Just in case some of you haven't seen Uncle's picture website, here are just a few of his latest entries. Just back from Jax where he and Aunt visited with Gina & Thomas. Gina looks great don't you think? 
Aunt & Gina .... looking good!
Gina & Thomas......welcome to Jax!
Surf's up! Thomas's beach - ride
I'm feeling lazy... so I'll just say for the moment - I concur with Andrew. The trip was definitely a blast. I did not go to the ruins, and opted instead to go snorkeling, which was fantastic. Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy. I took about 270... I'm only posting a few right now though. :-) Mom/Grammy - not to worry, it's only a henna tattoo, it's already fading.
Well the much anticipated Mexico journey has come and gone-Im returning to work, Emmalee is returning to work as well, but we are all a little more tan, some of us a little more crispy than others. A great time was had by all, the wedding of Ryan and Lori went off without a hitch, and the only change was when the heavens opened up, and they were forced to get married underneath a roof, rather than on the beach as was originally the plan. In addition to sitting around on the beach all day, or by the pool, me and Jarrett and a handful of others took an all day trip to the ancient city of Chichen Itzah, which has just recently been named one of the 7 Wonders Of The World. And honestly, while it was amazing to see up close, it was a little disappointing that the Meixcan government has allowed the place to turn into a flea market of sorts, exploiting the place for every last peso they can get.
We also were able to swim and jump around in a cenote, a natural spring that the Mayans swam in as well-This was the highlight of the trip to Chichhen Itzah as the heat was absolutely unbearable (Dad, I thought often how you dealt with it) I was lugging around my video camera, in addition to there being NOWHERE to escape the sun, and temperatures in the upper 90's, miserable may not even be the right word.
Aside from Chichen Itzah, Jarrett, myself, Ryan and a few of the other guys ventured into the town of Playa Del Carmen, and wandered up and down 5th Avenue, the main drag where all the tourists hang out-We were serenaded by a mariachi band, drank Mexican beer (which, for all intents and purposes is the same as American beer) and listened as various locals tried to sell us tequila. We weren't buying. Even IF the guy in the street referred to me as "Mr. Whiskers."
The return home was fine for most, except me as Spirit Airlines (note, dont use them they are rude, cheap, and apparently have no idea how to handle luggage) managed to losy my backpack, which had my cellphone and blackberry inside, as well as my still camera. Yes, yes, I know, why did I pack them in the bag--Well, in an attempt to minimize the random crap I had on me at the security checkpoints, I was trying to be minimal with various items I would have to take out of my pockets-Well, now all those items are likely now sitting on a runway in Fiji or something. No phones for me, and no backpack. And the folks at Spirit couldn't be less helpful or clueless when it comes to finding it. Good times had by all, have more pics, will post when I get them....
Yes, the dogs finally discovered the pond. Walking down to the pond and seeing them both out in the middle of it, smiling, one could almost sense them thinking "all this and a pond too!" Anyway, it was quite a weekend here on the compound with the guys.
It was quite an exciting time on the compound. Duke and Maxx met Aunt & Uncle who came to watch the Redskin game. Fortunately it was a 4pm game which gave us plenty of time to get the dogs bathed and cleaned up. Now, a bath and grooming would not be something we would ordinarily do because of a visit by Aunt & Uncle (or anyone else). 
BUT as you can see from the stunning photographs (click on a photo to view full size), Maxx & Duke having discovered the pond were in to shape to have company. To say they smelled bad is an understatement. They stunk so bad that we had to hose them down just to be able to allow them onto the back deck (which we had to "wall off" to make sure they didn't go BACK to the pond). A quick backyard shampoo was in order which proved useless in combating the slime, grime and pond scum that clung so tightly to their soft long coats. Off to Petco for a professional 'emergency' grooming. It is probably a good thing that Front Royal now has that shiny new shopping center north of town with Petco and others, since we now have what amounts to an open account at the pet store. Fortunately for us, they were able to 'work' the boys in, have them all neat and clean, smelling nice and ready for their first Aunt & Uncle meeting. They (the dogs) are a trip! The day went well, Uncle who is not a big dog person, enjoyed the guys and Maxx, sensing maybe he needed to be extra nice to Uncle, immediately sat at his feet and propped his head on Uncle's shoe all the while looking up at him with those eyes that say "i know you really like me". Quite a day! Too bad the Skins had to ruin it all by losing to the hated New York Football Giants. Oh well, on to the next game (and dog adventure). Stay tuned...
