A trip to squeeze grandchildren

It's always fun to make a trip to see the grandkids.  In January, we flew to North Carolina and saw the grandchildren there.  Last week I traveled to Denver to see the rest of my grandchildren.  It is always fun to be made a fuss over, and this trip was no different.

I was able to attend a patriotic program that Gemma's first grade class (and all the first grade classes) participated in.  They sang songs and did choral recitations about the different buildings and monuments in Washington, DC.  The girls wore Statue of Liberty crowns and the boys wore Abraham Lincoln hats and beards made out of construction paper.  The kids were adorable!

Gemma is the redhead in the middle with long hair

Saturday was an opportunity to watch Gemma's and Donovan's soccer games.  Gemma, according to Sarah, is in satellite mode.  She runs circles around the girls who are actually kicking the ball.  But this day she had a few good chances to connect her foot with the ball.  And she did!

She even saved a score by kicking the ball away from the goal.  These two photos kind of show the progression of the play:

Donovan is playing in a more competitive league this year and it is fun to see how much more aggressive and play-conscious his team is now.  His team won with a score of something like 15-0.  Donovan scored on a cross that curved and went into the goal, surprising everyone.

On Sunday, we took some family photos.

 Gemma with Albus

 Sarah

 Donovan

 Ainsleigh

 The Hill family

Me with my Denver grandchildren

In the afternoon, we drove to Colorado Springs to visit and photograph The Garden of the Gods.

 Kissing Camels (above and below)

 This rock looked like an old man.

 We saw some rock climbers

 Balancing Rock

Twice during my stay, Sarah, Joel, and I went out for a bike ride, logging a total of 70+ miles of high altitude training.  All too soon, my time was up and I had to fly home!