Christine earns Silver Award

Christine and seven other members of Troop 441 received their Silver Awards at a ceremony May 29, 2007. Read the full story of the award and the project Christine and two of her friends did as the final step toward earning it.

Cape Cod update, Spring 2007

Owen provided this update in late May:

Gerrit, who graduated May 5 from Nichols College, is looking to get into the field of sports management. On the side, he and four friends from his home area on Cape Cod make up a band called "28" that has been playing regularly around the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area. You can check out their music, photos and other information at their Web page.

Elizabeth is a 6th grader and is very involved in ballet through the school at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans, Mass.

The family took a recent vacation trip to Charleston, S.C., and Owen promises to send along a picture or two when he gets a spare moment.

FLASHBACK: 2006 - Touring California and Arizona

Dan, Julie, Christine and Andy made a memorable trip in April 2006 to California and Arizona.

We arrived in Los Angeles on a Friday night, they spent Saturday at Disneyland with Marie & Brian, Dan & Eyvonne. Here are a few photos from that visit.


(Click once to see slideshow, click again to go to the album for larger views.)

We all got together again for breakfast the next morning, then parted as M&B and D&E headed back north to their homes and D&J&C&A headed east to Arizona.

The drive took us across the Mojave Desert to Kingman, Arizona. Next day we took a scenic ride along old Route 66 and reached the Grand Canyon shortly before sundown.

It's easy to take terrific photos at the canyon, but no picture can capture its vastness and its breathtaking beauty. It really is an amazing sight.

Other highlights of our Arizona tour were a volcanic field outside Flagstaff, the cave dwellings in Walnut Canyon, and the red rock formations around Sedona.

Here's a slideshow of over 60 photos from Arizona - and even that is fewer than half the photos Dan took!


(Click once to see slideshow, click again to go to the album for larger views.)

Christine & her Girl Scout troop appear on CBS-TV

Girl Scout Troop 441 traveled to Manhattan to join the outdoor audience of the Early Show on CBS-TV Friday, May 25, 2007.



Christine was on-camera three times -- twice very briefly as the camera panned the crowd, and once for several seconds in the background as one of the hosts stood was speaking. Above is a video clip that captures those three moments, and below are still images.

Read the full article and see the freeze-frame pictures.

Update from Saratoga, Spring 2007

Pat writes:
We have all been busy. Mary graduated from the "Saratoga Leadership Program" which is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. She then ran for the Board of Education. Although she didn't win (there were 6 candidates) she did very well for a beginner with 960 votes. Better luck next time!

In sports... Brennan has been playing AAU basketball and averages about 18 points a game.





Shannon is on the YMCA swim team and will be cheerleading for Pop Warner Football in the fall.





I go to a Pilates class on Mondays and Osteo Prevention class on Wed. and Friday.

I went on a nice trip with my "Red Hat Society" friends to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont May 23. It was a perfect day for walking around the grounds. A good time was had by all.

Patrick receives confirmation

Patrick received the sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, May 6, at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Yonkers. Patrick and 34 other young men and women were confirmed by Bishop Ignatius Catanello.

Patrick was sponsored by his sister Vivien. His parents, Ted and Kathy, and his sister Genevieve attended, along with his grandparents Ted and Celestine and his Uncle Dan, who is also his godfather.

Double digit birthday for Christopher

Christopher celebrated his 10th birthday on May 5, 2007. As part of the festivities "he had a couple of friends sleep over Saturday night but there was very little sleeping on their part," reports his mom, Cathy.

Shown here in his current school portrait, Christopher is a busy guy these days. In Cub Scouts, he's a 2nd year Webelos, getting ready for the move up to Boy Scouts. "We have lots of camping trips coming up this spring," Cathy says.

"Also he is playing saxophone in the school band and continues to take piano lessons. He was also in the chess club at school this year." Christopher is an avid reader, and enjoys TV and computer games in his spare time.

Talent showcased at school art shows

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood (N.J.) School District Art Festival was held April 25 at the high school. Two pieces by Christine were shown, both stemming from art class assignments: The drawing above, of a dragon made from pencils of various sizes, and a self-portrait incorporating words and phrases of self-description.

The next day, April 26, Towson (Md.) High School held its own exhibit of student work in fine art and photography from the art department. Each student mounted a portfolio of his or her work for display. The show filled the entire gymnasium. Lizzie, a senior, took a first prize for one of her pieces. Grandfather Hugh writes that "Grandmother Dolores was particularly proud. She was also very impressed with the overall quality of the work."