Stardate 67669.47 - Annual Update

It has been well over a year since I last posted to this blog...a far cry from the multiple posts per week that I wrote back near the start (June 24, 2004 to be exact).  I started the blog to mess around with RSS as we were using that technology for work (remember, nearly 10 years ago!), so the first few posts were just messing around.  But then I started posting photos and stories from our lives in Manhattan and later on the Jersey Shore.  It became the main method of keeping our families up-to-date on what we were doing and of sharing photos with them.

The blog was kept pretty well up to date until September, 2011.  At that point, Facebook took over as the main mechanism for keeping people up-to-date on what we were doing and of sharing photos with them.  In a way, it took over from the blog because it was so easy...just upload a bunch of photos, maybe write a caption, and you are done!  It took far less time than the narrative around the photos I wrote for the blog, and uploading photos was so much faster...in fact, getting multiple photos to upload in the proper order was a real hassle in the early days of blogging (at least on Blogger).

The demise of the blog also coincided with the transfer of primary photo-taking responsibility from me to Cheryl.  As Cheryl began shooting in RAW and doing post-processing of the photos, they simply were not available in a format to quickly post after an event or vacation, and once time had passed the urge to get the photos posted with a story wrapped around them would fade.  And it was easier to just share the album once she put it up on Facebook than it was to re-create the whole thing on the blog.

So for now, this blog is pretty idle.  Only had a post or two in 2012, and this is the first post from 2013.  If you are still subscribing to this blog as your primary way of keeping in touch, I recommend that you either click on the links on the left to add us as friends in Facebook, or subscribe to my Twitter feed (@SawyerCurt).  I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but Facebook (and to a lesser extent, Twitter) have pretty much killed off the blog as a "what are we doing" and photo sharing channel.  Until I can figure out a different use for it, one for which it is uniquely qualified, this blog will remain mostly idle.

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Stardate 65669.46 - A Wedding on the Outer Banks

Back in May my cousin Jenny Orrock got married on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It was too far of a drive and too expensive to fly everyone down there, so I went to represent my family and my cousin Angelique went to represent her family.  It was a wedding on the beach with reception in the large beach house they rented for the bridal party.

The mother of the bride, my Aunt Melinda.

My Uncle Harry, with his daughter Jenny.

I loved the cake with brown sugar as the "sand" on the beach.

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Stardate 65342.18 - March in NJ

Here are a few pictures from NJ from March. Here we visit with Cheryl's grandmother at her beach condo.

The weather was mild enough one weekend for me to break out the grill.

And it was warm enough to open up the windows while the girls practiced ballet.

NYC

Stardate 65208.94 - Kate's Birthday

Wow. Not a single post in over 2 months. We've had a lot going on I guess, and I have been extremely busy at work with a series of full-week meetings, including a trip to Dallas and a trip to London. Some other events happened in January, like Kate turning 2. Here are some pictures of her birthday part at the beach house.

The girls enjoy sitting together and watching Dora in the morning while Kate plays with her new Barbie.

We also had another birthday party to attend of a former pre-school classmate of Loren's. It was a pirate-themed party.

We also had a loss in January as we had to put our cat, Squirt, to sleep after a 6-month battle with kidney failure. She was almost 15 years old, so she had a good long life but it was still a pretty sad event around here. I'll put up a memorial post for her as soon as I can dig up all the good photos of her we have digital as well as scan in some of her early photos.

NYC

Stardate 64985.43 - Christmas in NJ

We spent Christmas 2010 in New Jersey. Cheryl's parents hosted Christmas Eve, and the girls wanted to get dressed up for the event.

There was some Wii playing going on with Cheryl's Dad, her brother Steve, and nephew Ethan.

Steve was in charge of handing out gifts after dinner.

Christmas morning was spent at our beach house, just Cheryl, me, and the kids.

Later Christmas Day Cheryl's parents, grandmother, aunt Marie, and brothers and their families all came over to our place for a late lunch/early dinner. The cousins all had fun playing together.

And on Sunday (before the snow started) Loren and Kate showed up their new shirts while standing on their new trampoline.

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Stardate 64902.95 - A Little Vacation (Part Four)

Whew! We've gotten a little behind on the blog. Let me try to wrap up this vacation trip. After the DC portion of our trip, I headed back home as I couldn't miss work this close to the Primary Election. Cheryl and the girls continued on down to Virginia to visit with Mom and Judy. While there they took a trip up to the farm in Bath County where Judy grew up.

They also visited Aunt Tracy and Cousin Zach at their new house.

And of course, there were lots of good food and desserts at "Nana and Kracker's".

They also took a trip down to the river where Nana taught them how to fish.

And then Cheryl and the girls returned to NYC and the vacation was over.

Atlantic Highlands, NJ