Jeanine and I had a date this evening. We left the kids with Amanda and headed for the ocean. Here we are strolling down the beach at Manchester by the Sea.

Pancakes this morning are courtesy of Maya. Here she slices butter before adding to the batter mix.

Maya providing half-time entertainment. Please note the straight legs and powerful arms. I have no doubt that she will become a fantastic gymnast one day.

Maya borrowed my camera during the soccer game and took several nice photos including this one.

Maya showing off a cocoon she discovered while at Kyle’s soccer game this evening. Kyle scored a goal helping his team to a hard fought 2-1 victory.

Kyle works on a reading assigment this morning before either of his siblings have rolled out of bed. He goes to bed later, wakes up earlier, and burns more calories playing sports than Maya or Nico. I guess teenagers (he will be one in August) develop more stamina which they fuel with large quantities of food. Kyle is quite the gourmand, however, and has a very sophisticated palate. Not only do we need to constantly feed him, it has to be very fine food served at the correct temperature.

Nico is busy preparing party favors for his upcoming birthday celebration. It is hard to believe he is turning 11. What happened to all of my babies? Looking forward to Mark & Marie’s new arrival and a visit with Bradley to get a fix.

Maya with her fellow kindergarteners preparing to give their end of the school year concert. The children sang 10 different songs and then invited the parents to learn the Zoodio dance with them. Maya was featured in several numbers and did a wonderful job. Dad it turns out is not a bad Zoodio dancer either.

Maya retaliates against her brother after capturing the hose from him. It must be 85 degrees outside and both children have come inside requesting hot chocolate (apparently the water was very cold). Today it feels like summer has really arrived.

A family of geese from the lake at work. We have three different families and it is fun to watch the youngsters growing each day.

Jeanine’s purple flowers are in full bloom. Click on the image for a more detailed view.

After my game, Nico, Maya and I went to the Willard Fun Festival. Maya fearlessly volunteered for dunk tank duty and was rewarded with a cool plunge. She also worked relentlessly at the bean bag toss, retrieving the bean bags while I collected tickets and supervised the kids as they sought to win fame and glory.

I measured up to my sons’ accomplishments this weekend, scoring a goal in my team’s win over Shrewsbury. Nicolai is becoming a very proficient sports photographer, timing this header perfectly. Didn’t realize I could still jump that high.

After the game, the team posed for a photo. I only had my telephoto lenses with me so I took this from about midfield. I am amazed they held their composure while I ran half way across the field to take the shot.