Jeanine observes an Australian Walking Stick (can you find it) while I photograph her from the other side of the terrarium.

Today was my choice for family night and I picked a day-time excursion to the Boston Museum of Science. The kids all groused about going. As soon as we arrived, however, they became totally engrossed in the exhibits. Kyle and I toured the Body Worlds 2 exhibit which Jeanine and Nico had already seen. This tour-de-force presentation of the plasticized human body is absolutely awe inspiring and should not be missed by anyone with a chance to see it.

Later in the morning, Maya, Jeanine and I watched Kyle in action. His team battled back from a huge early game deficit only to lose their one point lead in the last 3 seconds. They were able to inbound and get a shot off before the buzzer, but unfortunately it did not find the net.  Kyle pictured here, scoring on a breakaway.

This morning, Maya attended her very first basketball practice. In the background is “Coach Stefan” who was also Kyle’s coach last season. He is without a doubt one of the finest coaches any of our children have ever had and I am really excited for Maya. Here, she is taking what I believe is technically a jump shot. 

It is hard to argue with results, Kyle’s team (a subset pictured here) played three back-to-back games with no rest to win the championship by a single goal in the final game.

Kyle’s indoor soccer team competed for the season championship this evening. I explained to Kyle yesterday, that the hair dangling in front of his eyes reduced his reaction time hoping he might consider the merits of a haircut. Instead, he opted for gathering a small fountain of hair in a rubber band which proved an equally effective solution, if aesthetically ridiculous.

The evening commute was not to be out done. I was lucky to reach the Sudbury river before the light was gone.

Intense fog on the way into work this morning. I love this particular vista and am determined to capture it in every season. Click on the photo for a larger version.

This evening, Nico’s indoor soccer team played for the championship of their division. They won their semi-final match by a score of 3-0. In the finals, regulation play ended in a 1-1 tie. Sudden death overtime also ended in a tie, so the championship came down to penalty kicks. Nico was first to the line for his team and scored with a perfectly placed shot to the lower left inside post. Westford, their opponent responded with a score. Next Greg also drilled a goal to the lower left. Westford responded in kind. Unfortunately, our final penalty taker missed and Westford’s did not so the team finished second in a very close contest. Never the less, Nico had a great game and we were both proud of his efforts.

On Mondays and Wednesdays we do not allow TV. As a result, I often find the children more willing to let me take their photos on these evenings. Last night Maya and I had a lot of fun together.

St. Lucia is an Italian saint who has been adopted by the Swedes. She is associated with the idea of light. In the middle ages, December 13 fell on the longest day of the year. This holiday celebrates the fact that the days will now start getting shorter. The candles and (yellow) saffron bread represent light, the bare feet represent charity, and the red sash represents the wound she suffered at the hands of her fiancé after she gave away her dowry to the poor.

Today we celebrated St. Lucia Day. In Swedish tradition, the oldest girl of the family wears a white dress with a red ribbon around her waist and a wreath of candles on her head while serving coffee (hot chocolate in out case) and special saffron bread to the rest of the family.

Child #2 was half asleep while eating breakfast (literally). There is a fork with scrambled eggs on it approaching his mouth as I took this photo.

Our tree angel has been with us for more than a decade. Every year, I struggle to get her positioned just right. This year, for the first time, I think I was successful. Nicolai was in charge of our first fire of the year and did a nice job starting it from scratch (my use of a propane torch to start fires, while extremely efficient, is viewed with varying degrees of contempt by most of the family). Family night concluded with chocolate fondue over pound cake, apples, pineapple, and tangerines. The family was too impatient to permit a proper photo of what was a beautiful dessert.