...and You Think I'm Sexy...

So... remember when Boden shaved all his hair in March? He was pretty funny looking, but still cute. Since then, his aversion to having his hair cut has grown even greater. We've been struggling with the haircut battle because it's getting pretty awful. It'seasy to extrapolate where things are headed if we don't

getsomething done soon. Luckily, he's agreed tohave "Lollylocks", the local kid-centric hair salon take care of business. Wish us all the best of luck!

Soccer Season

Sarah, Sylvana (a friend on Varsity soccer), and I went to West Point to watch Sylvana's sister play against Army for UVM. What fun! The Army defense was pretty much impenetrable (as was the Hudson above this point where the colonists put a chain under the water to scuttle the British fleet). Dad, great historic fact, right?

I am in the third week of school and have lost my voice - nothing more than a sinus infection complication. One has to be creative to teach K with no voice. Guess I need to steepen my skill learning curve.

As to the sunglass placement (astute observation!), I suspect the wearer had just been ravaged by the yonder wee one looking so innocently over the seawall. Possible? No, not him! He's way too cute! :)

Thanks for Accepting the Challenge!

Happy 27th Julie and Drew! Holy smokes, that's impressive! It's funny to think that I was in high school when you were married and now my first class from Mesa has just started high school. Elli, you were saying that Matt must be a big boy- here is some photographic proof from Niantic this summer. Clearly, he's no stranger to the weight room! Note the impressive sag in the slackline. BTW, Matt- the Guiness glasses are supposed to be placed above the tops of the ears- but I guess there are still some things left for you to learn in college.

We had a great experience at outdoor ed, and it's nice to be back with the family again! Looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad back in Boulder. Here's a gratuitous picture of Alden being cute to close out the post. Nieces and nephews: c'mon, bring it!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JULIE AND DREW

Can it really be 27 years???!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Catching Up

If I can get a lesson on getting one or two photos from the camera to the web rather than all 150 each time I want to post a picture, I'll take on the challenge with a lot of help from your Mother!

We finally got the shore computer hooked up to the web so I'm sitting in the corner of the living room typing and glancing out at a gray sea and sky for inspiration - not very inspiring or inviting. The fog was thick at 6 but is slowly burning off but there is no wind to help. I had a great sail yesterday noon. The wind had just shifted to the southeast, was blowing steady, and there were no clouds - a day that makes the shore so appealing as Rico's Colorado Trail shots show Colorado at its best.

We'll be back there the 28th and hope we can get up to the mountains for a day the weekend after before the aspens are all gone. We've never been to Brainard Lake and hear so much about it we'd love to try to get there this Fall.

We're packing up slowly. The curtains are down and washed, piles are appearing for boxes to be mailed and bags to be packed, I have my list from the computer of what to leave and what to take, and we just typed up 2010 directions for the final closing by the Coburns on Columbus Day. The frig is quite bare so Mom's on her way to Smith's to get one last veggie for dinner.


Good luck to Emily on her music endeavors. Looking forward to more details on Rico's class - a few years do provide a good perspective on judging the prospects. Keep the photos coming - the fire focused my thinking on what material items are important and photos were at the top of the list. They are such prods to memory and wonderful conversation starters among the younger members of the family.

Love to all, Dad

Challenge Accepted!

This WILL be a challenge - so often I read the blog, then say to myself "I'll post - later!" Sound familiar? I do enjoy the news and photos - especially love the relaxed-looking couple by the seawall. Ahhhh, the Shore - we do miss it so! Part of my challenge will be to get other members of the Blackwell household to post as well - we'll see how that goes! The girls are on holidays at the moment, resting up for the final push towards year's end. For Rachael, this is the end of school holidays after 12 years...there are so many "lasts" coming up! I find myself satisfied for her but melancholy as well. For Emily, next month brings several musical challenges: a clarinet exam (Grade 4) and an audition for the Queensland Youth Orchestras, both within 4 days of each other! Practice, practice, practice!

Life and work rolls on for Ken and myself - nothing much new, but little ups and downs keep life interesting! Glad to hear Rico is happy with his class - how's your lot shaping up, Jules? Ken was explaining Matt's rugby position to me (I don't follow Union, only League - that's a whole 'nother story!). He must be a big boy! Glad he enjoys it.

We're looking forward to Mom and Dad's visit in November. Fingers crossed for bearable temperatures and nice weather - it's been a cool and rainy spring so far.

