June 14, 2007 by David.

In case you didn’t know, Becky and I are getting married on July, 14^th 2007. This event has been in the making for thirty years. Becky and I grew up together and were “Childhood Sweethearts”. We reconnected in July of 2006 (much to my delight) and decided that we needed to get together if for no other reason then to rekindle an old friendship. So, I booked a flight and headed to Atlanta. I will never forget our meeting at the airport after all of those years.

We recognized each other immediately. A little older and definitely a little wiser but there we stood as if time itself had warped and brought us back to our youth. We spent a glorious week together and then my greatest fear was realized; it was time to head back to Colorado. We discussed different options and decided that we did want to be together. I, for one, was not going to let her slip away a second time (it is not very often one has a second chance).

After quite a few marathon phone conversations I decided to go for it. Just before Labor Day 2006 I packed what I could in the truck and move to Georgia (a decision that I will never regret).

I asked Becky to marry me just before we headed to Philadelphia to spend Christmas with my family. Thankfully she said yes and the plans began.

To be continued…

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January 9, 2007 by David.

Monday December 25, 2006

We started the morning with great anticipation. I for one was very excited to see Edie and John (Becky’s siblings) after 30 years. John lives outside of Philadelphia but Edie had traveled from Washington State to be a part of the holidays. John is a grown man now. After all, he was a young boy the last time I saw him. Edie, however, was just as I had remembered. A wee bit older and wiser but she was still the person that I knew those many years ago. I also had the opportunity to meet Edie’s family, her elder daughter Rachael, her husband Justin, their son Sam and her younger daughter Kira. Of course, this was the first time I had met them, it was a wonderful first meeting.

Christmas dinner was held at my sister Mary Beth’s house. Once again it was a great time for all to get together and reminisce about the past but also to talk about the present and future. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than the last time we attended. It did feel like a step back in time for Becky and Me. This was the house that I lived in while we were growing up. Three decades have past since the last time that Becky and I were in this house together. The meal consisted of stuffed shells with meatballs, sausage and pork (yum). I made sure that there was no shell left behind.

To be continued…

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January 6, 2007 by David.

Sunday December 24, 2006

Our day started with a stop at Mom and Dad’s. The reunion was naturally emotional considering I had not seen them in 2 ½ years and it had been much longer for Becky.

We had breakfast, which featured Mom’s extraordinary omelets and then sat and talked trying to catch up with the 30 years that had passed.

After a few hours of reminiscing, we decided that it might be fun to surprise my sister Mary Beth who lives just down the road. She was indeed surprised and we ended up spending a few hours talking about our youth.

The Christmas Eve bash was extraordinary. Jen and Bob hosted the party and the food brought by the family was incredible. It was a great time for all to get reacquainted after all it had been 31 years since Becky and I had been there together. It was amazing how much we remembered about growing up in our neighborhood.

To be continued…

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January 6, 2007 by David.

Saturday December 23, 2006

Becky and I left home about 7:00 AM Saturday morning. The trip up to Philadelphia was thankfully uneventful aside from the typical traffic jam in Maryland and Delaware.

The travel time was just over 12 ½ hours and we were very glad when we finally arrived at our destination. Tired, hungry and in need of an adult beverage we were excited to find the ever-present WAWA just down the road from the hotel.

For those of you not familiar with this 24-hour oasis; it is the ultimate convenience store and deli. So we grabbed a couple of hoagies and a few other items and headed for the comfort of our home for the next week. Much to our surprise, there was a shop next door, which stated “Wine and Spirits”.

Now our memory of purchasing alcohol in Philadelphia consisted of a bleak storefront with a rather intimidating person behind a counter. Could it be that Pennsylvania has finally caught up with the rest of the universe and privatized the sale of alcohol? Not exactly, it was just a repackaging of the same old system. Thankfully, they now appear to be open after 5:00 PM.

Well, we finally arrived at our destination with some food and a well-deserved drink looking forward to the week ahead.

To be continued…

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December 22, 2006 by David.

Well, we are preparing for our trip to Philadelphia. We are planning to leave early tomorrow morning. The excitement is mounting as we finish our last minute packing. I still can’t believe that it has been 23 years since I have spent the holidays with my family. I will endeavor to take many photos and to continue to blog during the week.

