Josie, Nolan celebrate big birthdays

With their birthdays just two days apart, it makes sense for Josie and Nolan to combine their celebrations, right?

Brother and sister marked important birthdays this week - Josie's first (July 19) and Nolan's fifth (July 21)!

2019 Christmas family snapshots

We hope everyone in our extended family had a wonderful Christmas season. Here are just a handful of photos from the holidays. We'd love to post more if you send them our way (birchstreetweb@gmail.com). Happy New Year to all!

Lucy's first Christmas, with mom Shanna and dad Rick

Charlie with cousins Bea and Jack

Christmas on the Cape with Nolan (aka Capt. America) and Josie

Josie's first Christmas

Bea and Jack with grandma Kathy

Andy and Shannon with Julie and Dan on Christmas Day

Christine and Jamie playing with a Christmas gift from Julie and Dan

A Roundup of Holiday Pictures

We hope everyone in our extended family is having a wonderful holiday season.

In this post we're rounding up photos from social media and any others that come our way.

Please send along any pictures, clips or stories you'd like to share!

At Birch Street Headquarters in New Jersey, Christine & Jamie visited for a few days with Dan & Julie and Andy & Shannon.

Gifts were exchanged with A&S on Christmas Eve before they went to Long Island to spend Christmas morning and afternoon with Shannon's family.

D&J and C&J exchanged more gifts on Christmas morning, and everyone was back together by evening.

Genevieve, John and Beatrice spent the holiday with John's family in Delaware. Here's Bea posing with two of her cousins.

Back in New Jersey, Vivien and CJ celebrated their first Christmas with Charlie, who turned three months old earlier in December.

It was also "baby's first Christmas" on Cape Cod, where Gerrit, Angela and big brother Nolan celebrated with five-month-old Josie.

Also on Cape Cod, on the weekend before Christmas Day, Christine and Jamie joined a gathering of relatives at Jamie's mom's home.

Backing up to Thanksgiving weekend - Doug and Lisa returned from their temporary residence in Denver to host their annual "black Friday" gathering at their house in Maryland.

Dan, Julie, Christine and Jamie joined that get-together after celebrating Thanksgiving Day with Andy and Shannon in New Jersey. As Dan and Julie were temporarily without a dining room table amid redecorating, they dined out for a change, enjoying a fine buffet at a local restaurant.

Also at Thanksgiving time, Kathy had the chance to take a couple of photos of both of her grandchildren, Bea and Charlie...

...as well as Leo, who joined them for this Christmas-PJs pose.

Gerrit, Angela have a baby daughter!

Josie Nicole has joined the family of Angela, Gerrit and Nolan. She entered the world July 19 at five pounds, five ounces.

"She’s already great at cuddling and we couldn’t ask for a more beautiful daughter," Gerrit wrote the next day. "Mama and baby are doing GREAT! I’m in LOVE!"

Aunt Lizzie and Grandpa Owen visited Josie at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center the next day.

As it happens, big brother Nolan's birthday is just two days apart from his new baby sister's. Nolan turned three on July 21.

Catching up on some June events

We haven't posted in a while, and now it's the middle of July and we want to catch up on some events of the past month or so.


For example, Father's Day: Hugh and Dolores visited daughter Julie and her family in New Jersey and, as they've done several times, took in a Somerset Patriots minor-league baseball game.

The weather was very hot for a ballgame, but perfect for the beach! John and Bea spent part of Father's Day weekend on the bay beach in Noyac ... while Gerrit and Nolan were enjoying this wide sandy beach on Cape Cod.

Gerrit, by the way, is back on the bandstand this summer with 28, performing for their fans at clubs around the Cape.

Back in New Jersey, Julie became an officer of the Rotary Club of Fanwood-Scotch Plains. She was installed as Secretary, a position that puts her in line to be President in two years. Here she's pictured with the club's outgoing president at the installation dinner June 21.

Family photos of Halloween 2017

Here's a selection of photos, mostly pulled from Facebook, of Halloween around our extended family. Above, Spiderman/Nolan prepares to head out trick-or-treating.

Above, a trick-or-treat trio: Bea visiting with cousins Scarlet and Reuben in New Jersey.

And at right, Princess Bea in her New York neighborhood.

Brennan and Shauna Rae's daughter, Brooklyn, took part in her school's Halloween parade, and this photo of her in a purple-and-black witch-queen gown appeared on the school district's website.

Here's another costumed trio: Xander as Sans (from the Undertale video game), Marie as "Panda Wizard" and Brian as "Cat Dracula."

Christine, Andy and his girlfriend, Shanna, took care of dispensing candy to trick-or-treaters at Birch Street HQ. Here they pose with their pumpkin creations.

And in Florida, Courtney and her co-workers all dressed for the day. There's Courtney at the right, representing the USA.

28 plays out summer; Nolan gets into the act

Cape Cod's best band, 28, finished a series of summer performances by playing at Chatham Shellfish Co.'s Second Annual Labor Day Party.

The daytime event gave Nolan a chance to see the band's show.

Gerrit writes: "Nolan saw me play with the band for the first time today. He was so excited to sing with daddy during our break. I nearly melted from the cuteness overload." Nolan joined Dad for a duet on the Alphabet Song.

Nolan discovers Charleston, S.C.

On the occasion of his Aunt Lizzie's graduation from Elon University, Nolan took his first airplane trip this month, flying to North Carolina with his parents, Gerrit and Angela, and his grandfather, Owen.

After the commencement ceremonies, they traveled down to the family's house in Charleston, S.C., and Nolan explored the city with his parents.

As Gerrit posted on Facebook: "Bringing my son to our house in Charleston that I've been visiting for nearly 30 years has been one of the most exciting experiences I've had as a parent so far. This city means so much to me and to see the pure excitement in his eyes every day when we step out onto the streets has been a real trip."

Scenes of Christmas 2016

Tree at Kathy's home

Here's a small selection of scenes from Christmas celebrations on our family "tree."

We hope to collect more in the coming days. Please share yours!

Birch Street HQ on Christmas Eve

Andy & Christine ready to dive in

Cathy's been baking

Hugh & Dolores' tree

Nanette visiting Courtney

Heirloom Nativity scene at Brien's

Nolan on Gerrit & Angela's card

Bea - Christmas Joy