The Start of Fall - Week 5

Ahh...the change of seasons.  Everyone talks about it and if nothing else, the weather back here is much more varied than in the West.  The leaves are starting to turn and what a show this is to watch.  Some of these trees appear to be turning overnight.  Then today we were met by a Tornado Warning and is poured cats and dogs.  I have to imagine we have quite a few more leaves in our backyard tonight than last night.

Visitors
We had a great visit with my mom and it was amazing to have her out here.  For those that know her, she loves playing cards and so there were quite a few games of Go Fish and Old Maid with Rachel and Steal the Old Man's Bundle with Ian.  We tried our best to be good hosts, although we are so new to the area that we were all learning about the surrounding towns in real time.  Even though the weather was pretty gray yesterday, we ventured out to the town of Glen Rock where we saw there was an Autumn Festival.  One thing I really like back here is that downtown streets are collections of local vendors.  The festival was not much to write home about but there were a few stores we might go back and check out.

Here are a few pictures we took with my mom (Bubbe) and her grandkids before she left town.  Great memories we will cherish!

My mom left today and we hope to have her back before the end of the year.  Next up is Uncle O, my brother for those that don't know him well (aka Owen, Spud, Sol, O-man, and the list goes on).  He will be out here for his birthday later this month and we are honored he would share his special day with us.  It is the same day as Ian's birthday so we are all going to see the Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys at The Linc - for me and Owen, this is a pilgrimage we have talked about doing for years.  As long suffering Eagles fans, we have never seen them play a home game, so we will be able to let our our inner fandom!  Let's just hope there is a game to watch as the Eagles are not exactly a juggernaut (but thankfully either are the Cowboys).





Fun and Fitness

Dorchester Elementary had a fund raiser this past week to increase awareness for fitness and taking care of your body as well as raise a little money in the process.

For those who go to Lanai, think Laps for Lanai, but not quite as much running.  My kids got very into it as Laps for Lanai veterans and had a great time.  The day was punctuated by our principal, Mr. Fiero, doing a little Gangnam Style dance - he is truly one of a kind and I see why all the kids love his energy and enthusiasm.


Soccer
Another great week of soccer for Rachel.  I am getting a chance to coach which is awesome, but I do miss the Sweet Peas.
The program here is great as they spend an hour teaching skills using a variety of games and drills.  Then we break into 2 games of 6 vs. 6.  Rachel is doing great and really developing a good sense of aggressiveness when it comes to getting her nose in the action.  Her team is America - how do we look in yellow?

Swings
Both kids are taking advantage of going into our backyard.  They both said that is one thing they always wished they had in Encino, as well as stairs.

I am totally down with the former, but the latter is interesting to say the least as I find myself going up and down about 20 times a day on weekends.  Beth got in the action last week and amazingly Ian caught this shot of them when he took a video of them and snapped a frame.  It looks like Beth is a little into it...wouldn't you say??

Fluff
This is not in honor of Jim Furky's caddy (but not sure why they haven't tried to sign him up yet).  This one is for my friend Georgene - I saw it at the market this weekend and needed to snap a picture.  I think there is a fluffernutter (will have to sub in something for the nutter for Ian) in our future.  I am thinking s'mores and I am sure we will find a few good recipes.

Man Cave
While we have not had a chance to
hangour mezuzahs quite yet, we did bless the Man Cave this weekend with the help of a great sign my mom and Beth picked out for us at the aforementioned Autumn Festival.

There was even a nail already in the brick for it - destiny!  Ian and I love watching our football games and other sports down there in our home away from home.  Check out the bobblehead collection - some old ones from my childhood and some new ones including Vin Scully sitting front and center getting ready to announce Dodger Baseball.  Hard to believe the game tonight (Game 4) starts here at 9:37pm, are they trying to make sure every kid never watches even a pitch of the postseason?

Uptown

Triboro Bridge

One of the strangest parts of moving here is that while I work in Manhattan, I really don't get out much into the city beyond 15th and 9th.  I walk through Greenwich Village every morning on my way into work and love the are around me, but since I am getting fed a fantastic breakfast and lunch every day, I have no reason to leave the area.

A glimmer of the Empire State Building in the distance

Last Thursday my team had a great team event where we all took part in cooking our dinner and had a great 5 course meal.  We were hosted by my boss who has an amazing apartment on the Upper East Side.  The weather was spectacular so we got a great view of the city. The food and the company were even better.  I am lucky to be working with such a great group of people and that has really helped my transition back here.

That is all for this week.  I am once again on the road headed out to the headquarters in Mountain View for a client summit.