We would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

David and Becky

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November 30, 2006 by Caleb.

I’ve never been as far away from my father as I was on Thanksgiving day. While he was in Alabama I was soaking up the sweet sunshine of the West Coast. Like my dad I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with my spouses family. Except I was in Santa Barbara, California, not Alabama. I started my holiday Tuesday night after an exhausting day of work. We got packed up and were on the road by 9:30p.m.. We then arrived in Palm Springs roughly thirteen hours later (yawn). I fought off the urge to sleep by trying to soak in the unfamiliar people, and landscape, of central California.

While in Palm Springs Erin, Erin’s Brother, Alicia, Tristian, and I went to a zoo called The Living Desert. After 4 hours of walking, and observing countless critters, we finally got to relax.

The next morning we arose at 7:00a.m. and hit the road again. We drove about six hours to Santa Barbara, where I got to meet the family. A bunch of nice people they were, excited to make new acquaintances. After almost twenty hours of travel, I finally got to set foot on East Coast sand. The beach in that area is amazing, sand for as far as you can see. I will be posting pictures soon, hopefully.

I would go into more detail about the trip but it would take far too long. The highlights, however, were the zoo, the beach, the sunset :), the food, and my horrible round of golf. Needless to say I had a great time, and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to go back someday.

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November 29, 2006 by David.

Thanksgiving this year was truly a first. Becky and I spent the holiday in Huntsville Alabama with members of her family. There was no apparent nervousness until right before our arrival. After all I was meeting people that I had never met in my life (although I was familiar with some names from many years ago). After our arrival it turned out that, my concerns were truly unwarranted. Although the house was full of people I really did not feel like a stranger (must be that Southern Hospitality).

The company was wonderful and the food was marvelous. Becky told me that I would not go hungry and that was certainly true. The menu was, for the most part, traditional with some very tasty additions. Of course, the meal was punctuated by a variety of home baked pies (Yum).

One funny side note. Becky and I were having breakfast at the hotel on Friday morning when she looked at me rather strangely. She had just spotted one of her students. The child turned and did quite a double take. Becky looked at her and said, “surprise”. Now we were 200 miles from school in another state. There appears to be no escape (this does happen quite frequently).

Well, it was a very nice trip and the drive was not bad at all. I am really looking forward to meeting more of the family at the reunion in June. Of course, the tables will turn when we go to Philadelphia in December. That will be a wonderful time as well.

David

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November 12, 2006 by Caleb.

Have you ever had one of those days where you are snapped into reality? Have you had one of those days where you’re thinking of your dreams and how to persue them when all of a sudden you’re slapped awake? Well I just did. I found out two days ago that I’m going to be a father. Wow, talk about mixed and overwhelming emotions. At first I didn’t know how to take it, but now I’m quite excited about it. Here I am living with a woman that I planned on marrying, and now we are going to have a child together. I think it’s awesome. I can’t wait to start the next chapter in my life, the family life. Wish me luck.

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November 3, 2006 by David.

When I first heard that there was going to be a performance of a Shakespeare play at Becky’s Elementary School I was a bit skeptical. After all, I remember my experience performing in one of William’s plays in High School being a bit daunting. The more time that passed, the more interesting the whole notion became. How in the world are fourth and fifth graders going to pull this one off? This was indeed something I needed to see first hand.

We got the opportunity to see the performance last night and I must say that it was not quite what I was expecting. The performance turned out to be a loose adaptation of a Shakespeare play. The title “A Tale of Two Shrews” was quite amusing.

The aspiring actors handled themselves quite well and a few appear to have a future in the art. One of the highlights for me was the narration, which was handled ala Rod Serling. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening during which I learned a valuable lesson. Kids can do Shakespeare.

David

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October 30, 2006 by Caleb.

Well I finally decided to get involved with this site. You’ll have to excuse my typing I’m not as thurough as my father so excuse my gramatical and/or spelling errors. To fill you in with my life I recently moved in with my wonderful girlfriend Erin. Erin and I have started our own health and nutrition business and are doing quite well for beginners. I guess when i have an interesting encounter at 3 a.m. I will tell you guys all about it.

That’s all for now

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