6/21/09 Love the Rockies

Rockies Win!
Who is the wise guy in back?

Chad (sporting the Father's Day tie) and Kate.

The girls

We love to go to the Rockies games. Went to a number of games last season and enjoyed cheering them on to the playoffs. Coors field is beautiful and they run specials where you get 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 cokes, a parking pass and program for $49...if we just didn't have so many kids. We try to go to as many as we can with Grandma and Grandpa or friends from Southridge (work). The Rechkemmers visited us this summer and the Rockies were on our list of activities for the week. We miss these guys but had a blast during their visit and enjoyed getting back to IC to see them in September.

6/14/09 Scuba Duba Doo

Deb and I thought it would be fun to try some scuba diving. Don't know when we will have time to get to the Caribbean and use it but it was fun to goof around for the day.

6/13/09 Cheer Clinic

Kaylee shaking her tail feather with some friends.

6/09 Baseball Time

Their biggest fans
T-Man

Kaylee's not too concerned about the score

MJ

Playing with a brace after the cast came off.

The boys had a blast playing baseball this past summer. They were on the same team and enjoyed hitting it farther in the thin air.

6/4/09 Birthday Fun

Celebrating Tyler's B-Day with Aunt Dee, Uncle Dave, Michael, Emily, Mom and Joe.
Birthday Boys.

5/11/09 First Day of School

The kids had a few weeks off once we got here due to the year round school system. School is divided up into four tracks with one track off at all times...9 weeks on/3 weeks off with a short break in the summer. Didn't know if we would like that but turns out to be pretty cool. The breaks aren't as long in the summer which is nice and the three weeks throughout the year gave us a chance to go back to Iowa in September, ski the entire month of December as well during the month of March. Kaylee just got back from a three day trip to Winter Park with a couple of her friends. She skied and hung out at the pool for two days with Selina and Jayden and played for an extra day at Jayden's house. Deb and I were worried she might get homesick but she called after day two and said she wanted to stay an extra day...growing up fast I tell you. Deb and I stayed busy with the boys' basketball and football games in her absense...I think the boys actually missed her but they would never admit it. Matt did a great job at quarterback and Tyler had an interception for a touchdown as well as a long run for another TD. These pictures were taken last year during their first day at their new school.

5/3/09 Fishing

Took the kids fishing today and Kaylee caught her first fish...a beautiful rainbow trout. The boys got shutout but we will be back.

4/09 First Broken Bone

Keeping it light
Goofball.

Going in to surgery

All better with an orange glow in the dark cast.

Well it didn't take long for us to find our way around Highlands Ranch...specifically the hospital ER. Tyler broke his arm and I wish I could tell you a great tale of how it happened like sliding into home with the game winning run or an awesome yard sale while skiing the moguls at Breckenridge...nope...he was tipping back in his chair at home and snapped his ulna and dislocated his radius. Actually did it up pretty good and needed surgery, a rod from his wrist to his elbow, and an awesome staff at Children's Hospital to fix him up. He spent much of the summer in a cast from his shoulder down but was back on the baseball field once the cast came off and is stronger than ever today. Man is it hard to watch your kids get hurt but I'm sure it will just be the first of many trips to the ER.

Highlands Ranch

View of downtown Denver to the north.
Gas fire pit on deck feels great when it cools down at night.

Front of the house faces west so rarely have to shovel...melts as soon as the sun hits which is pretty much every day.

Looking out back to the south. Amazing views from mountain bike trails on that peak with kids' high school and middle school at the base.

View from the kids' bedrooms.

Highlands Ranch is the largest homeowners association in the country. It is about 20 minutes south of downtown Denver, 10 minutes north of Castle Rock, and just a few minutes from the base of the Rocky Mountains. Definitely designed with families in mind...lots of open spaces, parks, trails, schools and 4 amazing recreation facilities run by the HRCA which I work for. I looked at a number of different houses in Highlands Ranch prior to selling ours in Iowa City. When I walked in this one I knew it was the one...it just felt like Colorado with amazing views of downtown Denver and a panorama of the mountains in front and open space and views of the quiet foothills off the back deck. It sits on a quiet circle and has a corner lot which gives space on both sides with a nice sized yard (by HR standards). We are on one of the highest parts of HR (elev. 6000 ft.) and are less than a mile from my work. Kids ride their bikes to school and to the rec center. A short bike ride to the south and we are in the 8200 acres of Backcountry Wilderness Area where there are awesome bike trails with amazing views and lots of wildlife including elk, deer, coyote and wild turkey. Saw my first rattlesnake with Ryan while riding last summer!

4/17/09 Moving Day

Packed up and ready to go