Marky has been a little slow to learn to ride his bike. He rode it a little bit while it had training wheels, but I thought that at 7 years old, he should not need training wheels. So I took them off. Marky asked me to put them back on, but I told him he needed to learn to ride his bike without them.

So the bike sat in the garage and gathered dust. This was Marky's way of telling me it was either his way or the highway.

I tried several times to get him to learn, really I did! I spent many afternoons (okay, 2) in the street in front of our house pushing him along. He just would not get it.

One day I mentally gave up and bought Marky a half-bike. This is sort of a bike like trailer that rides behind an adult bike. It's supposed to help the child learn to ride a bike. Marky rode the half bike but it didn't really help him learn to ride a bike on his own. Plus, it was getting to be a pain to hook up.

So today I told Marky (with certain determination) "Your going to learn to ride your bike today." I had to convince him but after his soccer game, Marky was in his play clothes at the top of our (fairly steep) drive way. I told him to coast along until he got his balance, then put his feel on the pedals and give it a go. The first run was a total wash. The second run did better but then he hit a mailbox. The third run found Marky veering off into the neighbor's front yard. But the forth run...ah the forth run..that was the ticket! Marky started to coast, swayed from side to side, then put his feet on the pedals and turned left up the street. Before we knew it he was riding!

We are all very proud of Marky! Check out the pictures on the right and you will be proud of Marky also!

HJ

Since the moment in that german delivery room where AJ and I first met, I have been proud of him. AJ was born with his eyes wide open. I took this to mean that he would see the world as it really was. From the very start he impressed me.

Now, as he enters his 12th year, I couldn't be more proud! I saw him at his soccer game yesterday and I realized he isn't a little boy anymore. In his last year as a 'tween' I find I've been robbed of my little AJ, the little boy I could hold in my arms and  protect from the realities of life. More and more I have to trust that he has learned what I have taught him. He's a young man now. My world is a little sadder as I miss the boy, but a little bright also as I get to know the young man.

Now, as I let AJ venture forth in a world that I can no longer protect him from, I turn my sights on putting the finishing touches on Marky, who is also growing faster than I would prefer.

Please check out the AJ's 12th Birthday gallery and see how AJ celebrated his last 'tween' celebration!

HJ

I am a firm believer that Good can be found wherever there is Bad. I believe this because good and bad and interpretations of life. I mention this because my sister is going through a particularly tough time in her life. In an effort to help her out, I offered to take her boys off her hands for three weeks. See? Tough time in life: boys get summer vacation in DC! It all works out!

In any event, the My Nephews photo album is a compilation of pictures I took during their visit. Some of them are from our visit to Virginia Beach. My nephews had never been to the ocean and the waves were particularly rough. They had a blast!

Other pictures are of our visit to Washington, DC. We ate at a rather bad Chinese restaurant, but then trekked over to the Vietnam War Memorial to see if we could find Storm's doctor's brother's name. And we did!

The boys are back in North Carolina now, but I know they took great memories back with them! It was a fun and learning experience hosting them!

HJ

I really am blessed in that I work with a great bunch of guys. I heard (on a radio commercial) that if you truly love what you do, then it's not really work. I do like my job, but I also like the people I work with. We have some really eclectic conversations. Sometimes, if we are really stumped about something like who played Buffy in Family Affair or what Jan Brady is up to these days, or who sung that song we heard on the radio coming to work, we consult the Oracle (the internet). Usually, during our consultation, we stumble across some other interesting fact that will spur a new conversation.

Truly, they are a great bunch of guys and I'm happy to be associated with them!

Since I retired from the air force, I've always wanted to do something that I was not allowed to do during my enlistment. I don't drink and drugs are out. I could grow my hair long but I associate long hair with my unpleasant time in high school. Ah, but I could still grow my hair long...on my chin!

Every so often I don't shave for a couple of days to let me skin heal from a week's worth of shaving. One day I just decided to write off shaving altogether. Check out the Howard's Beard picture album to see the results.

It didn't last long, a week and a half maybe. The whiskers started to curl around the poke my skin. It really wasn't comfortable. I tried to shave it off but it was too long and the razor jumped out of my hand the hid behind the toilet. Coward! So I had to borrow a pair of clippers from my friend Darren. That did the trick.

Yes, the beard is gone. If you like me with it, you can download the pictures. Otherwise, my cheeks are as clean as a babies bottom!

HJ

I just wanted to add a note about our trip to VA Beach. Arlen and Daren, neighbors and close friends, joined us in a trip to VA Beach. We all had a blast as the waves were very high and very strong! All in all, we had a really nice time!

HJ