Walking along the beaches and headlands from Manly to Dee Why

What a great first week we have had in Sydney. The first couple of days were a little on the chilly side but we have had no rain and the weather has warmed up nicely. While we were a day late getting into Sydney we have had a full week since arriving here. We spent a lot of time at the beach and caught up with friends and family.

Jumping into the Queenscliff pool

On our first full day we did the walk along the rocks and beaches from Manly to Dee Why. It was a spectacular day, blue skies and a turquoise blue ocean and we discovered lots of interesting sea life along the way. Then we had a delicious lunch at Stellar Blu on the beach in Dee Why (where I lived 34 years ago). Along the way, we discovered a fun pool with a cliff next to it that Jude decided he had to try.

A pre-christmas lunch with the Miers family

We caught up with our dear friends, the Miers family, a couple of days before Christmas. They put on the most delicious lunch and it was great to catch up with them, having not seen them since our trip four years ago.

Catching the Manly Ferry to Circular Quay

On Christmas Eve we caught the ferry into the city to have lunch with Ian’s family. We picked a beautiful restaurant, Squire’s Landing, on the water overlooking the Bridge and the Opera House. The setting was spectacular and it was good to spend some time with some of our Aussie family.

Christmas Eve lunch at Squire’s Landing

On Christmas Day we drove out to Robyn (my sister) and Mark’s place southwest of Sydney. They live in a beautiful rural area with their horses, dogs and cats. They cooked up a true Christmas feast with chicken, pork, ham, king prawns, Balmain bugs and vegetables. It was an amazing dinner and so great to catch up with them. We were sad to leave

Anna with the watch, pearl necklace and earrings from her Australian grandma

We also went through some of my parents’ stuff and we all picked out some things to take. Aunt Robyn was kind enough to give Anna my mum’s old watch that she wore for decades as well as a pearl necklace and earrings. Jude picked some commemorative spoons and I took some of my dad’s antique bookends.

About to sit down to our Christmas Dinner

Yesterday was Boxing Day and I went to join my college friends at a long tradition dating back a couple of decades. My friend Bruce hosts a party at his house in Manly to watch the Boxing Day test match (cricket) so I got to catch up with many old friends and watch Australia dominate South Africa in the cricket.

Old college mates going back almost four decades

While I was doing that Marcy and the kids spent some time on the beach.

Marcy and Anna sporting their new swimsuits on Boxing Day

Celebrating Marcy’s birthday at home

It was Marcy’s birthday this past week. I was actually in Miami for our annual Latin America event and got the first flight out so I could be home by lunchtime. The kids were really nice to her putting up a Happy Birthday banner for her and doing whatever she asked. For dinner Marcy decided she wanted delivery pizza so we tried a new place and it was delicious.

Anna under our Christmas Countdown tree

This week was dominated by preparations for our trip to Sydney. We booked this ticket back in February and we have been looking forward to it so much. But the trip did not start off well. On the way to the airport, we noticed a text message from United telling us our flight had been delayed. We were disappointed but it still looked like we had enough time to make our connection in San Francisco. So, we went to dinner at Elways, as per our tradition. But the flight kept on getting more and more delayed and despite a mad dash to the gate we missed our flight by just a few minutes. I was bitterly disappointed, we all were, but found a hotel for a short night’s rest. Because…

The World Cup Final started at 7am Pacific Time and Jude wanted to watch the pregame so we got up at 6:30am (after getting to bed at about 1:30am). We watched every minute of the Final and it was a game to remember. We went down to breakfast at the restaurant to watch extra time and then penalties and we were all pleased to see Argentina win.

Walking along the San Francisco Bay trail

After the game we checked out of the hotel and had a few hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport. So, we went for a walk along the San Francisco bay. They have a paved walking trail that goes for miles through the heart of industrial South San Francisco. It was relatively scenic but it was great to be out in the fresh air and exercising. We were all exhausted but we it a few miles along the trail.

Anna shows off the Christmas Tree cookie tower she made

Now, we are at the airport waiting for our flight to board. Fingers crossed we have no more mishaps.

Jude about to blow out 16 candles

It has been a big week First, we have the World Cup soccer on the TV constantly as there have been four games a day all week and with Jude off school that was heaven for him. Then, of course, Jude turned 16 on Wednesday. He chose dinner at Chop Shop and a key lime meringue pie for his “cake” when we got home. Then we settled in to watch a movie, The Other Guys.

Jude towers over Marcy on his 16th birthday

The next day was Thanksgiving and Jude and I had signed up for the Turkey Trot, the annual 4-mile run around Wash Park. We both ran well, beating our records. Jude was anxious to get back to watch the World Cup so we walked back quickly.

Sitting down to a deliciousThanksgiving Dinner

We had our usual Thanksgiving feast: turkey and gravy, twice-backed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans and fresh bread rolls. And, of course, pumpkin pie for dessert.

Playing basketball after dinner at the Cherry Cricket

Friday, we decided to head downtown to do a little Black Friday shopping, something we had never done before. But I wanted to visit the Patagonia store to get a sweater and look at their outdoor gear. Except for Jude, we all found something we liked. Then we had dinner at the Cherry Cricket downtown, where they had a games parlor.

On Larimer Street after dinner on Black Friday

The rest of the weekend was quiet. Jude and I got covid booster and flu shots so we were happy to have a quiet day today. There were lots of good games at the World Cup, Jude and I got up at 4:15am on Saturday to watch the last 30 minutes of the Australia vs Tunisia game that Australia won 1-0. It was very exciting.

