After dinner at Wash Park Grill to celebrate Jude’s birthday

The kids were off school for Thanksgiving break all week. And Jude turned 17 on Thanksgiving Day. So, we gave him the option of going out somewhere for dinner on Wednesday and he chose Wash Park Grill. It was an incredibly delicious meal.

Off to do the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning

On Thanksgiving morning Jude and I headed out to do the Turkey Trot, a four-mile run around Wash Park. I think this is the fourth time we have done this run, so it is becoming a bit of an annual Thanksgiving tradition. Jude and I both had our fastest runs to date (Jude’s time was 26:34 and I did 32:29).

Sitting down to our Thanksgiving feast

We gave Jude a PS5 for his birthday so he spent some of the day playing with his new console. But we all contributed to Thanksgiving dinner. Anna made the bread rolls and pumpkin pie. Jude made the twice-baked potatoes, I made the turkey and gravy and Marcy did the sweet potato casserole, green beans and cranberry sauce. It was one of our best meals ever.

Jude celebrating his birthday with pumpkin pie

We celebrated Jude’s birthday after dinner and he chose pumpkin pie as his “cake” of choice.

The day after Thanksgiving we drove up to Pine to visit Marcy’s cousin Michele and her husband Tony. They have a beautiful house and are real foodies so we had a delicious pasta meal paired with some truly incredible red wine (Opus One is to die for).

At the Broncos game vs the Browns

Today, Jude and I went to see the Broncos game at Empower Field. It was a gorgeous sunny day, although it was a little brisk at 38 degrees. It was a good day for the Broncos, they won quite easily against the Browns. Jude had a blast.

South Cheerleading team at League

Anna’s two-week imposed break because of her concussion is over. She was back to her practices this weekend which made her very happy. But she was disappointed to miss out on the first high school “League” competition this past week. She went along to cheer on her teammates but she could not compete. Hopefully, this is the last time that happens.

Her White Out team with their community service project

This week, Jude started a business. This is something he has been talking about for months and we finally sat down to do it this week. He decided to do a dropshipping business on Shopify and his store is TopSoccerGifts.com. He has a rudimentary store up right now but he will be working on it every day with the goal of launching it before Thanksgiving. Now that soccer season is over he has a lot more time on his hands.

On our date night downtown

Last weekend Marcy and I went on our quarterly night away from the kids. This is the fourth time we have done this and this time we stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Denver (using points of course). We had a wonderful meal at a Mexican restaurant next to the Denver Milk Market. We also went out for breakfast the next day at another great place called Onefold.

A bald eagle in Wash Park

When I went out for my afternoon walk on Friday I noticed a bald eagle flying and landed in this tree. Very cool to see one of these in the city.

Jude (No. 12) in action for the South Varsity team

It was quite an eventful Wednesday night here in the Renton household. Jude had his first playoff game ever for South Varsity team. They came in ranked #31 in the state which means they had to play the #2 ranked team: Ralston Valley who were undefeated.

The boys played the game of their life and it was 1-1 after regulation time. Jude came on in the second half and played really well. But the referee made a dubious call in overtime awarding a penalty to Ralston Valley and the game was over. Still, South gave one of the best teams in the state a run for their money and with a little luck would have beaten them.

Meanwhile Anna was at her high school cheer practice that same night. When one of the stunts went wrong one of the other girls fell on Anna’s head and gave Anna a concussion. Marcy was called and it was decided they should go to the ER to get Anna checked out. She was diagnosed with a concussion but nothing worse than that. But Anna was told she had to take two weeks completely off. No sports, no driving, no lifting anything. This would be a forced break.

With her care package from Baba and Grandpa

This weekend we had our first snow of the season. About 8″ fell at our place so all outdoor activities were canceled, including Jude’s refereeing and his Real soccer tryouts. “Stupid snow”, said Jude.

Jude relaxing at the top of the Incline

On Friday I took half a day off work so we could all go to Manitou Springs to do the Incline. I think this is the fifth year in a row we have done this and with the kids on Fall break we headed down south. It was a beautiful crisp and clear day, perfect for the challenging climb. I climbed the 2,768 steps slightly faster than last year at 41:41 and Jude also lowered his record to 30:59. We all enjoyed a delicious lunch in the town and the kids had their traditional funnel cake afterward.

At Falcon Stadium on a chilly fall night

Anna did a cheer camp at the Air Force Academy this summer so she wanted to go back to see a football game. On Saturday afternoon we headed down to the Springs to see the Air Force Falcons defeat the Wyoming Cowboys. There was the usual flyover, with an AC-130 bomber this time, and they also had a bunch of paratroopers drop into the stadium.

