The girls and I ventured down to Cambridge this afternoon to tour Harvard and the environs.

Kyle on the attack in the backyard. Jeanine, at a weak moment, allowed the boys to purchase pellet guns. They are now all the rage in the neighborhood, and our backyard is the scene of frequent battles.

Maya showing off her reading skills to Sophia and Maria.

This weekend, we are visited by Swedish cousin Sophia and her friend Maria. Working with Maya to prepare an apple pie after a day full of sightseeing in downtown Boston despite the torrential rains.

Sunrise over fog this morning.

Kyle enjoyed, for the first time, playing in a soccer stadium today. I can remember my first game in a proper stadium and I could see the same look of excitement in his face as we drove up. His team won a hard fought match 4-2. My team also enjoyed a win this morning and I was thrilled to be back in the line-up after more than a month of recovery from a muscle injury.

Child liberates parachute seeds, father spreads fertilizer with weed control, mother plucks dandelions from her garden. Is this what they mean by the cycle of life?

Nicolai drives through a gaggle of defenders and gets a nice pass off despite the fact that one of his crutches has come off. His team enjoyed a 1-0 victory. Kyle also played today, and his team won 4-1. Not to be outdone, Maya scored a goal to help her team to a win.

Helen’s is our local breakfast hangout. It is OK, but the pancakes do not measure up to Jeanine’s.

I took the boys to the Concord-Carlisle High School football game this evening. After separating me from my money for the entrance fee, I was left to watch the game alone while they cavorted beneath the bleachers.

Maya playing after school pauses for a moment.

Today I turned 47. I have decided that I will not officially feel old until I reach 50. The family had a special dinner with my favorites, and I am seen here sporting one of my birthday presents. Maya performed a small piano concert in my honor, and Nicolai received his flute today and already has achieved a pretty good tone.

This is either prisoner #2662 or a freshly minted brownie.

On the way home, we stopped for lunch at a seaside lobster shack where Jeanine enjoyed a traditional lobster roll. We also stopped to do a little antique shopping and briefly detoured into Kennybunkport, where we found a quiet ocean overlook on which to renew our wedding vows to each other.

We really enjoyed the group we were hiking with. Each member was fascinating in their own right, and we got a chance to know them well over the many miles of conversation. When we arrived at the B&B, they had arranged a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of chilled champagne in our room in honor of our wedding anniversary.

This unusual mushroom had an inverted orphan mushroom growing on top of it.

This variety lactates a milk like substance when the underside is scratched, even slightly.

Also featured was the most varied assortment of mushrooms I have ever seen.

On our final day, we hiked both peninsulas of the Ovens Mouth Preserve, which features swift tidal waters, quiet coves, and salt marshes.

During the afternoon, we rented a tandem sea kayak and spent several hours in Booth Bay Harbor. Our furthest destination was Burnt Island, where we put ashore to investigate the lighthouse.

At lunch we dined on a rocky beach looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean.

Day two featured a morning hike on the Lineken Preserve with several stunning vistas of the Damariscotta River.

Everywhere you look in Maine, you are sure to see something that floats on the water. The small buoys in the foreground are connected to ubiquitous lobster traps, each color-coded to identify the owner.

Our first hike was a quick late afternoon stroll through the Porter Preserve with southern views of the Sheepscot River.

We stayed at a very lovely bed and breakfast on Hogsdon Island, nestled among the rivers and inlets that define the Maine coastline in this area. We were part of a hiking group that explored a number of land trust conservation areas.

Jeanine and I took a long weekend to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We spent the bulk of our time in and around Booth Bay Harbor, Maine, but stopped for lunch in Portsmouth, NH, on the way up.

Mother and grandmother see Maya off to school. Maya did ten really good pushups this morning.

My parents arrived today to watch the kids for the weekend while Jeanine and I take a long weekend in Maine to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. My father celebrates his 81st birthday and 49th wedding anniversary tomorrow and Jeanine treated us to a mango cheesecake to mark the occasion.

Nico heads out for school on his scooter. Note to self: Remind Nicolai that helmet is not a fashion accessory and works better when the chin strap is fastened.

This little fellow was perched on our porch railing this morning.

I happened upon Tower Place in Maynard last night. It is an old mill that has been converted into a mixed residential and business complex overlooking the water supply that used to drive the machinery.