Finlay Turns 10

Finlay hit the "Big Oh-9" this year. Double digits - almost!

If he keeps his nose clean, he might live to see the "Big One-O."

What a great kid!!

The Biltmore Estate

Judy worked near Asheville, NC this last week and we took the opportunity to tour the Biltmore Mansion - a nice little starter cottage nestled in the mountains of western NC. We learned that George Vanderbilt had this four-acre house constructed as a bachelor! The official party line is that he wanted to experiment with crops and such but my take is that he was kind of a nerd and built it to attract women. I mean, the house is a chick magnet.


Just a fraction of the fabulous flower gardensThis is just the estate's greenhouse!

Selma Goes to State

Using up more band width than we should be allowed to use, here is granddaughter Selma at the State Meet where she placed overall 5th in level 7 competition. We are so proud of her accomplishments!

Floor Exercise


Uneven Bars


Balance Beam

Right Wing Nut Jobs

We attended the Richmond Tea Party this year and in so doing, made the department of HLS's list of potential terrorists. Should we be concerned that, when we leave the house, we are followed by a black Navigator SUV with tinted windows and a black stealth helicopter?

Disney World

In April we visited Disney World with Eddie, Melissa, Scott, Kari, Clay, Tanner, and Cammie. A lot of bodies to shoe-horn into a two bedroom condo but we managed. Once you've seen a six-foot fiberglass duck and a seven-foot plastic mouse, you've seen it all.

Kiawah Island

In March, our friend, Jennifer treated us to a long week end at Kiawah Island, SC. She had won the stay with Travelocity and since the condo had two bedrooms, Judy and I drove down. The weather was nice and I enjoyed a couple of rounds of golf with Jennifer.

This is Jennifer

Yes, there were some alligators on the course - some a lot larger than these babies

Papa's drinking buddy

Air and Space Museum

Papa took Olivia and Sophie to visit the new (relatively) Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that they had filled it with airplanes and other memorabilia (old Dennis Miller joke).

Who knew that the space shuttle was sooooo big?


This is the tower of the museum in which you can go to the top and view jets landing at next door Dulles Airport.

They rode a flight simulator to find out how it feels to do aerobatics. No one hurled.



Of historical significance was the B-29 "Enola Gay", the aircraft the dropped the A-bomb on Japan to end WW-!!.