Nicolai requested an AirSoft theme for his birthday party (held early before his friends scatter for the summer). We agreed on rules of engagement with respect to photo journalists which spared me from being targeted. I am happy to report that the guns soon gave way to an old fashioned game of capture the flag. Later they watched the new Pink Panther movie on the big screen.
Good sport that he is, Kyle allowed Maya to groom his hair. As I type this, he is wearing this new hairdo outdoors while practicing soccer drills.
Proud mother and slightly bored sister look on from the audience.
Nicolai performed with the school band in a concert this evening. Try as I might this were the best shots I could get.
World Cup fever is translating into hours of additional practice in the back yard while Jeanine looks on happily from her swing.
Nicolai honing his skills.
Jeanine has captured some kind of “scary” bug. The children observe cautiously.
Maya played a little piano for me this morning. When I got home from work we played pitch and catch. This child is equally comfortable with an arpeggio or a backhand grounder.
Jeanine has been working out with free weights achieving visible results. When she strikes this pose we all run for cover and immediately complete our assigned chores.
Kyle’s summer basketball league kicked off this evening. Kyle picked up right where he left off and seemed very relaxed now that he is familiar with all the plays. Here, he drives the lane for two of his five points. Most impressive, however, was the number of steals he had. His team, the Patriots, won by a large margin.
This summer I may try to keep up with a weekly photo assignment which is submitted on the internet for judging by a group of fellow photograhers. This week’s theme is “Fences”.
Kyle and his teamates with their soccer coach at our end on the year team party. Kyle was fortunate to be part of this soccer club. His coach Charlie was both an excellent soccer coach and a great role model.
On the way home from my soccer match this morning (we won 3-0 to cap an undefeated season,) we came across this Garter snake. This was Nicolai’s first encounter with a snake in the wild (for the record it was crossing the road and I am not sure this qualifies) and he was quite intent on studying it for a while. Total length was about 3ft and it was not agressive. He did strike this rather serious pose when I climbed down on the ground to get a close up. Nicolai was poised with a large stick to protect me should that have become necessary. Click on the photo for a closer view.
Maya returned from a trip to the New England aquarium with a stuffed baby seal she has named Stormy. I am prepared to speculate that this child is going to have a career that involves animals.