Drivers Education for Gage

Gage is finally old enough for Driver's Education!  We find ourselves back in the same room for the same class and teacher as Gavin had when he went through it.  Top Cops does an excellent job, and it was a packed house for orientation before we left Gage to carry on alone for the three-day class.  Truth be told, it's a long three days with a lot of fairly common-sense information, but I do like the teacher who tries to make it as entertaining and real as he can.  We had to make sure once class started, the phones were put away.  Something tells me that the 6'6" former police officer wouldn't look to favorably on kids watching their phones instead of him in class...but time will tell.

School of Mines Official Visit

This is our first official college visit for Gavin!  We had a half day tour and orientation visit set up with Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.  Tara and I are somewhat familiar with the area, growing up and visiting Golden a bit, but we haven't spent that much time on the campus, so we are equally excited to see what it's all about.  We love the idea of him going to Mines with its incredible reputation and smaller feel, so we wanted it to be a great day.  We started out with some local hot spot food: The Atomic Burgers which definitely hit the spot and had an old school Boulder type feel to it.

We also took him up Lookout Mountain to one of the overlooks that lets you peer down on campus and see the whole university.  The orientation and the tour seemed to be pretty good.  They have a lot of really neat classroom and workshop areas.  They gym and dining areas seem fairly nice.  I would say that Gavin liked campus overall but wasn't totally blown away and fully sold yet.  I think the whole college thing is still just kind of new to him and he is more of a short-term planner rather than a long-term planner...which is fine as a sophmore.

Gangster Gavin?

Welp...this is what we woke up to the morning after Halloween in our house.  Apparently, Gavin dressed up as a tatted-out gangster for his outfit.  Knowing Gavin, there were probably so matching pants to this outfit but that's about it.  Part of me is terrified of what the future holds for this guy and tattoos, but part of me doesn't mind the look.  I guess I was always too skinny to rock the tattoos.  The neck tattoo might be a bridge too far though...just saying!

Devil's Thumb Work Trip

My work continues to take the IT leadership team on amazing strategic retreats.  Though it rotates around a bit, this year we find ourselves back at Devil's Thumb which always proves to be amazing.  As you can see from the panoramic sunny views, we picked a good week to be up here.

In between or after the meeting sessions, we have random activities and this year's feature was a nice hayride behind a horse drawn carriage.  I think that once there is snow, this is actually on a pulled sled and not a wheeled cart, but it was awesome nevertheless.

Here is a picture of some of my coworkers and as you can see, it's nice and sunny but still a bit crisp in the October mountain air...so there were some ski hats, jackets, and gloves in the mix.  From a work perspective, it's a great way to kick off the new fiscal year with good discussions on our goals and objectives and key activities for the coming year.  Thanks Leprino!

Grandma Mike Visits

We always love when Grandma Mike visits!  I am thankful that even though she lives up in Washington, she makes a big priority to fly back to Colorado every few months and stay for a few days.  Usually this is tied to trying to watch one of the kids' sporting events or swooping in to help with a house project that seems overwhelming to me and Tara.  We also try to go out for dinner at least once night as well and thankfully everyone joined for the occasion.  Here we are at the Lazy Dog, which tends to be a pretty solid go-to for us if we go out.

The Historic Bolder Boulder

I have always grown up doing the Bolder Boulder and was curious to see how I had progressed over the years.  I actually found a way to download the history of my times and while I was never a total distance speed demon, I think there are some respectable times here and there.  Sometimes Tara an I look back and think about what were our family traditions growing up, and this might have to count as one for the Koel side of the family.  I think I have run the Bolder Boulder close to 30 times in my 46 years of life...starting in about second grade onwards, shortly after we moved to Boulder. 

So many great memories from all the races.  One of my favorite memories is tied to a picture my dad has in his house where me, my dad, and my grandfather all ran side by side and finished together.  I was probably in late elementary school at the time, but I can still remember myself right back in the race running next to each other.

Homecoming

Here is Gavin all dressed up for Homecoming 2024.  Apparently, the main theme was black on black or full dark colors.  We were able to get a few pictures in before heading over to the golf course near Anthem for some group pictures.

Here is his date, his girlfriend, Mads (Madeline).  Gavin picked up some nice flowers for her as seen in the picture.

Here is a picture with Tara before they get together with the larger group.

This is Mad's main group of friends all together.  The funny thing about this picture is that it's on a putting green but almost all the ladies had high heels which kept sinking in.  I guess the golf course was getting some free aeration out the deal.

The guys trying to get creative and show off their manliness to the ladies decided to go double decker style with each other on their shoulders.  Lots of testosterone going on in this picture...but at least no one got injured.

 Here is the final full crew shot before jumping into a party bus to take them out for the night.  I think Gavin had a great time and was even in on time for his curfew!