Breckenridge Weekend

We could not have timed our trip to the mountains better.  Temperatures were in the 90's all week, and the forecast was the same for the weekend.  Thus, there was no hesitation when we realized we had the mountain estate booked for the weekend.  Temps were far more reasonable--it even gets a little chilly at night, which was wonderful.  We relaxed Friday night, watching TV and playing games.  Saturday, we got up early and were at the Breckenridge Fun Park at the base of Peak 8 shortly after 9:30.  We bought our tickets and headed up the alpine slide.

Bode and I tried to race, but I don't think he's quite as daring as me.  However, we did see someone wipe out when we were riding the chair lift up to the top, so I think that tempered our risk taking.  Next up was some tubing.  It wasn't quite like snow-tubing, but Bode did like it.

It was a gorgeous day--I don't think we saw one cloud.

Next, Bode did a confidence course a couple times--I think he's getting too old for this, and is probably ready for American Ninja Warrior.

Next we all tried our hand at the rock wall.  None of us are any good at climbing, although Ashley did get to almost the top.

We had to pose for some quick pictures.

We didn't do too much else on Saturday.  Bode and I kicked the soccer ball, and Ashley and I did some work around the house.  Today is Father's Day, so we came home early and went to lunch at the Waffle House, which was lovely.  I then finally gave into Ashley's pleas and turned on the air conditioning.  I was hoping to wait until July, but it's 96 here today, so I figured it was time.  Pleasant week to all :-)

Soccer Camp

For the past week, Bode did soccer camp at the Air Force Academy.  I dropped him off every morning at 8:15 and picked him up at 4:15.  Eight solid hours of soccer, although they did take a significant lunch break.  Still, it was a lot of hard work Bode, and we think he enjoyed it (at least he says he did, and it got him off the computer for an extended period of time, so I guess it's a win-win).  I didn't hover around the camp and take pictures, as I do have a job for a little while longer.  But the sports camp had a staff of photographer that took pictures and posted them.  I was able to take a screen grab of the pictures with Bode.  No real action photos of Bode, but there are some nice pictures.  I won't bother to try to comment on what was going on in each, as I've no idea.  In a couple pictures, Bode has his hands on the ball, so I hope he was disciplined accordingly :-)

I was able to attend the "closing ceremonies" with Bode.  If you look closely, you can see us at the bottom right.

Soccer camp was a great success, although the US National Team isn't really beating down our door.  He has another "British Soccer Camp" in July, which should be a ton of fun.  This week, he has chess-and-video-game-design camp.  Should be fun :-)  Pleasant week to all.

Bode in the ABQ

Bode spent seven days in Albuquerque to kick-off the start of summer vacation.  Uncle Pat and Aunt Dana are kind enough to host the little dude, and they budget accordingly so they have a large surplus of funds to cover Bode's 5-pint a day blueberry habit.  I don't know much about the events--we talked to him every night and Uncle Pat was kind enough to send photos.  Usually, all we could get out of him was that he was having fun...not the most talkative kid on the phone, but I guess we were cutting into his play time :-)  Below are some photos.  I think they went to a movie--looks like they had some nice snacks to help.

 There were the obligatory night backyard soccer games.  Note Bode's aggressive defensive stance.

 They are went to a mini-amusement park and rode all sorts of rides and played games.

 And here's a cute one of Bode and Devin.

I went down on a Sunday and picked Bode up.  It was nice to see Pat and Dana again, as well as the nieces and nephew.  We might try to head back down again in early August when I go on my terminal leave.  I did take a movie of the backyard fun, but it was nothing exciting.

Bode didn't put up too much of a fuss when we left, but I'm sure he misses having all sorts of playmates in the house compared to the two furry companions he has here, who, while fun to play with, have a hard time operating the Xbox controls with their paws :-)  Pleasant week to all.

Devin's Visit

For the second straight year, Devin, Bode's cousin on the McGuirk side from Albuquerque, came and stayed with us over Memorial Day weekend, and for the second straight year, we spent the weekend up at the mountain estate.  The Albuquerque clan arrived on Thursday night, and we all met up for dinner at a Japanese restaurant (I forgot the camera).  We had a wonderful meal, and were even more thrilled when Grammy picked up the check :-)  The four kiddos spent the night at Grammy's house.  First thing Friday morning, Ashley headed up to Blue River with the dogs.  She left early because we actually went and bought a THIRD piano--we have two in our house in Colorado Springs, and figured the mountain estate needed one.  She found one online in Hartsel, and has spent the last month figuring out how to get it delivered, which she managed to schedule for Friday morning.  The piano cost a whole $75...moving it was a bit more expensive :-)  It is a nice looking piano, although it does need some love, but it is playable and doesn't hurt one's ears any worse than when I sing.

I apologize for the quality of the above picture--for some reason, the only piano picture I took was with my phone.  The movers got it into the house with no trouble, which is amazing seeing that the piano weighs close to 700 pounds.  Bode, Devin, and I arrived around 1:45, having left Colorado Springs around 11:00 and stopping in Florissant at the Subway.  We relaxed for a bit, and then we went to dinner at Downstairs at Eric's, which has decent food, but more importantly, an arcade.  Bode's favorite game is Skeetball, which is awesome since it's only $0.25 per game.  Here's a movie of Bode and Devin playing what was probably once considered an advanced technology game.

My favorite game is the basketball shooting contest.  Ashley was kind enough to take a quick movie--watching me shoot reminds me a lot of Stephen Curry, and I'm sure you all can see the resemblance. 

After some good old-fashioned fun, we went to the Breckenridge Escape Room, which was pretty cool.  It's basically a room, in which you have to find various clues and solve puzzles in order to solve the crime that was committed before you arrived.  No pictures were allowed in the room, but I did take these two before we went inside.

