Many are called...

Very few are special enough to answer that call on their key chain...



And then take a photo afterwards.



It's been a while since we've been able to post anything, thanks to some pernicious viruses (virii?) and a lack of free time. A special shout out goes to Sanj, who purged our laptop of nasty malware (THANKS!), and now without further ado let's catch up on the past few months.

Here's CJ and Daddy with cousins Alyssa and Sara, who visited us way back over fourth of July weekend:



Tomoki and CJ, poolside:



CJ sleeping with "Min Wen" (one of the Olympic mascots, renamed after our neighbor):



In July, Meg and CJ visited with Aunt Susan, Uncle Frank, and cousins Jay and Grace at a beach house in Massachusetts:













Here's a video of CJ and Grace at the playground:



And here is CJ and Grace with Aunt Annie:




After the Massachusetts trip, Meg and CJ visited with Liz and Chuck and their kids, Devin and Blythe. Here's Blythe and CJ on the town in Nyack:



In August, the three of us went to the beach in Southern Maryland:









Back home, here we are again poolside (and in the pool):







In early September, we traveled up to NYC to visit NaiNai, YeYe, and Monique. NaiNai ended up in most of the photos:







Where's CJ?



We then went out to dim sum with Wendy (our former Mandarin teacher) and her boyfriend Bill. The camera in this shot had a mind of its own, focusing on the food not the people (go figure).



One place worth recording for posterity is Rock Creek Park, where I have been running in the early morning. While it's not Van Cortland Park, it's pretty enough in its own right.





In September we also took a number of daytrips with Tomoki's family. Here we are at Great Falls, Virginia:









And here is Rock Creek after a tropical storm blew through town:



We also took a few trips in Shenandoah National Park with Tomoki's family.









Eating grapes after the hike:





And then back in Shenandoah the following weekend:

[insert musical play on words here]

The summer is done, but CJ continues to rock on. Perhaps she's excited about the coming football season?



We'll have more pix and video of our end-of-summer escapades once I get all the viruses cleaned out of our home computer... ("Daddy, why are you working?" "Because the computer is sick, sweetheart." "The computer has a booboo? Why?")

Smiling again

We have a bunch of photos to share from Meg and CJ's travels earlier this month, but I thought I would post a good shot from the swimming pool yesterday. Perhaps the smile is helped by the fact that she's standing on the sprinkler head?

More trouble with smiling

Meg and CJ are on vacation right now, hanging out at a beach house in Massachusetts with Uncle Frank & company. I drove them halfway up, to NYC, where we saw YeYe and a few close friends. Meg will have more photos and videos when she gets back next week.

Here we are with the Khannas:



And here is CJ and I with Linwood:



And here is CJ and YeYe on the subway:



CJ's on-camera smile is not quite what it used to be. You would think, taking four or five shots, at least one would have her smiling and then that would be the keeper. But nope. I need to break out a few new tricks, apparently. Of course, to be fair, I could use a little help with my smile, especially on that second shot...

Need a little extra bounce in your weekend?

These videos really speak for themselves:









As you can see, CJ is handling the ups and downs of childhood quite well, all things considered...

Yet another woman in my life is tired of me taking photos

CJ and I went for a great hike yesterday while Mommy finished recuperating from a nasty cold. We found (with the help of a guide book) a great swimming hole in Shenandoah National Park. We had a great time walking in the forest (nothing beats holding your daughter's hand while walking through the woods and listening to songbirds), splashed around a bit, found a bird's nest, saw a pretty waterfall, and then I tried to take a few photos. Though CJ really wasn't having any of the whole photography scene, I'd still call the outing a success...

Ice Creammm...

One of the unexpected advantages of living in Silver Spring is Moorenko's, which serves up some of the tastiest ice cream we've ever had. Here's CJ, all business with a black-raspberry-chocolate-chip sugar cone.

Summertime fun

We've had a good time the last couple of weeks, visiting family and getting the hang of summer here in DC. Here's CJ, living large down at the pool:



At the end of June, we drove back to NY to visit family. CJ and Cousins Jay and Grace had a good time on the seesaw, even after someone fell off.



CJ and Grace made themselves quite busy on the patio.



We had a good time seeing the DC sights with the gang from Riverdale and Woodstock (although the National Mall, take note, is quite jammed on July 4th weekend). Here's CJ passing time at the Lincoln Memorial:



CJ and Alyssa had a good time at Mt. Vernon as well.



And what is summer without the proper accoutrements?