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The Annual Week in Keystone with the Dahlens

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Our July 4 hike up Independence Mountain

We had one day back in Denver after our trip to California and then it was up to the mountains for the annual trip with the Dahlens. They had driven out on Friday so had a couple of days to themselves.

Chloe and Jude on the beautiful 7th tee box at The River just as the sun is setting

On Monday we went down to Keystone Lake for some stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking. Then Jude and Chloe played nine holes of golf at The River Course with Nate and me.

Having lunch at the Ida Belle mine ruins (what a view!)

July 4 was Tuesday and we decided to tackle a long hike. Ever since the mountain next to Keystone resort became public property in 2019 I have wanted to climb it. It is a long, uphill climb but the advantage was we could walk right out of the condo, cross the highway and get on the trail. Most of us made it to the mining ruins of Ida Belle mine at 11,500 feet. A few of us tried to push to the summit and we made it almost to 12,000 feet before having to turn back due to threatening weather. We were glad we did as lightning struck close by, just as we got back to treeline.
I played 18 holes at the River Course with Nate on Wednesday as the others went shopping in Silverthorne. We also went rafting one day and the river was fast after all the snow and rain we have had.

Dinner at Dos Locos outside

It was over all too quickly. On our last night, we did the traditional dinner at the Mexican place. After a trip to the farmers market on Friday morning Anna and I drove down to Denver so she could attend a Cheer camp at North High School. She had a blast.

Anna (second from left, back row) with her South High School cheer teammates and coaches

Summer Trip to the Redwoods and Lake Tahoe

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Walking along the coast in Fort Bragg

The last week was spent in California for our annual family RV trip. Although this time we decided to ditch the RV and stay in cabins and hotels.

Jude braving the 55 degree water at Fort Bragg

We landed in San Francisco, rented a car and drove north. The first night we spent in the cute little town call Fort Bragg, about 3.5 hours from San Franciso. It was right on the coast and we stayed in a motel overlooking the beach. Jude decided he had to take a swim in the Pacific Ocean despite the water temperature being a very brisk 55 degrees.

Getting close to the tall trees, this is the Chandelier Tree (315 feet tall)

The next day we drove to our cabin right outside Redwoods National Park in the town of Trinidad. The next two days were spent hiking in the Redwoods. It was spectacular. These were forests with the largest trees in the world (many over 300 feet tall) and that was impressive in and of itself. But what made the park truly breathtaking was how lush everything was. So, so green. These photos don’t do it justice.

These trees are not just tall, many have a diameter of 25 feet or more

On our second day we did a long hike that went through the lush forest all the way to the beach, then along the beach and back to the park visitor center. Jude said it was the best hike he had ever done and while I love my Colorado 14ers these were completely different and so impressive.

Look closely and you will see two trees growing out of this fallen tree

The best hike of the week: Miner’s Ridge and James Irvine Loop in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

On Wednesday morning we drove from Trinidad to Lake Tahoe. It was an all-day drive with very different climates. We started the day at 52 degrees in Trinidad, we get 93 degrees in the afternoon around Redding and then by the time we got to Lake Tahoe around 6:30pm it was 60 degrees.

Enjoying the crystal clear water of Lake Tahoe

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel right on the lake on the north shore of the lake. The first day there we went for a bike ride around the coast to Sand Harbor and then spent the afternoon on the beach. The water was really cold, about 58 degrees, but with warm, sunny weather it was much more enjoyable than the Pacific Ocean.

For the last dinner of our trip we went to Tahoe City

Our last day we went for a hike to Marlette Lake above Lake Tahoe at almost 8,000 feet. While it was a beautiful hike we all agreed it paled in comparison to the Redwoods. An afternoon of paddle boarding was followed by dinner in Tahoe City.

It was a wonderful trip and while we all enjoyed Lake Tahoe, Marcy and I truly loved the Redwoods and hope to be back there some day.

 

 

Jude Gets His Wisdom Teeth Out

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Two days after wisdom teeth surgery and his cheeks were still a little swollen

On Wednesday morning Jude was up early and to the dentist by 7am. It was time for his wisdom teeth to come out. This was a major surgery and he was pretty much out of it all day. He was numb for hours and then the pain started to kick in. We had strong meds thankfully and he handled it like a trooper.

A Father’s Day hike at White Ranch

His cheeks were swollen for days and he had low energy which was understandable. By Sunday, he was feeling better and he came for a hike with Olive and me. It was a gorgeous day and with all the rain we had it was incredibly green and there were flowers everywhere. In fact, I had never seen it so green.

