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We saw Lucy Kaplansky
perform at a house concert in Indianapolis. She played our requests
and we were just a few feet away from her. Thanks, Cindy! Taken 3/25/00. |
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Our annual spring break trip with the girls took us to Seattle, where we stayed at the
Hotel Edgewater. The view from our suite on the waterfront included the wharf and Mount Rainier. Taken 4/00. |
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Claire wanted to feel the water in the fountain as we walked along the waterfront in Seattle. Taken 4/00. |
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After our time in Seattle, we took the ferry across Puget Sound and drove around the peninsula. Here are Debbie, Jill and Claire on the ferry. Taken 4/00. |
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Here's Claire on the Washington coast, just north of Kalaloch Lodge where we were staying. Taken 4/00. |
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In May, we took our dream vacation to Australia. Our first stop
was Sydney, where we had a beautiful sunrise view of the harbour from
our corner room at the ANA Hotel. Taken 5/20/00. |
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We took several harbour cruises and got a good look at the famous
Sydney Opera House. |
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Our favorite harbour cruise was aboard a replica of HMAV Bounty,
built for the filming of the Mel Gibson film, "The Bounty," one of
Debbie's favorite films of all time. This is the photo we love the
most from our vacation: a shot of the Bounty and the Opera House together.
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The next leg of our trip was a four-night visit to Orpheus Island
on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. |
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This photo shows our dining table set up on the jetty for a sunset
dinner on our final night on Orpheus Island. |
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Access to Orpheus Island is via seaplane, which was a treat. Debbie
watched the scenery, while Tom watched the pilot land the plane. |
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Our final stop was in Melbourne, to see the sights and visit good
friends. We enjoyed an afternoon with the Bresley family: (left to
right) Adam, Robert, Desley, Ben and Nicole (front). Taken 5/27/00.
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That evening, we had an excellent dinner with the Bresleys and
with Bill Callaghan (president of the Rett
Syndrome Association of Australia) and his friend Rosalie. We
met Bill in Sweden in 1996, and the Bresleys in Indianapolis in 1994.
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A day of sightseeing in Melbourne took us to the top of Mount Dandenong
to see snow up close and the city of Melbourne in the distance. |
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Back at home, it's summer and Claire is enjoying our inflatable
pool on the deck. |
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Tom enjoys his share of time in the pool, too. |
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In June, Debbie's cousin, Kathy, and her two boys, Joshua and Nathan,
stopped in for a visit while on vacation and made plans for a Normark
family reunion in 2001. Taken 6/18/00. |
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It's a boy! Laura and Tom attempt to wake up 3-day-old baby Jeremy.
Taken 6/22/00. |
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Audrey and Brent hold baby Jeremy at Laura and Tom's home. |
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We took a weekend trip to Wisconsin in June for Debbie's Uncle
Bob's retirement party. His family posed for a photo: (left to right)
Laura, Melissa, Bob, Mary and Terry. Taken 6/24/00. |
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Grandpa Schilling and Claire were among the attendees at the retirement
party. |
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The next day, Grandpa Schilling and Jill did some go-karting through
the Trojan Horse in Wisconsin Dells. |
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Lucky Claire was the only child on the swing ride and loved it!
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That same afternoon, Claire got a thrill out of the land portion
of the Wisconsin Ducks tour. |
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Jill took her turn driving the Duck during the water portion of
the Wisconsin Ducks tour. |
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After the tour, Jill got to hold her new second-cousin, Renee.
