Nicolai is still in Minnesota, but we have had John Quinn all week to keep the child headcount at three. This morning, the kids and I had breakfast at Helen’s.

Bedtime story for Maya. I just returned from a three-day trip to Mountain View, CA, and was not able to post any photos.

Nicolai returned this evening from an extended stay on Nantucket with his good friend Chloe and her family. Apparently, in the absence of gymnastic apparatus, Nico makes due with a local jeep. Photo courtesy of Chloe’s mom, also an avid photographer. Nicolai reports that he had a fantastic time. I must make a note to ask about the story behind this photo tomorrow morning before Nico heads off to Minnesota with his cousins.

Tonight, we were treated to homemade chocolate chip cookies by our resident dessert chefs.

Alissa returned with Rachel to Albany this afternoon before the storms hit. Johnny will spend the night here before leaving for Minnesota with Nicolai, Rory, Mario, Frank, and Angela. Maya and Mario conduct the traditional chasing of the departing car ritual.

Just Maya. Not a little cat, not a blue monkey, not “brave Maya”, just plain Maya.

What kind of Sunday would it be without a little croquet? More time is generally spent interpreting the rules than actually playing the game.

Rachel demonstrates her flexibility during morning calisthenics led by Jeanine.

And finally, my art shot for the day.

Later we ventured into Rockport where we did a little shopping and were treated by Mario and Rory to ice cream.

Jeanine braved the chilly water and then relaxed on the beach with a book.

Maya demonstrates her water tossing accuracy and total lack of fear.

Think ice cubes.

The boys also spent quite a bit of time on the move. The threat of being splashed carried serious weight in light of the frigid water temperature.

Maya spent most of the day running in and out of the water, back and forth to get sand, and chasing after her larger cousins.

Rachel worked relentlessly on sand construction projects.

Mario, Rory, and Rachel were the only ones to eventually brave the icy waters to reach this platform in the middle of the cove.

A nice view from the beach. I particularly enjoyed this stone outlook, which was perfectly situated on a stone jetty.

Rory sporting a post immersion hairdo.

To say the water was cold would be a huge understatement. Very brief incursions were the norm. Fortunately, the sun was warm, and thawing took only a matter of minutes.

After all four boys had cut themselves on one sharp rock or another, we decided it might be wise to rejoin the girls. This beach had an extremely shallow pitch and the low and high tide marks were separated by more than 150 feet.

The abundance of life, not to mention color, in these little pools was amazing.

Mario remains engrossed in the tide pool after the other boys move on.

Meanwhile, Rory and Kyle wade into one of the tidepools. Here, Kyle is actually slipping and reaches up to stabilize himself upon his cousin.

Next, Mario captures a starfish and decides it would enjoy a piggyback ride on the crab.

Mario, a future marine biologist for certain, captured this crab with his sandals.

Today, we packed up the crew and set out for Rockport, the boys in one car with me and the girls in another with Jeanine. The girls went straight to the beach. The boys decided to go exploring first and found a rock-strewn beach with plenty of tidepools.

My sister Alissa, suggesting a new surrounding color scheme to rescue the kitchen curtains which Jeanine and I dislike intensely.

Maya’s playhouse (built under the stairs to the basement, including a tiny window and door) is almost done. Rachel (visiting for the weekend with Johnny and Alissa) and Maya appear to be preparing tea.

Tonight a game of Risk is the center of activity. At this moment, Rory and Nicolai are combining forces against Kyle and Mario. Ural has just fallen. Earlier this evening I had a soccer match. My team was short handed so I called to see if Kyle would be interested in playing. All four boys showed up ready to play. Kyle was the only one large enough to play and did a very respectable job against an adult team. It is the first time we played on the same team. This has been a long time dream of mine. I look forward to doing the same with Nico and Maya.

Mario selected this photo for posting because he said his mother would like his “dreamy” eyes. Please note the cream cheese deposits from the bagel, which is being consumed chipmunk style (deposits in cheeks for later consumption).