appleton

Entries Tagged as 'appleton'

The Announcement of Riley

May 23rd, 2004 · 11 Comments

Riley Magen Lucille Galica, Chiquimula, Guatemala

Birth Announcement

Highview Park, Appleton, WI

Stacey

Stacey, Linda, Jen, Trisha

Stacey

Nancy and her mom, Kathy

Nancy & Linda

Nancy, her stepmom, mom and mother-inlaw

Saturday I went up to Wisconsin for the day. Nancy and Josh are adopting and we knew it could be any day that they get the news that a baby is available for them, so in preparation Nancy’s family threw a shower for her. The big surprise was that just last Tuesday they were told that a baby girl in Guatemala is theirs. It will be a few months before they can go down and get her but this is such great news. Nancy and Josh have wanted children for so long and have tried so hard to have their own… I’m so happy they will finally have a baby, and one that is in desperate need of a good home. I can’t wait to meet Riley!

» Nancy surprises everyone by announcing Riley (.mov, 492k)

The Old Neighborhood

January 8th, 2004 · 24 Comments

I sent my dad out with his digital camera on a secret, yet to be disclosed, mission this afternoon and he came back with some extra photographs from my old neighborhood in Appleton, WI where I lived from about 1997 – 1999.

Ring Dance, City Park, Appleton, WI

The first photograph is from City Park, Appleton’s oldest park. I used to live a block from this park and remember spending many leisurely days reading books in the sun or under a big tree, both of which there were a lot of. Also popular at City Park was an annual art show called Art in the Park. The photo my dad took is of a fountain in the park called Ring Dance. The sculpture is by Dallas Anderson and it was dedicated in 1996. It depicts 6 children in a “ring dance,” an ancient game where children link one of their legs together to form a circle and then hop around singing and dancing.

Adler Brau Brewery & Restaurant, Appleton, WI

What I remember about Adler Brau Brewery & Restaurant is that it was in the “Between the Locks” building that a popular comedy club, Skyline Comedy Cafe, was in. The Between the Locks building is named so because it physically is located between the locks. It’s an old historic brewery building. When you attended a show at Skyline, you filled out a postcard survey and if your name was selected then you and 20 of your friends won free admission to the club for a show. It got to a point where so many of my friends and myself won so often that we were like “the comedy club again!?” but I do miss it now. I haven’t been to a comedy club for quite some time. Before the comedy club we often would have dinner at Adler Brau, which was called Dos Banditos at the time. We would also sometimes have lunch there since I not only lived in the downtown neighborhood, but worked there too. Adler Brau has been around for 22 years and has won 6 medals for taste at the Great American Beer Festival.

The Locks, Appleton, WI

One way that electricity is produced is Wisconsin is hydroelectrically. Along the Fox River, which runs through downtown Appleton, there is a canal that is closed off with a series of gates & dams which convert the energy of the running water into electricity. The Fox River was a short walk from each of the apartments that I lived in and I would go there often to walk the shore, which is a mixture of landscaped parks, residential, commercial and industrial zones.

Vulcan Street Plant Reproduction, Appleton, WI

The Vulcan Street Power Plant was built on along the Fox River in 1882 and was the world’s first hydroelectric station. Seen here is a reproduction of the original plant.

That is all for now. This has been a joint presentation, with me doing the research and writing and my dad, Rick, taking the photographs. We hope you have enjoyed this downtown Appleton history lesson!

Uncle Steve’s Party

December 30th, 2003 · 7 Comments

My dad’s side of the family has it’s roots in the deep south. My uncle very much celebrates this fact and you see it with the decorations in his house. Here are some of the more eccentric – mounted alligator heads. Freaky. Steve threw this holiday party as an excuse (like he needs one!) to cook up a huge slab of prime rib. Cooking is one of his passions and he never disappoints. The party was also for my Aunt Elissa, who was in from Florida, and my cousin Jason who was visiting from Virginia.

My dad is the oldest of eight kids so I have cousins galore (my mom is also one of eight kids). Several of them, including my brother, had babies this year. These are my cousin, Anna’s, twins Colin & Keegan.

Dad.

Mom.

Amber and Colin.

My brother, Richard.

My cousin, Kacey, and Colin.

Aunt Deb with my cousins Amanda and Bethany.

Uncle Doug and Dad.

Cousin Sabrina

Cousin Bill with Colin & Keegan.

Bob.

Cousin Dawn and Cousin Bill.

My niece, Jessica, playing with my brother’s camera. A future photographer?

My cousin Stephanie’s baby, Logan. He’s just a few weeks older than my niece, Jessica.

My niece, Stephanie, feeding Colin.

My niece, Stephanie.

Stephanie feeding her baby sister, Jessica, with the help of my mom.

2003 Christmas in Wisconsin

December 29th, 2003 · 8 Comments

Ok. .. so I am back.. even if I’ve been hiding out a bit. Coming back from vacation is always a rough transition for me.

My Christmas was a long week filled with family activities beginning with a party on the day I arrived. My uncle steve had a bunch of people over to his house in Appleton. That night my brother and his kids and I stayed over at my parent’s house in New London. The next day was my cousin’s daughter’s birthday party outside of Manawa. Afterwards we headed back to Oak Creek, the suburb of Milwaukee where my brother lives, and that is where I stayed for the rest of the week.

At my brother’s I had a few quiet moments with my nieces, which I treasure, but much of the week was a flurry of relatives in and out of the house. Each night we kind of just slept where we landed, be that a bed, the couch, the floor, a sleeping bag, or an air mattress. I think that everyone in WI is sick, and my niece Jessica is teething so that didn’t really help anyone get a good night’s sleep. I, myself, was sick but only for one night.

Christmas to me is a time to spend with family & close friends and amid all of the hustle and bustle that is what I got to do this holiday so for that I am thankful. I spent a lot of time with my brother and his family and with my parents. I also got to see some of my extended family. My parents are both from big families (both from families with 8 kids) so seeing everyone is always hard to do. Also, Nancy and Josh were finally well enough at the end of the week so that we could spend a day together and they join my brother and I in seeing Lord of the Rings, Return of the King.

My entire family has digital cameras now (digital elphs rule!) so I’ve been sifting through hundreds of photos. Over the next few days I will start to publish them, small sets at a time.

Also, I learned a valuable lesson.. that no matter how tempting it is to skip your flight from Milwaukee to Chicago with a 3 1/2 hour layover in Chicago to drive there when it only takes an hour and to take the opportunity on the drive to stop at the outlet mall in Kenosha, you shouldn’t do it. I learned when I got to Chicago that when you miss your departure flight your entire flight is cancelled. Nice.