As part of camp Jeanine, Maya and her friends have been making their own tote bags. Here is Maya’s creation which she completed entirely on her own. It did not occur to me until after I took the photograph, but the seat cushion on the chair was sewn by her grandmother.

 
Earlier this week Maya and I constructed a buzzer. It is a little crude, but it works nicely and Maya learned a lot about electricity. The nail is wrapped in fine guage wire to form an electromagnet. It is covered in electrical tape and hot melt glued to the backing board. The metal clapper pivots about a nail and is returneded to its resting position by a spring. The white wire forms the interrupter switch.

 
Little does Kyle know that his close friends are waiting at the restaurant to surprise him for his birthday. He was truly stunned and very happy to see his buddies.

 
For his birthday, Jeanine, Maya and I take Kyle to the Melting Pot a nice fondue restaurant for dinner. Nicolai is still away at music camp.

 
Kyle turns 16 years old today. It is hard for me to imagine how quickly the years have passed. He has turned into a rather fine yound man and we are all very proud of him. Here he prepares to go for a run.

Today I am saddened beyond words. The 25 year old son, Hakim, of one of my soccer team mates died today. Hakim would frequently join his father and our team for practice sessions. It is impossible for me to fathom this loss and to comprehend the pain of losing a child.

 
Maya belays her new friend as she attempts to gain entrance to the treehouse.

 
Maya made a bee line to the Metzold family tree house and befriended another nine year old girl in attendance.

 
This evening Maya and I attended the surprise 50th birthday party of my high school wrestling partner and good friend Tom Metzold. I had the distinction of being the person who had known Tom the longest and I was thrilled to have shared in the celebration.

 
This weekend Jeanine is visiting her sister in Vermont, Nico is still at music camp in Maine, and Kyle is staying with friends in New Hampshire. Feels like we are playing Monopoly with hotels ready to go up all over New England. Maya and I are enjoying the time together. This evening we had a date night at the Main Street Cafe. During dinner she asked me how a fire alarm worked and followed my explanation with great interest. When we returned home we constructed an alarm bell together. We fashioned an electromagnet from some left over wire and an iron nail. We used a scrap of steel for the clapper and created an interupter switch with wire leads fastened with hot melt glue. It took about 90 minutes but we eventually got the buzzer to buzz. Maya was quite pleased with the outcome.

 
Jeanine has worked out an arrangement with several other parents to create a rotating summer camp for Maya and her friends. On every fourth day, one parent takes all the kids and plans out a camp day. On this day the kids go to a horse farm for riding lessons. Jeanine has been using her camera more often and her skills are really improving.