Amazingly lush green grass

We celebrated Father’s Day last night because Anna left for a cheerleading camp today. We rode our bikes to the RiNo area just north of downtown where we went to Zeppelin Station, a popular new food hall. The food was great and we loved the ride which was mostly by the river.

At Zeppelin Station to celebrate Father’s Day

This afternoon Marcy drove Anna down to the Air Force Academy where she will be spending the next five days. She is staying in the actual cadet dorms, so will get a little window into what life might be like as an Air Force cadet.

Meanwhile after our hike Jude and I spent the afternoon watching the US Open golf. It was a fun Father’s Day.

Anna Spends the Week in Greece

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With her new group of friends in Athens

This was a very big week for Anna. As part of the end of middle school, there was a European trip on offer. We are big fans of lessons learned from traveling to new places so we signed up right away. So, at 3:30am last Monday morning I found myself taking Anna to the airport for her trip to Greece.

The girls at the Palamidi Fortress in Nafplio

Anna had a blast. There were other school groups on this trip and she quickly befriended some students from Virginia and Texas. She became close with her roommate Chyann (the redhead above) who is two years older.

At the Parthenon

It was all over so quickly. The highlight for Anna was the cruise they did around the Saronic Islands where they got to swim and see some of the ocean life. They also saw many of the historic places like the Acropolis, the ruins of Mycenae and the Olympic stadiums. Now, Anna has a quiet week at home to recover.

Denver wins the NBA championship!

Tonight, Anna had her first cheerleading practice of the new season. Jude and I stayed home to watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Nuggets won in a very hard-fought game and it was so fun to watch the game at home with Jude.

Working hard in the backyard

Marcy and I (mostly Marcy) spent the weekend working in the backyard. We have made excellent progress but it has been a hard slog.

Anna Graduates Middle School

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Mr. Kevin gave the speech about Anna at the graduation

This was a big last week of school for Anna. On Tuesday night we had the official 8th grade dinner where all the class had to speak about who was important to them in their time at Ricks. It was a really sweet evening with lots of tears shed.

Anna received the Outstanding Role Model award

Then the big graduation day finally arrived on Thursday. It was such a beautiful ceremony. Because there were only 13 kids in their graduating class each graduate was able to get some time in the spotlight. Anna’s favorite teacher, Mr. Kevin, gave a beautiful speech honoring Anna and the five years she was at Ricks. When it came time to hand out the awards Anna won the Outstanding Role Model award which is voted on by the teachers and her fellow students in grades 4 – 7. She was thrilled.

The Ricks middle school graduating class

After the ceremony everyone gathered outside for photos and more celebration and then we went back to the school for a lunch provided by the 7th graders. That afternoon Anna went to a party hosted at a friend’s house so the kids could all be together one last time. There was lots of laughter and tears.

With our new graduate

This weekend there was a lot more work in the yard but on Saturday evening Marcy and I went for our quarterly night away staying at the Four Seasons again. It was a wonderful short break.

 

Anna’s Retrospective on School

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Anna doing her portfolio presentation reflecting on eight years of school

It has been a very busy past two weeks in Anna’s life. First, she had the school musical, Beauty and the Beast. While Anna enjoyed it she didn’t have a major role so she was not as into it as she was in previous years.

Some of the cast of Beauty and the Beast after the show

The highlight for me was her portfolio presentation this week. As a parent, it was fantastic. Anna had to do a presentation on her last eight years of school. She moved to Ricks in the 4th grade so it also included some of her time at Waldorf. It was fascinating to find out what Anna thought were the highlights of each year and the lowlights as well, particularly around covid.

After cheer tryouts at Cheer Athletics

Anna had cheer tryouts recently for both Cheer Athletics and South High School. The high school one went really well and Anna has already made it onto the Varsity cheer team we found out last week. For Cheer Athletics, she felt like she did well and we find out this coming week what team she qualified for.

Marcy working hard in the backyard

Our backyard is a mud pit. We tore up all the grass and are redoing much of it. Marcy has taken on the lion’s share of this work, she is spending almost all day every weekend in the yard. I help as much as I can but she enjoys it much more than I do. There is still much to do and the work will continue for the next several weekends.

As for Jude, he is in the middle of finals and so far he thinks it is going well. This weekend is the end of season soccer tournament. So, they are doing well with two wins from two games, albeit in shortened games due to lightning.

Mother’s Day and Anna’s Trip to DC

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Anna and Miss Jenn in front of the White House

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Renton household. First, Anna spent the week in Washington DC for her annual “Week Without Walls” trip. Anna had a much better time than she expected and they went to see so much in just six days.

At the Library of Congress

They went to see the Smithsonian, the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetry, the Holocaust Museum, George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, the big Ferris Wheel at National Harbor and much more.

