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.

Anna shows off her new library card

There has been a lot of sickness floating around the school and Anna came down with a bad cough on Wednesday morning. She didn’t feel that had but we decided to keep her home from school for the rest of the week. And she missed ski team this weekend.

On a positive note Marcy and Anna used the time to go to the library and get Anna her very own library card. She was SO excited about this. She took out three books and since she had a lot of time on her hands she read them all in one day.

Early in the week Anna tried out stilts at school

Jude managed to stay well although he complained of a bit of a sore throat. So far, this school year he has not missed a day of school for illness.

We had some snow on Saturday and it was a bitterly cold day. I had to go to work to get caught up on some things and the kids spent most of the day at home. Jude worked on his school project on the state of Mississippi. We spent a bit of time watching the Olympics and we saw the USA get their first gold medal in the snowboarding.

Cheering on the US team as we watch the Olympics

Today was a bit warmer and sunny which was nice. Jude had a birthday party downtown and then we went to our neighbor’s guitar recital which coincidentally was at the Waldorf School. Jude had a short kick of the soccer ball in the backyard but for the most part we stayed inside.

Catching a little outside time on this cold weekend

Finally, the kids bought these tiny little Pacman games out of their own money. They played with them obsessively for a couple of days and now the novelty looks like it has worn off. Below is a picture of Anna with her new game sitting in a special chair.

Anna sitting on the chair that was made for her grandma (Baba) when she was a little girl

Anna playing her cello with her teacher during her school recital

I spent a few days in New York City this week but I was back late Thursday night. This time Marcy took Anna up for ski team and I stayed home with Jude. We got take out Italian and watched The Waterboy. Jude laughed hysterically at parts of it but overall he said it was only average.

On Saturday, Jude went to a playdate at our old neighbors house so I was able to get caught up on some work. Marcy and Anna came home late afternoon and we started preparing for our annual Superbowl Party.

With the Superbowl I am in charge of cooking and I make three different chilis. Before the Superbowl Anna had a cello recital at her school. Thankfully, she was one of the early ones on so we made it home in time for me to finish cooking and to get ready for the big game.

And what a game it was. The entire house was cheering for the Eagles and were so happy to see them win. It was one of the best games I have ever seen.

It was pretty loud at our house throughout the game so Pickles spent the evening under our bed.

Anna giving Pickles some love this week

Anna in her Noah outfit celebrating the end of the play

This week was Anna’s third grade play. This was a big deal because for the first time ever they were on the big stage in the festival hall. Anna took this all very seriously. The play was the story of Noah’s Ark and Anna was given the role of Noah. She practiced her lines every evening until she had it completely down. But she was still nervous when Friday rolled around.

We went to watch the play at 5pm on Friday evening. There was a role (or two) for every kid but Anna had by far the largest part. She acted her part beautifully, not stumbling on any lines and of course, I am biased, but I think she was the star of the show. Many of the parents came up afterwards to tell her how amazing she was. She was so pleased because she had worked so hard for it.

Anna after the play with some roses Marcy bought for her

After the play we kept our regular routine with Anna and I heading up to Keystone. Anna slept well on Friday night, getting almost 11 hours. She was happy to get to ski team and from what her coach said she had her best day on the slopes yet. She is definitely becoming a more accomplished skier as the season goes on.

We drove back to Denver on Saturday night and today we had another lazy Sunday. Anna didn’t get out of her pajamas until 3pm while Jude spent a lot of the day playing with the neighbor kids. The big project of the day was setting up my old computer for Jude so he can use it for school work. He has a major report on Mississippi and will be typing it on the computer. We are even going to try to use Siri so he can speak the words into the computer rather than typing them.

Pickles in her new bed

Finally, we have had Pickles two weeks now and she is already part of the family. She has a new bed and she spends most nights (we think) sleeping on it downstairs. The kids especially love having a kitty around the house – they are constantly giving her attention. And they are doing well on their chores of feeding her (Anna) and cleaning up after her and grooming (Jude).

Anna goes night skiing for the first time

On Friday night Anna and I went up for our regular trip to the mountains for Anna’s ski team. This time, though, we decided to go night skiing at Keystone. It was a nice warm night and there was hardly anyone on the slopes so we had a good time.

Then on Saturday Anna had ski team in A-Basin for the first time. She had what sounded like the worst fall she has ever had hitting her head on a tree. She was ok (thank god for helmets) but she was a little shaken up. After a relaxing bath we drove back to Denver where there was a winter storm coming.

Anna sleeping with Pickles in our bed on a lazy Sunday

We awoke on Sunday to a blanket of snow. It continued snowing throughout the day and it was windy so we did not venture out much. Anna laid low as she was not feeling 100% after her fall on Saturday. Jude was full of energy, though, and went sledding with the neighbor kids for a couple of hours.

Jude shows his style over a jump they made sledding at the park

It was nice to have a low key Sunday where we could relax at home and watch some football.