It has been some time since I have posted a photo of Kyle. Although he is running, lifting and most recently swimming, he has not fully recovered from his snow boarding injury and is not quite ready to play soccer full bore. His recent tour of colleges is a painful reminder that he will be leaving us next year and I must admit that I am already starting to dread that day. Meanwhile, Nicolai is off to the woods somewhere in Hew Hampshire with his church youth group on a vision quest. He is reaching the end of a year long Coming of Age program during which he explores his spirituality and develops a personal credo which he will share in front of the entire congregation in two weeks time.

The women of Mattison Dr. gathered at our home before leaving for Ladies Night Out. I have become good at being a little pushy when in pursuit of a photographic opportunity that will not soon present itself again.

On Wednesday mornings at iRobot we have a brief stand up meeting for the whole division called a huddle. It is a time we use to give brief presentations and introduce new employees. Today we honored Oscar, our VP of Operations, who last week became a US citizen. Born is Colombia, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and has been instrumental in the recent success of the company.

As I left work today, I caught the tail end of a lovely sunset. I am averaging about 12 hours a day still and making good progress. The first 100 days are always the most insane in any new job, and I feel like I have really good traction now and am making good progress toward my goals.

Maya will graduate from the Willard School this year and each student is encouraged to submit a personal page that they create for inclusion in the yearbook. Maya spent hours going through 1000s of photos selecting those which she wanted to include in a photo collage. She chose images representing her family, friends, pets, and favorite activities including dance, soccer and music. Our little girl is growing up so fast and projects like this only serve to remind me how precious these years are.

Playing with only one sub, Nico’s team gave up an early 1-0 lead as Dorchester’s 6 man bench made the difference later in the game scoring three unanswered goals. My game this morning resulted in a 2-2 tie against Wayland. I made a nice run in the final minutes beating four defenders but my shot was just high and wide. I did deliver a nice cross in the first half which set up our opening goal.

I may have to add bronco riding to the list of Nicolai’s activities I published yesterday for I don’t believe jumping onto your opponent’s shoulder is a sanctioned part of playing soccer. I wish I could have nailed the focus but am glad to have the shot. Nicolai is now playing with the Concord Carlisle Division 1 Travel team and he remains very competitive on the field.

Although he progressed very quickly, his experience included all the normal consequences of learning to ride a bike. By practicing on the grass we minimized the potential for injuries and his cat like reflexes saved him from the rest. I was very proud of Kyle who encouraged Nicolai all the way and repaired the bike as was often necessary after a crash.

Ice skating, mountain climbing, wrestling, dancing, kayaking, gymnastics, rollerblading, skiing, rock climbing, playing soccer, volleyball, basketball and tennis are among the activities Nicolai has mastered. Today he added riding a bike to the list. He will probably graduate directly to driving a car but I am glad he had the courage to conquer the one skill that remained on the list of challenges he has not overcome. It took him all of about ten minutes to get the hang of it. In order to become fully proficient he will need either a clip in shoe or a toe clip.

Jeanine and Kyle have been on a college visit road tour all week and returned late last night. Their five state journey took them to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

This evening we were treated to dinner by SideStix founder, Sarah Doherty (center). Her company makes a new generation of sport crutches which Beverly (left) and Nicolai helped to field test. It is not everyday that you see three people with a missing right leg. More rare is that two of them are the only people to ever climb Mount Kilimanjaro on crutches.

Nicolai using a heads up display navigates a PackBot equipped with a vision head. He also submitted a robot design (one of the activities during the day) which has serious potential as a product. The idea is so good I am not at liberty to disclose it.

Today was Bring Your Daughter or Son to Work Day at iRobot. Nico and Maya joined me for what was a very enjoyable morning. Maya operates a PackBot on a simulated ordinance disposal mission. Both got to meet the company’s founder and CEO who gave them a personal tour of our robot museum.

Maya and Nicolai collaborated on making additions to the tree house today. Their tree perch now features a split level hinged door with handles and curtains in the windows. I have yet to verify claims that my shop has not been restored to pre-project condition and that all tools have been returned undamaged. If true, I will be as pleased with their responsible behavior as with their construction efforts. The fact that all their digits appear in tact suggests they observed my ban on their use of the table saw but leaves me wondering how they cut the plywood to such close tolerances. I am looking forward to a closer inspection of their project in the morning.

Meet my colleagues at iRobot. We met offsite for a Quarterly Business Review which started at 7:30 in the morning and wrapped up with a very nice team dinner at l’Andana’s Grill in Burlington at about 9:30 making for a very long day. The President and General Manager of the Home Robots Division and my new boss is Jeff Beck, front row-third from the left.

