Girls On The Run

Brady wasn't the only member of the family involved in athletics this fall.  We signed Payton up for a school-sponsored running club called Girls on the Run.  They met two days a week after school to run and discuss important topics like self-esteem, bullying, frienships, etc.

I won't say that Payton was thrilled about the idea of running club.  But, we felt that it was important for Payton to do something active.  She attended every practice and definitely improved her overall fitness.  

As their culminating goal, the girls (and their running buddies) completed a 5K called the Candy Run.

So, very early on a Sunday morning, the whole family piled in to the car and drove down to Wash Park.  We met up with all the Mark Twain Girls on the Run.

Here are the 5th graders of the group: Molly, someone I don't know :), Grace, Payton, and McKenna.  Payton and McKenna have actually become good friends this year.

This is Coach Melissa and her daughter Avery.  This was one of the families from football, and one of the main reasons we found out about the club.  Avery likes to run about as much as Payton, so they were perfect partners!

The entire crew.

The race was HUGE.  There were thousands of participants, so it took a long time for us to even work our way up to the starting line.  Wes, the boys, and my mom were waiting to cheer us on.  I had to call Wes to let him know where we were.  Can you see the starting line WAY off in the distance?

A pre-race selfie.

We FINALLY made it to the starting line and we were off!

Wes has a few video clips of us running, so I will have try and get them posted.  We finished the race...after a bathroom stop, some arguing, some walking, and some sprinting.  But we finished :)  I was really proud of Payton, especially because this was something she didn't really want to do.

A week or two later, the girls and coaches had an end of year ceremony.  Coach Melissa talked about Payton and I loved what she had to say.

Good job Payton!  We loved that you were a Girl on the Run!

Go Thunder!

Well, it's been about four months since I last posted a blog.  We had just finished up all of our camping adventures and football was about to start.  And then school started.  And grad school.  And Payton's running club.  And you get the idea...

On Thanksgiving, Abby told me that her dad Randy hadn't heard from me via the blogosphere in quite some time.  Well, that was just the inspiration I needed to get "back in the saddle" and post some fall happenings.  (Thanks Randy!)  So, here we are.  A handful of posts to summarize our fall.

We shall begin with tackle football.

 Brady was so excited to play for the Littleton Thunder.  And his father was equally excited to coach.

So, we dove in head first and bought a helmet, and shoulder pads, and home and away jerseys.  

This was the big time.

The boys practiced twice a week and played games on Saturday.

Brady got to play tight end and caught several touchdown passes and extra points.

Wes ran the offense and he did a great job teaching the boys the plays.  He was out on the field during games calling plays.

The boys and the coaches really enjoyed spending time together and often headed over to the Varsity Inn after practice to "strategize".

We all had a blast actually.  Brady's school friends--Andrew and Danny--also played on the team.  So, I really enjoyed hanging with their moms, and Landon and Payton played with their siblings, Abby, Sam, and Avery.

On this particular game, Danny, Brady, and Andrew got to be the captains.

The season went very well, especially considering most of the boys had never played tackle football before.  The Thunder went 6-4 in the regular season, which earned them a spot in the playoffs.  In preparation, the boys watched game film at the coaches house.  (I told you this was the big time).

The boys played awesome at their first playoff game and came from behind to beat the Spartans.


That meant a semi-final match against the Eagles Green.  Uncle Mark, Heath, Uncle Brad, Auntie Jayne, Cohen, Arie, Ezra, Oma, & Opa all came to cheer on the team.


We ended up losing a heart breaker on the last play of the game, just missing a trip to the Superbowl.  But, overall, the season was awesome and we all really enjoyed it.


Way to go Thunder!  Can't wait until next season!

Camping Trip 3: Steamboat Lake

Our final camping adventure, due to the start of Brady and Wes's football season, happened last weekend.  This time, we took the FOUR HOUR trek up to Steamboat Lake.  It's absolutely beautiful, but I'm not so sure it's worth all four hours.  Next time, we'll find a lake and some mountains a little closer to our house!

Anyways, Wes took off of work for Thursday and Friday, so Thursday morning, we got all packed up and hit the road.  Nate, Trish and the girls joined us on Friday, and Jer, Lindsay, and the boys joined us on Saturday.  We arrived at the lake mid afternoon.  We knew we were staying on a little island only for tents.  But, what we did not know was that the parking lot and our campsite were about 100 yards apart.  So, the trek to unload our car and set up camp was quite an adventure.  We probably only took about 12 trips, no big deal :)

Here's a pic of our campsite.  See that tiny little spec way off in the distance?  That's our car.

Once we got all set up, we sat down to enjoy the amazing view.  The entire island used to be heavily wooded, but because of the pine beetles, they cut down all the trees.  That made it very sunny and very windy.