The before picture

It had been six months since Jude decided to get a buzz cut. He has let his hair grow out since then so as you can see here it was super long, the longest of his life. He went to my new hairdresser and she did a great job shearing most of it off.

and after

Anna had no cheer practice this weekend but she did a private lesson and worked on a new skill. She can now do a roundoff back handspring back tuck which looks super impressive. She was so excited when she came back from the lesson as she continues to make steady progress.

On Tuesday Taylor Swift tickets went on sale and to say Anna was looking forward to this is the understatement of the year. Tickets went on sale at 10am and Anna was at school so it left Marcy and I to go online for tickets. Marcy got great seats on the floor for her first concert (she is doing two shows in Denver) and the seats I secured were in the stands, halfway back. It took us most of the day to secure these tickets but we got there in the end.

Finally, after months, no years of buildup for Jude the World Cup finally got underway today. He started an official countdown in his bedroom 89 days ago and he was been cutting off a link in the chain every day since then. Today, Ecuador defeated Qatar 2-0 in the opening match. There are four games a day for the rest of the week and Jude intends to see every minute of every game given he is on Thanksgiving break.

The Cool Cats team with their coaches

Anna’s cheerleading team, the Cool Cats, has been working towards this day for several months. They have been training three times a week working on their Blue Debut routine and today, in Anna’s words, they “slayed it”.

Coach Eddie was delighted after they hit their first stunt

It was an excellent performance and in cheerleading parlance, they “hit zero” which means they had zero falls. We all made it down for the performance and were cheering on Anna’s team, the Cool Cats.

The pyramid at the end of the routine (Anna is second from the right holding up their flyer)

Anna was so happy it all went off without a hitch. The team had a couple of people off sick yesterday, but everyone came together and performed well under pressure.

Apart from that, it was a pretty quiet weekend. Jude and I went for a run, I cooked a couple of tasty dinners and Marcy did some work around the house.

Jude is still very focused on the World Cup Soccer, less than a week to go now.

At her school Halloween social

On Friday afternoon Anna had her school social with a Halloween theme. This was the culmination of “Spooky Week” at her school where regular classes were often replaced with Halloween activities like pumpkin carving. Anna was not as in to it this year, she even said she missed her normal lessons.

Anna had cheer practice again on Saturday and Sunday and she reached another milestone yesterday. She had a private lesson after her regular practice and executed a “Roundoff Two” for the first time which is a roundoff followed by two consecutive back handsprings.

At the top of the Incline. Who is that tall boy?

Today, Jude and I did the Manitou Incline. It has been exactly a year since we last took the climb up 2,768 stairs (around 2.000 feet) in less than a mile. We both broke our previous records, Jude did it in 31:14 and I did 41:54, beating my previous best by several minutes.

Finally, I meant to publish this a couple of weeks ago but we have Anna’s offiicial 8th grade photo.

Official 8th grade photo

The view of Tower Bridge from my hotel room

Last weekend I flew to London for our first event there since before the pandemic. The event went really well, better than we expected and it was great to be back in London again.

The closing game of Jude’s soccer season was an emphatic 8-0 victory

I missed Jude’s second last game of the season but I was able to be here to catch the last one on Thursday afternoon. And what a game it was. Jude scored his first JV goal and their team dominated to an 8-0 victory. Jude played injured but still managed to score a solid close-in goal.

At the Botanic Gardens in Chatfield with her Cheer team

Anna had cheer practice on both Saturday and Sunday as per usual. She did manage to squeeze in a soccer refereeing game before practice on Saturday. Then afterward her whole team went to the Botanic Gardens in Chatfield for a corn maze and team bonding. Marcy joined the other moms for the afternoon.

Jude had a quiet weekend trying to rest his leg. He injured his hamstring in a match a couple of weeks ago and has not recovered yet.

Singing Happy Birthday at home with Marcy’s cheesecake (note Olive in the background)

On Friday Anna turned 14! We have been talking about it for weeks and she was so excited about it. It was a school day so Anna wanted to take donuts. So she and Marcy drove down to Krispy Kreme right after they opened so she had fresh donuts to take to school.

Anna with two of her best friends at Starbucks on her birthday

After school, Anna went to Starbucks with some of her school friends and then had to go back to school to help set up for the movie night. She didn’t want to stay to watch, instead, she wanted to go to Outback Steakhouse with the four of us where we had a delicious meal. Before we went, Anna made sure to get in her driving lesson. Once they turn 14, the kids can start to learn to drive in the parking lots near our house. Anna did great.

Anna’s first time behind the wheel on her birthday

On Saturday Anna had cheerleading practice, as always, but this time she invited her team back to our place for some food, drinks, and games. They played on the trampoline, got out the AirTrack to practice tumbling and went to the park.

Celebrating with her cheer team

Today, Anna had cheer practice again and the theme was pink for breast cancer awareness. Then we did a second driving lesson when she got home.

Anna’s cheer team, the Cool Cats

Doing a back walkover back handspring on floor

Anna nailed her back handspring earlier this year and she has been working on the back walkover into back handspring combination. For the first time this week she was able to do this on floor and we have the video to prove it.

It was a quiet weekend after a busy week for everyone. Anna had cheer practice both days but no refereeing and Jude took the weekend off. He is tired by the time Saturday comes around with school and a soccer practice or a game every afternoon.

Enjoying some TV time

So, there was some relaxing in front of the TV, where we have a new surround sound system.

Olive is so cute!