Mountain Biking - Fountainhead

The Grays suggested that we go mountain biking at Fountainhead Regional Park in Fairfax Station. The reviews were accurate so Sara and Julia did a different trail. The 'green' trail featured a few 12" drops, some berms, a lot of roots, and some good up and down. Geoff cut his finger, RJ managed to crush you-know-where on his back tire, and Bradley fell and scraped his arm/leg/back. So overall ... a successful day!

RJ, Bradley, Geoff, and Doug did two laps on the green trail ... as well as a loop to the water courtesy of a missed turn when we were looking for the trailhead.

Taking a break

Elevation Map of Route

Distance: 1.71 miles Max Speed: 9.5 mph Elevation Gain: 160 feet Time: 32 min

We celebrated with a trip to 7-eleven after the ride.

Requirements for next ride:

• RJ 'needs' a new mountain bike
• Everybody needs gloves to keep sweaty hands from slipping off the handlebars

Lake Linganore

The Kenemuths invited us and the Carters to a pontoon boat outing at Lake Linganore.

Boats linked together - the Kenemuth's is the second from the left

Julia preparing to slide / dive

Chilling on the boat

Rope swing (not pictured: jumping from the rock cliff on the opposite shore)

Overall it was a great day of swimming, jumping, sliding, swinging, and socializing. And nobody got sunburned!

G-Geoff Visit

We hosted G-Geoff for his good-will tour of DC. He brought his dog Arthur with him ... so we got some pictures. Geoff was on his own agenda, but he forced to play True Colors with us one night.

Arthur was pretty chill - he didn't bark over 4 days, but he did like to jump on people

Waking Julia was easier for a few days!

Bike Repair Shop

Plenty of bike repairs were needed this summer. Or should I say ... this week. 

GT 24" Mountain Bike

After a trip to whitetail the mountain bike needed a new chain, a new rear derailer, and a new rear shifting cable. 

After Julia and I replaced those 3 parts the shifting was terrible and the chain fell off the derailer. After some troubleshooting Doug decided that the rear derailer mounting bracket (hanger) was bent as the rider crushed down on the mangled mess.

So we ordered another part, waited another week, and fixed the bike that is not in great shape and will become a permanent resident of Whitetail.

Halfway done. New derailer, cable, and chain.

One of those derailer hangers is slightly bent

GT 26" Specialized Hard Rock

RJ took on the task of repairing the flat on the front week of the bike he started riding after the demise of the 26" GT. He found 2 huge thorns in the tire ... lucky he looked before putting the new tube in.

RJ works on the flat tire

Flat was fixed in less than an hour.

GT 26" Rocky Mountain Fusion

The rear gears would not shift on the bike pictured in the back of the pic above. After some investigation Doug discovered that somebody pushed the rear shifter so far beyond first gear that the rear derailer cable slipped.

After fixing the cable and doing some adjustments the bike was back in business.

Well Done Popcorn

Burned popcorn doesn't smell very good. But popcorn that is really burned and creates a billowing cloud of smoke that smells really, really bad. Although this did not merit a call to 9-1-1 we were pretty grossed out by the smell. By the time Doug got home the situation was not too bad ... but that didn't stop Julia from using the smell as an excuse to sleep on the porch in a tent in 74 -> 66 degree weather.

The smoking remnants of a bag of popcorn were extinguished and left in the yard to deter wildlife

Sara and Julia avoided the smell in the house by sleeping on the porch (weather was perfect)

Lindsey / Girls Weekend

We hosted Lindsey and her girls for a night during girls weekend in DC. RJ and Julia didn't understand how small children could make so much noise. Ah, if we only had videos of them at that age.

Sara and friends at the outlets

Big Chickens

Hillary had a 50th birthday and retirement party. Doug, RJ, and Julia used it as an opportunity to visit our chickens ... and get two more Slurpees.

Chickens are all still alive and quite grown up. Julia climbed into the coop to hang with Khaki.

Sara needs to get a water slide for her 50th birthday!

Julia Ear Piercing

Julia was promised that she could get hers ears pierced when she turned 12. Sara took her and the process went smoothly with no pain.

 

Before the holes

New earrings in .. still smiling!

World Cup - Miami

Trip to Miami was a grand experience, featuring ... 

• Snorkeling trip
• Badia Spices tour
• Science museum 
• World Cup soccer - Argentina versus Cape Verde
• Hanging out with cousins

Day 1: Travel / Arrival

RJ in the Miami airport. He was frustrated by the lack of coconuts ... but we got hand-picked mangos!

Day 2: Snorkeling / Cousins

Sara and the kids enjoyed a snorkeling trip with the Martins to the reef off John Pennekamp National Park.

Prep for the snorkeling trip

Elevator on the way to dinner at Donna's or South Beach Club?

