Sunday, June 28, 2015

Graduations

This June was a very busy month for graduations -- Cate graduating at Dana Hall, Ethan graduating at Andover, and Lydia graduating at Diamond. Assorted photos follow.

From Cate's graduation -- she and her classmates gathered before the main procession:


The proud parents:


... along with grandparents and other admirers



Cate is actually in this picture, near the middle of the gang


On stage:



After finishing up at Dana Hall, we hopped in the car and drove up to Andover to catch Ethan's orchestra concert. Some photos from that:





We had dinner at Andover in the dining hall, then peeled off into various groups -- Amy and I stayed at Andover for Ethan's baccalaureate service (tickets were in very short supply, so it was just immediate family).

Photos from Ethan's graduation the next day:






Ethan with his friends Tom and Michaela:


The procession for the ceremony was headed up by a bunch of bagpipers (clan: McFerson), a rather motley crew:


I liked this scene:


Honor roll students standing for an accolade:


After the main ceremony all of the kids form a huge circle out on the great lawn, then the diplomas are given out and passed along the circle from hand to hand until they arrive at the right student.



Panorama shot:



Once everyone has their diploma, there Blue Key students (cheerleaders) head into the center and lead a cheer, then with a big roar, everyone in the student body runs into the center to form a big mosh pit of hugs, high fives, etc. If you look carefully in this photo you can see one poor guy on crutches who was making his way in (he looked pretty determined-- he was definitely not going to be missing any of the fun):



With friends:


Ethan's friend Cem with his dad and sister:


Ethan with his friend Charles:


After that it was off to Scott and Lucy's for a part in honor of Cate and Ethan.

Ahoy, a cake! With very realistically rendered seals:


Everyone is looking a bit more relaxed...



More pictures! This one is from Lydia's choir concert the following day:


and then a couple of weeks later it was Lydia's 8th grade graduation at Diamond. My dad and Joanie drove out from Tyringham to attend, and also to collect Lydia for a trip to New York the following day.

My camera is pretty much rubbish for these sorts of long-distance shots, but here are a couple of Lydia walking across the stage:




Couple of photos from the reception afterwards:




Congrats to all of the kids -- lots to be proud of there.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Sticking Your Toe In It

This spring I managed to break the big toe on my right foot in a soccer match (third week of the season). Photo:


The break was on the terminal bone, close to the joint. Interestingly enough, for this sort of break you don't get a cast or brace or splint -- the tell you just to tape it up every day in a sort of "tube". I did this for a month, while doing my best to avoid putting too much weight on it.

This being the age of over-sharing via Facebook, Instagram, and [insert new social media site here], here is a "before" picture showing the break:


There is a tiny dark line near the joint-- I assume that is the break? I can barely see it (hard to believe it caused so much trouble). Now the "after" picture of the same spot:


Looks the same to me, but the orthopedist tells me that it is "healing nicely" and that I should be able to start using it again.

This last week I finally got the green light from the doctor that it was OK to start running again. I went running last Sat and then played a couple of hours of light soccer on Sunday... boy was I sore on Monday! Taking six weeks off from running/sprinting definitely puts you out of shape.


Sunday, June 21, 2015

Ethan: 17+ years of photos

For Ethan's high school graduation this spring I went on a "deep dive" through all the photos on our computer to find interesting pix for a poster that we put together for his party. Well, I found a lot more photos than would fit on the poster, so I decided I would post the whole collection on the blog instead-- here they are.

[Note: looking through all these photos, my mind boggles when I think of all the incredible vacations and trips that we've had as a family, all of them conceived of and meticulously planned + organized by my wonderful wife Amy-- I am so lucky to be married to her! What an amazing 21 years it has been...]

1999, Feb -- handsome young man in sunglasses:


2002: Skiing at Alta, with cousin Cate:


2002: Visiting Tinmouth in May:


2002: with Curious George:


2003: return of George with bagel:


2003, April: getting ready for spring soccer:


2003, October, in the bath with sister:


2004, July: trip to Mendocino with the cousins:


2004, Nov: soccer!


