Random Aside

Okay... so Red has been on my ass to go through our storage locker and consolodate my gazillion "memory" boxes. Just this evening I got to the "high school" box and I have been laughing in hysterics for the last few hours reading all of my Destiny letters.

I unfolded a massive piece of butcher paper with my name on it. All of you had drawn things about me and written little notes (soccer ball, piano, etc.). Someone drew a giant stick figure next to me with "Dr. Culbert" written on it. How hilarious is that? Even better was Scott Symon's letter that said, "Go give Dr. Culbert a big fat kiss for me. And make it a sloppy wet one. I hope that you shave your ass at least six times this weekend."

Nothing like a good solid Destiny letter.

Anyway, it was excellent timing to be going through this before the reunion. I hope you guys have a moment to find a few "show and tell" items to bring to the event.

Mary

P.S. We're still working on the venue and I'm still looking for email addresses. I will put the people I'm looking for in the comments section.

The Soltero Story

Hey Everyone! This is Tara Cook formerly known as Tara Soltero. After ECHS, I completed a BA degree in Psychology and am one class short of a minor in Communication from Carroll College. One month after graduation I began a postbac program and the University of Washington and earned a BS degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. A year later I received an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Development and taught preschool until I started having kids!

I have been back in Washington since 2000. I got married in 2002 to Steven Cook and within four months was prego with our first baby. We welcomed Caden Ryan into our lives on Dec 1st of 2003. Within 10 months I was prego again but this time it was a girl! Our daughter Ashlyn Jordan was born in June of 2005. She surpised us a month early and had to spend two weeks in the NICU learning how to breath on her own. A bit scary, but she recovered fast and you wouldn't be able to tell that she was premie by looking at her now!

We live in Bellevue and stay pretty busy with our two little ones! I am currently a Mark and Avon Representative and my husband Steve is a currency trader. I haven't seen many people since 1997 so I am excited for our reunion this summer! It's hard to believe that we've been in Bellevue for about 4 years and I haven't run into many fellow ECHS alumni except for at soccer games or in the sad event of a funeral. I guess we'll chat at the reunion...see you there and if you get a chance before then, send me a note! Take care!

Melissa Z

Hey ECHS! I am trying to figure out how to do this, I think I first created my own blog.. oh well I am not very good with technology. Are we really all old enough to be having a 10 year reunion? Aren't we still in college? The last ten years have been great, I finished college at Whitworth with a teaching degree. I met my husband right after college in Salem, OR and knew it was fate when I found out his last name started with a Z. Can't escape the end of the alphabet. Then spent a couple years teaching, doing social work and now live in Gresham, OR with my husband and baby girl Maddy. He's a firefighter and I'm a full time mama. It is truly the busiest I've ever been and she can't even move on her own yet. ~Melissa

Any chance...

... we could have the reunion in Vegas?

The Scoop On Betsey

I didn't manage to get away from Washington for long. I went to the University of Oregon to study architecture for 5 years, managed to not kill myself during that time, and now I live in Ballard, where by some miracle or fluke, my husband and I bought a little house. I stupidly only took a week off between graduating and starting to work at a firm called Callison Architecture, which is downtown. Casey and I got married in August 2004.

One thing I don't miss from high school: being forced by Tarbox to sing that fight song (which really messed me up when I got to Oregon - SAME TUNE. Add beer and you got a really confused me singing about Catching The Spirit at games).

Just in case he's too busy being engaged to post here, Luke Grothkopp wisely decided to go to grad school at U of O, and probably has similar fight-song confusion.

Here's a picture from our wedding:


I'm really excited to see all you guys again!

Update on Mary and Red

Here is an update on Red and me. We live in Hoboken, NJ (right across the water from Manhattan) and we both go to Rutgers Law School.

We got married in 2002 and we still hang out with a lot of people from Eastside like Chris Ramey, Adam Halverson, Jonathan (Dutch) Van der Veen, Tanya Baker, Ragan (Rogers) Mooney, Matt McGinnis, Dr. Culbert etc.

We just booked our tickets for the reunion last week so we will see you there!

From left to right in the photo: Dutch, Ramey, Zee (Ramey's lady), Adam Halverson, Teresa (Adam's wife), me, Red, Elizabeth (Red's college buddy), Sharon (my sister.)

Welcome!

Hello Eastside class of 1996!

The purpose of this blog is to post whatever you want. I think it will be a good way to get people excited about the upcoming reunion, which is June 16th-18th.

ECHS will be celebrating its 25 year reunion that same weekend, so there will be events going on with all alumni at the same time (some will be child friendly too).

Also, you should post updated pictures because people like photos.

Mary K (the artist formerly known as Mary Nuxoll