See What Was Happening in New Jersey This Weekend!

Annie's quartet traveled to Glassboro, NJ for the MTNA (Music Teacher's National Association) Eastern Division competitions this weekend.  It

was only a 20 minute drive from where Vance's relatives live, so we decided to go too and make a party of it!  We headed out on Saturday morning with Vance's mom, stopped in NYC to pick up Adam, and arrived

shortly after lunch.

Annie and the guys from her quartet were coming over for dinner,

and preparation was already underway.  

Egg rolls were being rolled and fried. 

 Rice was fried.

An extremely large assortment of sushi was picked up 

at a local restaurant too.

And no Asian dinner would be complete without 

ginger chicken (10 lbs of it to be exact!)

Kimiko excitedly kept watch and was the first official greeter. 

The first of many!

Lauritz, Drew and Khanh were introduced and so it began!

First up: Time to eat!

Lauritz was surprisingly good with chopsticks!

After dinner,  we took a short break from eating for a short

performance by the quartet.

We were very impressed!

Next up:  A surprise birthday cake for a slightly early

celebration of Annie's 21st birthday!

And a gift that needed a little help from Khanh to open...

with his switchblade!

Inside were 21 gifts - some fun and some useful.

Next up: Dessert!

Ice cream cake, chocolate pudding dessert, brownies, raspberry squares, rice krispie treats, fruit dip, cookies - I may have forgotten something!

Next up:  BINGO

After a little explanation of the rules for Lauritz, we began.

As always, Kathy was the official Bingo Master!

BINGO is always fun, for young and old alike.

There were lots of prizes to pick from!

Khanh won a few very useful items!

Drew chose a few much-need hair accessories.

Before they left to go back to the hotel, the quartet

had a huddle.

 Is Annie making a prediction, perhaps?

They were scheduled to perform on Sunday afternoon,

with Lauritz participating in the solo competition in the morning.

We packed up and left the next morning

to bring Adam back to the city 

and make our way home to Connecticut.  

We waited anxiously to hear news of the results.

On our way out, on the backroads of New Jersey,

we saw an enormous flock of snow geese in the sky. 

They were circling and landing in a field that was out of view.

I wanted to get a picture, so we pulled off the road and 

I got out of the car.  I was amazed by what I saw!

It was like a national snow goose convention!  Thousands

of geese had landed on a farmer's field.

  

I read up on these geese and I guess it is common for them to 

travel in flocks of several hundred thousand.

Further research revealed that snow geese are symbols

of 

loyalty,

teamwork,

confidence,

protection,

fellowship,

determination,

and communication.

Maybe we were witnessing a sign of what was to come that day.

Using all of these qualities,

the quartet went on to take first place

in the MTNA Eastern Division Chamber Music 

competition for wind instruments!

 I received this text message from Annie:

WE HAVE NEVER PLAYED BETTER IN OUR 

LIVES OMG IT WAS LIKE THE PERFECT PERFORMANCE

They advance to the national competition 

held in Texas in April.

Also,  after realizing he forgot his dress pants

at school and borrowing a pair from Khanh,

Lauritz won the solo Young Artist competition

for woodwinds.

Congratulations!  We are so proud of all of you!

It was quite a weekend!  Thanks to our NJ relatives

for all the work and preparation to make

our visit festive, fun, and filling!

My Favorite Child

My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.

My favorite thing to look at is the sky.

My favorite fruit is green grapes.

My favorite time of year is the fall.

My favorite child is... 

well, let me think about it for a moment.

I have three options to pick from.

Is my favorite child Adam?

Firstborns are always extra special, right?

Especially since he is my only son!

Adam is calm, steady, and even-tempered.

We both love to experience new places.

He is helpful and very considerate.

He has a very big heart.

He reminds me so much of my father!

Adam is a lifelong learner - something I strongly identify with.

On top of that, he's creative too.

 Isn't it obvious in this picture that he's my favorite? Right?

Or is Kerry my favorite?

We are both very shy and wary of new situations.

We are both nurturing and caring.

She has a great sense of humor and loves

to make people laugh.

We both love all things Vermont. 

