Winter Sports

Alik and I went for some cross country skiing in the nearby Huntington State Park in Redding.

Click here to see more pictures.

The roads are all clean and snow is starting to melt, so Leon, meanwhile, went out on his bike.

Snow Day

We've got about a foot of snow this past Sunday and spent some fun time on Monday digging out.

Click here to see more pictures.

Killington 2010

Leon and I just came back from the 11th annual trip to Killington. It was overcast all three days but not too cold or too windy. Temps around 25F. Snow was okay, mostly man-made, but not too icy.

Leon with Sergey, Alex, Dennis and Alex's friend

An iPhone video of Leon going down the Chute

Max's Performance at Steinway in Westport Dec 16

This is seriously good! It's only a minute - it's worth a listen.

(sorry for smallish video)

Leon's page for Senior Year Book

 (designed by Leon)

My son and money go to...

 

We haven't signed the papers yet, but it is almost certain.

Celebrities Among Us

 

"... попал под лошадь..."

Here is the link: http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/New-ice-age-Skaters-revel-in-expanded-Westport-834313.php

B-Day and T-Day

This Thursday we had lots of friends & family over for Irene's b-day and Thanksgiving. We cooked proper holiday meal, turkey and all, and used the occasion to makeover downstairs rooms (essentially, by pushing all the garbage into my office).

Sorry, we didn't take any pictures hoping that some of our guests would do. So, guests, please add  your pictures to this post.

Max Run at Sherwood Park

Here are some pics from Max's run at Sherwood Park early November.

More Pictures

Happy Halloween

 

... more pictures ...

Hallway Photoshoot

Ольга

The Diary of Anne Frank

Yesterday we saw "The Diary of Anne Frank" at Westport's Playhouse. It's a hard to watch play, obviously. It was well set and well played. I think no one in the audience remained unmoved and the closing scene brought tears to many. But a somewhat unexpectedly lighter moment came at the very end, when actors came out for a bow. After all actors playing the main characters in the play got their share of applause, the three actors who played Nazis showed up and people in the audience just didn't know how to react... A wave of nervous laughter and some light boos rolled through the audience and then some scattered applause here and there.

Welcoming Fall

We celebrated the formal arrival of the fall season with the following (all in the space of 4 days):
 1. Power Outage (two) - have to install the transfer switch, $700 and buy new generator, $500
 2. Fallen tree limb precariously balancing over the power, cable and telephone wires - emergency tree removal, $600
 3. Bent front wheel - hit it on a pothole, had to be replaced, $350
 4. Leaky skylight - for now, I just threw some blue tarp over it.

For tonight and all day tomorrow, they promise "heavy, drenching rain, 2-4 inches and gusty wind". Joy.

Max Runs his First Race

Max's afterschool activity this quarter is cross-country and this Thursday was his first race - about 1.5 miles on the trails in Waveny Park. He finished in the middle of his middle-school field, which is great, especially provided that he is one of the youngest in the group.

Max Invents Rifle for "Lefties"

Max designed a rifle (well, a Lego rifle) with the bolt action that swings over the barrel to work for "lefties" like himself. Said, happen by accident - true invention.

Homebrew

Dad made his first clam chowder. See more in our "sister" blog here.

Facebook "Invite"

BASE jumps at Martha's Vineyard

The wind at the South Beach was too strong for any swimming or sunbathing, but Max and Leon braved the dunes (before got yelled at by the environmentally minded coastguard) and engaged in a little parkour competition.

See more (but less dramatic) parkour pictures here.

Last day at Martha's Vineyard

We really tried to make the last day of our stay at the island last, moving from town to town, visiting beaches, shopping and eating along the way.

See more pictures at the back of this updated album here.

After Earl

The preparation for the hurricane Earl were well organized (we were getting regular updates via the house phone), though the road closure curfew kept on changing, and we ended up wasting a good part of Friday couped up at the house watching old DVDs (the Dish lost signal about 8 hours before the storm arrived). The hurricane turned out to be not much more than lots of rain. The morning after, our motorboat had rainwater up to the brims (or whatever it is called on the boat), but the sandy soil was mostly dry and very much driveable. The wind was not that strong, though the waves on the pond were quite high, with enough white heads to make the boat ride to the beach challenging and scary at times. After some struggle, soaked to the bone we made it to the beach. There the ocean waves were high and unruly, coming seemingly from every direction at once. On the beach, we ran into Muneys who came for some wave watching.