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Proud Grandpa Bob holds sleepy baby Renee. |
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We get to babysit Greg's cat, Milo, occasionally. Here, Milo is
King of the Laundry Pile. |
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Claire is excited about the new squeaky frog she received from her Great-Great Aunt Beatrice on her birthday. Taken 7/14/2000. |
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Here's Claire with her Bop-It toy from Grandma and Grandpa Schilling. |
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At another house concert at Cindy's with Laura and Tom, we enjoyed
seeing Michelle Malone
much closer up than the last time we saw her, opening for the Indigo
Girls at the Murat. When she broke two guitar strings during her performance
of "Avalon", Tom was the volunteer who replaced them for her. Taken
7/21/00. |
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Claire has recently learned how to hold on to get horseback rides from her stepdaddy. |
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Tom's family posed during a recent gathering in Dayton. Shown are Claire and Tom with Tom's siblings, mother, aunt, grandmother, niece and nephew. Taken 7/30/00. |
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On a weekend trip to Minnesota, Tom had his hands full with Jill and our nephew, Stewart. Taken 8/4/00. |
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The reason for our trip to Minnesota was to attend Debbie's 20th high school reunion. Here is her high school: Highland Park Senior High School in St. Paul. |
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Tom and Debbie getting mentally prepared to attend the reunion, in our room at the Radisson. Taken 8/5/00. |
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The reunion was a blast! We saw lots of familiar faces, including many of Debbie's Edgcumbe grade school friends. |
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We had a drink or two after the reunion in downtown St. Paul. Left to right are Tom, Lance, Natalie, Debbie, Dan and Judy ... |
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... and here we are looking our best after closing time in front
of the Radisson. (Photo taken by passerby Krista). Click here to see all of the photos from the reunion. |
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The next day, we spotted a few of the 75 Snoopy sculptures
on display in St. Paul while on our way to pick up Jill. Here's a
great one in the downtown area ... |
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... and here is Jill with another one on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Taken 8/6/00. |
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Before leaving Minnesota, we stopped to see Tina and her adorable daughter, Suzanna. Taken 8/6/00. |
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In late August, Debbie attended the International Society of Hematology
Conference in Toronto. To prove it, Rob snapped this digital shot
of Debbie with two authentic Canadian Mounties. Taken 8/27/00. |
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Like St. Paul, Toronto had dozens of statues on display, featuring moose instead of Snoopy. Here's one ... |
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... and another ... |
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... and another. Photos were taken with Orchard Software's digital camera on 8/28/00. |
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Since we didn't get a photo of Debbie's college roommate, Janet,
and her daughter Arlette when they visited in May, Tom and I visited
Janet, Arlette and Dave at home in Carbondale, IL on our way to Memphis
over Labor Day weekend. Taken 9/1/00. |
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Our first stop in Memphis was Graceland, of course. We found another electronic postcard
kiosk, and just couldn't resist. Taken 9/2/00. |
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While in Memphis, we stayed at the Peabody Hotel. Here are some little girls enjoying the famous
Peabody ducks in the marble lobby fountain. Taken 9/2/00. |
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Here's Debbie on Beale Street, posing with the King. Taken 9/2/00. Read all about it here. |
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In September, we drove to Bloomington to see Vance
Gilbert in concert, opening for Carrie Newcomer. Taken 9/8/00. |
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The following week, we drove to Terre Haute to see Barbara
Kessler perform at house concert at Bowles Music Palace. Taken 9/15/00. |
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In Indianapolis at Rehearsal
Studios, we saw a great show by Caroline Aiken and Darryl Purpose.
Who did we run into there? Why, none other than Mary-Margaret, proprieter
of the Bowles Music Palace! Here's a photo of M-M with Caroline
Aiken ... |
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... and here's a photo of Debbie with Darryl
Purpose after the show. Taken 10/28/00. |
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Enough singer/songwriters -- it's off to London to see the musical "Mamma Mia!",
based on the music of ABBA. We stayed at the Savoy and did a full weekend of
sightseeing. We braved a morning of London rain to get Tom's dream shot of
Parliament and the Thames River. Taken 11/11/00. |
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We stayed at the ultimate London hotel, the Savoy, where we indulged in the Sunday afternoon tea. |
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After tea, we crossed the Thames to ride the London Eye, a
large Ferris Wheel-type ride which rotated once per 30 minutes. It offered
amazing night views of London and the full moon. Each capsule held
10 people, and one of our fellow tourists offered to take this photo of us during
the 30 minute ride. Taken 11/12/00. |
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Audrey and Brent discovered Ruth
Gerson and brought us to a house concert she was performing in
Indianapolis. After her performance, Ruth posed with Audrey and Debbie
for a photo. Taken 11/20/00. |
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We hosted a Post-Holiday-Party Party for the folks Debbie works
with, which discreetly follows their regular holiday party. Here,
Janet and Mark show off their newly acquired Bundling Party Frequent
Guest beverage tags, earned after attending five Bundlings parties. |
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The genial host, Tom, smiles along with guests Brent and Audrey. |
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Debbie poses with Michelle (top) and Angie (upside down), while
John laughs at us. |
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We think this photo catches Chris in the act of flinging pigs-in-blankets
into Debbie's mouth, while Steve officiates, but we're not sure. If
anyone remembers the real story, please let us know. |
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Mark, Wendy and Janet are all smiles late in the evening. Taken
12/08/00. |
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We had an early birthday celebration for Debbie when her dad came to visit. She got a guitar from Tom for her birthday, ... |
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... and Grandpa Bob showed his granddaughter that he knows how to play. Taken 12/10/00. |
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Here is our annual Christmas photo for 2000. |