Today Irene got off a red-eye flight from the west coast. She is here for the next five days and we are happy to have her here. The three cousins pounced on her and played games with her all morning. 
Then Isaiah had his second soccer run in the afternoon. The first game they lost 5-1 and they tied at 1-1 in the second game. It was nice hot and Isaiah sweated buckets and was very happy at the end of it all. Large quantities of soft icecream was the finisher! 
An Old school pic
10 years old
Baseball: Williams Lumber team with best friend Mike Torracello in Rhinbeck, NY at around 11 years
And the last classic of David, Aria, Javid, Sutherland, and Roshan (and could be Erica or Samantha Schmidt in the way back) 
Dad has been going through boxes Granpa David's files, papers and pictures for months now. He saved so many interesting things including most of the love letters he wrote to grandma while they were dating (very cute!). Among the pics dad found a bunch of slides that he sent me and that I have been trying to figure out how to digitize... I had some time the other day and what did I do...? Yes of course... I googled it!!! ...figuring I had to take these to someone else to do but the first article I found was a simple at-home process with a digital camera. My technique needs some improving but I did a quick few to share here. There's moi of course, Jaleh, Dad and Grandma!! 
And summer? Just around the corner June 21st. Our 14th wedding anniversary! Warmth and smiles on the longest day of the year... 
I have also tortured myself with the salary negotiations that I entered in on with this job that I was offered. The wait is killing me and probably adding to the stress mentioned above but they confirmed today that they still want me and will be getting back soon with another offer...
Well, soccer was cancelled on saturday due to "field conditions" (a weeks worth of pouring rain) so we headed to the pool. The diving board was again the favorite and this time 2 year old 
Mason joined in the aerial fun. 
I also include an image of Isaiah getting off the bus on his first day taking the bus... ah these little firsts that make it all real...!! :) 
Sunday, we went to the last Baha'i school class in Northampton for the year. I went with Aman's class. We went outside and we caught frogs, sat in the sun and talked about what it means to be a Baha'i. Then we went home to meet Grandpa Chris and Great Grandma Meg and Steve for an afternoon romp. Lasagna, fairy houses, forest walk, wrestling, 89 years, smiles, coffee, gnats, legos, and more talk of crazy experiments sums it up just about right. 
First big news... I got offered a job on thursday doing RF Design (basically the same as what I did before at IBM)... I am currently in salary negotiations with them which makes me sort of nervous being something that I have never done before (ask for a different salary). If this comes through both Britt and I will be working in Northampton just down the street from eachother...
The kids' school ends mid June and we are scrambling to try and figure out what they can be doing. Britt's work is very flexible in terms of hours and she can work from home a lot over the summer but all time has not been covered. We are looking into summer camps for the boys and other events for that vacation period. 
Friday afternoon Elena drove up from Bard College for an overnight visit. I hadn't seen Elena since St. Barbara last July(?). She will be graduating in a few weeks but had some free time for day and half to come and hang. She and the boys romped and did some sword fighting and then later that night we subjected her to our 2-episodes-of-24 ritual. That show is out of control. We have seasons 1-4 on dvd but I just don't understand how people can wait a week or whatever it is to see the next episode. It is bad enough having to wait through the day for the next day let alone a whole week!!! Needless to say, Saturday night we finished season 2 absolutely exhausted and decided we needed a break from the madness... so... we are going wait a whole week before starting the next season!!!
Saturday during the day we (the ruhes, the next door alschulers, Al and Elena) arrived late to meet Eloise and George for a hike around the Montague conservation area. We went to the side of the river we thought they would be and they were hiking through the other. I wrote a hugely apologetic note and left it on their car but we ended up 
meeting in the parking lot after the walk. We then went in to the Montague Book Mill for lunch and catch up time. We haven't had a chance to hang with these guys in a while and our plans kept getting thwarted one way or the other... They have two boys Max and Fedya and Max the older got along well with Isaiah and Aman and of course we ended up at the river after lunch for the obvious, "twoh woks. Get wet!" session.
First day of soccer on saturday. We sat and watched. Isaiah was shy and sat behind me on the grass hiding and checking everything out. After a short practice Isaiah's team, the Flames, started a game against the yellow shirts and Isaiah still would not join. About 15 min into it though he jumped up, put on his red jersey and asked to be put in the game. A nice victory for him sealed with a fairly controlled goal (one of very few from his team). Here he is with Aiden, Isola and Malcom on the far left.
Sunday we all went on a bike ride on a the bike path that connects Amherst and Northampton. Britt, Aman and Isaiah had bikes and I of course had my skateboard. Isaiah is riding like a shaky pro and Aman is still with training wheels but he made the whole 6 mile loop without any problem. These guys are really growing up!
Born Friday morning early (12:30 am or so). Basically a smooth finish to a long wait and you know what? It was worth it... this little girl is so precious and perfect. Alfie and Ericka are definitely sad right now that we are living next to them cause we are always fighting over who gets to hold her next... hellos have turned into, "you know I haven't held Anika all day today... it's my turn..." Anyway, we are so happy and proud of Ericka and Alfie and Mason for being the amazing family that they are and bringing little Anika Rose around for us to enjoy (and fight over). 