About to head up the Capital Wheel at National Harbor

Anna arrived home last Sunday night but I missed her by just a couple of hours. In fact, I could see her plane on the map right by my plane just south of Chicago. I headed to NYC for our big annual conference. Marcy’s mom also flew in on Sunday to look after the kids while Marcy was away (she arrived in NYC on Monday).

On the flight deck of The Intrepid aircraft carrier at our NYC event

The event went really well. We had a fantastic evening on the aircraft carrier, The Intrepid, where we had our big end of day one party. Then on Friday after the event was over Marcy and I went for a long walk around Central Park before heading back home.

On our walk around Central Park

Today was Mother’s Day and Marcy decided she wanted to work around the yard all day. We had quite a bit of rain so it was easy to pull weeds and plant flowers and shrubs. Our backyard is kind of a mud pit right now as we are planting new grass and redoing all the landscaping. Marcy was a trooper, she worked her butt off all day and transplanted lots of plants from the front yard. It is already looking better, although there is still a lot of mud. The work will continue.

 

Anna and Marcy Go To Orlando

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All ready to go to compete at Summit

The final cheerleading competition of the season was this past weekend in Orlando. Called Summit, it is an invitation-only event that is hard to qualify for. Anna’s team not only qualified but they received a paid bid (meaning free entry), the only team at her gym to receive that.

Cheer Athletics Cool Cats

So, there was a lot of excitement as the team left Denver for Orlando on Thursday. The competition was just after 5pm on Saturday. Jude and I tuned in to Varsity TV to watch Anna perform live. We thought they did well, we just noticed one minor slip-up.

About to perform (Anna is second from the left)

These teams were the best of the best and unfortunately, Anna’s team did not make it to the second day of competition, placing 16th out of 24. We were proud of the effort the team gave and that they really went for it but the girls were all very disappointed.

Inside the Millennium Falcon at Disney Hollywood Studios

The good thing about being in Orlando is that you have Disney right there. Plus, Anna’s paid bid came with a two-day multipark Disney pass. So, Marcy and Anna made the most of their free day and spent time at Disney Hollywood Studios where they checked out all the Star Wars stuff.

Back at home Jude and I had a relatively quiet weekend. Jude played soccer on Saturday and lost 2-1. Then we went took Olive for a hike on Sunday near Eldorado Springs.

Anna’s Team Wins Another Cheer Competition

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Cool Cats in full flight. Anna is on the far left facing the camera looking up

Saturday was a busy day in the Renton household. Anna had a morning cheer competition in Colorado Springs. Her team, the Cool Cats, did great and once again they won their division for I think their fourth victory of the season. And it was their best-ever score: 97.22. Anna was understandably thrilled, and part of the reason was that she did the routine on a bad ankle after tweaking it at practice the night before. But the adrenaline kicked in and she was fantastic as they “hit zero” (no major stunting mistakes) once again.

With the winner’s trophy and jackets

Jude and I had to leave right after Anna competed to drive the other direction to Loveland where Jude had a soccer match. It was basically a two-hour drive from Colorado Springs but we stopped at home for a quick lunch on the way.

Jude’s team played a hard-fought match and were satisfied with a 1-1 draw courtesy of a goal in the last minute. His team had more chances and could easily have won by two or three goals.

Today, was spent around the house doing odd jobs and catching up on work. Anna soldiered on and went to cheer practice despite her sore ankle.

Easter 2023

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Easter baskets full of their favorite goodies

We had a wonderful Easter weekend here. Yesterday, Jude had his soccer game where he played really well, his team won 6-1 with Jude scoring a penalty after they fouled him inside the box. He almost had a second goal late in the game.

Anna has been having some epic cheerleading practices, often three hours long and he is completely exhausted when they are over. She has her next competition on Saturday so it is crunch time.

Last night Marcy worked incredibly hard putting Easter baskets together and stuffing easter eggs in what might be one of the last Easter Egg hunts we do, as the kids are outgrowing it. But they still love their Easter baskets.

Sitting down to a delicious Easter dinner

For dinner we had a miso chicken, radish and chard dish which was delicious. Anna baked Brioche dinner rolls which were to die for and Marcy baked a strawberry and cream layer cake. It was all fantastic.

Playing catch as the sun sets over the mountains

After dinner we went to the park to play. We threw around a football for the first time in ages and Anna practiced some of her cheerleading moves on the grass.

Anna practiced some tumbling moves

One last thing. Anna turned 14 1/2 this week so we had the usual donuts before breakfast celebration. Then I signed her up for Drivers Ed, she is keen to get started studying for her permit.

Family time at the park