Hello everyone and welcome.

This post features some everyday, though not necessarily normal, events in our family. I suppose every family has its quirks and odd things it does. Probably, most of you don't have siblings that feel at home in a dumpster. I, personally, do not find it my favorite environment, but, on the particular evening that I will be covering, I subjected myself to a close brush with it in order to get some photos. A little background information to help you understand the circumstances might be in order. In our back yard, there is a dumpster that the folks who rent our barn dump trash in. This is the scene of the next few pictures. The rest of the pictures are from another evening in which my youngest sister was reading the newspaper. Once again, that is probably something that your little sister does not do as a rule. To tell the truth, Mercy does not make a regular habit of it either, which is why I got my camera out when I saw her doing it.

Templeton, his Relatives, and their Native Environment

The scroungers. The dumpster in our back yard

provides many useful articles to those who care to

search! Wood for forts, old soda cans, you name it...

Looks as if the scroungers have reinforcements
on the way.

More packrats!

Candace and Conrad are "friendly" rivals in a competition
to see who can collect the most soda cans for recycling.
On this particular evening, Candace has the initial victory.

To Candace's great chagrin, Conrad soon follows it
up by finding a can of his own.

Conrad nearly splits his face with a grin when he

discovers another can.

(My brothers and sisters are good actors- I know,

by saying that, I am admitting that some of
these pictures were staged. Notice Candace's

great expression of dismay!)

Friends once again.

Unfortunately, the peace is only temporary and,

when another can is spotted, a frantic skirmish breaks out.

Though appearances may be deceiving (especially
as I told you that some of the animosity was staged),
these two really are best of friends!

Mercy, the Newspaper, and the Camera

Yes, even my two year old sister keeps

up with current events. :-)

On to the next page.

" No! I am not keeping up this sham for you
or for the camera"

The photographer ambles off, leaving her camera
ungaurded. Woe to the camera!

"So that's how I look when I'm reading the newspaper."
She doesn't even look guilty!

Discovered! (I admit that my dismay is

somewhat feigned. After all, I couldn't be very

upset when I had left the camera sit there as bait,

while I used the other to photograph her.)

Mercy receives a lecture from the other camera owner in our
house, whose camera case has also been tampered with.

Can't you just see that "NO!" formed expressively on Candace's lips?

Mercy receives lessons on the proper (meaning "supervised")
use of that revered instrument, the camera.

Mercy's 1st photo!

The above photo just makes me feel good.
Doesn't she look so happy?

Farewell!

~Carmen~

Welcome to my first official photo post.

After some trials in figuring out how to post photos, I think I have a post ready. One thing I need to tell you is that, just because this is a photo blog, that does not mean that my photos are good. I don't consider myself a great photographer, and I consider my camera to be even worse of a photographer than I am!

This post contains photos from our recent three-day trip to the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia. We made some other stops along the way including beautiful Luray Caverns in Virginia and the National Radio Telescope Observatory. All around we had three days of great family time, though traveling with a family has its trials as well. On the drive through the windy West Virginian hills, several people became severely car-sick.

Enjoy the pictures!

Day 1 - A picnic and Luray Caverns

It takes a long picnic table to fit all of us plus the dolls.

If I open my mouth wide enough it is sure to

go in, right?

Me and my best friend, sister, and enemy!

"The little boys."

Unauthorized and potentially destructive use of Candace's camera!

Dream Lake at Luray Caverns.

The reflection of the stalactites in the water created a

delusion, making the few-inch-deep water look

much deeper.

This is only one of the many georgeous, unique
formations. None of our photos did justice to them.

Conrad in direct violation of the
"Do Not Touch" sign.

Letting the tour sink in.

Arriving at Cass. We stayed in one of these cozy

little houses in the remodeled village.

Our family vacations do not include going out to eat :-).

We pack our own food.

Candace is a great help in the kitchen - usually!
But she has one bad habit: she likes to taste everything. :-)

Supper Art

Day 2 - Our ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad

The photo...

...and the photo of the photo being taken.

(This kind of scenario occurs in a family of multiple cameras!)

Preparation

All aboard!

Where will it lead us?

It was a lovely train ride!

Bends - the photographic opportunities on board
a train. Whenever we came to a turn, automatically

heads and cameras would start popping out the windows.

Doing what I love best!

A stop to take on water.

This is how we make men out of the boys in our
family! (Somehow, I feel a need to state
that the train was not moving at the time this photo was taken.)

Chains...

...something a boy can't resist.

At the top - Bald Knob Lookout

My brother

By this time, Mervin has learned

resignation in precarious situations.

After the train ride, we enjoyed some delicious

milkshakes at the soda fountain of the general store.

Day 3 - Visiting the Green Bank Telescope and coming home

The Green Bank, WV Radio Telescope

An experiment that our tour guide
showed us. -- And that is all the photos
I have from the telescope. Because
even digital cameras could cause
interference with the telescope's
reception of radio waves coming from
outer space, we were required to turn
off all electronics when we were close to the
telescope.

Like sister, like sister

Dad dives into the potato chip

bag on the last stop of our journey.

The camcorder is mine (I'll tell you

that much). Now, guess whose the

restraining arm is!

Farwell from everyone but me...

...well from me too!

~Carmen~