Cleo RIP
Sadly our beloved Cleo has passed away. Her long battle with arthritis and old age finally got the best of her on August 19, 2007. It was a sad day here in Browntown for mom, me and grammy. Cleo was a sweetheart til the very end, and even made her passing an easy event for us all. She is now with her doggie friends who went before her, buried out beyond the pool garden in the area reserved for all of the Browntown dogs who went before her. Remember her fondly, because she gave us all so many good memories and great times. We miss her and know you all will too.
Mom and I would like to introduce everyone to Maxx and Duke, the latest additions to our Browntown family. They came to live with us last Friday and are settling in quite nicely. Maxx is the sweet old guy with the white face. He's 11 or 12 yrs. old and quite the character. He immediately let us know that he enjoys anything soft: squeaker toys to balls of mom's yarn. So far no damage to any of her projects, although he eyes them longingly. Duke is Maxx's best friend and sticks to him like glue. Duke is about 6 - 7yrs old and is a HUGE boy! While we haven't been able to get an accurate weight on him, records show that he's somewhere around 125lbs. Fortunately he's a sweetheart and not the least bit aggressive but rather mild mannered. They were both rescued from a Golden rescue outfit in West Virginia and both are quite happy to live in Browntown now. We (and they) hope to see you all soon. 
Both of the guys have found the fish barrell and enjoy many long drinks from it. The fish doesn't seem to mind.
Maxx has a very unique "Angel-like" personality. You kids all remember Angel? and her total disregard for personal space? Well Maxx has that same personality. I've wondered over the last couple of days if Angel has been reincarnated, or has she sent Maxx to us? In any event, he's very entertaining to be around as you can see from his performance when I tried to pose him.
Duke on the other hand is quite content to just sit and look regal. Quite a handsome fellow isn't he?
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Happy birthday to Richie! Festivities were held at Wilson's Pet Farm outside of Winchester and attended by the usual suspects including Aunt, Uncle and a host of the little guy's friends from far and wide. As you can see a fine time was had by all. 
The theme this year was "Cars" a current favorite of Richie
A chorus of many serenade with a rousing version of Happy Birthday !
Kara, the perfect hostess with party goer. Can you all believe how big she's getting? Seems like only yesterday we were celebrating her 4th.
For those of you who don't know, I had a long weekend in the Mile High City this past weekend. My friend and I went to Denver to visit her cousin, see the sites, and go to a concert at Red Rocks Ampitheatre. It was a fantastic trip. Denver is a lot of fun, the mountains are spectacular, and Red Rocks was breathtaking. Lots of laughs and lots of fun, despite the stress of flying stand-by and spending the night at the Denver airport. It's all good.
We flew into Colorado Springs on Thursday night, and I was a little disappointed I couldn't see much of anything upon arrival - but more than made up for it later in the trip. Our host had to work Friday morning, so Lori and I walked all around downtown taking in the sites of the museums, shops, people, etc. Very interesting place. Friday afternoon we headed to nearby Golden (Mom's old stomping grounds) to tour the Coors Brewery. It was a lot of fun, and surprisingly Coors is pretty good beer when it comes straight from the tap at a cool 36 degrees. My friend who lives in Vail drove down to go out with us Friday night, and we had a good time taking in the local scene. Saturday morning we had breakfast with drag queens, and then headed to Morrison CO in the early afternoon, where Red Rocks is. Morrison is a tiny (and I mean very tiny) little town whose claim to fame is the Red Rocks Park and Ampitheatre. Which, I have to say, may be the best concert venue ever. We were there to hear a band called Leftover Salmon (Colorado natives who are no longer touring together) and moe. The show was fantastic, certainly everything we expected it to be. Sunday, our last day in Colorado, we headed to the old mining town of Central City. It really did look like something out of a movie. The hour or so drive there and back was definitely worth it. The mountains are spectacular. We were traveling on a state route that followed the path of a creek where people all along the way were rafting, fishing, and swimming in the shadows of the Rockies. It was extremly "Colorado-ish". We made it back to Atlanta Monday evening after spending a long night in the Denver airport. But I can honestly say, it was totally worth it. We are already planning next year's trip to see another show and go rafting! Sorry, the pictures are not in chronological order, but I think you can figure it out. Wow, one would think I'd never seen mountains before...
