Despite the rain we all ventured out to the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in Jamica Plains. Maya’s umbrella was so large that she had to be tethered during a stiff wind.

Swan from Great Meadows.

My parents are in town for the weekend and we did this portrait for their 50th wedding anniversary invitation.

With my parents in town, competitive Scrabble (timed turns, strictly enforced back of the box rules) was the order of the evening. Kyle came from behind to defeat his father on the last move, and Angela (the reigning champion) was relegated to a third-place showing.

The babies have arrived.

Another little fellow. Jeanine is visiting her father in Indiana this weekend. She brought her field guide with her and I am fully expecting her to e-mail with some identifications.

I stopped to do a little birding on my way into work today.

Maya and I found the new gosslings in the pond under the close supervision of their mom and dad.

Kyle applying a text book shoulder charge to his opponent.

Half time rest.

Maya intercepts the ball and breaks for the net. She scored three goals to help her team win.

Maya takes to the trees before her soccer game this morning.

Nico showing Maya how it is done.

Maya working on her jump shot. Please note the general lack of footwear in all photos featuring Maya.

Mother and daughter looking for the gosslings by the pond.

Maya demonstrating a cartwheel after spending some time in the sprinkler with her friends. Please click the photo to enlarge it and notice the muscles in her back.

Spring flowers are in bloom everywhere. 

When asked to identify his favorite play of the game he cites this slide tackle where he cleanly strips the ball from his opponent while feeding him a dirt sandwich. What does it say about your children when they like knocking people over?

During the game Kyle made one run which a parent described as the “Manly Run”. He beat a total of 5 defenders and carried the ball 3/4 the length of the field. At one point he lost the ball to a pair of defenders but some how, through sheer determination, managed to steal it back and continue down the field.

Kyle fighting for a header as his team battles to a come from behind and secure a 2-2 tie against a very strong opponent. My team was in action as well and we were able to hold on to a 2-1 victory against  Hopkinton.

Jeanine and I got away during the afternoon for a wonderful hike through the woods. It never ceases to amaze me how many secret places of natural beauty there are in Massachusetts. Nothing is labelled. You just have to know about these places and Jeanine has discovered many of them. This hike took us along the Sudbury River and up to some cliffs which overlooked Fair Haven Bay.

Nicolai played one of his best games ever today. He scored one goal (a nice little short range chip over the goalie and just under the bar) and had two assists to help his team to a 4-1 win.

After her soccer game this morning, Maya had plenty of energy left over for a workout on the Willard monkey bars.  Here she shows me how she can go up and back skipping every other bar. She has unusually good upper body strength for a child her age.

Jeanine and Maya are going to a Brownie sleep over this evening. Maya prepares for the long hike (to the car). She has her backpack, sleeping bag, blanket and one stuffed animal. She also took her camera with her so I am hoping she returns with some photos I can post this weekend.

Today I was in the mood for birds.

Don’t mess with this chick.

From a walk in the backyard at sunrise.

Grabbed this shot on the way into work today …

… and this one on my way home.

A little pollenation action in the front yard.

We both shot various versions of this scene.

This afternoon, Nicolai and I spent a few hours doing photography together. We drove around randomly and stopped whenever we spotted something of interest (mostly trees in bloom). It was raining on and off so half the shots were taken from within the car with the window rolled down. Jeanine took Kyle to his soccer game today where his team won 4-2 and Kyle got one goal. My team played in the drizzle and had a strong 4-0 win.