Trish had discovered that the marina rented all kinds of boats, but it was kind of expensive.  So, Wes and I did a little research and ended up buying two blowup rafts on Amazon for much cheaper than renting.  This is the four-person raft that immediately got blown up and taken out for it's maiden voyage.

Lando Bando.

Fishing at sunset.

Lucy, who absolutely loves camping, did not love the fact that she and I were the only ones left on the shore.  We took her on the boat at one point, and she puked over the side.  Can dogs get seasick?!

An absolutely amazing sunset.  Maybe a sign of the brutal storm that hit us in the middle of the night our first night.  Tons of rain, thunder, and lighting.  Crazy when it's pitch black out and you're stuck in a tent!

Tired from a hard day of play!

Friday morning was beautiful, so while we waited for everyone to arrive, we took a little swim in the lake.  It was a little cold, but refreshing once you made the dive under!

The wind started to get the best of us by lunch time (and our tent, which is now broken), so we headed down to a nature class offered by the state park.  This man taught the kids about "what was in the water."  Tons of bugs and creepy crawlies!  Awesome to look at, but a little unsettling given our recent swim :)

Shortly after the class, Nate, Trish, and the girls arrived.  And so did an afternoon storm.  They barely got their tent set up in time for the rain, thunder, and lighting to begin.  We all hunkered down for a bit, then cooked dinner and dessert around the fire.  My phone was in the tent because of all the rain, but it dried out enough for me to take a picture of yet another amazing sunset.

Everyone did a little more sunset fishing, and Elizabeth caught this amazing fish!  She was the only one all weekend!  She started yelling about her catch, so Wes came over to help.  He told her it was only seaweed, then realized it was a little to wiggly and strong for seaweed.  Way to go Elizabeth! (and photo credit to Trish!)

The next morning, we took a little drive around the other side of the like.  Can you see our red tent?

We also hung out at the marina and bought a few things.  Trish bought this amazing hat, but the girls accidentally left it at the campground when we drove home.  RIP cool hat.  I'm sure some crow is flying around in style.

Once Lindsay and Jer arrived, we decided to rent a stand-up paddle board.  I have seen people doing this a ton this summer and I really wanted to try it.  We got it for two hours, so Brady and I took the first shift.  We paddled around the peninsula from the marina to our campsite.  With the wind was fun, against the wind, what a lot of work!

Everyone had fun trying it out.  Payton did awesome!

Jude and Landon just liked wearing the life jackets.  They weren't too sure about what was on the bottom of the lake, so they just stood very still.

Nate and Trish watching the action from the shore.  Nate had to give his trademark thumbs up.

Wes and Brady's turn.

Lindsay made a great dutch oven stew that we ate for dinner, then we settled in for one last nighttime campfire.

Lindsay and the kiddo crew.

We had a great time, in spite of the long drive, wind, and weather--pretty much what you can expect when camping in Colorado.  It's fun to let the kids unplug, explore, get dirty, and be creative.  Make the negatives well worth it.  Thanks for joining us VanDusseldorps (x2)!  Until next year, and now bring on football!

Stars, Stripes, and Volleyball!

We decided to do something a little different for the 4th of July this year.  Mark and Abby and Brad and Jayne were out of town, so there weren't going to be many kiddos at the cabin.  A bunch of our friends belong to a nearby neighborhood pool called King's Point, and they were hosting a volleyball tournament.  So, we decided to join in and compete!

The festivities started with a neighborhood parade.  The kids got all decked out in red, white, and blue and we hit the pavement with their bikes.

Jude and Gus in the wagon.

Elizabeth and Abby.

After the parade, we had a potluck lunch and hit the pool.

Boy, are they all boy!

After lunch, it was FINALLY time for some volleyball.  There were five teams of four players, so we had a round robin tournament and then the championships.  Nate, Trish, Wes, and I ended up on a team together.  We had an absolute blast.  The lifeguard on duty made it extra relaxing as the kids could swim while we played.  The clouds in the sky also helped keep the sand cool.

Nate and Tim were on a different team.

Our team in action.

Nate and Dan keeping the sand cool with the double hose.

We ended up winning the entire tournament...a champion selfie!

Our cheesy team photo.

The winning team earned their entry fee back as a prize, so because we were so tired from such a long day, we all went home to shower, then headed over to the Mellow Mushroom for some pizza.

And finally, to top of the night, we wanted to see a few fireworks.  But we didn't want the crowds or craziness.  So, we drove up to our old neighborhood and watched the 15 minute show from the top of the hill.  Complete with McDonald's 25 cent ice cream cones.  As soon as it was done, we popped in the car, were home in 10 minutes, and were all passed out in bed shortly after.  Perfect.  (And I stole the last two pics from Trish's blog because my battery died.)

We had an absolute blast and hope to make this a new tradition!