Tomorrow morning, we are packing up and leaving this place. The new school year, the last for Leon, starts on Tuesday.

See more pictures here.

Before Earl

This year we are vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, in a beautiful secluded spot on Edgartown Great Pond here. The house is located at the end of a mile-long unpaved sandy driveway (which, turns out, is quite challenging to navigate on a roadbike). The house came with a fleet of kayaks, a motor boat and a sail boat (non-functioning). 20 minutes on a motor boat gets you to a deserted beach. At times, we were the only ones there for miles in each direction, but the waves on this ocean facing beach were rather harsh, so for swimming we drove to a state beach, protected from the ocean by a smaller island Chappaquiddick (the name is the source of non-stop amusement for Max).

So far, before the hurricane Earl arrival, the weather is great and the water is warm. Plenty of swimming, biking (Leon circled and criss-crossed the island and Dad managed to brave the sandy road once too), fishing (yes, fishing!) and crabbing (oh, yeah, the best crabs ever, including what we had in Maryland).

Leon's friend Matt is around this week too (their house is also on the pond, but the next cove over), so Leon went there by the boat and by the bike a couple of times.

See some selected pictures here.

Happy Birthday, Max !

This post is written by Max:
This Monday, my 10th birthday had come, and I was more than excited to see all my presents that I'd get. Turns out my family had had their 3rd cleansing experience this year. For lunch, I had a not so appealing pizza, (darn you Trader Joes) which then did not agree with my stomach. Before N.B. wanted to buy me a gift, my head was spinning. As soon as we got to Toys R Us, I didn't feel very well. So we turned straight back home. Back home I ended up throwing up, twice, thus adding the 3rd cleansing experience this year. I had a nice 3 hour sleep, and then woke up to find that my relatives would come in 30 minutes to celebrate my birthday. 

Here is Max's loot:

TDF

Leon got all of us, N.B. including, "infected" with the Tour de France fever as we were all watching each stage every day for the past three weeks. It is now over (Contador won on a slimmest margin) and we are already looking in anticipation to the next year event. Perhaps we'll make the trip too.

Outing in Boston

Alik is in Boston this week, so the four of us, plus parents, join him there on Saturday spending a fabulous day together. After the obligatory stroll through Boston Common, Beacon Street and Quincy Market we had a nice lobster dinner at Tia's and then, on the way back, a big finish at Finale.




P.S. Also, despite Leon's objections, we did a quick drive-through Brandeis (thumbs down), Northeastern (ok) and B.U. campuses (ok).

Max the Gunsmith

A note from the latest generation in the long and proud history of Lyakovetsky's gun makers:

 My LEGO AK-47. By far, my best Lego weapon. I've done a Bushmaster ACR, Atchinson Assault Shotgun AA-12, and a Desert Eagle. But this is no match. Of course, its not the best, its got a few problems, but it is the best work I've done, and it will always be. :)

(This post is written by Max)

Dead Squirrel

A squirrel felt to its death while doing air acrobatics between the trees in the front yard. This untimely demise missed the garbage pickup by few minutes (next one is on Tuesday). Since keeping the animal corpse in a plastic bag inside the garbage can in 90 degrees weather for 4 days wouldn't be good, Max and I decided to bury it. Max researched the depth of the hole (1.5 feet) and confirmed the presence of decomposing worms and bugs in Southwest Connecticut soil. We selected a quiet place far from the well and the leaching field. Digging a hole wasn't too easy as the soil was full of rocks and roots. But it is all set now. RIP, the squirrel who wished it could fly...

See pictures here...

Max's "End of School" Party

Max's "End of School" party was a big success this year with large turn out - 7 kids and 3 parents. First, they went to see "Toy Story 3" and after the movie they had water fight on and off the trampoline (fourth, in the backyard history, all assembled by Leon this time) and played ball. Comparing to last year, all kids got much better in the game. It was actually fun to watch. Of course, kids wasted first 10 minutes yelling at each other over who's playing on whose team until Leon decisively divided them into two teams. He is great with kids and they love him too. We had a good time too, sitting and chatting with parents for a while. This is it for Max at Columbus School - Tuesday is the last day. No more late long school buses and lazy late mornings...

More pictures from the party...

Dana the Gymnast

Check this out - likely the first gymnast in the long and proud Lyakhovetskiy-Lakowsky-Batlin athletic history...



It's all awesome, but the true fun begins at 0'35".

Leon Wins Cat 4 Criterium in New London, CT

For the 1st place, he got $80 and flowers(???).