While 2012 came and went, it was a year of many firsts.  I started the year off doing Bikram Yoga, something that someone suggested I do over 25 years ago to help me with my running.  In the Spring, we visited an archery range in Brooklyn and we each took our turns shooting arrows.  I learned that archery teaches you to focus and is a great way to relieve stress.

Also during the Spring, I finally decided to join AFTRA, which at the time was the television actors union.  Just a few weeks later, AFTRA merged with SAG (Screen Actors Guild), which made me an automatic member of SAG-AFTRA.  I now get the benefit of making more money when I work on a background acting gig.  While background work can be tedious, it can also be fun and a great escape from routines of life.  Below is a photo from the film Winter’s Tale where I played a New York pedestrian from 1916.

During the summer, my children and I went surfing at a surf school at Rockaway Beach, Queens.  Hunter and I could not stay on the surfboard without falling off, but Emma learned to master it rather quickly.  While we looked cool standing on our surfboards in the photo below, once we were in the water, it was a different story.

In August, we went to the Bahamas for the first time and experienced the once-in-a-lifetime chance to hug and kiss a dolphin.  This was also the first time we ever visited the Caribbean.

During the Fall, I brought the family to an avant-garde, industrial-style fashion show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which was a funky experience for all of us.

After the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, I helped clear the hiking trails with my children in Staten Island.  That is when I learned how to operate a chainsaw for the first time in my life.

Weeks later, we saw the United States Women’s Gymnastics Team perform at Barclay’s Center.  We also visited a temporary art exhibit by the sculptor Tatzu Nishi at Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

At the beginning of the year, Hunter had written down a resolution to run both the Brooklyn Triple Crown and Staten Island Triple Crown race series.  He kept to his goal and ran in all six races for both series.  He won awards for his age category in the process.

Hunter has also become an accomplished pianist for his age.  He is continually learning new songs all the time and has even composed some original music.

Emma continues to excel in her gymnastics class and can now do full splits, somersaults and flips.  She has become very creative in using many different kinds of media and through YouTube videos, she has learned how to form and shape polymer clay into virtually any design she can think of.  She also has learned how to solve the Rubik’s Cube and can solve it in less than two minutes.