lessons for Anna and she has been practicing daily. Her cello teacher came over to our house for the recital and Anna went through all the songs in Book 1 of her cello lessons. She played beautifully.

Riding back from the store with a backpack full of groceries

Anna wanted to make us dinner from her Raddish cookbook so she and I rode to the store and bought the ingredients and then together we made dinner. Anna insisted on riding home from the store with the backpack full of groceries. Marcy spent the afternoon working on the yard.