Outside the DMV with his new drivers license

The big news this week is that Jude passed his driving test and is now a Colorado driver’s license holder. He went to the DMV with Marcy on Wednesday and came out with a temporary license. He had his first solo drive on Friday night to pick up dinner and then on Saturday, he drove to his soccer practice. He is enjoying his newfound freedom.

The other big news is that Anna and Marcy flew to Dallas on Thursday for the big NCA national championships. Anna and the team had been working hard for the last month preparing for the big event. That is an understatement, this event had 26,000 athletes from all over the world.

With some of the team in our big rental car

After winning their last two events they had a lot of confidence going in but the competition in Dallas was the best they had ever encountered and they finished in 10th place. They were disappointed but determined to do better next time.

The Cool Cats team (Anna is third from the center on the left)

Anna also got to meet one of her idols: Gabby Butler. She is who many people consider to be the best cheerleader in the world and she was in Dallas for the big competition.

Anna meeting Gabby Butler for the first time

It was a heck of an experience and as Marcy is learning about cheer competitions, there was little downtime to hang out at the hotel or see the city. They did get to have a couple of meals outside of the event. And with their hotel in walking distance of the event venue, they were able to see a little bit of historic downtown Dallas

Marcy and Anna out and about in Dallas

Meanwhile back at home we were dealing with a sick dog. Actually, Jude was dealing with it. While Marcy and Anna flew to Dallas early Thursday morning, I was in NYC and not arriving back until late Thursday night. Olive had a bad day. She was feeling ill and pooped and threw up all over the place. Jude was on a delayed start because of the snowstorm and had to clean it all up himself. Then when he arrived home from school there was more cleaning up to do. I took her to the vet on Friday and there was nothing major wrong with her. And she is doing fine now.

Jude looking after a very sick little dog

Jude in action for his new team Real Colorado

It has been a cold and snowy year so far which means it has been difficult for Jude to get out and play. He decided to take a break from Rapids (after eight years) and try a new team, Real Colorado. They have been practicing on and off for over a month, mostly indoors and this weekend was their first competitive matches.

Jude played really well, especially considering this was his first real game of soccer since October. The team is still a little rusty and they lost their first two games but Jude just loved being back out there. He is definitely one of the better players on the team.

At Hotel Xcaret, Mexico in Playa del Carmen

I was in Mexico this week at a fintech event and it was so nice to get away to some warm weather. It was 85 degrees there each day, meanwhile, back in Denver we had 5″ of snow.

Anna decided to have some of her cheer team over for a sleepover on Friday night. They had practice on Friday night and again on Saturday morning, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Speaking of enjoyment, Marcy and I went for our very first night away from the kids where we had no babysitter. We booked a night at the Four Seasons (with points of course) downtown and had a wonderful time. The kids did fine, I think they were happy for some freedom.

Finally, for Valentine’s Day this week, Anna’s eighth grade had a fun celebration. With Marcy being the parent lead for the grade she helped organize lunch and sweets for all the kids. Anna put the gift packets together, and Marcy dropped off lunch from Illegal Pete’s. Their teacher took them to a rooftop on campus to eat lunch and it was a fun day according to Anna.

Valentine’s Day for the Ricks 8th grade

The Super Bowl party crowd

It was the annual Super Bowl party this weekend. So, as we do every year we make chili and brownies for our close friends. It was wonderful to catch up with everybody. And it was a great game until that terrible call at the end. ‘

The work continues on our back deck. The old deck has been completely dismantled and the new one is taking shape. But we can’t really use the back door still. Poor Olive can’t be in the backyard at all with all the construction material everywhere, she has to be taken out front to go to the bathroom.

Anna had cheer practice both days and she continues to get better. She practiced her moves in the park this afternoon with multiple back handsprings and round-offs on the grass.

Doing cheerleading moves in the park

Jude sits in the driver’s seat of Tony’s Ferrari

Today, we went to visit Marcy’s cousin Missy at her place in the foothills. The Dahlens were staying there for the weekend so we went up for an afternoon brunch. They have a spectacular home near Pine Junction, which is part art gallery, part mountain log home, with a cavernous wine cellar.

Missy’s husband Tony is a keen car enthusiast and he has a beautiful Ferrari. It is GTC4 Lusso, an all-wheel drive with four seats. It is almost like a family car but with a V-12 engine, it goes like a Ferrari. Anyway, Jude got to sit in the driver’s seat and then Tony took him for a short drive around the hills near their place. He loved it.

The Dahlens came back to our place where they are staying the night before returning to Iowa tomorrow.

The last photo of our back deck before the remodel

Yesterday, the work began on our back deck. We are dismantling it and redoing it as a smaller deck so our outside dining table can go down on the ground. We also ordered some gravel for under the new deck and all of us chipped in moving it into the yard.

Cool Cats: National Champions

This weekend Marcy and Anna went to Seattle for another cheer competition. This was a big one with about 200 teams from all over the country. There were eight teams in Anna’s division so it was going to be tough to win. But their performances were better than last weekend and they went on to win. Their score of 96.67 was the highest score of any Level 1 team, regardless of age. Anna was understandably thrilled.

Enjoying the moment

While it was a very busy weekend Marcy enjoyed spending time with the other moms, they were a very friendly group and most had a similar attitude towards the competition which was good.

Anna with one of her best friends on the team

Meanwhile, Jude and I were home looking after Olive and Pickles. Jude had his first soccer practice of the season (indoors) after all previous practices had been canceled due to snow on the ground. Then on Sunday we went skiing with my friend Rick. We had a fantastic day. For some weird reason there was no one there, we literally did not wait in a lift line all afternoon. The snow was great and Jude got a lesson in bumps from Rick.

