Little Luke and the Boys...

Newborn Luke

Connie and Ben's pride and joy is Luke, their grandson. They're care taking a few days this week, and the boys had a chance to entertain and be entertained by the little guy.

As Connie wrote, "Bedheads!"
Click to enlarge.

 

Sebino and Luke playing with toys

Connie and her son Aaron with Luke

Connie, Luke, and Connie's mom,
affectionately known as Mims. 

CHRISTMAS CONCERT: The King... and Connie

The King and I

Guido volunteered to play a King in the Christian story of Jesus's birth during Connie's Holiday Concert in the town hall. Sebino would have loved being a part of the play, too... but he had to wrestle someone on Saturday!

Rumford's Town Hall. The concert was on the second floor in a grand assembly hall. 

The King

Connie also directs the spring Murder Mystery Theater, so let's see if she cooks
anything up for the boys for that! 

I picked up a big pizza for the boys since they were such
good sports in participating and attending the concert. You'll
see I had salad and pasta. :-) 

Don't mess with the Dutch Boy! Go, Sebino!

Sebino had a wrestling match yesterday near the city of Portland with the second team. He won! Here are pictures that Anthony's mom took. I also have a video, but I need to figure out a way to include it here. It's large.

Don't mess with the Dutch Boy! Go, Sebino! 

Saturday... Wrestling, hiking, Christmas Concert, Ski Racers, and little skiing history

Mr Grinch always takes his place on the fireplace mantel of my home.
The wine during the final two weeks of the semester? In my hand...  

Today, Sebino got up at 0-dark-thirty (i.e., early) to head off to a wrestling match. It's almost 8pm and he's not back yet. Guido is in a Christmas concert with Connie. He is one of the Three Wise Men... or a King... a donkey? Whatever, he's a good sport.

Today, Bailey and I hiked the ski area. What's fun about hiking the ski area today at 16 degrees F (i.e., –9C) is the snowmaking. For the first half of the hike, we went through a blizzard of man-made snow.

Finally, the boys have been given their "certified" ski racing helmets and they're pretty proud of them.   I've included a few photos from other Foreigns who have raced here. Rumford has a long storied history of ski racing, so the boys are in good company.

So, here are some photos depicting this-n-that of our Saturday here in wintry Rumford. Oh, we may have decided NOT to have a Christmas "tree," instead opting for a Christmas Book Tree. Writers like this kind of tree. We'll see if the boys change their minds. And on it goes...

Stylin' ski racers

That's a little better

Here are the uniforms the boys will wear at their races.

William (Denmark) racing. Like Sebino and Guido, William skied one or two weeks a
year prior to coming to America. He got good fast. 

This is Peter (Denmark). He had minimal skiing experience and within 4 weeks
he proved to be a hard-charging ski racer. This section of the mountain is known as
a headwall--it's quite steep and Peter is kicking it!





This is Sam Morse, a US Ski Team ski racer that I've worked with for the past 6 years.
Part of my research at the University is focused on athletes' learning and how
they use writing in team notebooks, journals, and training logs to improve. And below
is a picture of Sam in a downhill race in Canada a few weeks ago.  



We call this "getting air."




Rumford Ski Team from the 1930s.





The Kent Brothers in 1981 skiing at Squaw Valley, California,
where the 1960 Olympics were held.
L-R: Allen, Rob, Rich, and Fred.
By this time my sister had stopped skiing,
but she was a downhill racer, too.

The view from Black Mountain toward the southwest

Mt Blue in Weld (our summer home town) taken from Black Mountain

Bailey on Black Mountain

The two boys in the middle, Jan and Simon, played Shepards in the Christmas Concert.
And Yes! That's Connie on the far right. Note Jan, tallest, isn't quite sure how he got
involved in this affair. Simon, next to Connie, loves the stage!

Sinterklaas Day! A Dutch Tradition.

Chocolate and Cookies, the Dutch Tradition
Remember to click on photos to enlarge. 

Today in the Netherlands, Sinterklass arrives. Children receive gifts of chocolate and small cookies, and presents. We did the same here in Rumford. I'm guessing it was the only Sinterklaas celebration in Rumford... but one never knows. We enjoyed a dinner out, candy and treats from The Netherlands as well as from Connie & Ben, and another gift.

Sunrise on Sinterklaas Day! 

Dick's Diner... thank you for the treat, Mariska. 

Santa Socks filled with Chocolate from Connie and Ben 

Dick's Diner

Gifts from the Grinch, a friend of Rich

Treats! 

No chocolate, no cookies, no dinner out... I'm not liking this Sinterklaas Day.  

Winter Hiking

On Sunday afternoon before what will be a two-day storm, I hiked a local mountain named Whitecap. Guido and I hiked this mountain when he first arrived. I liked the pictures, so I'm sharing them here.

Sunday River ski area in the distance

Fun sun and hiking trail

Looking for treats

Great trail and good snow. 

Looking for a treat