2005, May: strange-looking kids visiting the Acton Children's Museum:


2005, July: Pullen family reunion in Gattlinburg:


2006, July: visiting a water park in Italy of all places:


2005, July: on the ferry boat to Cinque Terre:


 2006, October: Halloween


2006, December: pyramid project


2006, December -- Tanzania (with hippos)


2006, December: Tanzania (school visit)


2007, February: wrapped up with Cate:


2007, Feb: visiting Smithsonian


2007, March -- cutting the rug at Estabrook


 2007, May -- more soccer


2007, Aug: on Lake Champlain, en route to Montreal


2007, Aug: visiting Montreal

2008, June -- yet another soccer photo:


2008, July -- visiting Paris:


2008, July: Versaille


2008, September -- we appear to be biking in Cambridge England


2008, Sep -- school uniforms


2008, October -- ok, that's enough of the soccer photos -- it's time for some rugby if I dare say




2008, Oct -- Ethan looking suspicious


 2008, December -- in the London Eye, with cousins


2009, Feb -- visiting Brussels


2009, April: visiting Amsterdam


2009, Apr: amid the flowers in the Netherlands


2010, March: costume for "Fiddler on the Roof"


2010, March: "Fiddler on the Roof" dress rehearsal


2010, May: passport picture


2010, May: spring track, running the mile


2010, Aug -- Goose Rocks beach in Maine


2010, July -- Kitty Hawk excursion (trip to Outer Banks NC)


2008, Aug: Ethan contemplating in VT


2010, Dec: Christmas with the cousins


2010, Dec -- making Christmas cookies


2011, Jan -- strange games with icicles:


2011, Feb -- vising Costa Rica






2011, March -- red sweatshirt


2011, May -- visiting the Hoover Dam:


2011, June: in the back yard


2011, June: cruising the Lycian coast in Turkey


2011, Aug: visiting Yellowstone



2011, November: leaf pile with Lydia


2012, Feb: visiting Sanibel Island (boat ride)


2012, Feb: visiting Sanibel Island (kayaking)


2012, Feb: Ethan is now taller than his mom


2012, March: letter man


2012, March: Ethan the Pouty Sheep, preparing for a Pitch Pipes Performance


2012, April: visiting California


2012, April: visiting California (our old house)


2012, Aug: bike trip in Quebec




2012, September: with mom, about to head off to Andover


2012, November: with Lydia


2012, November -- climbing White Rocks in Vermont with Lydia, dad, and Bach



2012, Dec: in Cleveland with Andrew and Scott


2012, Dec: duet with Joanie


2012, Dec: skiing in Tyringham


2013, Jan: making a weird face


2013, Feb -- all bundled up for downhill skiiing


2013, Apr: hanging out on the couch


2013, Apr: hungry teenager attacks cake


2013, Apr: assorted men from the family:


2013, May: Andover Ultimate frisbee game



2013, June: hiking in the White Mountains with dad




2013, June: hanging out in Tyringham


2013, Aug: chilling out in Maine (Rice Reunion trip)



2013, Aug: strange toe dance with sister


2013, Oct: running cross country at Andover


2013, November: hiking in Sedona



2013, December -- hamming it up with Dad


2014, Feb -- getting read to cross country ski at Minuteman National Park


2014, Feb -- birthday party


2014, March -- college visit to Rice


2014, March: college visit to Brown U


2014, June: Ethan behind the wheel, look out


2014, Aug -- hiking in British Columbia (goofing off with Alan)


2014, Aug: strange selfie with Dad (in Vancouver)


2014, Aug: hiking in Wells Gray





2014, November -- cross country meet vs Exeter


2014, December -- Christmas in Cleveland



2015, April: senior recital



2015, May -- ultimate frisbee


Wow, it's amazing how quickly the time went.  You blink and your kids are grown up (!).

Lydia -- it will be your turn next (in another 4 years).