Be a Pilot Day

I took Little Guy to the National Air & Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles. They have a fly-in every year and this year had the theme "Be a Pilot." Little Guy couldn't wait to go.


Steel City Pride...we must be in the right place!


Little Guy sits in the cockpit of a privately owned Czech L-39.


Your pilot for today is Captain Little Guy!


If my memory serves me right, the last time I wore a helmet and mask was when I flew in a T-37 during AFROTC Jet Orientation Training.

Move over PC: It's Mac Time!

I caved in to the pressure of common sense and got a Mac. A MacBook Pro to be exact. Vista is too buggy. XP is soooo yesterday. iLife rocks. So, we entered a dimension of sight and sound...the Mac Zone.



Rachel's anniversary present from Brett. A great way to start an iLife.

Move over Campbell's soup! This painting is going to Pittsburgh in the Warhol Museum.



Cute and colorful!

Baby Girl and all of her "friends"

Little Guy loves to join Daddy in playing with the PhotoBooth.

Cool, huh!


Still life with Smike the fish.

Aren't they adorable?

Vacation on Cuttyhunk Island

It's time for our yearly trip to Cuttyhunk island. This year, the M/V Cuttyhunk (a.k.a. the Latte Ferry) takes us to the island.
The helmsman was a nice young lad...


The admiral watches over her fleet of one boat while wearing her stylish frog raincoat picked up the night before.



Cuttyhunk means beachtime in the native language. For Rachel and Brett, it's time to fly the new stunt kite. By the time we left, both of us could get 30 seconds of flying time without hitting the beach, ocean, reeds, stroller or children.

It was our eighth anniversary and one of the few that wasn't in the middle of a PCS. Sand art shares the tale.

Angels making sand angels.

Going to the beach also means building sand castles. Rachel's castle is built following the plans for the Tower of Babel.

Baby Girl's castle was based on the Leaning Tower of Pisa after its collapse. Not that she minds.


A fishing tournament was held on the island. Thanks to our presence the weather was terrific for the first time in years. This is Brett's favorite boat: a 38 foot Luhrs.



Sunday on the island brings church. Unfortunately, the church doesn't function until July and August. But, we brought our own preachers. Here, Little Guy gives a Bible story from the highest point on the island.


Then, Baby Girl gave her Bible story. We have no idea what she was talking about but we are sure it wasn't in the Bible.

Lunchtime at Bart's Cart. Open on the weekends. Best fries on the island. Only fries on the island.



The family eats a Bart's Cart picnic on the lawn of the Corner Store.


Little Guy does shopping at the Corner Store. He is wearing a shirt bought at the Corner Store. This is called product placement.


The sun sets over Cuttyhunk harbor.


The remnants of tropical storm Barry swept directly over the island. Lots of rain and plenty of surf.

Little Guy joins Daddy for salt water fishing. It's the second official sport of the family. Soccer is first. Little Guy was well behaved on the trip. Food helps.

This is the fish Brett caught on the trip. It was too small to keep. He thinks it was bigger than last year's fish which was also too small to keep.
Mission accomplished: a latte consumed on the ride back from Cuttyhunk.