Flashback: Almost 25 Years...

Come this October, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of our first date. Yes, we were high school sweethearts. A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. The years have really flown by, and we are enjoying each year more than the previous, especially since we now have our son Samuel.

So in celebration (the third time we've used the word here) of the upcoming anniversary, here are some flashback photos of Michele (if your wondering...yes Michele is at work right now, that's how Paul got these photos on the blog!):

Circa February 1975...
...Michele in the center with her famous glasses...
...with her brother Paul and sister Stephanie...

A mere two months (8/82) before our first date...
...Michele working at our church festival...
...from left to right...
...cousin Haley, Tracey, Michele, and cousin Kristine...
(dressed as clowns)
...we have no idea who cigarette man is...

Sloop Sam D.

While Paul took the Amtrak Downeaster to Boston to see his cousin Pete...Michele and Sammy went on a sailing voyage with everyone else. What follows are some pics...

Technically this was no sloop...

Sammy is all smiles on the open sea...

As Sammy scampers up the mizzen-mast...
...everyone watches in wild amazement...

As the seas get rough, Kateynn hangs on...

The first mate was a sailing man...

...the Skipper brave and sure...

He's Sammy the sailin' man!

Pomp and Circumstance and Lobsters

A couple of weeks ago we went to Maine for Michele's sister's graduation from medical school. The whole family was present to celebrate and congratulate Jamie on this accomplishment. Having achieved a doctor of pharmacy, Michele was asked by Jamie to "hood" her at the graduation ceremony. Afterwards, the everyone went to the "beach house" to eat crustaceans (well at least those of us who aren't adverse to eating things with exoskeletons).

Michele prepares to hood Jaimie....
...she is so proud of Jaimie she's floating higher than her...

Jamie's boyfriend Chris gets his moment too...
...he'll make a fine doctor...

Sparked by a false rumor that Sammy would be giving a commencement speech...
...the crowd erupts into spontaneous and thundering applause...

The whole family...
Paul, Jamie, Michele, Stephanie, Sharon, and Mom...

Mitchell's day will come soon too...

The "beach house"...

The Sam and the Sea

Call me Samuel...

A couple of weeks ago we were in Maine for Michele's sister's graduation. While we were there, Sammy had the opportunity to see the ocean for the first time. Here are some photos of the momentous meeting of the Sam and the Atlantic.

Sam searches the dunes for water...

Sam loved the water even though it was extremely frigid...

Sam and the shore...

Sam and his cousin Katelynn...

Sam inspecting his cousin Mitchell's hole in the ground...

Sam's uncle Doug, cousin Mitchell, Aunt Stefanie, and cousin Kaitlyn...

Sammy showing his mother the sand on his feet...

Sam and his mother before he takes an after-the-beach-bath...

Sam the indomitable...

Sammy's Cousins...

Last year, Michele's sister Sharon came with her two children (Ana & Noah) to stay with us while her husband Antoine was overseas in the Marines protecting Americans from bad guys. While they were here we had some photos taken of the three cousins together, though we had to wait six months to get the digital images from the photographer (a reasonable compromise so they could make money off of prints we ordered at the time). So now, in all legally correct ways, here's some photos of Sammy & his cousins taken back on July 1, 2006...

Is that a tsunami coming this way?

Sammy thinks outside the box even when he's in it...

Even at 6 months old Sammy's personality shows through...

Sammy's Aunt Jamie's Short Trip

A few weeks ago, Sammy's Aunt Jamie (Michele's sister) came to visit. Taking a break from her last year of medical school, her vacation plan was to fly to Atlanta to see her sister Stephanie, then fly to Minnesota to see us, and then fly back to Atlanta with Michele to spend a weekend with Stephanie and her family.

Winter weather in Minnesota played havoc with her plans as the airport was closed. But she eventually made it here. Jamie played a critical role in Michele's choice of curtains for Sammy's bedroom and in the suprise party for the pharmacy techs where Michele works.

For their weekend trip to Altanta they were travelling standby, so Sammy stayed home with Paul.

What follows are the photo's and text from Sammy's Aunt Jamie's e-book she wrote about her trip.

"Pay close attention to the snazzy curtains...
...which do YOU like better?"

"Sam, the Ham."

"Aunt Michele, expands the minds of the youth,
reading Superman to Mitchell and Katelynn,
while Aunt Jammy and Steph navigate the twisty,
nameless roads of northern Georgia,
seeking out our next adventure."

Sammy's cousins Mitchell and Katelynn..
...in the back seat...
...in safety seats...

"Aunt Michele tells Mitchell that Superman is faster than a speeding bullet...
...yet he is suspicious of such incredible super power...
..he is not a naive young man."

"Café in Blue Ridge...
Steph, how were those half moons?"

"Weird Georgia, the Book"

"Mitchell and Anti"

"Aunt Michele is teaching Katelynn the fine art of window shopping."

"A hidden treasure"

"Freezing in Chattahoochee"

"This looks like fun!"

"Fighting against the wind"

"Curiosity led us up the Quarry"

This looks like a set from Dr. Who

"Sunset atop the quarry"

"Ah, finally the Hilton!"

"Always in style!"

"Who do I look like here? Michele, thanks for the cap!
Why is yours on the counter? How is that protecting your hair style?"

"The End"

Michele and Sammy go home...

On the TV series "Jericho," a small town has to deal with a post-apocalyptic world where none of their electronic devices work. Well, no EMP occurred while Michele and Sammy went home, but unfortunately our small Sony camera did not take very good pictures (we postulate that it was a low battery). So just like our spy photos of the house Paul grew up in, the family photos taken while Michele was home did not come out all too well. So here are the ones which aren't overly blurry (sadly, none were good with Michele's Grandmother in it)

So as the story goes, Michele and Sammy went home for the better part of a week to see her family. There were able to see just about everyone minus Michele's sister down in Altanta. While there, an intense crisis arose when Sammy's cousin Noah locked himself and Ana in the office. But more on that later.

Sammy and his Grandpa & Grandma...

Sammy and his Grandma...

Sammy, Aunt Diana, his Godfather/Uncle Andy, and his godfather's Yankees cap...
...go Yankees!

Jaime's beau Chris attempts to rescue the little ones locked in the study...

Although Sammy was not in the study himself...
...he still somehow managed to get rescuted (and attention)...

Ana...
tells her mama...
all about the drama...

Michele, Sammy, and her brother Paul...
...and Paul's Yankees cap...
...go Yankees!

Sammy and Paul's fiancee Shirley...

Sammy and his uncle Paul...

Chris and Sammy conversing...

Sammy with his Aunt Jaime and her beau Chris...

Michele with her high school friend Amy and her daughter Madison...
...and of course Sammy too..

Sadly, a better quality pic than what our Sony camera took!