Halloween Adventures

I guess late middle school and early high school is the real prime time Halloween sweet spot.  The kids were definitely all in for this year's festivities.  We had some lively pumpkin carvings to share with everyone outside the porch.

This was Gavin's outfit this year which I think was "Rich Minion".  There must be some other context or place where this is a thing because otherwise it doesn't make that much sense to me.  He did rock it pretty well though...

 

Tara donned a full Kangaroo suit, and Gage was a blowup Turkey being ridden by a Pilgrim.  Quite the collection of outfits.  At least this year it wasn't too cold out.  It seems like every other year it oscillates between artic and totally mild conditions!

CU Football Game

Always great to get to a CU game with my boys, though it seemed more and more challenging as schedules continue to get busier.  This game was against Arizona State with a 5:30 pm kickoff and we were able to pick up some tickets over near where the visitors section mostly is.  We cheered loudly and had an awesome time, but in the end CU couldn't get it done and lost 34-42.

High School Soccer - "C" Team Picture

This scraggly group is the boys of Legacy High School "C" team.  We were so excited that Gavin made the team at Legacy because they have such a good program.  Even with three teams to fill, they still turned away some players and he has had a great experience playing with these guys.

Gavin is definitely a role player on this team and is able to cause some chaos with his size and aggressiveness.  You can see the personalities really come out in this picture.

Fall Run Up Flagstaff

Flagstaff in the fall never disappoints!  This is a great trail that starts from Chautauqua and heads up to the summit.  As you can see from the background, the base of this climb was covered in wildflowers.  Great reds, yellows, and oranges were popping out all over the place.  Thankful that my health and body allowed me to do this! 

I guess this is a second picture that is more artistic with the blurry background and me in focus in the foreground.  I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I put them both in...

Dad & Gavin Hangout Time

Gavin and I were able to have a guy's night out while Tara and Gage had other plans.  I thought it would be fun to head into Boulder and go to an old favorite in the West End Tavern up on the roof.  We both ended up getting Enchiladas which turned out to be quite tasty!

The view was great from up here but was actually a tad bit chilly as the heaters were closer to the internal tables of the seating area.  We had a great time just getting away and it's fun to pull away from all the distractions and hang out.

 

Homecoming 2022

Gavin's first homecoming at Legacy High School!  He was all dressed up for the evening and had plans to hang with a crew of guys.  I don't think these events are really focused on the dance part of it anymore, but rather more of just the evenings events with dinner, making an appearance at the actual formal and then figuring out what to do for the rest of the night.

Here is a picture of some the "bros" he went with: Alex, Jacob, and Noah.  These pictures were taken at a meet up before the event at a local golf course.  It has been funny to see these guys' style and haircuts evolve as they work their way through the Freshman year.

 A nice picture of Gavin and Tara before he headed off!

Fish Anyone?

Following up the day after the Go-Karting adventures, we had an off-site internal conference for IT in downtown Denver.  After the day was done we were divided out into groups to go to eat with one of the IT Directors and, in a bit of irony, I drew Stoic & Genuine which is a multi-coastal seafood and oyster house.  Anyone that knows me well has probably heard me talk about the fact that I don't eat anything that swims as a general rule of thumb...so while everyone was getting all these high-end oyster and seafood platters and stuff, I found some sort of burger they had tucked away at the bottom of the menu.

This is a picture of a whole fish that someone ordered at our table.  We had quite a few jokes throughout the night of the luck of drawing a seafood place and not really eating any.  In any case, I enjoyed the company and the night out with the work team!

Leprino Foods Team Building - Race Car Style

One thing I really enjoy about working in Information Technology (IT) at Leprino Foods is the focus they put on fun team building events and activities.  After a town hall meeting led by our CIO, we all broke off into our different teams to do something fun together and this time we voted on Go-Kart racing.  Generally, I enjoy go-karts, but they can be just so-so at most place.  However, this place is crazy!  After attending the "race briefing" about the power of these karts, you head out with full motorcycle helmets and get in these juiced up karts.  They send you off and you just haul around this indoor course that has a ton of turns and a few straight aways.  

I am happy to say that I took home the first-place prize for the day with the fastest accumulated lap times (and the single fastest lap) of our Shared Services group.  Mark, one of my coworkers, was giving me a run for my money all day as we worked to find the fastest lines around the course.  It was quite a fun competition.  A word of caution to those wanting to have a fun time doing this, the next day I was definitely feeling all the banging around that takes place from the racing.  I think my shoulders, arms, and lower back all needed a rest day.  Thanks, Leprino, for the fun adventures!

Grandpa Bruce & Grandma Emily Visit

 

With COVID continuing to cause disruptions to what used to be more of a regular visit schedule, my Dad and Emily were able to make a visit out to see us in October.  My sister, Jackie, and her family also trekked down from Granby to join for a nice evening on the back deck. 

Here are my Dad and Emily looking spry as ever!

Tara continues to enjoy the back area and this bright red furniture that she picked out to add some color to the back deck vibe.

October is really a nice time of year for this kind of party.  You don't have quite the heat of the day to burn off, so a smokeless fire is rather enjoyable, but it's also not super cold where everyone is trying to stick their hands in the fire to stay warm.  It's a bit of the Goldilocks zone you could say!  It was great to have everyone out for the evening and be with family.