Today we drove to Schenectady where we celebrated my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. A full set of photos from the day can be found here. Pictured in this photo are my brother Mark, sisters Mayela (left) and Alissa (right) and our parents taken in the lobby of the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia, NY where the party was held.

After a long hiatus from fredmiranda.com (photography website featuring a weekly themed competition which has helped me improve my photography) I took second place for my photo.  The theme for the week was “Lines.”  Regretably, the image itself has been lost to the internet.

It is not uncommon for Maya to wake up and read to her pig.

Over the summer I have been playing in the Greater Boston Soccer League Open Division. Tonight we won in the finals by a score of 4-2. After going scoreless for the entire summer, I placed a nice left footer in the net to give my team the early lead. Our opponents came back with 2 goals to go ahead and then we responded with three more to secure the championship. It was a very exciting game and I played all 90 minutes.

When I arrived at home, I found Nico in the driveway riding this contraption he calls a “wawa” (short for Chiuaua). He has bungy corded a lawn chair to a skateboard and propels the arrangement with his crutches. Maya also served in a propulsive capacity.

Lots to report for a Monday. On the home front, Jeanine and Maya captured a bat that found its way into the house. Nicolai photographed the entire undertaking.

For family night we went out to a new Indian restaurant with two other families. The kids had their own table and Maya held court among a group of six boys. I hope this is not a pattern which will contine in her future.

Kyle and buddy Seth hanging out. Kyle has grown to within 2.5 inches of his father as confirmed by measurments this morning. Maya grew an inch in the last couple of months. Nicolai grew slightly. I am happy to report that I have not started shrinking yet.

Most families pay a barber to cut hair. I am the barber in our family and for the first time had to resort to paying the boys to let me cut their hair (the negotiated rate was approximaely $20 per inch of hair removed). They acknowledge that the quality of my work is better than the in town barbers but that I take forever to finish the job. It was worth the combined cost of $80 to know that Kyle and Nicolai will both be returning to school looking respectable.

The cruise back to port took quite a bit longer than the trip out when the boat lost two of its four engines. We made the best of it and enjoyed the fresh sea air.

This was an experience none of us will ever forget and one which we can highly recommend.

One of the larger humpbacks which is longer and weighs more than the boat in the background.

Here is a finback. They are smaller and not nearly as magnificent as the humpbacks but just as graceful.

Whales can be identified by the patterns of their tales which are the equivalent of a fingerprint for humans. In total we saw at least a dozen different humpbacks and several finbacks.

Here the whale is cruising along the surface with its mouth open allowing the water to filter out while the little fish remain behind. This big bump on top is the blow hole.

Occasionally the whales would turn on their side and raise a flipper before slapping the water with it. It was almost as if they were waving to us.

Whale Ho! Here is our first sighting, a young humpback. This is one of the few experiences I have had where photography fails to convey the feeling I was experiencing. The boat gives a sense of scale, but nothing can convey how gracefully and peacefully these great giants make their way in the world.

On the one hour trip out to the whales we passed an identical version of the vessel we were on. I staked out a prime photography location at the front of the top deck and set up my tripod and long lens.

Erica selected whale watching for today’s family night activity. We departed from Boston’s Long Wharf (pictured here) on one of the high speed split hull ships.

Jeanine and I had a great date this evening. We had dinner at an open air cafe on Newbury St. and then enjoyed “Taming of the Shrew” on the Boston Common.

Das boot.

Kyle was in need of a headshot for this season’s soccer pass. This is about the only reason he will sit for a photograph these days.

Erica having had more than her fill of weeding retires indoors to work on her needlepoint.

A gorgeous day and Jeanine decides she must be outside weeding. Please note the Frankenshoe she wears on her recovering right foot.

We love having Erica visit and hope we are not wearing her out. She has been an enormous help with Jeanine still recouperating. Jeanine went in for her one week check up and the doctor was very pleased with the outcome of the surgery and the healing progress.

Maya and Erica swinging in the backyard.

Maya is attending camp at the Museum of Science and brought home this molecule today. She has named it “tricubic”.

Erica made an absolutely delicious lasagna for the family this evening. Nicolai has officially graduated to a normal eater and Maya has secured the picky eater crown.

It is fun to watch the boys play soccer with each other. This week they have been in the backyard every evening kicking the ball around. What’s really amazing is that there have been no fights.

Maya stayed up late last night and this morning is looking rather tired.

Mother and daughter sampling the birthday pie. We adjusted Jeanine’s crutches to the proper length and she is starting to move about nicely. Everyone has played with the crutches and all have a new appreciation for how adept Nicolai is and how much extra energy it takes to use them.