Jeanine was recently elected to the Board of our Homeowner’s Association and hosted a meeting this evening for the august body. I interloped momentarily to capture this photo and spent the remainder of the evening driving Maya to/from piano lessons and trying to help Kyle prepare for a physics test. I am not sure I was very helpful. Even though I could solve all the problems, my methods were different from those taught in class and I think he was more interested in learning/using the teacher’s method.

A year ago Nicolai attended a wrestling clinic given by Anthony Robles of Arizona State. This weekend Anthony won the NCAA National Wrestling Championship at his weight class of 125 pounds demonstrating what can be achieved through hard work and a determination to defy the limitations others would impose on you. Anthony is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and we are thrilled for his success and for Nico’s opportunity to meet and train with him.

I spent the entire day outdoors doing yard clean up and exterior repairs. The family helped for the better part of the morning collecting downed limbs which we burned off in a massive bonfire (with appropriate permit from the Concord Fire Department). In the afternoon I felled four trees that had been killed by vines, creating fuel for an even larger fire. As the sun set I prepared to photograph the super perigee moon. Only once every 18 years does the moon reach it closest distance to earth and appears 15-30% larger than normal.

One of my favorites from the series. I love my little ballerina.

Maya received a new ballet outfit for an upcoming recital and was happy to pose for me. It was a fun session and yielded many nice photographs.

Nico graces the cover of the February edition of Exceptional Parent magazine which features an article written by Jeanine and several of my photos including this one.

Today started with a visit to the dentist for purposes other than routine cleaning. Of my last 12 fillings (the cost of a poor brushing regime as a teenager – are you paying attention children) I had 6 done without and 6 with Novacane. Today I tried a new type of Novacane that wears off almost instantly (delivered via the syringe pictured here) and think this is probably the best compromise. When I arrived at work my day was immediately brightened when I received news that a local engineering legend had decided to accept an offer to join my team. He starts on Monday and I am really looking forward to the collaboration.

With spring like temperatures, the Concord River has swollen to near flood stage due to all of the snow melt. Frequent visitors to this blog will recognize this view. Enough snow remained on the ground to prevent me from finding a more original angle without falling into the river which I decided would not be a worthwhile risk (could it be that I AM gaining wisdom with age?)

Jeanine, armed with a flashlight and tick removal tools, performs an under carriage inspection of Nala who spent most of the day outdoors enjoying the fine weather we are having. I finally persuaded her that it would be easier to invert the canine rather than the human and thus oriented she quickly located and removed a deer tick.

I spent the better part of the weekend upgrading our computers to Windows 7 and setting up a new laptop for Jeanine with Microsoft office. It is amazing to me how difficult this is and I cannot imagine how anyone without serious technical chops can overcome the numerous challenges and incompatibilities I encountered. Fortunately, all of the problems I encountered were known issues and with the help of Google I was able to locate the needed fixes. Hopefully, this effort will pay dividends now that I have all PCs in the house synchronized with the same configuration of operating systems and applications. Next weekend I will tackle the kids computers (all Macs) which in my prior experiences do not play nicely on PC networks.

This evening Maya and I attended the annual St. Patrick’s Day Father-Daughter Ball for the last time. Regrettably, she will be too old next year to attend. We dined in elegance at Serafina’s before hand and agreed that we should establish a routine father-daughter dinner and that we should schedule a weekend camping excursion this spring. Maya has developed into a wonderful little dancer and we made quite a show of her talent at the ball.

Rivers and creeks are swollen everywhere as the massive amount of snow we received this season begins to melt. I discovered this little stream today which is 1 block off my regular commute.

Jeanine and I attended Nicolai’s end of the season wrestling banquet at the Nashawtuc Country Club this evening. Although he missed the tail end of the season with a shoulder injury the team finished the season placing first in the D2C MIAA Sectionals and with head coach Eric Rivera winning Coach of the Year honors.

We have really enjoyed the company of Jeanine’s sister, Susan, who has been visiting us since Sunday. I learn something new about my own kids every time she comes because she asks them questions designed to elicit more than the typical “fine”, “OK, and “good” responses I often receive. She departs today for her home in Burlington, VT.