Before leaving, Sara treated Maya to a Swedish braid.

Sara having a “food moment” on her last day with us.

Kyle with childhood friend, Andrew, who is visiting us with his father. The two are here to check out boarding schools in the Boston area. Kyle and Andrew were part of the “fab four” on their elementary school chess team. Now both have traded in their chess boards for basketballs.

As the sun began to set, I had two tired climbers on my hands. Everyone slept soundly on the drive home after we enjoyed a great meal at the Greenery.

Sara, not realizing a part of our visit would be spent rock climbing, wisely elects to stay back rather than risking injury while attempting the traverse in high heel boots.

Maya and Nicolai were determined to climb out to the end of this rock jetty. Maya, dwarfed by the stones, was relentless in her determination to go all the way to the end. Nicolai quickly abandoned his crutches and hopped, stone to stone, all the way out and back. It is amazing how far determination will take you.

Sara was interested in seeing the ocean so we set out for Rockport. The tourist season has not yet begun so we had the place to ourselves.

Nicolai came to my soccer game this morning and was kind enough to photograph me in action.  On the way to the game we discussed the importance of capturing action, keeping the ball in the frame and showing the face of the player. Here he nails all elements as I am tripped from behind while making a run on goal. The guy who fouled me is a good friend and teammate I play with on my outdoor squad.  I have already started making plans on how to use this incriminating image to my advantage.

 Maya lost her second tooth this morning, or rather her father was enlisted to perform an extraction. So skillful was he, that the patient did not realize the operation had been completed until the tooth was presented for her inspection.

Jeanine and Kyle are in Virginia for a soccer tounament this weekend leaving me with Sara and Maya.  We opted for and enjoyed a visit to Harvard University this afternoon.

Tonight, Maya and her friend Julie performed a piano-violin duet in the Willard Talent Show. They were flawless in front of an audience of 600.

After viewing this picture, Maya observed that she has big lips. The ensuing conversation regarding the merits of big lips was quite interesting and ended with her conclusion that they were good for kissing her daddy. Subsequent experimentation confirmed the hypothesis.

Every morning I come downstairs to find Maya snuggling with one of her pigs (guinea). Despite my initial trepidation about the pigs, I have come to like them myself. As luck would have it, this morning we saw a news story about an English breeder who has created a miniature pig (real pig) which Maya was eyeing with some desire. Two days ago, Maya brought home a baby fish in a plastic bag. The “fish” was barely a quarter of an inch long. When it momentarily appeared as though it had perished during the transfer to a larger container, Maya cried inconsolably despite having known it for less than an hour. Fortunately, the fish was not dead and we have added another pet to the menagerie.

Jeanine’s Swedish cousin, Sara, is visiting us this week. She has taken a break from her medical studies to travel the world and arrived in Boston by way of Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Fiji, and Los Angeles. Sara was our au pair when Maya was 3 months old and it was wonderful to reconnect with her.

I have recently realized how rarely I photograph the kids in groupings with each other. In some ways, these are my favorite photos and I am going to make a point of taking more. This photo was taken at church where Maya’s class did the Chalice Lighting recital for the entire congregation.

At church this morning, Maya was a banner bearer for Ferry Beach (UU weekend retreat to Maine which we attend each year).

Nicolai and Maya came to watch me play soccer this morning. Here, Nico captures a nice little push pass up the wing. I scored one goal and helped my team claim a close 4-3 victory.

Nicolai ensures that his sister is appropriately decorated for St. Patrick’s Day.

I believe that Nicolai is the only child performing with a soccer shoe on.

The Concord fifth graders performed in concert this evening. Nicolai sang in the chorus and played snare drum and flute (not at the same time) in the band.

My beautiful niece Sophia as photographed by my brother. I can’t wait to meet this little cutie. 

After church today, Nicolai and I went down to the Concord River by the Old North Bridge. Jeanine and Maya went off furniture shopping while Kyle was volunteering at a soup kitchen on the Boston Common. Nicolai spent at least 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get himself out to the rock in front of him. What is not apparent from the photo is that the water in between is shoulder deep and extremely cold. I am pleased to report that after contemplating several strategies, Nicolai determined that submersion was a likely outcome of this endeavor and opted to abandon the effort and enjoy the wildlife instead.

Today was the last game of the basketball season for the Concord Patriot’s and what an ending it was. After a shaky start to the season (4-4), the team went on to win the last 13 games and qualified for the final four tournament of the North Shore Youth Basketball League. Last night, they defeated Lynn with an 18-2 record and this evening won the tournament defeating a team with a perfect 20-0 record, both division 1 teams. The finals were very close and Kyle saw a lot of playing time. In the final stretch, Kyle had two steals which he drove coast-to-coast for left-handed layups under extreme pressure. Later in the evening we attended a team celebration at which the coach spoke about his players. He described Kyle as a “wild man” who played intimidating defense and who worked extremely hard through out the season. Kyle’s coach is perhaps the best role model, leader, and mentor I have ever known in youth athletics. I predict that Kyle will remember him for his entire life.

Maya and her friend playing with the pigs.

Maya was in charge of Family Night and selected Play Dough and Pizza. The former was used to make a sculpture inspired by a movie and the remaing family members had to guess the movie. Next, we each made our own mini pizzas. Here the boys demonstrate their pizza dough whirling techniques. Nico opted to make a stromboli, Kyle and Maya made nice looking, good tasting pies, my pizza was a lasagna inspired two layered triangular affair, and Jeanine was dissapointed that her healthy whole wheat and mushroom spinach pizza wasn’t very tasty.

We ended our excursion with a visit to a Shaker cemetary. Men and women here, are buried in separate rows to prevent any monkey business.

Jeanine had been to the top of Holy Hill before and told me the hike was worth it because of the information posted at the top, explaining the history of the Shakers in this area. I found the “posted” information somewhat underwhelming and insisted upon a photo to memorialize the journey. Earlier in the day, I was back in action on the soccer field (4-3 win) and the hike helped me stretch out my sore muscles.

Jeanine and I had a date today, seizing a rare opportunity when all three kids were otherwise occupied. We drove out to the Holy Hill area in Harvard. This ruin is of a former 3-story stone barn constructed by the Shakers who settled this area.

Maya seems much bigger to me since my return from Belize. I can’t quite put my finger on it but she definitely seems more grown up. Also worth noting; during the pursuit drills none of the boys could catch her. I take some comfort in this.

Maya attended the Mini-Micro soccer clinic this afternoon. This drill required pausing on command. Notice how the girls all include thier arms and the boys do not.

Kyle scored 7 points this morning, helping his team to another victory.