Lizzie and friends attend junior prom

Lizzie had a wonderful time at the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Junior Prom this past Saturday, March 24.

Her mom, Tish, writes: "Lizzie and Chris started off the evening with family and friends at our house. Then we were all off to the home where the limo was picking up the other eight couples. They joined their classmates for dinner and dancing at the SeaView by the beach in Dennis Port."

See more photos in the album Lizzie-JuniorProm

A spring get-together at Disney World

Kathy and Ted and their now-widely-scattered children convened at Disney World last week for a spring-break vacation together. Above, they head to dinner on the night of their arrival, March 18.

Genevieve writes: "We stayed in Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge for six nights, and spent five days in the parks. We really enjoyed seeing the animals at our hotel up close - especially the giraffes and zebras! John took this picture of a giraffe from the hallway of our hotel.
"We visited Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios during our trip. The weather was great the whole trip and we spent many afternoons at the pool at our hotel. At night we saw fireworks displays at the Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

"Our visit coincided with the annual Epcot Flower Show, so we got to see a lot of beautiful topiaries of Disney characters!

"This picture of the four 'kids' was taken in the Moroccan pavilion of the World Showcase in Epcot.
"Here's a photo of Dad, Vivien, John and Patrick on the Expedition Everest roller coaster. They are the last four people on the train. It was probably our favorite ride of the trip. Pat and John rode it four times, Vivien rode it three, Genevieve rode it two, and Dad rode it once. (We didn't tell him in advance that it goes backwards!)"

See more photos in the album Disney-March 2012

The week provided a great opportunity for the family to get together, as Kathy was on spring break from teaching at School of the Holy Child in Rye and Patrick was on spring break from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Genevieve and John flew in from California and Vivien from Chicago. At the end of the week, everyone got home safe and sound.

Stephanie, Christopher in school band shows

Stephanie performed last week in the spring concert at the Hilliard Tharp 6th Grade School. Her mom, Cathy, sent along this video of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme, with some close-ups of Stephanie on clarinet.



Cathy also shared this video from back in December, when saxophonist Christopher performed in a holiday concert with the Hilliard Darby High School Band.

New St. Patrick's tradition: McLean Ave. parade

The first annual McLean Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade drew crowds of Irish Americans (and Irish-for-a-days) to southeast Yonkers on Saturday. Brien, Kevin and Kathy, Shanna and Dan went to see this new event in the old neighborhood.

The parade featured an impressive lineup of pipe and drum bands, Irish dance schools and other school, Scout and civic groups from Yonkers, Westchester County, New York City and even Connecticut. One outfit had a horse-drawn wagon.


Our gang was close to the end of the march, while the larger crowds of spectators were closer to the start. We met Lorraine's cousin Bob and his wife, and watched the parade together.


Our long-time pastor at St. Paul the Apostle, Msgr. Gallagher, was one of the VIP's, and we caught up with him for a few minutes afterward. We're not sure if he ever managed to walk home, as he was surrounded by well-wishers.

Care to see more? Here's an album of photos

from throughout the parade.

There's also a good video production about the parade posted on YouTube.

St. Patrick's festivities go beyond one day

There are just too many St. Patrick's parades to fit into one day, so the holiday stretches out to other weekends in March. Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie took part in a parade March 10 in Dublin, Ohio.

"We walked with a group from our church - St. Patrick's," Cathy writes.

"We even had someone dressed as St. Patrick.

"It was a nice day, chilly in the morning but sunny. Chris and Steph helped hand out candy along the parade route."

Birch Street Web: Five Years of Keeping in Touch

The Birch Street Web made its debut on March 18, 2007, with the news that Brian, Marie and Xander were moving from Nevada back to California.

Since then, more than 600 family news items have appeared on this site, along with hundreds of photos and videos. In effect, this web site has become a living history of our extended family, and I hope to continue adding to the record for years to come.

Please take some time to browse through the archives and remember moments from the past five years. And please keep sharing your moments - big and little, important and trivial, serious and fun.

Thank you for adding your patches to this big ol' quilt I've been assembling over the past five years. Please keep it growing. Please keep in touch!

All's well after security scare at RIT

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle photo

There were nervous moments Friday morning at Rochester Institute of Technology when a mistaken report of someone with a gun near the dorms prompted a campus lockdown.

Christine was in her dorm room and Rebecca was at her off-campus apartment when the RIT Alert system sent out text messages and phone calls advising everyone to "shelter in place."

As it turned out, a campus bus driver had seen a student with an umbrella that's made to look like a samauri sword in a sheath, and thought it looked like a long gun in a bag. Police determined it was a mistake, and the all-clear was issued about an hour after the initial alarm. (Story from Channel 13 WHAM here.)

Christine writes: "Thank you RIT for responding to reports of someone with a gun in an appropriate manner. ... I'm glad they're watching out for us."

Getting together in Texas

Alan and Norene with Dolores

Dolores and Hugh visited last week with Norene and Alan, Dolores' sister and brother-in-law, at their home in Comanche, Texas.

"On Tuesday night, Norene and Alan's daughters Lisa and Susan came to dinner with us," Hugh writes. "Susan's husband Michael was working out of town, but Lisa brought her husband Michael and their two sons, Kenan and Noah. Both boys have grown a lot since we saw them last year. Both have just finished the basketball season on their school teams."

Lisa teaches 4th grade at the consolidated school where the boys are in middle and high school.

Lisa, Kenan, Noah, Michael

Before their Texas visit, Hugh and Dolores were in Colorado Springs for the annual assembly of the National Academy of Needlearts. "Before we left, their Board announced that next year at the Exemplary needlework exhibit, they will award a special ribbon named after Dolores," Hugh reports. It will be awarded for "Best Use of the Principles of Color and Design."

Season alert - update: Winter ain't done yet!

Holy iceberg, Batman!

Even as crocuses are blooming as far north as Cape Cod (as Tish reports), winter isn't quite ready to yield to spring.

This was the scene Monday in Fredericksburg, Va., where Marie says the weather has been most peculiar for the past few weeks. There have been temperatures in the 70s and in the 20s, along with thunderstorms and high winds as warm and cold fronts pass through.

As for today's snow, Batman suspects the work of Mr. Freeze.

Brennan and family to settle in North Carolina

Brennan has finished his training at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach and has been assigned to North Carolina for an expected three- to four-year stretch. That will allow Brennan, Shauna-Rae and their baby daughter, Brooklyn Rae, to settle in together. They are looking to rent a house near the base.

Season alert: Signs of Spring spotted!

The first crocuses have made their appearance on the grounds of Birch Street Headquarters in New Jersey. Brien reports the crocuses are emerging at the homestead in Yonkers as well.

We Northerners, of course, are a bit behind places like Charleston, S.C., where Tish took this photo of a camelia - in late February.

Hugh and Dolores on a Western swing

Dolores and Hugh are in Colorado Springs, Colo., where Dolores is participating in the annual Assembly of the National Academy of Needlearts. The photo above is the mountain view from their hotel room at the Broadmoor, which is hosting the event.

On Friday Dolores completed teaching a two-day workshop called "Beyond Line and Shape." It's a course on the elements of design for needleworkers who create original designs.

On Monday, the couple will be traveling to Texas to visit with Dolores' sister, Norene, and her husband, Alan, at their home in Comanche.