Searching for treasure

We have done quite a few geocaches in the last few weeks, and today we managed to do one cache before a trip to the swimming pool.

Here are the boys picking their treasure from a Pile O' Sticks cache.

Day with the boys

The boys had a day together today, so our first stop was to the Denver Science Museum as they had a free day there. We had gone a few weeks back, so this time we saw some of the remaining exhibits, and spent a lot of time looking at the bears and tigers...

We also did some science, by checking out the health exhibit...

Here are the boys working on a giant pincushion wall..

And checking out how objects float

After that we went home to catch up on food and sleep then onto the library to get our library cards and complete some puzzles.

We walked by the Joshua Weiner art in the community park and just happened to come across a geocache that was lying out in the open, so put it back and logged a find..

Then a quick trip to the park by the library for the kids to burn some energy and a chance to catch the planes flying overhead for the Rocky Mountain airshow They were flying pretty low and loud..

KrispyKreme Boys

Took Cody and Tyler to KrispyKreme tonight to get a doughnut or two!! They used to have these in the Philippines (cheaper there, but not by much) so once in a while when we are short of English chocolate we go to World Market to stock up and then go to KrispyKreme for doughnuts.

Here are the boys outside of the store wearing their hats.

Jumping Jordys

Siew Gin had a Groupon coupon for Jumping Jordys so we took the kids to bounce like tigger today..

They don't have a lot of inflatables, but for an hour or so the kids seemed to enjoy it

Cody and Siew Gin enjoying the bounce

The boys going down the big slide

Jag Jog 5k - 5th Place

Got up early this morning to compete in the Jag Jog 5K. Managed to take fifth place in a time of 21 minutes 45 seconds, which is a big improvement over Holy Cow race.. Managed to hold off the women this time as well.

Tyler in Lego !!

Alas we don't have enough Lego to make a full scale replica of Tyler, so we did the best we could with the available pieces and here is the result.

RMNP Camping - Take Two

Tyler has been asking for weeks to go camping and hiking again, so we took the opportunity to use our RMNP pass and go back to the mountains for one more trip.

We set off Friday night in a big rain downpour, but as we got to Estes Park the weather cleared up and we were able to set up the tent in the dry..

We woke up early next morning and firestarter supreme Siew Gin assisted by Tyler and Cody got the fire going and made a hearty breakfast..

Tyler. Cody and Siew Gin enjoyed singing along to 'Gummy Bear' while they finished their breakfast.

The second thing that Tyler wanted to do, was to take a hike, so we picked a trail that was close and was supposed to be short.... Cub Lake

Here we are at the trailhead

Starting towards the lake

Siew Gin leads the way

After hiking for a few hours, we found a lake to stop and have our lunch...

After lunch, Cody was ready to take a turn hiking..

Check out Cody, posing on the rock.

We had a great Saturday night meal featuring Japanese curry chicken..

Followed by a big breakfast after a night in the tent..

Everyone enjoyed the camping, and if we have enough time this year we will see if we can get one more trip in before the weather turns cold !!

Cody avoids the Paparazzi

Cody is such a superstar now that he is photographed everywhere he goes, and has taken to wearing sunglasses even with his jimjams.

Here he is with his cheeky grin...

Tyler prepares for racing car debut

Tyler went to putt-putt again this week, and while he was there he spotted a racing car. Although he was too small to race, we did get a picture.

Tyler managed 2 holes in 1 this week, but his Daddy still beat him by 4 strokes !!

Working at the car wash - yeah!

Tyler and Cody helped wash their first car today, not sure it was the best quality job, but they seemed to enjoy the experience..

Here are the two boys working at the car wash - yeah !

Dinosaurs, Pirates and Spacemen

Tyler often looks at his dinosaur book and tells us about his favorite dinosaur the Pteranodon so this Sunday we took him to the Denver Science Museum to check out the Dinosaurs, Pirates and Spacemen.

As we arrived we spotted the pirates and both Cody and Tyler volunteered to have their picture taken.

We then went to check out the dinosaurs, here is Cody giving his best smile

And Tyler with Daddy seeing who is taller

Then it was off to the space exhibit to see if they could pilot a spaceship.

Lastly a quick trip to the discovery zone to create their pirate flags

Here is Tyler with his Pteranodon

Tyler wins his first triathlon

This weekend, Tyler took part in his first Triathlon.  As this one was for small kids the order was a little different,  Bike, Run, Swim.

Tyler had been practicing for his race, and on the day he was ready to go and win,  he got up early, had his breakfast, dropped off the bike at the start and then went home to have milk for extra strength.

Race time came and Team Tyler was out in full support, with secondary support from team ChandraSomethings.



