As the sun went down, we stopped along the Kancamangus highway at a scenic overview where we renewed our marriage vows. For those of you who attended our wedding you will recall that it was set in fall color as well.

Another view on the way down.

Mountains covered in fall foliage as far as the eye could see in almost every direction.

Later we took the gondolla to the top of Cannon Mountain (4100 ft above sea level) and enjoyed views of Canada, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Click the photo for a larger view. Jeanine is the little orange spec standing on the bridge near the top of the flume.

Visitors can make their way up the flume on this walkway which takes you all the way to the top.

This covered bridge takes you to the entrance of the Flume, a spectacular slot canyon cut into the rock by water. Because pedestrians are not allowed on this road, I had to hike through the woods and down a very steep embankment to get this photo. The shuttle bus goes over the bridge once every five minutes so I had to hide in the brush and then jump out for a few shots and then dive back in for cover. It was really a lot of fun and nothing was going to deny me this classic vista.

Jeanine and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary today. I took the day off and we traveled to the Franconia Notch of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. There is nothing in this world I know that can compare to fall in New England. We were treated to a pefect day and peak color.

Minuteman National Park on the way home from work this evening.

Nanna reads with Maya in her own canopy bed.

After we returned home, Jeanine, my mom, and Maya completed the bedding and canopy for the bed I made with Maya. Elizabeth was very pleased and so was her dog.

Later in the day Maya, my parents, and I went to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. We toured a 200 year old house known as Yin Yu Tang which was moved board by board and stone by stone from the Huishou provence of China complete with furnishings. The woodworking was phenominal and made no use of metal fasteners. On the way home we passed the House of Seven Gables and I grabbed a quick shot of the seaward exposure.

My hamstring is still recovering so I did not play soccer today. Instead, I took photos of my team during our match with Malaga. Jeanine was with Kyle whose team won 4-1. Kyle had one goal and an assist in the pouring rain.

After dinner, my dad, Kyle, Nicolai, and I had a boy’s night out. We watched the New England Revolution soccer team defeat Colorado 3-1. It was the first time either my dad or Nicoali had been to a professional soccer match. It is hard to say who was more excited.

Nicolai was in action as well and is pictured here executing a very nice flick on. He had one assist and layed off several beautiful passes that teammates failed to finish.

My standard pumpkin rule was in effect (you have to be able to carry your own pumpkin). Maya left little margin with her selection.

Our neighbor Kathy grew a crop of pumpkins this year and was kind enough to offer the girls (Maya with her friend Julie) the pick of the patch.

Maya did not lack for spectators. My mom and dad laugh it up with Jeanine over the antics on the field.

Still a little gun shy after sustaining a bloody nose earlier in the season, Maya was back in action earlier this morning. Her team won decisively.

When I returned home I was treated to another cake made by Jeanine and Maya as well as rice pudding (my favorite desert) delivered from Schenectady by my parents who are visiting for the weekend. Can you guess how old I am?

The cake was extremely welcome, as I had been so busy all day that I had missed lunch entirely.

Today is my birthday and my colleagues surprised me with a soccer themed party. As I walked unsuspectingly into the board room, I was pelted by a variety of miniature soccer balls.

No matter what kind of beating I take at work, I can survive anything knowing I have this to come home to.

I made a day trip to NYC to visit with ABC executives. On August 14th, a glitch in our equipment caused Good Morning America to go black for 8 seconds. As the head of engineering, I have been summoned to answer for this. Not a meeting I would wish on my worst enemy. Suffice it to say that a repeat of this issue will result in a call for my bloody head on a silver platter.

Taken from my car window as Jeanine was putting Maya on the bus.

My weekly photo assignment entry. The theme is Minimalism. 

Kyle’s team won their match today by a score of 2-0. Here, he unleashes a very strong shot on goal which went slightly wide. Earlier in the game he scored the opening goal in a one-on-one with the goalie. My team cruised to a 3-0 win against a very tough opponent. Unfortunately, I tweaked my right hamstring and may miss a game or two while it heals.

Yesterday, Maya asked if I would build her a canopy bed for her American Girl doll, Elizabeth. Maya helped me with the construction and did most of the painting herself. This morning we tried it on for size.  All that remains is to fabricare the canopy.

Nicolai played goalie for his team today. It rained on and off during the game so I decided to leave my camera gear in the car. I did, however, during warm-ups, catch this shot of him deflecting the ball over the bar. After the game we stopped at Helen’s for lunch and had a nice time discussing possibilities for his coming of age father-son adventure. Antartica is off the table and New Zealand is back on. We have decided that white water rafting or kayaking will be the main activity.

Jeanine and Maya attended a Women’s Circle at the church during which she decorated this Yin-Yang symbol. She added words (using her own spelling) that were significant to her; Compassion, Movement, Energy, Deep Love, Relax, and Comfort. Meanwhile, Kyle and I had a boys night out after his practice. We went to the Mainstreet Cafe where we enjoyed a couple of burgers while listening to live guitar music.

Last night, I extracted Maya’s second front tooth using a method perfected on her two brothers. She did not know the tooth was out until I showed it to her. She wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy inquiring if she could keep the tooth in addition to her remuneration ($1 is the going rate).