Alyssa and I on our driveway in Odessa, MO.  She was my slave, and I made her pull me everywhere.  This led to the atrophy of my leg muscles, which caused me to place 4th out of 4 in my elementary school track meet.

I used to dress Alyssa up in all sorts of costumes.  The wool vest, the hardhat, and the hideous striped shirt were all part of the evil ensemble I forced her to wear.  I have no idea what I am doing in the background.  Probably booby-trapping her crib.

Like I said, I used to dress the little half-pint up.  But the paper-bag radiation suit is not half as interesting as her Bert & Ernie slippers and matching pants.  How in the world did I think I could improve on such a getup?

Having seen our mother exercise in the morning in her leotard, Alyssa and I took it upon ourselves to exercise to Mickey Mouse’s Jazzercize album on a regular basis, wearing only T-shirts, underwear, and knee-socks.

This was way back when Alyssa was just a human paperweight, incapable of doing anything even remotely interesting.  She sure was cute though.  I remember this era with great fondness and clarity even though she was completely useless.

I love you, Alyssa.