You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. You don't pull the mask of the Lone Ranger and you never, never try to take away a man's John Deere tractor. It's just not done.

Mema and Papa gave me this really cool wagon, which I couldn't wait to try out. Yes, that's me out in the cold without shoes, why do you ask?

When the big day finally rolled around I got to open my presents. And Papa's. And pretty much everyone else's too.

We waited too long to cut down a tree (a sixteen-inch snow may also have had something to do with it) and had to just pick one up at the tree farm.

I also pushed Clayton around in the stroller. Funny, in retrospect it doesn't seem like I should be the one wearing the helmet.

We went to Tara and Duane's for the family Thanksgiving...whereupon I began to eat mass quantities of crackers.

This year I was a lion. Tom says he thinks I captured a lion at the zoo, emptied it out and used his carcass as a costume...but I'll never tell.

Eventually Halloween rolled around. We had chilli, carved pumpkins and then got ready to go trick or treating.

and flirting some more...

Granny B's great and everything, but I had much more fun flirting.

One of the first things we got to do when we got back to Missouri was attend Great Granny B's 100th birthday party (actually, she's my great, great) out in western Kansas.

There goes Dad with that camera again. What, can a kid be sullen and forlorn-looking without getting hounded by some two-bit paparazzi-wannabe?

We settled into Grammy and Grandpa's basement while waiting for the Virginia house to sell and to buy one in Columbia. It was fun seeing them everyday.

And then finally we were in Columbia.

Further along in Indianapolis we stopped in to see our good friends Travis, Mary Beth and Elijah. I think all were really glad I snapped this picture in the morning.

...and finally a giant tiger to ignore. It was a really kid-friendly zoo and we had a great time.

...and a tunnel through a fish tank to check out...

The had big rocks to stand on...

Seething bitterness behind us, we packed up the truck and headed west for Missouri. One of our first stops was the Pittsburgh Zoo.

And then it was adios, money pit! Dad walked over and "watered" the side of the house before we drove off. He said something about hoping it drops into a giant sinkhole the day after it sells. Probably not his finest hour overall.

I also had to leave my "Miss Del" at Heritage Academy. She was always very nice to me and made me feel better when I first started going there and was so scared.

Ms. Lara took care of me for more than a month when Mom and Dad's daycare fell through...everyone was sad when we left.

We had a great time together and chased each other all over the house. We miss the McAdams a lot.

In mid-September the time came to finally pull up stakes and head to Missouri. One of the last things we did was hang out with our good friends Dave, Lara and their son David. If he looks a little older than me it's because he was born a day earlier in the hospital room next to mine.

A couple of hours down a winding road led Dad and Grandpa to the "Ramshack," a trailer/bar with a couple of residential-grade refrigerators for beer. This won best bar in show.

Their trip became an impromptu bbq-tasting extravaganza, though. They had it in NC, SC, Alabama and Mississippi...with the ribs at Tuscaloosa's "Dreamland" taking home the prize for best in show. This picture was taken at Lee's in Sylva, NC.

Grandpa and Dad drove 3000 miles in nine days. This is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in North Carolina.

One day while Mema was here we went to my cousin Kelsey's soccer game. There were so many pretty girls running around that I kept trying to streak the field. Mama's still got a step on me, though, and caught me every time. Not long now, not long...

Mema visited me in August...we had a great time horsing around.

Mom and Dad's good friends Sarah and Garrett stopped in on their way to Italy. I always thought that was up by Delaware or something, but evidently Alexandria's on the way. Little Mark tagged along as well...and mostly gnawed on my trains and impersonated the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Grandpa flew into town to go on a trip through the South with Dad. We built giant Lego towers, which are great fun to knock over.

Once we got back to Virginia we had Tom, Christina and Hela over for a barbeque. Tom was very helpful in helping me find a spider in this woodpile. And in sandals no less!

Okay, enough sad stuff. The whole point of the trip to Missouri was to be there for Tara and Duane's wedding (Tara's my dad's cousin). We got to stay right on this cool golf course which offered untold opportunities for exploration. I also found out golfers think it's really funny when you toss their golf balls in the pond. Oh, they laughed so loud.

I had a lot of fun playing with Dad's old dog, Missy. She was pretty fragile at this point - and didn't have much left - but she still played with me. Everyone misses her.

I took a few more cuts at the tee while at Grammy and Grandpa's house. Look at the concentration...

After hanging in Kansas City for a while it was off to mid-Missouri. Here, Great Grandpa Rowson is showing me his awesome talking watch. I don't know who this Dick Tracy person is, but I hear he's got the same kind of gadget. Pretty cool stuff.

Later that day Papa took me out on the riding lawnmower. I think it made Dad nervous, but he remembered how much he enjoyed this as a kid, so I'm golden.

Can you tell Dad got a new camera for work? What a knob. I mean really, super job blurring out the background, but what exactly is going on here?

We had a great time in Kansas City. Brenden, Mema and Aunt Dani are a lot of fun...jury's still out on JR though. He didn't do much.

In June we took a nice long trip to Missouri. It was the first time I got to have my own seat on the plane.