Day 3: Spice Factory / USA Soccer

Kids went into the activity with a typical teen-age level of interest. Once they hit the production line the level of interest changed.

Julia and Doug fixated on the machine that puts paper on the top of pallets. RJ was pretty amazed with the entire process. Sara's business side came out and she peppered (no spice pun intended) Robert from Tech Group with questions. 

Production line at Badia

Warehouse at Badia

Watching USA vs Bosnia game at Aunt Donna's later at night

Day 4: Science Center / Group Dinner

Frost Museum of Science was interactive and entertaining. We did a film in the planetarium, watched the fish in the aquariums, and stayed much later than we should have without eating lunch. Doug and Tom broke off to read lots of stuff and geek out.

Never under-estimate how fun it is to watch fish, sharks, rays, and a turtle

Trip to science museum was fun and interactive. 

Day 5: World Cup

We routed against Spain in the group stage so our World Cup experience would feature a good game between Spain and Argentina. Instead we got Cape Verde versus Argentina. 

But Cape Verde was a LOT better than we (and 60,000 Argentina fans) would have liked! We ALMOST got to see one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history ... but Argentina got a late goal and held on for a 3-2 win.

Team USA photo earlier in the day.

We arrived early to take advantage of a world class spread (sushi, steak, plus more!)

Prior to the game RJ shook is finger at the VAR review box. We were still bitter from the Croatia loss to Portugal.

The Johnson's and Martin's pre-game photo

Our entire crew during the welcome event

View from our seats ... pretty sweet!!

RJ and Julia in the 'alternate' seats - front row

Day 6: Travel Home

After a 12:30am bedtime following the game we were awakened at 3:30am to get to the airport. Ugh.

In addition to the 6-7 stuffed stowaways, Julia got another Squishmallow on the trip. Here we are in Atlanta

Caiden, RJ, Jett in the ATL airport after 2 hours of sleep

RJ's Steakhouse

RJ was in charge of cooking the filet minion - so he found a recipe with some flavor, got out the iron skillet, added a side of potatoes, and trashed the kitchen. 

Luckily the food was great. Here is a reviewer who happened to stop by the steakhouse that night.

Garlic Rosemary Filet Mignon with Potatoes

made by RJ

You won't need A1 to eat this flavorful filet mignon. Seared in a pan to perfection in a garlic and rosemary butter, this steak will have you begging for more. Carefully placed garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs displayed the steak that would rival any dish at J. Gilberts or Ruth Chris. The first bite was pure bliss. A perfect blend of flavorful seasonings. Perfectly tender and cooked to perfection with a side of garlic potatoes, this is a meal to to come back for. Try air frying the potatoes for a crispy complement to the juicy, tender steak.

Reviewed by Sara

Chef RJ and Julia using the iron skillet

Julia Turns 12

Sara, RJ, and Julia came back from Whitetail to celebrate Julia's birthday. Sara pulled together a super-fun day including a visit from the Kovacs for dinner. (Julia's actual birthday dinner was at Coastal Flatts on the 27th)

There was no chance we were going to miss Julia's birthday with the living room countdown

Gifts included Legos, karaoke machine, doll, suitcase (not pictured), gecko track, and more!

Julia reflects on her wish prior to devouring 2 cupcakes.

The girls had tons of fun running around in the yard after dinner. The boys (RJ and Milo) managed to stay out of the way.

Summer in Whitetail

Sara took the kids to Whitetail to celebrate the end of school. Henry and Caleb joined the fun.

Julia and the boys play a game of poker

The Carter's brought some fireworks for a pre-July 4th celebration

New Rule (or common sense): No Grilling Near the House

Busch Gardens 2026

Immediately following Sara's last day of school, we headed to Busch Gardens to meet Hillary, Logan, Francis, and Ken. Drive down was easy, we stopped to get breakfast at Jersey Mike's.

The required picture at the entrance

Height check changed a bit this year, we tried to deal with it

We opted in for the all you can drink souvenir cup. Turns out that you actually want to switch to water or watered down lemonade after about 4-5 sodas.

Plenty of fish and turtles but no Lock Ness monster

After some convincing Julia rode the Lock Ness Monster ... about 8 times in a row

After a late lunch the boys rode Griffon about 10 times

Boys are on the edge of the second row.

Next day was cloudy/rainy ... perfect for Water Country ... but this is as close as we got

Our least favorite ride ... Busch Garden - the Ride Back (RJ climbed this wall during our lunch stop)

Buried Power Lines

Dominion Power decided to bury the power lines in our neighborhood. As a result there was some cool looking circus props in the neighborhood.

Circus Act - reaching the stop sign

The pic above is at the end of the street. Below shows them getting started near Bradley's house.

The other spool (below) held the underground tubing ... but moved a little slower ...