Stepping up in Scouting

Andy was awarded his Tenderfoot badge in a Court of Honor ceremony held by Boy Scout Troop 33 on Sept. 24. The previous weekend he hiked along a portion of the Appalachian Trail with his fellow Scouts. Details and photos are here.

Extending the summer season

Brien returned to the Long Island for a late-September visit, enjoying a week of excellent late-summer weather with his parents, Daniel & Lorraine, and with his long-time friend Madelon, who took thi "long shadows" photo on Jessup's Neck.

At the end of the week, Dan, Christine, Kathy, Ted and Patrick made it out for the weekend and helped Daniel and Lorraine celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary on Sept. 22. Among the highlights were a feast that night at Il Cappuccino Restaurant in Sag Harbor and a ride across Noyac Bay the next day on Ted's motor boat.



Here are a couple of brief video clips:

FLASHBACK-2001: Daniel and Lorraine celebrate 50 years

In August 2001, family members gathered at Long Beach near Sag Harbor to surprise Lorraine and Dan in celebration of their 50th Wedding Anniversary, which was coming up on Sept. 22.

The secret plans went off without a hitch. In this video, the surprise is evident as the guests of honor arrive at the beach. The afternoon at the beach was then followed by a fine dinner in a reserved room at a restaurant in Sag Harbor. It was a wonderful occasion from start to finish.

The cast of characters includes (in alphabetical order) Andy, Annamarie, Brien, Christine, Dan, Dan, Dan, Emory, Genevieve, Julie, Kathy, Kathy, Kevin, Kevin, Lorraine, Marie, Pat, Patrick, Shanna, Ted and Vivien.

Making the best of a bad break

Dolores recounts how she dealt with a setback just before she and Hugh flew off to Germany for a Rhine River cruise. The word "unstoppable" comes to mind.

SPFHS Marching Band's first performance of the 2007 season

The Scotch Plains Fanwood High School Marching Band performing in the stands at the SPFHS Raiders varsity football game on Sept. 8, 2007. The middle of this clip zooms in on Christine playing her flute.



Here the band performs its half-time show. This was its first half-time performance of the season, so the show was still a work in progress. This clip is the first one-third of the show.



The second third of the show is broken into two video clips. This portion features the color guard and a drum line solo.



Can you pick out Christine among the flute players in any of these clips? It's not easy in those uniforms!



The final portion of the program. Lots of percussion in this portion.



And oh yeah, there was a football game. SPFHS won 31-0.

Marching band season 2007 is under way

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band playing pep songs in the stands at the SPFHS Raiders varsity football game on Sept. 8, 2007.

It's birthday season for this family

It must be fate. All three members of this California family have their birthdays within a four-week span.

Brian's is Sept. 6. He and Marie celebrated by going out to eat at a "new-ish" Indian restaurant in Morgan Hill. Xander visited with Grandma so they could enjoy some grown-up time together. Marie's birthday is coming up Sept. 16, and Xander's 1st birthday arrives soon after on Oct. 4. Yes, it's been a year already!

Marie writes: "Xander's getting very close to walking. He has taken a few very wobbly steps, mostly when he's very excited and distracted enough to forget that he might fall if he tries to walk. He's an active little guy, and a 'people person.' He gets cranky if he doesn't see 10 different faces in a day, minimum."

If you haven't already seen it, be sure to check out the video of Xander learning to stand on his own, taken in late July. And of course his photo gallery pages.