Fortunately, we were able to solve all the puzzles and get out in 58:20.  Afterwards, we went home and relaxed.  The two kids queued up a movie and watched it as they fell asleep.

Saturday, I woke up early and took Joey for a run.  It's always best to try to wear him out because the mountain estate has no dog-door, and leaving an excited energetic Joey indoors for an extended period of time is asking for trouble.  The kids slept in, and then Mommy made up pancakes and bacon.  We then headed over to Frisco where we rented some bikes and went on a bike ride around the lake.  The temperatures were almost warm enough--great when the sun was out, but when it wasn't, our hands got a little chilly.  Still, the scenery was great.  Below are some pictures of the team.  First up are some pictures as we headed across the street to the bike path.

Next, some photos along the trail.  Some of the hills were steep, and Bode and Devin, tried as they might, had to get off and walk on some of them, which just meant it was time to stop for some Gatorade and some pictures.

At one point, Bode wanted to see how warm the water was.  He didn't believe us when we said it was ice-cold.  Even after he felt it, he still believed he could swim in it.  We told him to have at it, but he declined.

The bike was great, but I think we were all tiring out towards the end.  We grabbed a bite at a Mexican place, and then headed home.  Not being ones to relax, the kids wanted to take a walk out to the Blue River and throw rocks into the water.  We happily obliged them.

We saw lots of moose droppings near the river, and figured there must be moose nearby.  When we got back to the house, our neighbor told us a moose had just bedded down behind his house.  We carefully checked him out.  The moose had recently dropped their antlers, but this one still looked pretty big--his head is huge!

Sunday was another activity filled day.  Ashley took the kids (and Joey) hiking in the morning (no pictures).  We had lunch at home, and then we headed out to the ice rink for some ice-skating.  None of us are great skaters, but we had a great time...

until I fell.  Nothing serious, but it hurts so much more falling as a middle-aged man than as a young person :-)  After skating, we went to the rec-center for some indoor swimming, which included some keep-away, some water-ball activities, and then mini-rock wall that you could try to climb from the water (again, no pictures).  And then we finished our time in Breckenridge with a trip back to the arcade for more Skeetball, basketball, and Pac-Man.  This morning, we woke up early and made it back to Colorado Springs by 9:30.  We headed up to Villa and swam for a couple hours before the crowd got too crazy.  We then came home for lunch, during which I asked the kids about the weekend.  I expected a more enthusiastic response, but I guess that's kids.

We anxiously awaited the arrival of Uncle Pat, Sean, and Brenna, who were returning from a weekend of soccer in Denver.  As I write this, Bode is now riding down to Albuquerque to spend the week with the New Mexicans :-)  I'm not sure what Ashley and I will do--I think we already miss the kids, but I think we will also enjoy a week with NO responsibilities.  Happy Memorial Day to all.

The Garden

I have started another growing season.  I was excited because back in March, I got my bird-net all situated.  It was a thing of beauty...until we had a real heavy snow.  The snow stuck to and ultimately collapsed my bird net.  I was able to salvage some of it, but it's no where near as neat and orderly as it once was.  Still, as long as it keeps the birds away, I'm happy.

I started a lot of plants indoors towards the end of March to the beginning of April.  Corn will grow just about anywhere.  I'm hoping to have about a 30-day head-start compared to last year.  Recall, I only got a few good ears of corn.  With this early planting, I'm hopeful to get some good ears.  I put some corn in the garden over the weekend...

but it was fairly windy, and some of the stalks broke.  Apparently, there isn't much wind inside our home to get them acclimated such that they are wind-proof.  Thus, I kept the remaining corn inside until the winds die down.

I'm also keeping some honeydew and watermelon inside until 1 June.  You just can't trust the weather here.  I started these the beginning of April.  When I planted starting outside, the largest watermelon I got was the size of a grape.  Here's hoping the extra 45 days results in real-sized melons.

I planted lettuce, carrots, broccoli, onions, and some peas in early April.  All survived the winter and are growing strong.

The box on the left has some potatoes.  I figured if The Martian could grow potatoes on Mars, I should be able to grow them in my garden.  I also started pumpkins and cucumbers inside, and have since transplanted them to the outdoors.  I think one cucumber died in the process, but the rest seem to have survived.

The two raspberry plants we planted last year have survived and are taking over.  I look forward to a good fruitful harvest (maybe next year).

I also have some store-bought tomato plants that I will put in the garden in the next couple of days.  I also planted beans, lima beans, more peas, and some sunflowers.  I'm excited to see what grows :-)  I'm also very excited that my three fruit trees survived the winter.  It will be a number of years before they provide any fruit, but I think they are now established.  The top one is a pear tree while the two on the left are apple trees.

I will keep you all posted (I know you can't wait) as the various fruits and veggies come to harvest.  Pleasant day to all.

Little Pele

Bode is playing on a soccer team.  But perhaps team is too strong.  The age group is 6-8 years old.  Bode is by far the oldest boy on the team.  In this league, it's really about fun--not a whole lot of competition or anything like that.  Bode had a game on Saturday, and he scored three (3!!) goals.   But he's not really an offensive minded player.  He's really into defense (probably because you don't have to run as far).  I took some pictures--didn't get any great shots, but some turned out ok.  First up is Bode getting ready to attack the ball.

Obviously not a successful attack, as this next picture shows (he's a bit winded).

Next is a sequence of pictures where Bode is running up to kick the ball.

Finally, I almost got a picture of Bode scoring a goal.  I was getting ready to start filming when he scored.  Sadly, all I got was the ball in the back of the net.

Today was Bode's last day of 2nd grade--summer vacation!  He'll lounge around the house for the next few day while Ashley and I take turns "working" from home.  It he really an almost-3rd grader?

Pleasant week to all.