Team Tyler ready for the start

Tyler was in the last wave to go, (Green 13, hence his green wristband) and as they called him forward, his Daddy got ready to run and help direct him around the course, and Siew Gin got ready to dive in the pool to assist with the swim section.


At the start line

The race was started and Tyler didn't make the fastest of starts, something to work on for his next race...

Tyler - pedal faster !! - Okay Daddy

With encouragement from Daddy, he quickly pedaled into the lead and headed to the roundabout (yes we do have them here !!) to make the turn for home and to start the run



Tyler takes the lead and chases Daddy



Tyler has a big lead coming into the transition

As Tyler came into the transition, he quickly parked his bike, took off his helmet and was on to the run.  Much faster than his Daddy used to do it..



Mummy - stop taking pictures and get to the pool !!

The run covered three sides of the green, then up a hill to the pool,  Tyler showed great form as he overtook Daddy !!



I am going to catch Daddy !!

Still in the lead !!

A final dash up the hill and Tyler turned into the pool area ready to complete the second transition.



Nearly there - where is Mummy and my Noodle !!

Mummy was ready for the final swim leg..



There she is, Shoes off Tyler !!

Tyler hits the water first by a big margin.  For the little kids they can use help,  we chose the noodle as faster than putting on armbands !!


Nearly there !!

After swimming the width of the pool, Tyler was an easy winner as none of the other kids had even made it into the water



Crossing the finishing line...

Tyler got a 'Blue 1st place ribbon and Team Tyler celebrated victory



Go Team Tyler - No 1

After the race, all the kids spent a few minutes splashing around in the small pool.



Its like a giant bath !!

Tyler seemed pleased with his ribbon



Winner !!

Race Stats

Bike 1/3 mile, Run 225 yards, swim 1 width

Bike Start 10:42am

Bike finish 10:47am
Run Start 10:47am
Run Finish 10:48am
Swim Start 10:49am
Swim End 10:50am

A big thanks to the ChandraSomethings for helping us on the day, next year maybe all the kids can do it !! Also big thanks to Uncle Steffen who sponsored Tyler for the event!!!

Expresso Bike - Mission Completed

I completed the last Expresso course today, starting on July 13th and taking one calendar month I have completed 39 Courses, in 16 hours, covering over 287 Miles, consumed 15,000 Calories at an average power of 235 watts and now hold the number 1 spot on all courses at the local rec center.

The courses range from basic to extreme, with the hardest being Savage Revenge which has 13.5 miles of climbing to reach 2,300 feet, with some hills at 40% plus, then a further 6.5 miles to the finish.

There are thousands of people around the world who ride these bikes, around 2300 regularly ride and post their times, my best overall place around the world is 41 on one of the more extreme courses.

I still have to go back and complete 'Gut buster' under 40 minutes, now I have completed all the courses time to revisit a few and see if I can go a little quicker.

Update 1: Just completed Gut Buster in 37:43, so improved 3 minutes with 1 month training

Putt Putt with the kids

We did an quick trip to the putt putt golf course on Thursday. My advice is never bring 4 kids to play under the age of 4..

The kids all had fun (Sienna, Siobhan, Tyler and Cody) and a few of the kids and adults managed a hole in 1.

Cody will remember this as the day he got soaked by the '18th hole' and Tyler will remember it as the day the volcano erupted.

Here are the Millser family at one of the holes.

Weekend at Colorado Springs

We attended the 2011 Rocky Mountain State Games badminton tournament this year in Colorado Springs. As Steffen was the organizer(and we are volunteers), we were there on Saturday to help setup. Part of my contribution involves "removal of pesky, whiny kids". So, while Alan and the gang were putting down the line, i whisked the kids away(while they nap in the car) to spend a few hours with The Chews at their lovely house.

The kids surprisingly got along quite well and we had a nearly uneventful afternoon. But i think that's because The Chew kids were such super nice kids!

Playing in the swing sets

Cody enjoying the slide

Chloe being a good big sister to Cody

Kathryn, ever sweet Big Sister

Then they joined us for some Sri Lankan food with the rest of the gang. Since it was Steffen's birthday the next day, we got some enjoy some yummy birthday cake too!

Cody and Aiden

Cody and Siobhan

The children train at the restaurant.

I am sure the people at the restaurant finally sighed in relief when we left!!!

Steffen also got us some complimentary rooms for the weekend. So the boys were excited about their rooms and the bed full of pillows.

The boys playing in the pillows

Tyler in his "nest"

And since they played so well, we decided they can meet one more time in the morning the next day. So, Eileen brought the kids for a quick swim.

It was a fun times for the kids and I got to catch up with Eileen and CK who moving to Boston!!! So, all in all, it was a lovely weekend.

Oh oh.. i also went home with 2 silver medals from the tournament!! :)