I was greeted upon my return home this evening with an appeal from Maya to inspect her toes. As much as I love Maya’s toes (and all her other parts) I must admit I was not prepared for green toenails. Thus, it begins.

Maya and Jeanine have attended several weaving classes this week. Maya is shown here on the loom she received from Santa for Christmas this year. I can’t wait to see the final outcome.

As promised in an earlier post, here is a picture, courtesy of Jeanine, of the chickens that are producing the eggs we are eating now. Maya accompanied her mother on an egg run today.

Nicolai asked to come to my soccer game this evening and was kind enough to photograph the action. We squeaked out a 7-6 victory and I managed one goal off my own rebound. Nico does a nice job capturing me in full stride about to take a shot.

Sonos is the first company I have worked for that observes President’s Day as a paid holiday. This morning I made and installed a chin up bar in Nico’s bedroom. After each boy demonstrated their considerable strength and stamina I could only muster a small fraction of the 20 chin ups I could do as a teenager. In the afternoon I ventured out for a little photograhpy and captured both a male and female Downy Woodpecker.

Not to be outdone, Kyle proposes a new contest for the longest cantilevered arm. The design he worked out wins with an 8-inch extension.

When we returned home, I challenged the boys to see who could build a taller tower out of Jenga blocks. Kyle does a little victory dance on top of the kitchen island after he and Nicolai pass my initial mark of 48 inches with a 52 inch design. Tolerating these smirking children for the rest of the evening was not an option and I responded with a new record tower height of 55 inches, a mark which I predict will stand for eternity (or at least until Maya takes up the challenge).

We attempted to find a Family Night activity that everyone could agree on today. The boys could not be convinced to attend a Gospel Choir Jubilee held at the New England Conservatory Jordan Hall. Jeanine and I decided to go with Maya and her friend and left the boys to entertain themselves for the afternoon. The loss was theirs as the performances, including one by a children’s choir pictured here, were nothing short of amazing and left us feeling uplifted and inspired.

Even Nala get’s some love today (after Jeanine and I took her for a long walk).

My sweetie got an arguably less creative but equally heartfelt expression of love from her man.

Romance is in the air today. Nicolai makes waffles from scratch for his sweetheart Izze. The two enjoy their brunch in the tree house.

 
 
 
 
Tonight Kyle had his first indoor soccer match of the new session. Here is a nice sequence in which Kyle fakes a shot with his right, controls the ball to the left, leaves his opponent confused and shoots with his left. Kyle scored one goal and his team won 4-2. Click on the photo for a better view of the action.

Most children build snowmen in the the yard somewhere. Ours seem to prefer the middle of a circular drive we use daily. The parents must now choose between committing crimes against the thermally challenged or making use of our automobiles.

 
Maya has started work on her hand crafted Valentine’s Day cards. I haven’t seen one with my name on it yet — hint.