Rick, myself and Jude at the Outback in Keystone

Getting ready to perform (Anna is fifth from the right)

We are entering the cheerleading competition season. Anna missed the first one for her team, the Cool Cats, because of our Australia trip so she was super excited/nervous about this one. It was down in Colorado Springs and it was a two day event with a very early start on Sunday morning. So, we booked a hotel and made a weekend of it.

The fliers flying during their routine

Their routine on day one was excellent. They “hit zero” which means no major mistakes and it put them in first place with just a tiny lead over the second-place team. They would have to perform well again on Sunday to win. And it was an early start, 7:10am, everyone was supposed to be there (we were just a little late) for the performance at 9:24am. They did well again, hitting zero, and they went on to win their division. There was much excitement.

With two of her close friends on the team

After some downtime back at the hotel we drove back to Denver around lunchtime. Anna was so thrilled to have won and it also means they could get a bid to Summit in Orlando which is a national championship. They find that out tomorrow night. It was fun being part of the weekend, the next one is in Seattle this coming weekend. Then Dallas next month and Orlando in April (if they qualify).

Rockefeller Center in NYC

Marcy and I had a work trip to New York City this week. It was an all-team meeting, so it was important for us both to be there. So, we flew Marcy’s mom out to stay with the kids while we were away. We had a really nice trip. The whole company took in a Broadway show (Hadestown) and we had some other team-building activities: a cooking competition and donating our time at a food shelter. There was not much down time but we did get to walk around the city a little bit. And we stayed at the Algonquin Hotel (site of the Algonquin Roundtable) which was wonderful.

The spectacular St. Patricks Cathedral on 5th Ave

We got back home Friday night and then Saturday morning we all went bowling with Baba and Uncle Lynn. Anna had cheerleading and Jude started the first of three professional driving lessons as he prepares to take his test next month.

On a bump run in Keystone

Then today, Jude and I went skiing for the first time. Jude drove up with me right after the Arsenal game and we had a great afternoon on the slopes. Then we had Chimayo for dinner before doing the slow drive back (over two hours).

Testing out the new hot tub

We got back without incident on Monday afternoon. We were all desperately tired but we managed to make it to our normal bedtime before we all crashed. The kids had the next day to relax and ease their way back into the normal school routine.

Before we left for Sydney we had ordered a new hot tub from a local company. We have been thinking about this for years and now with Marcy and I having more aches and pains we decided it was time. They installed everything this week and we had it up and running by Saturday. So far, it is fantastic. My muscles are noticeably less tight after spending 15 minutes in the hot tub.

Our car getting loaded onto a tow truck

Jude and I intended to go skiing for our first day of the season on Saturday. We dropped off Anna just after 11am and were looking forward to getting a few runs in on Saturday afternoon. But fate had other ideas. We hit a major pothole on our way out of Denver and the Tesla blew two tires, both on the left side of the car. So, we had to call a tow truck, which took 90 minutes to arrive and then we got a tow back to our local tire place. Maybe next weekend we will be more lucky.

Anna, on her first day learning the guitar

We had some late Christmas presents for the kids that we gave out this weekend. Anna had been asking for a guitar for a long time so Marcy bought one for her and gave it to her today. Anna was instantly hooked. She played it for more than three hours and downloaded a couple of apps and by the end of the day was playing Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift albeit a little slowly, and singing along confidently. She sounded great and more importantly, she was enjoying herself.

On top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

We had a very full second week in Sydney. One of the highlights was climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, something that Marcy and I did about 19 years ago. Now the kids are old enough we decided it was time. We all enjoyed it, it was a picture-perfect Sydney summer day and the views were spectacular.

Hiking around North Head and Sydney Harbour National Park

One morning we decided to go for a hike to North Head. There are many beautiful trails there and we walked to Shelly Beach and around the headland to North Head. Unfortunately, the lookout was closed but we were able to take in some beautiful views anyway and case out a spot for New Year’s Eve. North Head is a popular spot to view the fireworks on Sydney Harbour. After the hike we had lunch at our favorite brunch place, Three Beans.

On the Rocks Ghost Tour

That night we went into the city to visit the Australian Museum, a regular haunt for us when we lived here in 2012, and then afterwards we did something really unique, a Ghost Tour of the Rocks. This was a Christmas present to us from Uncle Mark and Aunt Robyn. We learned some sordid stories from Sydney’s past and how some of the buildings (including a Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon) are supposedly haunted.

At the Australian Museum

We were undecided about what to do on New Year’s Eve. We were going to a friend’s house but that didn’t work out when his wife got covid. We talked about going to one of the viewing points near the city but we were concerned about parking and a long drive home. So, we decided to go someplace where we could walk, North Head. I had been there before and you get a good view of the fireworks from there.

Sunset on New Year’s Eve

I ventured out early, around 4:15pm to ensure we had a good spot to view the fireworks. Marcy and the kids arrived by 7:30pm and we settled in for the evening. They have a 9pm fireworks show and then the big show at midnight. It didn’t disappoint.

Our view of the Sydney Harbour fireworks, just after midnight on New Year’s Eve

We spent most of the past two days of our trip on the beach. It was beautiful weather with lots of sunshine so we were in the water a lot. And then this morning, before we headed to the airport, we had one last swim. I did the Manly to Shelly Beach swim, something I did almost every day. I will miss that swim and time on the beach.

Enjoying some beach time on our last day

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