Vivien, CJ have a baby boy!

Charlie leaving the hospital

Vivien and CJ have welcomed their son, Charlie, to the family.

Charlie was born Thursday, Sept. 6, at 8:10 a.m.

"He is now home with mommy and daddy," Vivien's mother, Kathy, reported on Sunday. "Everyone is doing great!"

CJ and Vivien moved last winter to their home in Verona, New Jersey.

Late summer vacationing on Long Island

Late August provided a chance for Christine, Andy and Shannon all to join Dan and Julie for a few days on Eastern Long Island, where they hit their favorite spots in Sag Harbor, at the ocean in Bridgehampton and in the nature preserve at Jessup's Neck. Pictured is the traditional Feeding of the Chickadees along the nature trail.

Dan and Julie had picked up Christine at her suburban Boston apartment and, after a brief stop on Cape Cod, ferried over from New London. Andy and Shannon drove out from New Jersey the next day.

A couple of days later, Christine ferried back across the Sound to rejoin her fiancee, James. Meanwhile, Andy and Shannon stayed for another day on the Island.

Shannon's parents, Rich and Liz, came out from their home "up the island" and joined A + S + D + J for a pleasant afternoon checking out some Sag Harbor sights and some ocean waves.

Once the "kids" were gone, D + J had a few days to relax by themselves. They caught a band at the Stephen Talkhouse ... paid a visit to the Hampton Classic horse show ...


... took a driving tour on the North Fork, with a stop at Hortons Point Light ...

... and drove out the South Fork to Montauk.

Labor Day Weekend brought more family members out East, with Kathy, Genevieve, John, Bea and Patrick arriving at various times. Although the weather forecast called for a lot of clouds and some showers, the weekend turned out great - mostly sunny and warm-but-not-hot.

Saturday afternoon found Kathy, Genevieve, Bea, Dan and Julie at Long Beach, along with friends Jim and Rosemary and their daughter Megan.

Here, Genevieve and Bea dig a tidal pool at Long Beach.

A big birthday deserves two celebrations!

Dolores' three children, two children-in-law and three of her grandchildren, along with her husband, gathered in Riderwood Aug. 18 for a celebration of Dolores' recent big-round-number birthday.

Blowing out the candles

It was a rare chance for them all to get together. Cathy and Stephanie came in from Ohio and were joined by Christopher. (Stephanie moved in that weekend to her dorm room at Towson University.) Doug and Lisa came from Denver, where Doug is currently working, and their daughter Lizzie came down from New York, where she's working and studying for her masters degree. Julie and Dan drove down from New Jersey at the start of Dan's annual vacation.

Doug and Lisa presented Dolores with a set of framed photographs Doug had taken of flowers at the Denver Botanic Gardens, including tulips frosted with morning snow.

Julie and Cathy presented a quilt made from T-shirts with images and sayings representing significant places and events for Dolores - a "This Is Your Life" quilt, as Julie called it.

Stephanie arrives at Towson University

College freshman Stephanie moved into her dorm room at Towson State University last week, bringing along just a few items from home.


Stephanie immediately started practicing with the TSU marching band, in which she will, of course, play clarinet. Here she is with her roommate, a member of the color guard. Stephanie plans to study English and music at Towson, her mother's alma mater and part of the University System of Maryland.

Celebrating a big birthday with Dolores

Dolores celebrated a milestone birthday on July 11. Daughter Julie, son-in-law Dan, grandchildren Christine and Andy and Andy's girlfriend, Shannon, visited Dolores and Hugh at the Oakcrest community in Maryland to celebrate the occasion.

And a few days later, daughter Cathy and grandchildren Christopher and Stephanie paid a visit as well.

Dolores and Hugh then took off for Rehoboth, while Cathy and Stephanie attended freshman orientation at Towson State University, where Stephanie starts in mid-August.

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.

Christine and Jamie are engaged!

Congratulations to Christine and Jamie, who are now engaged to be married!

Jamie set up a romantic moment - a sunset walk along the beach on Cape Cod - to make the official proposal, and Christine happily accepted.

"I feel giddy!" Christine said in an excited call that evening to her parents, Dan and Julie. The happy couple celebrated at the Cape Cod home of Jamie's mother, Bonnie, and her husband, Jay.

The following day, Christine said she was still giddy. "I don't think I've stopped smiling this whole time!"

The couple haven't yet set a date, and other wedding details are pending.

Here's a better look at the elegant ring, which features an amethyst in a diamond-set band.

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.

Dolores and Hugh in article on not-really-retirement

Dolores and Hugh were featured in an article in the June edition of a newspaper that's distributed in all Erickson Living communities. The story, on the topic of keeping busy with work during retirement, included quotes from Dolores, along with this very nice photo of the couple on the balcony of their apartment.

Here's an excerpt:

A benefit that can’t be easily measured is the sense of purpose often found in work. Dolores Andrew is a self-employed artist, instructor, lecturer, and jurist at art shows across the mid-Atlantic. “Art has been my life’s passion,” says the resident of Oak Crest retirement community in Parkville, MD.

Read the article online
See how it appeared in printed form

Julie turns her car into a parade float

Continuing a long tradition, Julie took part in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Memorial Day Parade on March 28. But this year, instead of marching with Girl Scouts, she rode in style with the local Rotary Club.


With Julie and Dan's car decked out in patriotic bunting, she and another Rotarian rolled behind the marching members of the club along the 1.3-mile route.

Stephanie celebrates HS graduation

Stephanie graduated from Hilliard Darby High School in an evening ceremony on Thursday, May 24, and spent the following weekend celebrating.

On Saturday, she and a close friend had their own party, where the crowd included her mother, Cathy, her grandparents Hugh and Dolores and her Aunt Julie (see photo). Stephanie then attended a series of other friends' parties through the weekend.

In addition to honors Stephanie received at the school's Academic Awards ceremony, she was recognized at the Senior Awards ceremony as Outstanding Senior in English and the Outstanding Senior in Band.

After a well-earned vacation, Stephanie will start college in the fall at Towson State University.

Eventful season for senior Stephanie

It's been a very busy spring for Stephanie as she wraps up her senior year at Hilliard Darby High School. We've fallen behind on the news, but here are photos from three events in April.


At her school's Academic Awards ceremony, Stephanie received an academic honors award, a certificate for outstanding academic achievement and a presidential award for educational excellence.

Here we see Stephanie and a group of friends about to head to the school's Senior Prom.

See more photos of the group here.

Also in April, Stephanie performed again with the Columbus Youth Symphonic Band at its spring concert.

"Stephanie enjoyed performing with them this year at Capital University," Cathy writes. "It was a great opportunity to work with a new conductor and make new friends from other high schools."

Click the image at right to see videos and more photos from the concert.