In our neck of the woods, hummingbirds abound. Jeanine has concocted her own nectar formula which the local birds cannot resist. Our feeder is just outside the kitchen window allowing us to watch visitors through the glass from a distance of 2 feet. Few things are more beautiful to watch than a hovering hummingbird.

Jeanine drove to Pennsylvania yesterday to attend the 25th wedding anniversary of her childhood and best friend, Kris Earle. A weekend long soccer tournament prevented me from joining her. Jeanine arrived at the party in the still fitting bridesmaid dress she wore to the wedding. Kris located her wedding dress and the pair posed for this reenactment. I searched my photo archives for a matching photo but was only able to find the one below of Jeanine in the same dress with her boyfriend of the time.

Click on this photo for a more detailed view of the Rube Goldberg contraptions built during an iRobot team building event today. Members of the Electrical Engineering department split into teams and built two ball throwing machines each. The first had to throw a heavy steel ball about the size of a softball. The second, positioned down field, had to be triggered by the rolling steel ball and then throw a tennis ball. The catch was that the machines had to be built in isolation from each other forcing the teams to work on communication skills. Competition for the furthest combined toss and greatest number of successful triggers was intense. Teams were rewarded by being given time to aim and fire their tennis ball launchers at the management team who had to stand still in a line. Each one of us was eventually picked off and we were fortunate that threats of using the steel ball launchers were just meant to rattle us.

Maya and her close friends Sarinnagh and Fiona were playing around in the backyard as I drove up after a long day of travel from California. Having seen very little of her this summer (2 weeks at ballet camp in Montreal, 3 weeks cycling across Montana), she was a sight for sore eyes. Jeanine leaves tomorrow for Pennsylvania to celebrate her best friend’s 25th wedding anniversary and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with Maya over the next few days.

Kyle finishes his internship at Palo Alto Networks tomorrow and will be flying back next Tuesday. I can’t wait to hang out with him as well before he returns to school to begin his senior year.

Although I said goodbye to him before I left for Pasadena, I was still very sad to not be there to wish Nico farewell as he departed for college. He is driving with close friend Oliver and his girlfriend Audrey to Colorado College, located in Colorado Springs. Thankfully, Maya captured the moment of departure and I did not feel so bad. The well planned road trip will start by heading north to Canada and then west over to Chicago as they make their way across the country.

I was very saddened by the news of the tragic death of Robin Williams who I have admired throughout his career. Although I was quite tired by the time my work day ended, including a very nice dinner with my colleagues, I decided to pay my respects at the impromptu memorial on the site of his Hollywood star.

I was up at 4 am this morning to catch an early flight for LAX. I arrived at iRobot’s Pasadena office by 11:30 and joined my boss for lunch. When I arrived at my hotel later in the day, I found the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile parked at the entrance (with a valet tag under the windshield wiper) of the Pasadena Hilton. No matter how sophisticated, every guest entering or leaving the hotel had to stop for a picture. There are currently six active full-size Wienermobiles, each assigned a part of the country. The “hotdogger” position of driving the Wienermobile is open to U.S. citizens, and the job lasts from the first of June until the following first of June. Only college seniors who are about to graduate are eligible.

Maya is pictured here with the other girls from her Montana cycling trip. The girls out numbered the boys 3 to 1 which was just fine with this father. Her new friends have uploaded their photos from the adventure and I have been looking through them for ones that include Maya.

I leave on a business trip to Pasadena tomorrow and will not post again until I return on Friday. Regrettably, I will not be here when Nicolai leaves for college. He is driving to Colorado via Canada with two friends and I have asked Jeanine to document his departure.

Visiting us today is my second cousin Christine and her son Drew.  It was their first visit to Concord and we were delighted to have them. We enjoyed a casual summer dinner on the porch, followed by an excursion for ice cream and playtime at Emerson Park.  I took several photos of Drew and this is among my favorites although I never really captured the beauty of his eyes. I enjoyed our time together and hope we will visit again.

The US National Team was originally scheduled for an international friendly match with Liberia.  Unfortunately, the Liberian team was unable to obtain visas due to the current Ebola health concerns in that country. Instead, the US team held an exhibition match against a Maryland able-boded over-30 mens team. To level the playing field, the able-bodied team was asked to play the ball with only their dominant foot in the first half and only their non-dominant foot in the second half. The match ended in a hard fought 5-4 victory for the able-bodied team.  Nicolai scored all 4 goals for the US team despite the fact that he often had two defenders marking him.

Attending the match was Jade, a stand-out female soccer player who recently lost her left leg.  In a ceremony before the match we presented her with a jersey and made her an honorary member of the team.  After watching  the sport being played, we are hoping she will one day join the squad.

We are headed back to Boston this evening where we will be reunited with Maya who returns today from her 500 mile biking adventure through Montana.

Nicolai and I arrived in Germantown, Maryland last night to attend the American Amputee Soccer Association (AASA) World Cup Training Camp.  The team did a morning run followed by a three hour practice followed by lunch and another three hour training session.  I did a full set of player head shots, the official team photo (featured above), and captured a lot of video of drills and intra-squad scrimmaging. Nicolai was in fine form and is anxiously looking forward to the Amputee World Cup tournament being held in Mexico later this year.

Weary and starving, the team and our local hosts enjoyed a great meal at Guapo’s Cantina, a casual Mexican restaurant with some of the finest food you can imagine.

I am afraid this baby robin will not survive the day. Jeanine called me to come with my camera when she noticed it in the yard. At this age it cannot fly and having fallen from its nest, there is little chance it can survive on the ground.  We were not prepared to adopt it and could not access the nest we suspect it fell from.  The remaining option was to let nature take its course.  Perhaps it will manage to evade predators and its mother, who remained nearby, will continue to feed it until it can fend for itself. We will hope for the best.

The earliest, pictured with her sister on the right, and the most recent photos of my mother who celebrates her 86th birthday today. A lifelong ballroom dancer, sculptor, painter, and Japanese gardener, she is as active and healthy as many half her age.  There is little doubt that I inherited my engineering skills and kinesthitic abilities from her.  I think I also received a half dose of her artistic talent which I express through my photography.  A better mother I could not have wished for.  Happy Birthday Mom.

I am fondly remembering my adventure with Kyle to Patagonia today as we celebrate his 22nd birthday from a distance.  We had such a great time that I would very much like to embark on another expedition with him.  He is getting ready to enter his senior year at Santa Clara University and I suspect it will only get harder to find the time to make such trips in the future.  That said, I am going to start planning the next one now.  I believe that your master numbered (same two digits; 11, 22, 33, …) birthdays are like chapters in a book, demarcating major points of transition. I look forward to seeing what path Kyle chooses to follow and to contrast that with my own choices as my 55th year comes to a close.

Maya tackled the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park which she described as one of the most beautiful she has ever seen.  This cell phone photo was sent by one of the group leaders.  The kids are only allowed 2 phone calls during the three week excursion and we are looking forward to hearing from her tomorrow. I am also eager to see the photos that Maya has taken on her camera.  She will be white water rafting on Wednesday and then one more thirty-mile ride before her adventure comes to a close.  She returns to Concord this Saturday and we cannot wait to see her.