It's official: Shannon enlists in USAF

Shannon officially became a United States Air Force recruit on Friday.

"Can easily identify today as one of the best days of my life - officially sworn into the world's greatest Air Force," Shannon posted on Facebook.

In joining the Service, Shannon follows her brother, Brendan, who completed a tour in the United States Marines.

"I am beyond proud," her mom, Mary, posted.

Shannon expects to be leaving Saratoga Springs on Dec. 31 to report to duty.

Scenes from Rick & Shanna's Wedding - Video

Here is the first of what will be a few videos of Rick and Shanna's wedding reception, taken by Shanna's Uncle Dan. The light was very low for his little camera, resulting in rather grainy footage, but the joy of the occasion still comes through.

Stephanie named to regional student orchestra

Stephanie has been selected as 2nd chair clarinet in the Ohio Music Education Association South Central Regional Orchestra.

Students from 20 counties in the region submitted auditions for the orchestra. The selected musicians will perform in concert at Dublin Coffman High School on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, Stephanie continues performing at football halftime shows and band competitions with her Hilliard Darby High School Marching Band.

On Oct. 4, for example, the band took part in the Westerville Central Band Classic, won 1st place in Class AA and was judged Grand Champion of the event.

Dolores takes award in plein air event

Dolores took a "best in show" award in a plein air art event last month.

Hugh writes: On Saturday, September 24 Dolores took part in a plein air event at Spruce Forest Artisan’s Village in Grantsville, Md. Beginning at about 10 a.m. and finishing about 1 p.m., she produced this pastel painting, which Dolores calls “September Shadows.”

The painting shows a wooded area across the Castleman River. The river was at a lower water level at the time. The piece was awarded a prize as best in show.

Congratulations newlyweds Shanna and Rick!

-- UPDATED 10/4 with link to more photos --

Shanna and Rick were married on Saturday, Oct. 1, in the Mary Help of Christians Chapel at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey.


Shanna's cousin Genevieve and Rick's cousin David were the matron of honor and best man. Rick's sister, Stephanie, and Shanna's cousin Vivien were bridesmaids, while Rick's cousin Mark and Shanna's brother, Kevin, were groomsmen. Genevieve and John's daughter, Bea, came down the aisle (in mom's arms) as the flower girl.

Bride gets thumbs-up from flower girl

The couple's parents, the bride's grandmother and many other relatives and friends attended the joyful ceremony.

Bride and groom with parents

Later, they were joined by more family and friends at The Clubhouse at Patriot Hills C.C. in Stony Point, N.Y., for a wonderful reception that featured a LOT of dancing!

Toasts to the bride and groom

Party!

We've put together two albums of photos from Dan's camera (including a few taken by Robert):

• Our 12 favorite pics

• And a few dozen more!

MANY more photos can be found in an album on Shanna's Facebook page. And Dan promises to come through with some video soon, so be sure to check back.

Late-summer days on Eastern LI

Dan writes: I finally had my summer vacation at the end of August and beginning of September, and of course it went by much too quickly. But I took a ton of photos so I can relive the highlights, and I'll share the best with you here.

This post is just a quick recap. Later, I'll add albums with more photos for those who may be interested.

I made two trips to Noyac during my time off. The first was a quick two-day jaunt with brother Brien. We visited our sister, Kathy, and as previously reported, took a sail on the re-floated Loridan. Later, we took a dip in Noyac Bay.


The following week, I drove out with Julie and Christine, while Andy stayed behind for a couple of days of work and then rode out on the LIRR to join us. Julie and Christine and I enjoyed a day at the Hampton Classic on Wednesday, watching the equestrian competitions. (We also got to see Nanette briefly -- she was there with a business group.)


The next day had some on-and-off rain, and we decided to visit the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum -- which I hadn't been to since my parents took me and my siblings there on rainy days long ago! We enjoyed browsing the collection of artifacts of whaling and other aspects of Sag Harbor history, then strolled around town before heading to Bridgehampton to meet Andy's train.

On Friday, we visited one of our favorite places, the Morton Wildlife Refuge on Jessup's Neck. Each year it seems the birds there become more accustomed to taking sunflower seeds from our hands. Here, Christine and Andy each have a visitor.


After a long hike on Jessup's neck and a break for lunch, we visited Cameron Beach, where I took a brief dip in the ocean and Christine and Andy opted for the warmer water of Mecox Bay.

The weather was gorgeous all day - sunny, warm but not hot. The ocean surf was not especially large, despite Tropical Storm Hermine drifting far off in the Atlantic.


On Saturday, the distant storm drew an east wind across the island and the weather turned cooler. We spent part of the day strolling around Sag Harbor, checking out the yachts and window-shopping. That evening, we visited Kathy at her house, where we saw Genevieve, John and Bea, as well as Patrick and two of his friends who were visiting.


