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.