Three generations of beauties.; all mine. 

Maya’s teacher, Sally, presents her with a bouquet and certificate. Maya’s concert included twenty songs all committed to memory.

Very serious business, this piano playing. Here, mother and daughter playing a duet together.

Today was Maya’s big piano recital. All of her friends and their parents attended. She did a fantastic job and really seemed to enjoy herself despite the pressure. Jeanine and my mother have been busy bees preparing for the follow on reception. I have been in charge of cutting things. First, Maya’s hair this morning, then, pieces of wood for a piano foot stool with 30 minutes to spare before the opening piece.

My mother is visiting for the weekend to attend Maya’s big piano recital and appears here to be doing her best Koala bear impression. Nicolai had a MRI today which was not much fun. He was a tough little man though, endured the 40 minute, ear numbing procedure without a single complaint. He emerged from the huge machine sweat soaked and starving. He later devoured a huge burrito in the time it took me to unwrap mine. 

Another nice snowscape from my commute.

 I pass this view of the Concord River everyday on my way to work. Today, with the fresh snow fall, it was too beautiful to pass by.

I just finished a two day trip to LA and San Francisco which featured a two hour delay out of Logan due to snow (with the distinction of being the last flight out before they closed the airport for the rest of the morning.) On the bright side, I had a seat with a relatively clean window and good visibility.

Just hangin’ out in her room with her menagerie of stuffed animals. Maya has now requested that I give her a haircut “with bangs”. I have had a lot of practice with the boys, but must admit some trepidation about shearing Maya’s mane. I have decided to outsource the initial cutting to a professional and will observe carefully so that I can handle future work.

Kyle steals the ball and makes a break-away, left-handed layup helping his team to a decisive victory over Revere.

 The horse farm across the street at twilight.

Maya pushing friend Meg around as part of her ice skating lesson. Jeanine attended Kyle’s basketball game which was a very close contest. Kyle scored 10 points and helped his team to a 2 point victory. Nicoali organized an AirSoft game with the neighborhood kids and got a lot of fresh air taking advantage of the very moderate temperatures we are having.

I traveled to Montreal for a one day visit. On approach, I noticed this very interesting building. I am guessing it is a prison and will have to check it out on Google Earth.

Every morning, Maya spends time with Shivers. Today, he did a little underground exploring.

 Jeanine had a few spares of her own. 

Tonight was Maya’s choice for Family Night. She choose candlestick bowling and ice-cream out.  Maya’s skillful performance earned very careful scrutiny from the scoring table. Maya finished ahead of her brothers and mother which made her quite happy.

Having finally completed a major reorganization at work, I was finally able to leave the office in time to catch one of Nicolai’s soccer games. Although Nico faces many challenges playing on crutches, there are many things he is able to do that others cannot. Opponents underestimate him at their own risk.

Nicolai made this freehand sketch today. I would say he has inherited some of his grandmother’s artistic talent.

Last night I worked until 1AM preparing for a big reorganization I will be rolling out later this week. I stayed at a hotel by work to pick up an extra hour of sleep before an early meeting this morning. When I got home this evening at 9PM, I found this note and custom blended spritzer from Nico waiting for me. I am a lucky man.

Friends forever.

Maya and friend Julie constructing an ice skating rink in the front yard.

I hate the new pigs. Maya used to wake up every morning and come to the bed of her parents for a little snuggling. Now she heads straight for the kitchen each morning and this is how I find her when I come downstairs. I knew the day would come when I would no longer be her favorite guy but I did not anticipate being replaced by a squeaky, furry miniature pig (yes, I know they are not pigs but that is what I call them).

We took Kyle and his soccer buddies out for pizza before their game. Not exactly the food of champions, but it did not stand in the way of another strong win for the team. Unfortunately, Kyle injured his knee (mostly a contusion we believe) and had to sit out for most of the second half. He was able to score 2 goals and had 2 assists before he left the game. I have had a number of conversations with Kyle cautioning him to be a little more careful with his body. His response: “Dad, I only have two speeds, on and off.” Sound familiar Earlier in the day, he had one of his best basketball games of the season with 2 steals and 6 points.

Please observe this idiot child of mine.  With sub-freezing temperatures, he deems nylon shorts an appropriate dressing choice. The fact that I stood outside in my bathrobe with a 500mm lens to shoot this image should be ignored.

Eskimo’s Marie and Sophia. Photo courtesy of my brother Mark, sent from their home in Minnesota.