Kyle is nursing a turned ankle and pulled groin muscle. I am encouraging him to sit out a few games and practices so that he can fully recover.

This evening, the boys and I attended a Revolution soccer game in Foxboro, which was attended by most of the other soccer athletes from the high school. Before the game, the team enjoyed a first-rate tailgate party.

Another great day for aerial photography on my return flight to Boston. One of the more gruelling weeks of my professional career, with a long weekend on the horizon as well.

Too busy with work (fourth 18-hour day) for photography. A quick self-portrait conveying the pace of my life right now.

Another killer work day in the office. Third 18 hour work day in a row. I am exhausted but my team made a nice breakthrough on the design issue we have been chasing. The major IT transition is largely completed and has gone fairly smoothly. No time for photography so I am posting an image I took of Kyle last weekend. He and Nico were kicking the ball around in the backyard. These days they travel in such different circles it is rare when they get to hang out with each other and it gave me great joy to watch them playing together as they did when they were younger.

On the boat ride to the island, the team was treated to a dolphin escort. I am disappointed to have missed the opportunity to share this day with my staff, but I have decided to repeat the adventure with Jeanine when I one day ask her to join me on a business trip to California.

Although I could not join them, I sent my camera out with their guide, and she captured some nice images of them.

Today my staff enjoyed a team building kayak adventure that had them exploring water caves near the Scorpion anchorage off Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park. Regrettably it was necessary for me to remain back at the office to deal with urgent matters. I had to revamp the team building exercises at the last minute since I would not be present to facilitate. I often do my most creative thinking under the gun and came up with a good back up assignment. The weather and tide conditions were perfect and the team returned from their 10 hour adventure both exhausted and thrilled. We enjoyed dinner together as they recounted the exploits of the day and compared wounds (minor cuts and abrassions from close encounters with mussel cover sea cave walls).

I will be working in Santa Barbara this week and enjoyed a window seat with a clean window on my flight from Boston to Los Angeles. It is important to relax now because I am in for a high stress work week the second I touch down. Over the weekend, Sonos transitioned our e-mail system from a local server to one managed by an external IT services provider. About a million things can go wrong and since this initiative was the result of my direction there is a lot at stake for me. Couple this with an unresolved design issue on a product we are about to launch and you have the ingredients for the perfect storm. It will be a 21 hour work day before all is said and done.

This shot took a little more patience and a bit of luck to capture the tiny flying creature on the right. Patience is something I could use more of. My right calf muscle is still too tender to play soccer and the frustration is almost unbearable. I had breakfast with the boys and afterwards we went over to watch the tail end on my team’s game. We were leading the first place team in the division 2-1 late in the game but had to settle for a tie when they equalized.

I decided to do a little macro photography today and found some interesting subjects within a few feet of the back door.

This evening, we attended a mixer for CCHS freshman parents. It was very fattening.

Jeanine and I had dinner this evening at Bullfinch’s in Sudbury with my high school wrestling partner Tom and his wife Karen. Every year the Metzolds host a Fourth of July extravaganza which we enjoy immensely but rarely does that give us an occasion to spend one on one time with them. Karen and I share the same birthday (I am one year older) and Jeanine arranged for this intimate celebration. It was a delightful evening of fine dining and great conversation. Outside of my family I have known Tom for longer than anyone else in my life and feel fortunate that we live in such close proximity. The Metzold’s son Evan is in his first year at the NYU film school and son Eddie attends Concord Academy. Tragically, one of Evan’s close high school friends died earlier this week of swine flu serving as a painful reminder that life is short and must be lived fully each day.

The CCHS Men’s Varsity team had to settle for a tie today against Weston due to some very questionable officiating at the end of the game. Kyle played with great intensity and had a nice breakaway for a good attempt on goal. He is still being played on the front line and I continue to hope he will get a chance to play midfield where I feel his game is even stronger.