One of the actual falcons the Air Force trains (the headgear is to help keep them calm)

The highlight for me at a Falcons game is watching the actual falcon fly. It came out at halftime and flew around the stadium for a couple of minutes. They are such amazing creatures – the fastest living thing on the planet, they can fly at speeds of up to 250 miles per hour. We got to meet one on our way out which was really cool.

the cheerleaders in action at the homecoming football game

This was homecoming week at South High School and there were all kinds of festivities. The big homecoming games were on Friday night. First, the varsity soccer team played at 5pm. They had an easy win, 5-2. But what was really cool, for us at least, is that the cheerleaders came by in the second half to cheer them on. So, Jude was on the field with Anna and her team cheering them on.

Taking a break at the football game

The main event, of course, was the football game. Marcy and I volunteered to work at the concession stand but they let us out just before halftime so we could watch the cheerleaders perform. They were great.

About to head out for the Homecoming Dance

On Saturday night was the homecoming dance. Anna was really looking forward to it and we bought her a new dress for the occasion. Jude was less enthusiastic (and he declined to have his photo taken) but they went together at around 7:30pm. Anna had a good time but was home by 9:30pm, Jude about half an hour later. Marcy and I used our free night to play backgammon for the first time in decades.

Jude’s official soccer photo

The official photos of the soccer team came out this week. Jude looks great in his varsity uniform.

Jude on the move in the South Varsity game against Eaglecrest

We are in the thick of high school sports season. Jude has one or two soccer games every week. Anna has to cheer a football game every week and of course, she has both high school and Cheer Athletics practice almost every day. It is a busy time for the kids but they are both keeping up with schoolwork and getting good grades.

First family pickleball game at Gates

I have been curious about pickleball for a while and after watching the Blue Zones documentary that featured pickleball as a way to help longevity I decided it was time to give it a try. So, I bought some racquets (paddles?) and we booked a court at our local tennis/pickleball center. All four of us went and while Anna was not all that into it the rest of us enjoyed it. I want to see if it is something we can start to play more often.

Marcy about to do battle under the deck

We discovered a leak in a sprinkler line that ran under the deck. The ground was sinking in one area so Marcy went under to assess the damage today. Under the deck has been a breeding ground for wasps so she got fully geared up for battle. Thankfully, the pest control we did a few weeks back appears to be holding, no wasps were encountered.

On our anniversary hike at Staunton State Park

Today was our 19th wedding anniversary. As we have done the last several years we went into the mountains for a hike. We decided on Staunton State Park this year and we were up bright and early and on the trail by 8:25am. It was a glorious sunny day and we were happy to be at altitude (8,500 – 9,500 feet) to make it a little cooler. We were back home by 2:30pm and then we went for a family sushi dinner. Delicious.

The South cheerleading team at the East vs South football game

On Saturday, it was a full-on South High School sports day. At 11am the South varsity football game vs East was on. But Marcy volunteered to provide refreshments for the cheerleaders on what was a hot day. So, we delivered water bottles, refills and watermelon to the team before they started. It ended up being a bummer of a game but the cheerleaders stayed strong and cheering to the end.

Sunset over the mountains in Colorado Springs for the South vs Rampart varsity soccer game

That evening we drove down to Colorado Springs for the South vs Rampart varsity soccer game. Marcy and I managed a quick Mexican dinner after we dropped Jude off and we were back at the stadium before the 7pm kickoff. It was a great game, in the second half South played the best they had all season but they were unable to score so it was a 1-0 defeat.

About to head off for the first day of freshman year

Anna was first to start school this week as the freshmen class went back on Monday. She had a good first week, she enjoyed most of her classes and she made some new friends. And funnily enough, Anna was able to move up to Math 3 and ended up in the same class as Jude.

Jude towers over Marcy on the first day of his junior year

Jude started Tuesday and he also had a good first week. They ease the kids back into it after the summer so no major homework or tests on the first week.

Cheerleading for the first South High football game

The Varsity cheerleading team at South has been practicing for weeks and they had their first outing on Thursday. It was the varsity football team’s first game and they were on the sidelines doing their cheerleading. There was a big crowd, probably almost 1,000 people including several hundred South High kids. Anna did great, it looked like they had been doing it all season.

The boys varsity soccer team celebrating after their 2-0 win against Lakewood

On Friday night Jude had a soccer game at Lakewood. It was 60 degrees and pouring rain, so it was miserable conditions at least for the spectators. Jude didn’t mind it at all. He came on as a substitute after about 80 minutes and his first touch was a goal! His first varsity goal and more importantly it secured the 2-0 win for his team.

One of the many great things about playing on varsity is that every game is streamed live and recorded. Here is the clip with his goal: