Christine makes her move to RIT

Christine outside her dorm room.

Christine moved into her dorm room at Rochester Institute of Technology on Wednesday. She starts her freshman year classes on Monday in RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.

After hauling her belongings into her room, getting her official student ID and other moving-day tasks, Christine and her dad met with her cousin Rebecca and Rebecca's mom Lisa for a quick dinner. Rebecca is starting her junior year at RIT, and Lisa was passing through on her way to visit her father in Buffalo. The group stopped at Rebecca's apartment to meet her pet rat, Pete.

Rebecca introduces Pete to Christine.

Posing with the RIT Tiger just before Dad heads home.

More photos from Angela and Gerrit's wedding (Updated 9/7)

A great selection of professional photos from Gerrit and Angela's wedding day are now available for viewing on the web site of Lindsey Rae Photography. Click here to see them. A few that were posted earlier are below.

The wedding party, with Angela and Gerrit at left and Gerrit's sister Lizzie at right.

Patrick joins Johns Hopkins' Class of 2015

Patrick has begun his college career at Johns Hopkins University. Here he's seen with his classmates during freshmen orientation. You can pick him out, right?

Congratulations to Angela and Gerrit on their Wedding (Updated with first photos!

Angela and Gerrit were married on Saturday at the Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, Mass. The ceremony was moved indoors due to the effects of Hurricane Irene, but as the photo above shows, the ceremony was beautiful nonetheless.

"The wedding was wonderful," Gerrit's mother Tish wrote on Facebook. "Angela and Gerrit are the most amazing couple. Thanks to everyone who shared in our happiness."

We hope to see more photos and hear more details in coming days. If you were there and would like to share your observations - or just want to extend your best wishes - please click the "comments" link below.

Waiting for someone we don't want to see: Irene

As Hurricane Irene churns its way up the East Coast, many of our family members are adjusting their plans for the weekend.

Gerrit and Angela were married late Saturday afternoon at the Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, Mass., on Cape Cod. Showers ahead of the storm forced the ceremony indoors, but otherwise all went well. No word yet on whether any post-wedding travel plans might be disrupted.

Kevin, Kathy, Shanna and Kevin cut short a vacation in Noyac to return home Saturday. We're all hoping the Birch Street summer place rides out the storm as well as it did Gloria, Bob and other coastal storms over the years.

By late evening, the center of the storm was passing the Virginia coast. Marie said there was copious rain but not much high wind in Fredericksburg, where she and Brian and Xander were safe and dry in their apartment.

At Birch Street HQ in New Jersey, heavy rain began during the evening, and the electricity flickered a few times, perhaps a sign of things to come. 

We'll try to update this page as information becomes available and as long as computer connections allow.

STAY SAFE!

Links of interest:
Hampton Classic postponed

All are well after East Coast quake

Xander reacts as the TV news confirms what he felt:
"5.8 earthquake hits Virginia."

The earthquake that shook the Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday was centered about 35 miles southwest of Marie, Brian and Xander's home in Fredericksburg, Va. Marie, who experienced several quakes in California, said it was nonetheless a frightening experience as the shaking continued for many long seconds. Once it was over, she and Xander, their neighbors and workers at their apartment complex checked in and around the buildings and found no damage.

Brian was in Washington D.C., on layover between runs of the Virginia Railway Express, when the quake occurred. He was also fine, but Amtrak closed the tunnel under the Potomac for a while to inspect it, and imposed speed restrictions on the track pending further inspection, so his return run was delayed by a couple of hours.

The tremor at 1:51 p.m. measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, the strongest in Virginia since 1897, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Remarkably, it was felt from New England to Georgia, yet no serious injuries were reported anywhere, and damage seems to have been light even near the epicenter.

Chris starts his first season of marching band (Updated-New Video)

Heading into freshman year at Darby High School, Christopher has been spending a lot of time lately practicing with the school's marching band.

"He attended home camp at the high school during the first week of August, then away camp for a week," writes his mom, Cathy. "This is their last week of practice before school starts next week."

Cathy has posted four videos and a couple of photos from a preview performance. In the second video, "Fight Song," you'll get a good look at Chris on saxophone. And in the fourth clip, the camera tracks Chris through the opening segment of the band's half-time show, "Flight."

See the videos here.

Welcome to the family!

Our extended family has a new member!

On Aug. 6, Brienna and Clay became the proud parents of a 9-pound 6-ounce boy, named Cash.



Brienna's grandmother Pat writes: "We have already decided he looks like his Uncle Brennan in facial features. His size could come from his tall dad."

Congratulations to the new parents, grandparents Mary and Brennan, and great-grandmother Pat!

Shanna to begin teaching career

Shanna has accepted a teaching position at a preschool in Elmsford.

"I was hired at Ann and Andy Child Care to be the head teacher in their two-year-old classroom," Shanna writes. "I am really excited about the offer and to officially begin my career.

"I will be starting the job right after Labor Day and can't wait to set up my classroom and meet all of the kids."

Shanna, who received her Masters degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Mercy College in May, has been working this summer at Camp Hillard in Scarsdale, her second year there.

"Right now, I am completing my final few days of the camp season and looking forward to some time off before work begins again."