Shannon has been nominated for Citizen of the Year in her hometown of Dover, NH. Attached is one of the letters written in her support. I couldn’t be more happy for her nor more proud of her. Keep your fingers crossed!Shannon_hill_LRec1[1]
Bergquist/Hill Family Updates
It’s been ages since I’ve updated the blog with any family news and we have some fun info to share. First, Brian and Andrea are expecting a baby in September (the 19th is her due date). It (as of now they are not finding out the sex) will be affectionately referred to as “Baby Wayne” (just a fun name, not one of the choices). Andrea is doing very well…no morning sickness, etc. We saw them Easter Sunday and she is starting to have a slight bump.
Shannon is in Italy visiting her boyfriend. Rook (a nickname given to him in culinary school) moved there over a year ago to start his own restaurant in a village up in the Alps. Yesterday was his birthday so he prepared an 8 course dinner for Shannon and a bunch of his friends. Dessert was an individual chocolate egg filled with ice cream and other sweets. At each person’s plate he poured molten caramel over the top of the egg. This began a melt-down of the egg so that one could get at the sweets inside. Shannon hit something hard, picked it up and Rook dropped to his knees and proposed. Kind of romantic, huh? She said “yes” and the party began! He did get on the phone to tell me that he was coming home within a couple of months. He has hired someone to take over the restaurant and is able to get out of his contract with the village. So fortunately they will be residing back in New Hampshire.
Next week (May 3rd thru the 10th) we’re off to Disney with Dawn, Chris, Blake and Reid. Should be a great time…Blake can’t stop talking about it!
That’s about it…hope all is well with everyone!
Working Green in the Granite State
For Shannon… “Yes We Can”
Actually, I’m pretty sure that she’s probably already seen this viral video for her candidate. I’m just posting it for those who may not have caught it already. It’s a pretty powerful message.
For those who might not be quite into pop culture, the video was produced by will.i.am the front man for the Black Eyed Peas. It wasn’t commissioned by Obama but once he saw it he recognized its potential impact and he’s put it up on his campaign website.
My Favorite Picture!
I had planned on posting pictures of Blake’s first birthday, but we’ll have to wait a little longer for that. I can’t find them! I thought they had been uploaded to our new computer, but they aren’t. Steve is in Hong Kong & India on business and has our camera with the disk, so…blah, blah, blah. Instead, I’ll post my favorite picture of Blake…he was all sweaty with his hair slicked back but he looks so cute. By the way, Larry, you’re probably the only family member who doesn’t know this, but Dawn is pregnant again. She’s due March 3rd with another boy. How about some Penn State memorabilia if the baby is born on your birthday, the 2nd? Chris’ family has bombarded Blake with University of Illinois stuff and Dawn really wants to get the competition going. Can you help?
Can’t believe what I missed!
Gary’s 50th Birthday Bash
Better late than never. October is such a busy, fun-filled month for us; Steve’s father’s birthday, Steve’s birthday and Blake’s birthday so we’re having a party and even a play ground for the kids from www.softplaydesignandinstallation.co.uk. But best of all this year, was getting together with family to celebrate Gary’s 50th. My pictures are a little out of focus (hopefully Kenny & Gary have better), but I thought my few pictures might get the ball rolling with others posting theirs.
The first two pictures are from our evening at Havana’s. The third is a shot of the Neshaminy Creek in Chalfont from the bridge (remember when it was an old wooden bridge?). The last is one of the covered bridges we visited.
Hi Lar, Hi Mar (Shan… anybody else)
Shannon was here for a great visit over the 4th. We went to the local parade. I smoked brisket. It rained, but the show went on, and the party went on.
Lots Been Happening
In the beginning of June, Shannon came to visit for a quick Friday overnight. We had a total blast, highlighted (I think) by a gin & tonic-fueled pickup wiffleball game. We have games every Friday night with the neighborhood kids, but there was a shower that night at the designated time, so no-one showed, but we squeezed in a few innings an hour later.
Speaking of baseball, both kids played organized ball this spring. Lex was in T-Ball and Char was in Coaches Pitch. I didn’t realize when I signed them up that there was a separate softball league for girls, so Charlotte and our next-door neighbor, Emily, were the only girls in the league. They loved it, tho! Charlotte was the best hitter on her team. She won their last game with a bases clearing, 2-out, true double to center (maybe the only “true” double the team had all season).
I don’t have a picture of Charlotte to offer (if I can get her to put her uniform on this weekend, I’ll try to add a shot), but I do of Lex. He and neighbor, Will, were the sluggers on their team. In hindsight, I wish I had lied about his age and put him in the Coaches Pitch league, he’s head-and-shoulders above all the others in T-Ball. But then again, it’s not a bad thing to let him have a season of total confidence.
Lis was gone for a week in June. Her dad had surgery in Nashville and she went to help out. Jack’s doing quite well it seems, he’s home, has lots of help, and hopefully is well on the way to recovery. While she was gone, Charlotte had a playdate here with a friend, Riley. I was rearranging furniture in the house when they decided to put on makeup. They brought their little makeup kit outside where they encountered Lex. He wanted to join in and they all ended up applying Lis’ lipstick to Lex’s face.
Lex asked me to put the picture on the blog.
For Father’s Day we went to Pete Seeger’s Hudson River Clearwater Festival.
(And in the chaos of leaving the house, I managed to slam into and dent my new Saturn…. que sera now…. had a cow then.)
Anyway… music, food, hair-wrapping, a new mini-conga drum, lemonade, boats, oh yeah…ecology…, and kayaking.
June 21st was the last day of school.
One last thing. Say a final goodbye to La Jeep. Junked after 21+ yrs.
Continue reading "Lots Been Happening"
Yankees vs. Red Sox
This is going to break Gary’s heart, but I set foot in Yankee Stadium (in full Red Sox gear) on Sunday to see the Red Sox beat the Yankees. It was a great game, Manny hit a homer as soon as we were walking to our seats. The bus picked us up in Portsmouth, NH at 6am and dropped us back off around midnight. Thank God I took the next day off of work!