What do you think the chances are that these two pumpkins are related? 

 
After enduring a flight of six and a half hours (scheduled for two), Mark, Marie, and cousins Mario, Rory, and Sophia arrived at 3AM last night. Despite the late arrival, the boys were up at the crack of dawn.

Jeanine received a dozen red roses from her secret admirer. One of the stems did not survive the shipping (from South America) and Jeanine fashioned a very beautiful resting place for the lone bud in a crystal bowl. 

 
For family night Maya chose to make her own Photo Valentine. She selected and posed all the elements and even directed me to shoot from a high angle.

I am experimenting with adding video clips to my journal. If you click on the image below it will take you to a video I call the Italian Hot Dog. The video is about ten seconds long.

Meanwhile, Maya has a piano recital and performs wonderfully. I am beginning to think Nicolai had the right idea about sleeping in. Did I mention we are having both boys bedrooms painted today and as I type there are 5 teenagers in our basement rehearsing for the school talent show. Believe it or not this is a typical Saturday.

As if that was not enough activity for one day, Kyle has a 2 hour outdoor soccer practice to begin training for the spring season.

Jeanine takes Maya to swimming and Nicolai to diving while I take Kyle to basketball. His team earned another decisive victory.

Nicolai off to a very slow start this morning. As his body grows, it takes more energy for him to get around and I think he uses the weekends to recharge his battery.

Kyle’s team, Chaos, played three back to back games this evening to win their divisional championship. The team gave up only one goal through the tournament and won the final match with a 3-0 shutout. Kyle had two goals and several assists. I do have a nice photo of the team, but I am sure this is the one they will all want to see.

Nicolai’s indoor soccer team won the Division 1 title for his age group today. Nicolai and his friends formed this team and have coached themselves throughout the season. It has been interesting to watch as they argue over strategy and vie for playing time and favorite positions. At the end of the day they were able to work through these challenges and produce a championship team.

Maya appears to have acquired some of her grandmother’s artistic talents. She glazed this ceramic cat at a friends birthday party and then cooked it.

Miss Maya having her oatmeal this morning trying to rebuild her strength after the workout she endured last night. The boys had her kiss the Colts door mat (for good luck) on every 3rd and long situation with results that speak for themselves. Our new Super Bowl champions have this little girl to thank for their good fortune. On very important plays, Kyle also kissed the mat (in order to be effective you have to kiss in the middle of the horseshoe). Nicolai and Kyle also employed a secret handshake after particularly good plays. Neither boy has yet revealed the significance of this gesture.

Kyle drives for 2-points against Beverly. Most of the team having attended the Battle of the Bands last night arrived semi-comatose and were down by ten points in the first few minutes of the game. The score improved in our favor as the boys woke up, and the team finished with a solid victory.