2009 - The Year in Review

To all our friends and family we wish you a Merry Christmas, joyous Holiday Season and a happy, healthy & prosperous 2010.

Below is a brief slide-show of our year in pictures followed by commentary on what we've been up to in '09.  For die-hards, there are links to additional material within the commentary and along the right side of the page.



Caroline (17), a senior at Hopkinton High, is in the midst of applying to colleges while she juggles the rigorous demands of synchronized skating and advanced placement coursework. Over the past year her Internationally ranked team has taken her across the US and to several destinations in Europe including competing in Paris last winter and in Berlin, Germany next month.   Last summer Caroline and I enjoyed an incredible experience when I joined as a chaperone on Caroline's church youth group's mission in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi.  What an eye-opener.  And great fun to work with Caroline and her friends and a few dad/buddies demolishing a house with chainsaws.

Last summer Caroline granted my request for a shot at photographing her senior picture, and whaddaya know, she liked a bunch of them.   Unlike past summers, Caroline even spent some time with us on the boat!  One day we transported her entire syncro team 18+ across Popponesset Bay to our favorite hangout for a beach BBQ.  Summer soon turned to her much-anticipated senior year and she has been having a blast as these pics will show!  Earlier this month I had the opportunity to ride on the team bus and savor one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had as the parent of a dedicated athlete.  Caroline and her Lexettes team were invited to perform in Bryant Park (NYC) in a beautiful outdoor rink for a tree lighting ceremony.  The setting was a true winter wonderland and the girls performed flawlessly in 4 different exhibitions.  Their final skate was televised live on the QVC shopping network.  It was a magical evening.  Check out the short video.

We are very proud of all that Caroline has accomplished and look forward to putting the stressful college-application process behind us. Caroline plans to enter the field of Social Entrepreneurial Studies which will combine business and liberal arts coursework. She one day would like to help the underprivileged to help themselves by assisting them in starting their own business enterprises.

Michael (15), entered his freshman year this fall at St Johh's High.  Michael surprised us last spring when he asked if he could apply to St. John's, an all-boys Catholic institution educating young men with a rigorous college-prep curriculum according to Xaverian principals for over 100 years.  Michael has thrived in this environment.  He works very hard on his studies and is active in his sports (cross country, freshman hockey and he will try out for lacrosse in the spring) as well as the many clubs on campus.  His favorite club:  the Entrepreneurial Club where he has submitted a business plan to the administration for a new business venture on campus.  This fall Michael also became very active refereeing youth hockey.   Michael has also become quite the daredevil-- he loves snowboarding and wakeboarding and he is saving up to acquire Kite Surfing equipment he plans to put to good use this summer. Think: snowboard powered by a kite/parachute. The consummate ebay entrepreneur, Michael is always buying and selling.  His latest acquisition, "Fly Jumpers" which are a cross btw a pogo stick and stilts.

From fall 09

Imagine driving down the street seeing him bounce across the yard like a raptor-- that's what he looks like. 

Drew (11), continues to make us laugh while also constantly reminding us how quickly these kids grow up. Drew works very hard at school and the sports he loves: Hockey, Lacrosse and Football (probably in that order). In hockey and lacrosse Drew competes on "travel teams" that have us driving across Mass and into NH, CT, NY, RI and VT. From Aug to March he's on the ice at least 4X per week and some weeks even more. I play a role helping to coach his Crusaders hockey team, a very gifted and special group of young men that teach us at least as much as we try to teach them. While none of them will likely ever play pro hockey, they work hard, are eager to learn and love to compete. Check out this video for a small taste of this extraordinary experience we have the privilege of being a part of.


Outside of sports, Drew works very hard in school and loves hanging out with his best-bud Jack.

Trish and I (28 and 29, respectively) are very active dividing our time between our work and the children.  The seasonal rhythm of our lives pretty much fits the same pattern every year...  multi-child, multi-sports Sept through June, followed by chillin' on the Cape with our boater friends summer weekends (with crazy sports itineraries resuming during the week).  Most years I manage to construct "iDazz Arena" my 80 x 30 foot backyard rink set on a 30-degree pitch.  This means I must contain 3 ft of water across 70 feet!  6 years and counting, no breach!  Good thing, the water would flow right into the kitchen.  Last winter we skated uninterrupted from late Dec thru early March... our longest stretch ever.  I am currently in awe of the technology in place for the Winter Classic at Fenway Park this NYrs Day.  While a bunch of my iDazz IceDog men's hockey buds have already skated there, I have not had the opportunity.

Trish's business, iDazz Creative Designs, continues to thrive despite the tough economy.  It's been amazing to see what she has accomplished over these past 10 years-- signifcant yr-over-yr growth for 10 years.  As many of you know,  I have been pursuing the dream of building a business of my own.  It started with a vision to create a youth sports social network for families-- think Facebook but tailored for the specific needs of serious multi-sport, multi-athlete families.  As the economy began to stall, I found opportunities to raise the significant capital I required also stalled out.  Not ready to give up, I went into a low-capital-intensity mode plan B which focused on the Keep It Fun-branded products we had planned to sell as part of the strategy to generate revenue from social network.   We tested the concept in youth hockey during the 08-09 season and enjoyed a strong reception; however, we also experienced the wrath of the "Great Recession" in the sense that moving large volumes via internet-direct distribution proved difficult.  People were only buying "must haves".  For the better part of this year we have been exploring an oversees investment opportunity for which we received a letter of intent.  The vision has morphed a bit to also include social gaming as part of the social network.  As a hedge, because the process is taking forever, over the past few months I have also explored leadership roles similar to what I have been doing over the past 10+ years...  overseeing Marketing, Sales & Corp/Business development at a well funded internet startup I can get excited about.  I am also working with a couple of web/sports startups that keep that itch scratched.

As always, we love hearing from you so keep the emails, Facebook-pings and phone calls coming!

Thanksgiving 09

Over the river...  to Grandma Jan's

Back to school 09-10

Caroline is a Senior, MIchael a freshman and Drew a 5th grader.

Caroline's Senior Picture

Caroline gave me a shot to photograph her senior picture! We loaded FinsUp with a whicker chair and a step ladder and off to the Popponesset Spit for a sunset photo-shoot. Lots of fun. Here were her top 30 out of over 400 shots.

Summer 09

Fins Up was brought back to life from the lightening strike that wiped out all our electrical the end of last summer thanks to great work by the folks at Bosuns! Many special memories.

Mississippi Mission Trip with Caroline

105 degree heat and intense humidity for my trusty chainsaw! Great experience helping to clean up and re-build in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi with some wonderful kids from Hopkinton High.

Spring 09 Lax

Pix of Michael & Drew playing for Hopkinton and their select teams.

NCAA Lax Final 4 at Gillette Stadium

What an athletic event.

Caroline's Junior Prom

Isn't my little girl girl beautiful?!

Crusader end of Season Video

Just a slight glimpse to the youth hockey way of life...

From Crusader 08- 09 Season Video

iDazz Arena

Some shots from our backyard rink...

Caroline & her Lexettes in Paris

Some shots of CK's syncro-skating team representing USA in France.