We expected stormy weather Sunday and thought we might head home early. Instead, it turned into another beautiful day. We spent a few hours at Long Beach along with Kathy, Genevieve, John and Bea.



It happened to be Bea's half-birthday, as she turned one-and-a-half years old.

Another school year is under way

Xander looked ready to take on whatever Fourth Grade has in store for him as he set out from his Virginia home Tuesday morning for the first day of school.

In Ohio, meanwhile, Stephanie is already a couple of weeks into the fall semester as a junior at Hilliard-Darby High School.

Pre-game warm-ups

As a marching band member, Stephanie's season began in early August with band camp. The first football game of the season was Sept. 2 against crosstown rival Hilliard-Davidson High.

Davidson, the home team, prevailed in the game. Cathy posted: "Wishing the final score was different - however the band did a great job!"

Gerrit & "28" play a summer finale

Gerrit and the other members of 28, Cape Cod's best band, capped off summer by playing on Labor Day at the Chatham Shellfish Co.'s 40th Anniversary party.

Gerrit's dad, Owen, reports: "In spite of the rough weather, there was a good turnout." The Cape was having nor'easter-style wind and rain as ex-hurricane Hermine churned slowly through the Atlantic.

"Raw oysters, clam chowder with plenty of tasty clams, delicious mussels and beer made it a day in heaven for me," Owen added. "Couldn't get much closer to the source for fresh seafood."

Gerrit said he and his bandmates had an awesome time. "Great show. What storm?"

Photo: A special anniversary moment

Gerrit and Angela shared this wonderful photo on their fifth wedding anniversary this week. Gerrit captioned it "How many years, Nolan?"

Yes, Nolan's parents have been married for five years. Gerrit added: "Wow, life changes fast!"

Photo by Lindsey Rae Photography. More here.

The good ship Loridan sails again

A happy development this summer: Loridan is back in the water, stationed at Kathy's dock in Mill Creek.

This week, Dan and Brien spent a quick two days in Noyac and joined Kathy for a sail in the bay. The wind was brisk and boat zipped along.

The venerable vessel does need work: many of the fixtures are showing their age. During this trip, one of the mast stays came loose, adding a bit of adventure!

The Cape Dory Typhoon is, of course, named for Lorraine and Daniel, who bought it some 46 years ago. It has provided many hours of sailing pleasure over the years!

It's marching band season for Stephanie

Cathy writes: It's that time of year!"

Darby Marching Band is finishing up band camp, as school begins Aug. 17.

The students were at "away camp" the first week of August, and we held our annual Ice Cream Social to welcome them home. This is when they get to perform a portion of their show for the first time.

This year's show is called "High Strung." Here are two videos showing the beginnings of Segments 1 and 2. (Click the links below to watch.) Enjoy this preview. More to come as the season progresses!

Watch segment 1. The opening of the show will have the band members on the ground in circles, with a color guard member in the middle of each circle. Stephanie is in the circle on the front left hand side of the field. She's in the front near the 45 yard line. All the clarinets are wearing blue shirts. When they turn to face the back, her shirt has the #79 on it.

Watch segment 2. Stephanie is in the same area, then at the end she moves toward the very front left of the pit -- because she is part of a clarinet trio that will perform at that point. You can be sure I'll have pictures and video of that!

Details of Hugh & Dolores' Alaska Adventure

UPDATED 8/12 - All 10 chapters added to travelogue!

As promised, Hugh has sent along photos and description of the trip he and Dolores took in June to celebrate their anniversary. They traveled to the Canadian cities of Victoria and Vancouver and then by cruise ship up the coast of Alaska.

We've created a page dedicated to the story and photos. It's a detailed travelogue, in ten parts, richly illustrated with photos.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRAVELOGUE

Cathy collects ribbons at county fair

Cathy won several ribbons at the Franklin County Fair in Hilliard, Ohio, last weekend.

Cathy submitted examples of her photography and her scrapbooking. Scrapbook pages of photos from last year's Hilliard-Darby High School production of "Peter Pan" (in which Christopher played a pirate) won a first-place blue ribbon, and pages featuring her photos of the school's marching band (featuring both Christopher and Stephanie) took a second-place red ribbon.  

This photo of a rock band and concert audience silhouetted against stage lights also won a red ribbon, and a still-life of colored chalk took third-place honors.

Family members gather for a wedding in Rochester

Lisa, Doug, Liz and Rebecca were among the guests as Lisa's niece Kathy was married last weekend.

Kathy and her husband, Daniel, live in Rochester. The wedding brought Kathy's parents, Dave and Susan (Lisa's sister) back to Rochester from Florida, where they recently moved. Doug and Lisa came up from Maryland. Rebecca also lives in the Rochester area, while Liz is now a Brooklyn resident.