September Challenge

Love the bocce in PJ's shot- it's a good look! Wish I could've been there to see the Fishbait carnage- kudos to the brave souls who ventured out! This month has been undeniably weird with the fires and the school schedule. We just had 5 days without the kids at school; two assessment days followed by a weekend and then a professional day today. I have my students for one day this week and then it's off to outdoor ed. I don't know the full rationale behind bringing the kids back to school in the middle of August and then giving them 5 days off in the middle of September, but as a parent, it's a little irritating!

Reid's adjusting nicely to middle school. He's getting his little booty kicked by Spanish, but doing great in his other classes. He's found a passion in the bike club and he's making a lot of friends who aren't affluent, white Boulder kids. Boden is loving having the same 1st grade teacher that Reid did, and he's reading like a little bibliophile. Alden is living the princess life and just being the generally precocious 3rd child center of attention that she sees as her birthright (being adorable helps!)
I absolutely love my class this year, and I'm not just saying that because it's early in the year- I think that I can tell after 5 years.

There's the short update- I'm going to make a non-binding resolution to try to post a weekly blog entry this year. I invite you all to accept the challenge!

Labor Day Weekend,...again!

Could be almost any year within a given decade. The photos that might give it away are the kid photos.

Happy 55th Anniversary to Mom and Dad!

The Fishbait was a risk, even with a new boat and I declined to sail. Five boats started. Two came back to the beach without rounding any marks, one was swamped. Two capsized, one of them (John Bourget) had the mast break off at deck level and finished with a shorter mast. The Bosco boat won for the first time and I can't really say why. I guess they were just lucky.

We are all back at school and the transition is almost complete.

Rico, I can see why you love living where you do.

Ken, Matt is playing in the second row of the scrum at "lock on the tighthead side". Whatever that means. He loves the game.

It's Still Great to Live Here!

Here's a glimpse of the section of the Colorado Trail that I rode on Saturday with 3 friends. Kenosha pass to Georgia pass: 25 miles above 10,000 feet with a high point at 11,800. An unbelievable bluebird day with not a cloud anywhere in sight. The aspens were just coming into full color and it was a great reminder of why this is such a great place to be despite the worries about fire, drought, pine beetles, californians, etc.

Reid spent the weekend in Pueblo with the Casey Bike Club on a completely free weekend trip sponsored by the Sierra Club. He returned Sunday night exhausted and sunburned but happy. The club advisor was impressed that he was leading the advanced ride on Sunday- it's great that he's found something he's passionate about and has an outlet for it at school.

Mesa is off to outdoor ed. next week, so we'll get to enjoy some more of the glory of Colorado in september. We're all praying for more moisture so the fires will abate, but we realize that's just part of living where we do. I'm going to insert some more scenic photos from the weekend so you can travel vitrually on your computer!

Fire Update

The Fourmile Fire is now being called the worst fire in Co. history in terms of structures lost. Luckily we're not in the potential path of the flames, being in the city. We had a little rain this afternoon which helpled, but not nearly enough. The forecast is not good; rising heat and wind through the weekend. The smoke has been bad around our house because we're directly downwind- I've had to ride to work with a bandana over my face and the schools have had indoor recess. Rest assured that we, and our homes, are all safe. There's good up-to-date coverage and videos on the local paper website http://www.dailycamera.com/fourmile-canyon-fire/ci_16014546

Crazy, Flamin' Birthday!

This iswhat FourmileCanyon looked like around mid-morning on Reid's birthday! Humidity has dropped to around 5% and we're having a very windy day. This one looks like it could be pretty big- there are reliable reports of several homes lost already. We were enjoying a beautiful morning and the coller weather this wind is bringing in when Kate arrived back from her hike and pointed out the apocalyptic looking plume of smoke building behind Mt. Sanitas. Evacuations are widespread and the sky is a hazy orange or bluebird blue depending on w

hich way the wind is shifting.

We had a great little backpack trip down the Ceran St. Vrain Canyon on Sat. night- caught some trout and frie

d them and enjoyed some guy time.

Reid's wish for h

is birthday festivities was

to go on a bike ride with some of his buds and have a barbeque afterwards. Right now, we're waiting for the pulled pork to finish slow cooking and the big 11 year-old middle schooler is goofing aro

und on the trampoline

with his pals. He's h

aving a good transition to Casey, bu

t he's getting killed with homework, especial

ly Spanish because h

e's doing t

he bilingual program. Time to work on those time

management

and study skills! On

the posit

ive side, his new school is beautiful and he's making

new friends and getting involved with the bike club. I'm really sorry for the layout of this post, but blogger is driving me nuts! Hope you can read it!

Love, Rico

The boys chillin' at the campsite

The background is not clouds, it's smoke!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY TO REID!!!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Reid,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

YOU!!!!

with love from the Blackwells

XOXO