Travels and get-togethers around Thanksgiving

At Marie & Brian's home in Virginia

At James' mother's home in N.H.

Dan and Julie traveled north and south during Thanksgiving week to celebrate with family members.

The weekend before the official holiday, they were in Rochester with daughter Christine and her boyfriend, James. They spent Sunday afternoon at the Memorial Art Gallery (which was featuring an excellent exhibit on M.C. Escher). That evening, they dined in a restaurant they had nearly to themselves as a snow-and-wind storm raged outside!

Back home in New Jersey, Julie and Dan had another little celebration on Tuesday with son Andy and his girlfriend, Shannon. Why Tuesday? Because both are working at Kohl's department store these days and were going to be very busy for the rest of the week!

Meanwhile, Christine and James headed to New Hampshire to visit his parents, then to Connecticut for a Thanksgiving gathering at the home of his dad's parents in Connecticut.

Julie and Dan hit the road again on Thursday morning and arrived in late afternoon at Marie, Brian and Xander's home in Fredericksburg, Va. Marie provided the travelers with a fine Thanksgiving turkey dinner with plenty of fixings. That was followed by an evening of board games and conversation that picked up again the next morning.

At Doug & Lisa's in Maryland

Later Friday, Dan and Julie turned back north. Next stop: Maryland for the traditional Friday crabcakes-and-ribs feast at Doug & Lisa's house in Riderwood. Among the crowd this year: D&L's daughter Liz; Lisa's sister, Susan, her husband, Dave, and daughter, Kathy; and brother David, along with daughter Lawson and son Ben.

Meanwhile, Doug and Julie's parents and sister, Cathy, were spending the day together at Deep Creek Lake.

We hope everyone in the family had a fine Thanksgiving! We'd be happy to post photos of your celebrations!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the family!

We wish a wonderful Thanksgiving Day to all!  

Please share pics and stories of your holiday gatherings 

with the rest of our extended family 

on the Birch Street Web!

Rockwell, updated

Stephanie performs in regional student orchestra

Stephanie performed as part of the Ohio Music Education Association South Central Regional Orchestra on Nov. 13.


The members of the orchestra were chosen via auditions from high school students in 20 counties in the region. Stephanie, a junior at Hillard Darby High School, was 2nd chair clarinetist.

Stephanie's mom, Cathy, reports: "The students rehearsed once a couple of weeks ago, then on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday so they could perform on Sunday. They sounded fantastic!"

Stephanie with other Darby students

"Steph really enjoyed it so I hope she has the opportunity to participate again next year."

Stephanie with her clarinet instructor, Amanda

Along with these photos, Cathy shared this video of the shortest of the three pieces the orchestra performed: "Nimrod" from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. Enjoy!

More video from wedding of Shanna & Rick

As promised, here's some more video from Shanna and Rick's wedding reception on Oct. 1. This clip shows Shanna's dance with her Dad and Rick's with his Mom. (Apologies again for the grainy low-light video.)

Stephanie & marching band finish on high note

The Hilliard-Darby Marching Band received top scores at the Ohio Music Education Association State Marching Band Finals on October 29.

Pre-show pep talk

"Darby earned straight Superior ratings from all the judges, for an overall score of one (the highest possible)," reports band mom Cathy. Her daughter, Stephanie, plays clarinet and was part of a clarinet trio featured at the start of the second segment of the band's show.

Pre-show rehearsal

Clarinet trio in State Finals show

Here's a video of the performance, taken by another band parent in the stands. The clarinet feature is at about the 4 minute mark.

(If you can't see the video above, click here to see it at YouTube.com.)

Cathy has posted a close-up video on Facebook of the clarinet trio from a performance at a late-October football game. Here's a link -- but it only works if you're connected with her on Facebook.

Halloween scenes from around the family

Here's a quick collection of photos posted by family members of jack-o-lanterns, costumes and other Halloween scenes. The pumpkin above was carved by Gerrit, and the one below by Andy and Shannon.

Bea and her dad, John, dressed as characters from the TV series "Stranger Things" ...

...and Bea also made an appearance as a Sweet Strawberry.

Nolan trick-or-treated as a dinosaur on wheels.

"He wouldn't sit still for a good pic," said his dad, Gerrit - seen below in "Walking Dead" get-up.

Brooklyn Rae made a lovely Princess Elsa and Brennan Alexander was a super Spiderman.

Marie, Brian and Xander went with a Pokemon theme - Xander as Ash and his parents as Pikachu and Charizard (we think).

And pumpkin-carving master Brian created this Pikachu-o-lantern.

And Kathy shares this photo of Jack-o-Leo... looking a bit puzzled.

"Leo thinks this whole pumpkin thing isn't working," Kathy said.

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.