Kyle finished his regulation season with a 4-0 victory that secured a 6-2 record. Here, Kyle beats a pair of defenders before unleashing a missle on goal.

Today was the final game of my soccer season. We defeated Malaga 2-0, avenging an earlier loss this year and secured promotion to Division 1 next spring. There are 90 teams in our league (40 and over men). Next year, we will be competing with the top twelve. I played a solid game at defensive midi but failed to score on a nice left-footed opportunity late in the second half.

The family had a full day of soccer on a chilly, but otherwise glorious fall day. First up was Nicolai, whose team went down 2-0 before rallying back to a 4-3 win over a strong Weston team. Nico, shown here, going up for a header (which he handled beautifully). Next, Maya was in action and also produced a come from behind 2-1 win. Finally, all three kids and I attended the Concord-Carlisle match to watch our high school team qualify for post season play. A more accurate accounting would mention that all children found and went off with friends while I watched the game with, come to think of it, some of my friends.

The boys showing off their guns..

Courtney, Seth, Kyle, and Sadye had dinner at our house before heading out to the Concord-Carlisle football game. Yes, Kyle is wearing pajama bottoms. No, I have no idea why?

I woke at the crack of dawn to do some morning photography before our first work session began. I drove up the coast a little and believe I was in the vicinity of Kittery Point when I took this photo. Click on it for a larger version.

After a ten hour day of work, Graham (my new boss, singing in the blue shirt) treated the team to candle stick bowling followed by a fine Mexican dinner. It is still a too early to tell, but I think I am going to really enjoy working for this guy. The new team went through trial by fire today and emerged intact.

The same woman, after a costume change, improvising a song in response to the unplanned death of her dog at the hands of one of our group. The further we got off the planned script the more insanely funny the evening became. In the end, my team correctly identified the killer for which we each received a plastic walkie-talkie.

After a long work day we were treated to a dinner/murder mystery. The woman pictured here was one member of a four person cast that interacted with our group to stage the murder.

As an ice breaker we had to create a pictorial response to five questions. (1) recent accomplishment- promotion to division one soccer, (2) personal goal-improve everything I touch, (3) lesson from a mentor-wrestling coach, running with arms up to learn how to mentally block pain, translation to life and business = never give up no matter how tough things get, (4) little known fact-studied ballet, and (5) advice for Avid-better to do three things well rather than four things poorly.

Today is the first day of a 3-day senior management offsite at Wentworth by the Sea. This will be my first opportunity to work with my new boss and newly installed management team.

The girls by contrast were much more relaxed and took the time to chat with the parental units.

Kyle hosted a pizza party this evening and his friends stopped in between rounds of trick-or-treating. This photo was taken on our front porch and has not been retouched in anyway. Half of the kids in the background were airborn when I snapped the shutter.

Kyle’s friend Alex was locked out of her house so she stayed at our place until her parents got home. I was experimenting with some new lighting equipment and was able to coerce these guys into posing for me.

Nicolai and his friends organize their Halloween haul before launching into a NY Stock Exchange style trading frenzy. Undesirable candy was offered to the father.

Maya the Spy complete with her gadget belt.

When asked to change her nice clothes before working on her Halloween pumpkin, Maya opted to go topless (a behavior that will need careful monitoring in the future). Each year, we struggle with pumpkin carving tools that are designed around child safety rather than cutting efficiency. This year, after Maya traced out her design, we went to the basement and used an in-line pneumatic reciprocating saw to make quick work of the job. It took less time to carve the entire pumpkin than to write this account.

Although the rain stopped today, the wind was insane. On the way to and from my soccer match we passed numerous downed power lines and cars damaged by fallen trees. When we drove by the first time, the trunk of a tree, about three feet in diameter, was laying across the top of three cars. When I returned with my camera, the tree had been removed and two of the cars had been towed away. The wind was gusting to 55 mph which made for interesting soccer. You don’t often see a goal kick reverse direction in mid-flight. My team battled to a 0-0 tie against a good team. Kyle’s team did not fare as well, losing 2-0. Maya and I drove to Manchester, NH to pick up Jeanine who had been driven there by Susan and Rose. It is nice to have her back; we had real food for diner.

Kyle sporting his new team jersey. Weather permitting, both he and I will be in action tomorrow. When he goes to bed tonight, I am going to see if the jersey fits me. I look good in black and it already has my name on it.

We are now members at the Beede Center. It is a brand new fitness facility located across from the high school the children will be attending.

This morning I took Maya to her swimming lesson. All soccer games for the day have been cancelled due to relentless rain. Last night, Kyle had friends Seth and BenT spent the night. Sometime after 11PM, the boys made a batch of brownies. When I went down for breakfast this morning, I found half of the pan remaining. I cooked eggs for all the kids and they had the rest of the brownines for desert. Jeanine, enjoying herself in Vermont, has abdicated all rights to criticize my meal menus. The kids seemed quite happy.

Jeanine returned to Vermont with Susan this morning so I have the kids for the weekend. After rounding them all up, (Kyle had 2 soccer games, Nico had soccer practice, and Maya was on a play date) we went to the Concord-Carlisle High School football game. The boys went their own way connecting with friends. Maya and I hung out together and I explained the rules of the game. I had assumed Maya would grow bored within minutes. On the contrary, she was totally engrossed with the game, the bands, and the crowds. Fortunately the third quarter ended coincident with her bedtime and I was able to drag her away under this statute.

Today is “Spooky Trail” at work. Kids of all the employees come to work and enjoy a variety of halloween activities. Pictured here is one of the entrants in the pumpkin carving contest.

Nicolai created a beautiful pepperoni pizza. After dinner we spent hours watching home videos of the kids when they were small.

As you would expect, Jeanine’s pie was an exotic masterpiece.

Each child used their own technique for spreading the dough. Nicolai made a thick crust, Aunt Susan went ultra-thin, while I opted for a calzone.

This evening was make your own pizza night. Jeanine prepared the dough and each member of the family got to create their own pizza.

Maya showing off her new bike this morning. She has been working diligently at her piano lessons for several months with this reward in mind. Her previous bike did not have any gears and there is one hill in the neighborhood that was a big challenge without them.

We are treated to a visit by Aunt Susan and Nicolai is compelled to review her cell phone ring tone selections.

This morning I found Maya on the sofa with her pig and could not resist the overhead shot.

A parting shot as the sun begins to set. It has been another spectacular fall weekend and we were fortunate to spend so much time outdoors. Jeanine is with Kyle this evening for a church youth group activity.