Taekwon-Do

Aidan is growing up! My son started Taekwon-Do last night. He is training at Sereff Taekwon-Do here in Broomfield, which is the headquarters for the United States Taekwon-Do Federation. Here, Aidan is in "Charyot" position which means "attention".

Grand Master Chuck Sereff has been teaching Taekwon-Do in Broomfield for over 34 years and in the Denver area for over 50 years. He trained under the Father of Taekwon-Do, Choi Hong Hi, who promoted Chuck personally to IX Dan Grand Master (one of only two in the world). Chuck is 78 and still teaches part-time. I think Aidan is in pretty good hands. The Sereffs are incredibly nice people and Grand Master Renee Sereff, Chuck's wife, personally gave Aidan a ton of attention and visited with us most of the night, despite having 25 people in class.

Aidan and one other new member got some personal teaching from a few lower level black belts on the secondary floor which was cool. Aidan liked the personal attention and not having to be in the big class all night with all the adults.

Here Aidan learns how to tie a proper knot on his uniform

Aidan even got to start "fighting" the very first night after learning a front snap kick and basic punch and block. He loved this part (no surprise)

And, of course, respect is king in Taekwon-Do. Students must bow before entering and exiting the floor and always before and after a match-up and all teachers must be referred to as "sir" or "ma'am". Way to go Aidan!

Flatirons

My close friend, Mitch, and I took off for a morning hike Saturday at the well-known flatirons. We started at Chautauqua Park base and headed up Ski Jump Trail, crossing over at its peak to Bluebell/Baird Trail where we then began our off-trail excursion up the slope between the 2nd and 3rd flatirons...

Here's a view of the 3rd Flatiron from our ascent through dense pines and boulder scrambles...

On our way up, we encountered fresh cougar tracks which led directly into this den...we decided we were a little stupid for hanging around this spot too long, but it was a rush. September brings multiple sightings of bear and mountain lions and there have been sightings on this path earlier in the week. Department of Wildlife had some of this park closed just 2 days prior due to both bear and lion activity...

Good example of the terrain we encountered. I love scrambling rock and getting into the off-trail experience. It allows you to be away from people and be challenged to try new things...

Here, Mitch shows off his studly rock-climbing skills as he ascends the base of the 1st flatiron early in our hike. We decided he should promptly exit to the west, as the slope gets much steeper right above where he is in this photo. That was good, too, as it led us off-trail and a route between the 2nd and 3rd slabs...

And the reward. We sat atop the 2nd Flatiron for stunning views of Boulder, Front Range valley, and Indian Peaks Wilderness to the west. Longs and Meeker Peaks were in full view also. It's always worth the pain when you hit the peak and can sit back and take it all in. God is certainly creative and his skills are displayed quite nicely in our great state of Colorado. Good times.

Garden of the gods

I had the privilege to hang solo with the kids today while Jan pulled a 12 hour shift, so we drove down to the Springs and took in Garden of the gods for the afternoon.

Of course, I snapped many photos, but here are a few for you to enjoy. Kids here on other side of two slabs of red rock as you enter the park.

Quite a variety of formations. Massive slabs and stacked, doubled over red rock with some cool vegetation and rugged terrain. We didn't have time to get off the beaten path too much, but did manage to find some trails off park a little.

Kids were figuring it would be boring, but I assured them they would enjoy the visit.

Afterwards, Jonatha said this was one of her favorite Colorado spots now. Both kids had a blast.

B-Fast

Jonatha got up this morning and made me and Aidan breakfast. She got every box of cereal we have out on the table, washed and presented apples and peaches and had OJ and milk ready. Thank you Jonatha!

Labor Day Labor

Labor Day included a little labor...fun labor anyway. We hiked Loveland Pass to the western rim and took in the view of miles of beautiful Colorado. Great day.

Jan's sister, Kari, joined us for the weekend a came along for the hike before heading back for Nebraska. Thanks for coming out to see us Kari!

The kids are shown here at the rock pile where people place their rock to show they humped it up to the top. We're only about 12,540 ft, so no 14'er accolades for this one. Easy hike and stunning views. Good times.