Birthday Celebration!

We wrapped up the week celebrating our friend Paul’s birthday. We started the evening with a night of virtual golf (I was bad, Marshall was good). Then we had a nice dinner at Parma and then after we all got the kiddos to bed, we played pool in the Peavy pool hall. So thankful for our friendship with the Wrights - looking forward to Vegas in two weeks! 

Fun time! 

We even had our party ball going 

Band Superhero

On Tuesday, the middle school bands performed their final concert of the year. The 6th grade band performed four theme songs from various movies. My favorite was the Pirates of the Caribbean. We are very lucky to have such an engaging band teacher for these kids. 

T-man’s drawing of his instrument as a superhero as part of his band bingo assingnmemt 

And look at this new do! He loves it!! E

Middle School Track Meet

The 2nd meet of the year was hosted at Louisville Midde School. In the first meet, T-man did all field events and Marshall missed all the events. This has been frustrating to us as T-man is a really good runner. 

This week, he decided to do the 100 yard dash which is a step in the right direction, but not his best distance.  Our friend talked the boys into running the 400 and he won his heat and got 2nd overall. He’s currently doing probability in math class and we talked about how many kids run each events and the odds of winning. We also talked about the fact that he was stronger in the distance events (and he brought up the fact that a girl in track can beat him in the 100, but he beats her in the longer distances. 

In the end, he states he still doesn’t like running, but we were proud of him for pushing himself in the meet. And he still took advantage of all the field events. 

High  jump 

Walking with his buddy 

Long jump 

100 yard dash 

Cinco de Mayo Party

Last year, we decided to host a last minute Cinco de Mayo party and decided to do the same thing this year. Marshall sent out the invite Friday and once again, we had a good turnout and perfect weather. It also meant we got both porches cleaned off and the yard ready. Marshall made his delicious margaritas and people brought a good variety of goodies. A fun afternoon hanging with friends - summer is almost here! 

Ready for guests 

(Marshall in the back restocking the margaritas) 

We also enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby on Saturday night before eating our first meal on the back patio. 

Mint Juleps 

Patio season has started 

BCSC

We headed right from Colorado Springs to T-man’s soccer game in Golden. We were a bit late, but didn’t miss any goals in the 5-3 victory for the team. T-man played really well and had a goal at the end of the game. 

They had a substitute coach and at the end of the game he called the boys over and was telling them he had been coaching for several years and was praising them for their great attitude and heart. How great to hear. 

Brave Heart

Today was the last day of lacrosse for the Monarch High  Coyotes. We had to travel down to Monument (just north of Colorado Springs) for an 8:30 game. We ended up in a tie at the end of regulation so the game ended in “brave heart” where you have one player from each team and a goalie from each team and the first team to score wins. We got the ball first and missed our shot and then they missed their shot. We got the ball back and scored. What an exciting finish! 

The team immediately headed to their next game and ended up crushing the team. Considering the tough season, it was a nice way to wrap up the season. D-man even came across midfield and had several shots on goal and one finally went in right before the game was over. 

And a bonus that the game was just a few minutes from the Randell’s house so they came for the game and then we went out to lunch. 

Brave heart 

#6 on offense 

After the game

At lunch 

And the Beat Goes On

This week, Return Path was purchased by Validity. With change, comes a great deal of emotions: sadness of what you are losing, fear of the future, and excitement of new opportunities. I’ve definitely had all of these feelings recently. 

One thing I do know is that no matter what lies ahead, I am very thankful to Return Path for the last 8.5 years. I’ve met amazing people, grown, learned, participated in leadership training, taken a sabbatical, had a short commute for the last six years, been able to work remotely to spend time in Pender during the summer, and had work/life balance that has allowed me play all the roles that are important to me in my life -  a professional, a mom, a wife, a friend and volunteer. 

During the final session of our leadership journey in NYC, we put on a show called, “One Last Show” and I was the drummer in the band. My flight was delayed the last day and I was able to sit in Bryant Park and took a picture of my drum from the play which was a fitting way to wrap up the week. No matter what happens, the beat certainly goes on (and happy hour with Marshall on the day of the announcement certainly helps with that). 

 

The beat goes on 

Cheers to new beginnings 

Nuggets Win!

A snowy Monday meant middle school track and high school lacrosse were canceled. And with a spirit night at the local pizza place, there was no cooking either. Wow - a complete night of freedom! With that opportunity, D-man found $15 tickets to the Nuggets playoff game and found a friend to go with him. They road the bus to Union Station, hiked to the Pepsi Center and watched the Nuggets win! What a cool experience (and definitely a life experience riding the public bus back with a guy who just got out of prison). 

Skiing on Sunday

You can definitely say you live in Colorado when you golf on Friday and ski on Sunday. After T-man’s soccer game, we headed out on a 24-hour family vacation. We rented a place in the Winter Park village and hit the hot tub right when we got there for happy hour (we arrived safely with D-man at the wheel). 

We then went into town for dinner and wrapped up at the hotel room watching the Nuggets win and all taking a turn at T-man’s rhythm assignment for band - quite entertaining! The entire evening made me so happy. 

We cooked breakfast in the hotel room kitchenette on Sunday morning and then hit the slopes. It was definitely spring skiing conditions, but we had sunny skies right until we headed in for lunch. They even closed the lifts for lightening, but we were able to get back on them (before they closed again) so we could ski right down to the car. 

One final stop in Empire wrapped up a really fun little get away. 

Messing around 

Hot tub time!

View from the room 

Chilling by the fire in town 

The rhythm exercise 

Skiing! 

One last run with my boys 

Golf on Friday

Couple’s Golf League kicked off this weekend and due to a canceled lacrosse game, we were able to sign up last minute. We tied for 2nd (thanks to Paul) and given the windy conditions, we were pretty happy with our score. Always a fun night and Marshall’s margaritas were particularly yummy. Definitely starting to feeling like summer. 

Day of Decadence

A rainy Monday made for the perfect day for our “Day of Decadence” at the St. Julian Spa in Boulder. We had a scrub, massage, facial, pedicure and blowout. We also enjoyed champagne, a charcuterie plate and some the spa’s amenitities. We wrapped up with happy hour at the bar and then meeting the guys for a bit before Marshall and I headed out for a lacrosse game. What an amazing day with an amazing friend. Definitely good for the soul. Thank you Marshall and Paul!!

Easter Traditions

We don’t have many Easter traditions, but those we have, we carry on. 

1. Dye Easter eggs (usually Saturday night)
2. Have an Easter egg hunt 
3. Easter baskets which contain a movie and pjs 

The rest of the day is pretty much like any other day. We all did things outside, the boys watched their movies, and we had a nice dinner (we made homemade pasta and sauce which was an adventure in family dynamics for sure).  

Egg dyeing 

(It was NOT quarter to seven. T-man woke D-man up at 10:00). 

The hunt