Jeanine and Kyle departed this morning on an extended college visit road trip which will take them through Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. They elected to take my car because of the built in navigation system leaving me with the Smart Car, the smart child and her older brother. This not-so-smart parent allowed the pictured child to drive the pictured car around the neighborhood (twice) before usurping control and heading out to the ice cream store for a little treat. Only lack of sufficient height prevents Maya from driving without me.

We enjoy living across the street from a small horse farm. The stable is surrounded by several beautiful trees which are in peak bloom this weekend. My day started with a very disappointing soccer match played in a gentle rain. We lost 0-1 to an opponent which we dominated for 80% of the game. I had a couple of strong shots from distance but they just missed the frame and a diving header that was on the mark but not powerful enough to beat the keeper. This evening Jeanine and I enjoyed a lovely dinner at Nourish in Lexington while on a double date with friends she knows through her book group. Afterwards we saw the Swedish movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (highly recommended mystery, but not for the faint hearted).

Later in the game, while playing as a midfielder, Maya splits two considerably larger defenders and makes a full field run up the touch line beating an additional two defenders during her attack. What she lacks in size she makes up for with grit and intensity. Her team won with a late score by a margin of 3-2.

In this sequence Maya dispossesses an attacking opponent during her soccer match this morning.

Maya and her Girl Scout troop prepared a fund raising concession stand at the Emerson Umbrella this evening. Proceeds will be donated to charities which care for abandoned or abused animals. I was the first customer and added $4 worth of fat to my waistline. Kyle will be spending the weekend with Hannah and her family on the Cape while Nico and Jeanine are out with their respective friends this evening. I am enjoying a brief moment of solitude after another exhausting but extremely productive week on the new job.

Our gardens are bursting with color, the beneficiaries of all the recent rain and unusually warm weather we have experienced lately. Hard to imagine that snow is in the forecast for the coming weekend.

Although my new job continues to consume most of my time, I did complete my initial assessment work several days ahead of my own schedule and feel very optimistic about how quickly I will be able to work with the team to deliver improved results. With little time for photography, I opted today for a still life featuring a birthday present Jeanine received from her great friend Aliza.

The Concord Fire Department was on the scene to rescue our town flag when attempts to lower it were thwarted by a tangle. I paused during my evening commute to look on as the CFD made quick work of the task.

My birthday girl turned 47 today and just seems to grow more beautiful, vibrant and wise with each passing year. She received several dozen phone calls and e-mails from family and friends, was treated to lunch by her local chic clique, and celebrated with our family over dinner at the Asiana restaurant in Bedford. Maya created a very special hand made birthday card and the boys chipped in for a raspberry plant which they have committed to plant for her as well. Inspired by who knows what, the boys got into a playful wrestling match tickling each other and tumbling around much as they did when they were toddlers. It brought back fond memories and capped the evening on a very happy note.

Maya danced in two routines during her end of the year recital (once to the theme of Fame and the other time to Gimme Some Lovin by Sam and Dave). She was her effervescent self and a pleasure to watch. My soccer team faced Nashoba on their grass home field. I scored the season’s first goal 10 minutes in with a crushing half volley from about 25 yards out. I shot with the outside of my right foot and bent the ball around and over the goalie into the upper right corner. We won the match 3-1 and it was a great way to start the season.

After lunch, I drove to Brattleboro, VT, enjoying the photographic opportunities along the way. Each of the three states I spent time in today has a distinctly different character, and I managed to return to Barre just in time to have a late dinner with Jeanine in between workshop sessions.

This morning I drove to Keene, NH stopping at a half dozen photogenic covered bridges along the way. The harsh light was not very flattering but I found a few angles I would like to come back and shoot in the fall when the leaves are turning.

This is my favorite Seuss sculpture. The background was extremely distracting so Maya and I stripped it out (a tedious and time-consuming job). Please click on the image for a closer view and try not to laugh.

My next stop was the Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden where I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This man was a genius. I reread his book, Oh, The Places You”ll Go and it is like a treatise on Life.

Today Jeanine and I had planned to attend a personal development conference together (she is one of the facilitators of the workshop) but I got kicked out last night when I could not commit to stay for all four days of the program. My outdoor soccer season opens Sunday morning and I was compelled to honor the commitment I made to my teammates which would have had me miss four hours of the last day. As this was unacceptable to the conference leader, I found myself with a free weekend on my hands. I spent the morning hiking around the Quabbin Reservoir and the afternoon in Springfield where I started with a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

This evening after work, I joined Jeanine at the Jenkins B&B in Barre, MA where we will spend the next three nights enjoying a long weekend getaway in celebration of her upcoming birthday. My first three weeks at iRobot have passed in the blink of an eye, and I am looking forward to a lighter meeting schedule next week.