Kumbrabow

Here is our favorite campsite at our favorite West Virginia State Park, Kumbrabow. We call it our home away from home, and try to stay there at least once a year. This year we headed down two days after the campsites opened because we couldn't wait. The weather was nice and warm, but still no buds on the trees yet. One of the features of this spot is the lovely view of the creek which conveniently drowns out any noisy neighbors. Thanks Terry for the awesome ride!

This is Becky enjoying one of the many hiking trails that the park has to offer. This is her 'why are you taking a picture of me' face.

We enjoyed our first hike of the year and even saw a real, live, scary coyote. It was huge! And only a mile from our tent! The night before we were wondering what the stranges noises were. Mystery solved. We had to make a mad dash to our campsite because it started to pour and didn't stop until the next morning. We had to set up a poncho over the coals to cook our dinner.

Dj brought his fishing pole and managed to catch this tiny brook trout on one of his first casts. That was his only luck though, so no fresh fish for dinner.

We had a nice, relaxing time, and even managed to stop in Buckhannon to visit my 95 year old, wonderful grandpa. The weekend went by to quickly!

Thanks Grandma!

My Grandma Stiles had a tough life. When my grandpa, Calvin, decided he wanted to get married, his friend said, "I have some sisters you can check out". So he headed to Point Marion, PA to check out the Watson sisters all lined up for him to see. He picked my 14 year old grandma, Thelma, around fifteen years younger than him. My Grandma was always good to her grandchildren--I always felt so important to her. I have many fond memories of her: sitting with her and her friends in church on Sundays, fresh rolls, Days of our Lives, brushing hair into pigtails, and presents! Every birthday, she would not only get presents for the birthday girl, but for all of us. She died one month before my 6th birthday, unexpectedly due to complications from diabetes. I didn't let anyone (including myself) brush my hair for the next six years! She may have been a little rough around the edges due to her life with my grandpa, but she was always so sweet to us. I was recently reminded of this when I got a call from my sister, Beth. She was cleaning out my dad's room and came across an old photo album, which she claimed was filled with baby pictures of me. I was skeptical--I have always complained that I have ZERO baby pictures, due to my parent's indifference, my placement as the middle child, who knows. But, indeed, my grandma managed to snap some pictures of me back in 1981, where they remained hidden until now. Enjoy my treasure:

What is a billion?

The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is
spending it.
While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let’s take a look at New Orleans It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division:
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans.Interesting number, what does it mean?
A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman and child), you
each get $516,528.
B. Or if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or if you are a family of four , your family gets $2,066,012.
Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! … Are all your calculators broken??
> > Accounts Receivable Tax
> > Building Permit Tax
> > CDL License Tax
> > Cigarette Tax
> > Corporate Income Tax
> > Dog License T ax
> > Federal Income Tax
> > Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
> > Fishing License Tax
> > Food License Tax
> > Fuel Perm it Tax
> > Gasoline Tax
> > Hunting License Tax
> > Inheritance Tax
> > Inventory Tax
> > IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
> > IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
> > Liquor Tax
> > Luxury Tax
> > Marriage License Tax
> > Medicare Tax
> > Property Tax
> > Real Estate Tax
> > Service charge taxes
> > Social Security Ta x
> > Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
> > Sales Taxes
> > Recreational Vehicle Tax
> > School Tax
> > State Income Tax
> > State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
> > Telephone Federal Excise Tax
> > Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
> > Telephone Federal, State and Local Su rcharge Tax
> > Telephone Minimum Usage Su rcharge Tax
> > Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
> > Telephone State and Local Tax
> > Telephone Usage Charge Tax
> > Utility Tax
> > Vehicle License Registration Tax
> > Vehicle Sales Tax
> > Watercraft Registration Tax
> > Well Permit Tax
> > Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell ‘politicians!’

Welcome to Huggstown

On the way home from shopping we noticed that the Mountaineer Basketball team was returning home after a tough loss in the Sweet Sixteen. We decided to make a detour to the Coliseum and say hello to the team and thank them for the exciting year of basketball.

After talking to Darris Nichols for a little bit he asked me how I was at playing B-ball and I preceded to help block someone from Mississippi State on a drive to the basket.





Then Joe Mizzula asked me if I would like to play a little one on one. I had a great time I couldn't stop smiling.





Then after that Jamie Smalligan came over to shake my hand and I had Becky snap a quick photo so people could see how tall he is in real life.

I was a little tired after all the excitement so we decided to just sit back and watch DeSaun Butler and Flowers shoot some hoops.


We really did meet these guys and it was fun. I got to shake Darris Nichols hand and exchange a few words. I think I was a little star struck because I forgot to ask Becky to take a picture on the camera phone. I had to embellish a little bit.