Why are pirates so mean?  They just Arrrrrrrrrrrre

Ready for a hot grounder?  You bet!

Hangin' with my ladies

Emily and her volunteer coordinator Dawn

Em with her Candy Striper buds

The old curmudgeon (and I mean that in the nicest possible way).

Emily and Jesse Towner who did that great job on her Prom Do

Emily and Patricky at the homestead

Em and Pat at our house

At his dad's house

Mom and Mike T posing

Friend Bob pitching to Mike.  Keep ready Bob!

Mike's pre-K Mother's Day luncheon

Linda with one of her favorite bands, Austin's Bridge

'Bubblin bubblin in the bath, bubblin bubblin makes me laugh'

Mike's royal wave (at his pre-K graduation fete)

The 'Tate' one gazing upon his pre-K diploma!

Oma holding baby Rivka

Cal and Tiff (Rivka's parents)

Em and Pat at her birthday cookout

Em and Mike posing too

....and cheesing

Emily getting geared up for her first ride with "real" skates

Mike and his YMCA 'splash and kick' swimming instructor

Mike and his swimming gal pals

A clean KettCar is a happy KettCar -- just like a wet MT is a happy MT!

Sunday, spike do, hand motions, surrounded by babes.  Priceless

Oma and her troubadour

Whatever it is I'm playin, I'm playing it FAST

Any requests?

Front porch graffiti!  Who did that?!

AHHH HA!  Caught Matt and Mike red handed!

Which is the better rainy-day picture?  A?

or B?

Lauren hanging out on Oma's front porch

Hi, I'm Texas Mudd, your doorman.

Mike and his buddy Eric swimming.  I just wish they liked it!

Dad talking with Miss Alice  (looks pretty good for 95 doesn't she?)

Mike's preschool buddy's Dad, Nathan, is a pilot for FedEx and he gave the kids a personal tour of the airport and it's equipment!

Close the door, I have to take off now

Mike and Matthew Pearson on the con

Mike and Matt P from the cargo's perspective

Is that the jump master's hand?  Where are the parachutes?

Must be a heck of a big spider to make webbing that big!

Is this Santa's sleigh?

Nathan and son (Mike's other buddy Matthew)

The four Musketeers

On the tour of the airport control tower.  Hey, I can see my house from up here!

And Oma's too!

So that's why they say dizzying heights

A kit plane builder we met that day.  He was smiling like that even before we took his picture.

Next time I drive and you shift!

Semper Fi kids

Natural Tunnel State Park in Va.  has a chair lift to take you down to the tunnel if you don't want to walk the cliffs.

Looking up at the lift

Self portrait from the lift

At the boardwalk leading to the Natural Tunnel

And the Tunnel itself.  Those rails are still active.  Trains pass through several times a day (not while I was there though....)

Deb and Emily braving the cliff trail to the tunnel below

MT posing at the bottom of the stairs from the cliffs

Shot from aboard a lift.  Going up was much calmer than the ride down for Dad

Dad's favorite engineer and caboose

Andrew's swing frozen in time

And Caleb's too

The lodge at the Natural Tunnel SP has a delightful pool and water slides.  The whole family gets to have a private swim party there as part of the accommodations.

The return path from the slide (shown below)

Even Aunt Ellen ventured a trip down, down, down it

The shallow end at the slide discharge point (see the little floats?)

Lots of diving catches were accomplished

Mom getting ready to catch Tater coming down the mini slide

The Topping clan and Auntie Flo

Preparing for our sternwheeler trip

Dad spotting while MT climbs the diagonal tree

Tiny Tot racer in his first race

Ready for his first day in Kindergarten (where does the time go?)

Mike's Kindergarten teachers

Our airport puts on an airshow.  Here's pilot Mike in his Huey

Strapped in and ready to takeoff sir!

Latch the door, I'm ready to crank her up

This is called a collective, he says as he makes raspberry motor sounds

The F18 approaches for his landing

The Golden Knights salute our POW MIAs (as do I)

The Golden Knight's jump plane

Taken just before it went supersonic.  I just missed the vapor disk shot

Ian (of the IAM babies for those following the saga) at his 6th birthday party.  Can it be 6 years already?!

Shaking the candy out of SpongeBob the piñata

Wow a DS!!!

The highest suspension bridge (876 feet of clearance) in the western hemisphere (and 2nd in the world).

Mike and Em from Abe's place

Hail George

Abe still keeping his eyes on the Capitol

Daniel and Angee Barbe with Abe

Dad and Mike

Dad and the kids.  What glorious weather that day

Emily posing too

Mom with Abe looking over her shoulder

The inscription on the Viet Nam memorial

A reminder for all

that

Freedom is never free

Mom and Emily at the WWII memorial.  The memorial for our greatest generation (apologies to Tom Brokaw)

The central part of the WWII memorial

More quotes that remind us again

Of the cost of freedom

Mom and Mike posing at the WV column

And Dad too

At the iMax theater 3D movie in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Daniel Barbe and MT hamming it up at the museum

Not everyday that kids get to pose with elephants

YIKES!!!

Mike playing with Dad's old railroad layout.  He'll even have more fun when the transformers are hooked up!

Mike's 6th Birthday party ay the bowling alley.  Jen, Abby, Emily, and Cheryl (Bryce's mom)

Buddy Spencer

Tough luck Tater.  Looks like it's splitsville again

Emily getting sneak attacked

And down she goes!

Wish making time!

More cake please!

A radio controlled truck!  Thanks Bryce

The kids posing with Mike's bounty

....and a funny face one for the web, please!  Click.