Jeanine asked me to sharpen about a dozen of her cooking knives this morning. Maya offered to help and I taught her how to use the wet grinder. She sharpened two of the smaller knives entirely by herself and assisted with the final honing on all the knives. She did an outstanding job and continues to amaze me with her ability to tackle work requiring such finesse.
Kyle’s high school soccer team was in action this evening. They played Arlington High School which is very close to my office and I was able to drive over after work to see the match. Unfortunately I did not have a long lens with me so I settled for this art shot of two parents. The boys played very well and came away with a 1-0 victory.
I never know what I am going to see out of my office window. Today the ten story building across the street got a new air conditioning unit. Something very enjoyable about watching a crane in operation. Probably a little overkill but I couldn’t help thinking it would be handy to have my own for putting the kayaks on top of the van.
The boys have decided to sell their Foosball table which they received as a Christmas gift when they were younger. With Maya’s help they cleaned off all the dust and polished the wood. I helped with the photography and it is now listed on Craig’s List.
For Family Night we went geocaching (treasure hunting using GPS latitude and longitude coordinates). Our first geocache was appropriately titled Witch Tree (N 42° 25.785 W 071° 19.153)located near Flint Pond. Chloe joined us for the adventure. Caches are generally filled with little toys and nick knacks which you can trade for items you bring with you. Kyle exchanged a Japanese banner for a superball. We did a second geocache in the Hapgood Woods.
Kyle and Chloe let me take a rare portrait. I am rather pleased with the results and hope they like it as well.
Nicolai at the Willard Ice Cream social with his friends.
F
Nico scored with a header in the second half but his team was unable to pull out the win. We wonder each season whether Nico will be able to cope with the challenges of playing competitive soccer with one leg. Opening the season with such a pretty goal suggests he can still hold his own.
Nico’s soccer team opened their fall season today playing on the new turf fields at CCHS. I was only able to shoot for a few minutes before torrential rains began, the remnants of hurricane Hanna.
Nico greets Nala this morning before leaving for school. He is now in 8th grade at the Peabody Middle School. He has taken a keen interest in volleyball and continues with his passion for soccer. Nala is not attending school but seems to have learned not to eat all my stuff.
Kyle is now a sophmore at Concord Carlisle High School (CCHS). It is hard for me to find even the slightest trace of the little boy he once was but I am very proud of the young man he has become. He made good use of his summer, working and saving money, and seems poised to have a great academic school year.
When Maya returns to school later this week she will be entering the 4th grade. She decided she wanted to make her own backpack and is seen here sewing a pocket flap on.
Jeanine spent the bulk of the day working in the yard as did Kyle. When I couldn’t easily find a sheet of paper for my printer, I decided to organize the printer closet, which led me to organize my camera closet, which led me to organize the mudroom, which led me to organize the library. Eight hours later I returned with my damn piece of paper. I also spent about an hour coaching Kyle as he practiced driving. I am pleased to report he is taking his newly won responsibility very seriously. Nicolai invited a bunch of his friends over this evening and proceeded to cook mountains of pasta for dinner. I overheard significant debate over the correct definition of al dente. Sampling the meager left overs after their second batch I can testify to the correctness of their pasta cooking time.
Looking out the window from where we are seated we watch as a pilot fuels his aircraft. Apparently this is the self serve pump.