Andy returns as guest drummer for concert

Andy made his fourth appearance as a guest musician at Mount Saint Mary Academy, playing drums at the annual spring concert in the school's chapel.

Sunday's program at the small, all-girls school in Watchung, N.J., included performances by its choral groups and flute ensemble, plus several numbers by a Symphonic Instrumental Ensemble made up of students and guest musicians.

The guests include alumni, other adults and students from other schools. Andy has now played in two Christmas concerts and two spring shows at Mount Saint Mary.

Sunday in Manhattan with cousins

Shanna, Vivien and Courtney, cosmopolitan in black-and-white.

Courtney, Shanna and Vivien had a chance to spend a day together in Manhattan.

"We had lunch at a place called Caliente Cab, went shopping in SoHo and and spent some time exploring the city," Shanna said. "It was really great to get together and to catch up. We hope to all get together again soon."

Courtney was in New York visiting her mom, who moved up from Florida to Shelter Island a few weeks ago to become executive director of the Shelter Island Historical Society.

Welcoming NASA's Discovery to its new home

Marie, Brian and Xander were on hand April 19 to help welcome NASA shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center.

Discovery had arrived from Florida the day before to go on exhibit at the center in Chantilly, Va. It replaces the shuttle Enterprise, which is moving to the Intrepid museum in New York City.

Marie writes: "Welcome Discovery day was a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful! They brought Enterprise out to "greet" Discovery and parked them nose-to-nose before moving Discovery into the museum.



"We got Xander, the Costume King, a flight suit from the gift shop right when we got there, so he was able to go around to all the activities and exhibits dressed like an astronaut. He was really excited to see the space shuttles and he also had a lot of fun visiting the other NASA exhibits. He's ready to go into astronaut training!"

The day before, Brian was on the Washington Mall when Discovery made a fly-over on the back of a 747 en route to its new Virginia home, and took this photo.

More to see:

• Marie & Brian's photos
• Welcome Discovery Day in photos, from the Washington Post
• Articles from National Geographic and the Washington Post
• NASA press release

Travel report: Four fun days in Vegas

Shanna is "back to reality" after a trip last week to Las Vegas. Here's her report:

Two of my best friends (whom I have known since I was 13) and I traveled to Las Vegas from April 11-14th. We stayed at the Monte Carlo, right on the strip. We crammed a lot into four days and enjoyed every second, exploring the area and checking out the attractions.

We saw the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor Hotel, which was really interesting especially since we were there during the 100-year anniversary of the ship's voyage.

We also saw Siegfried and Roy's dolphin, tiger and lion exhibit, which was fun.

We checked out Freemont Street and explored so many of the different hotels.

One of my favorite moments was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel, which is 1/2 the scale of the real one in Paris. We saw the fountains at the Bellagio hotel, which were gorgeous.

The Bellagio fountains as seen from the 'Eiffel Tower'

We were also able to see several shows, including the Cirque Du Soleil Beatles show, which was amazing. We also saw the Jabbawockeez, who were winners on the MTV show, "Americas Best Dance Crew." That was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed seeing their act.

Overall we had a fantastic trip. It was the first time that we had all been to Vegas, and we already want to go back.

Vacation in Vegas

Shanna and two friends are on a long-planned visit to Las Vegas.

Of course we know that what happens in Vegas, blah blah blah. But we also know Shanna makes her own rules. So she shared a couple of photos via Facebook -- the view from the "Eiffel Tower" at the Paris Hotel.

UPDATE from Shanna Saturday night 4/14: "Back in New York after a great time in Vegas!"

Easter greetings from Ohio

Christopher and Stephanie at their church on Easter Sunday. Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Christine joins cosplay crowd in Boston

A group photo at Anime Boston. Arrow points to Christine.

Christine and her RIT roommate spent the weekend in Boston, where hundreds of costumed fans of various anime series, other TV programs and video games gathered for a convention called Anime Boston. "SO much fun," Christine said.

These photos are from a meet-up of characters from the BBC programs Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes and Torchwood. Christine is dressed as Rose from the "ninth doctor" series of Dr. Who.

That was Saturday. On Friday, Christine was a Blu Scout from the video game Team Fortress Two. Here she runs into a rival Red Scout.

A very happy Easter to all

Spring on Birch Street in New Jersey

We hope everyone in the family has a happy and blessed Easter.

Happy Easter from a pair of redheads

Let us know how you spent the holiday.

Please send along notes and/or pictures of any gatherings or activities.

Keep in touch!

Iris Field, by Tish

In memory of Robert

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Lisa's father, Bob, on Thursday, April 5. He and his late wife, Norma, raised four children, Susan, Richard, Lisa and David. He also leaves grandchildren Kathy, Steve, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Lawson and Benjamin; a sister, Marilyn; nieces and nephews. More details are here. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Foundation of Western New York.

Manhattan's changing skyline

This is a view of Lower Manhattan as seen from Hoboken, where Dan took advantage of a clear, crisp day (April 5) to take some photos from the waterfront park near his office.

One World Trade Center is rising above its neighbors. It recently reached 100 stories in height, and will soon be taller than the Empire State Building. It's eventually planned to reach 1,776 feet, including a mast atop its peak.

Below is a shot Dan took six months ago, so you can see how the new tower has grown.

From 1 WTC rising