World Trade Center, Pentagon, Shanksville…This month’s page is dedicated to the victims and the heroes of September 11, 2001.

It’s “Back to School” month.  I’m in sixth grade this year and Owen is in third grade.  We go to different schools this year as 6th grade is the first year of Middle School.

Granny had a good time at the American Legion National Convention last month, but she slipped in a step in the hotel and hurt her back.  She is doing fine now, but her back was really sore for a couple of weeks.

Mom went to see John McCain and Sarah Palin at a political rally in Fairfax City, VA last week.  There were lots of people there.

On the first Saturday of the month, we attended the annual family reunion at the Mon Valley YMCA in Carroll Township, PA.

We enjoyed seeing all of our aunts and uncles, and our cousin Austin, who lives near St. Louis, MO.  And Pop-Pop had his usual good times with his brothers.

Granny is going to the American Legion National Convention in Phoenix, AZ this month.  Maybe she will bring back some neat souvenirs for us!

Summer is almost over so Mom and Dad will be closing down the pool next month and we will be heading back to school at the end of this month.  I will be in sixth grade this year and Owen will be in third grade.

On the road again! The first stop on our latest road trip was at the annual “Reinhardt Brothers” Reunion.  This year the reunion was in Howland Township, Ohio, and was hosted by our Great Uncle Barry and Great Aunt Lucy.  A really good time was had by all (Us kids, Mom, Dad, Granny, Pop-Pop, Uncle Barry, Aunt Lucy, Uncle Brian and Aunt Rosemary).  We took a day trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.  We also saw the Cleveland Indians ballpark and Cleveland Browns stadium, one of the big cargo ships they use on the Great Lakes, and the Great Lake that Cleveland borders on.

The next stop on our road trip was Niagara Falls.  We were there for a couple of days, saw all the sights on both the Canadian and US sides, and then it was on the road again.  We stayed overnight in Bradford, PA, home of the world famous Zippo lighter.   We were near there at a friend’s hunting cabin two summers ago.  In Bradford, we ate at the Beefeaters Restaurant.  We then headed back home and were glad to see that “Welcome to Virginia” sign after crossing the Point of Rocks Bridge, as that meant we were only about 15 miles from home.

We also had some house guests later in the month.  Gunny and Piggy (aka the Terrible Terriers) came to stay with us for a few days while Granny and Pop-Pop went on their annual trip to the Jamboree in the Hills.

And Pop-Pop, Granny and the Doggies stayed with us the last weekend of the month while Mom and Dad took care of some important business in Fredericksburg, VA.  Granny took Ross to see the new Batman movie (The Dark Knight) and bought Owen a new game for his Nintendo.