She's good at figuring things out and

has many creative ideas.

How could Kerry not be my favorite??

But there's one more to consider.  Annie.

When she was young, I got to spend a lot of alone time

with her while Adam and Kerry were at school.

She was everything I wasn't as a child.

Confident, outgoing, fearless.  I was in awe.

We both like to dress up and look pretty - 

clothes, makeup, nail polish.

She loves to have her picture taken, and loves to take

selfies with me.  By the sheer volume of

mother/daughter photos on Facebook and Instagram

everyone must suspect that Annie's my favorite.

We have great conversations about life

and I think we really "get" each other.

Annie's the only one of my kids that will sing with me in the car too!

Anyone can see that my favorite must be Annie!

Adam.  Kerry.  Annie.

I wonder who they think is the favorite?

Does any one them secretly feel like the top dog?

Does any one of them feel second best,  or worst,  at the bottom

of the barrel in the favoritism department?

If I've done my job,

I haven't given them the slightest clue

who my favorite child is.

In fact, I don't know the answer myself.

I see so many aspects of myself in each of them.

They each make me happy in different ways.

They each tug at my heart for different reasons.

If I was in front of a firing squad

and was told my life would be spared

if I named my favorite child,

I could not do it.

It's impossible.

I Had a Wonderful Time

I traveled back to my home town for a funeral last weekend.

Is it awful to say that I had a wonderful time?

My mom's brother, Vernon, passed away at the age of 91 in Vermont.

Both of my sisters also traveled to be there, with Lori coming all the 

way from Alaska.  It was also attended by all 9 of his children, many 

grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and quite a few 

of my cousins, my Aunt Aurora (his wife) and my Uncle Jack.

This was virtually a family reunion.

Each person there knew my uncle in a different way.  

Uncle, father, grandpa, friend, boss, fellow serviceman.

I remember him fondly - always well dressed, always smiling, 

always with a story to tell, and always making me laugh.

In the sharing of stories, I learned a lot about him

that I didn't know. I also disovered things that helped 

me to piece together commonalities in our family history

 - similar traits that span generations - enabling me

to make sense of so much.  It also gave me a sweet sense 

of belonging that has diminished over the many years 

I've lived away from "home" and haven't spent much 

time with my extended family.

My Uncle Vernon was married to Aunt Aurora for 69 years.  She is pictured above with

my uncle early in their marriage, and below at the reception after the

funeral with me, Lori,  and Uncle Jack.

Uncle Jack, above center, is pictured below with Lori (baby) and his wife,

Aunt Connie.  They are Lori's god-parents.

So many memories of my younger years are of time spent

with aunts, uncles and cousins.  Moving away from Vermont

 after college, I regretfully lost touch with most of my cousins.

I would hear news through my parents, but it wasn't the same.

But then again, we were all leading busy lives working and 

raising our families.  This weekend, though, we were able to

reconnect and I was reminded of their value in my life.

Lori and I were able to spend time with Kevin and Debbie (above right)...

who are also pictured here.  Kevin and I are the little ones sitting on

the floor, and Debbie is standing wearing the red dress.  My cousin,

Stevie, is back-row center, and my brother, Paul, is holding Bugs Bunny.

My cousin, Dale is pictured with us above,  and in the center of 

the photo below.  I am the little girl to the right of her on the float.

Almost every weekend in the summer, our families would go camping

together.  We also drove caravan-style to Florida in the winter 

during our winter break from school to camp in the warm weather

and have fun together.

I have so many happy memories of times spent with my cousins. 

Swimming.  Talking.  Laughing.  Sitting around the campfire

at night as my uncles told stories (as only they knew

how to do).  Listening to my Uncle Jack sing Danny Boy.

Giggling as my uncles went skinny dipping in the lake at night.

Thanksgivings. Christmases. Parties.

I wish I had pictures with all of my cousins,

but I was happy with the many conversations we had.

Family is one of the greatest blessings we are given.  They

are a huge part of my sense of identity and sense of belonging.

We share biographies.  

We are so different and yet so much the same.

I'm so grateful for last weekend. 

Not for what brought us all together,

but for spending time together.

I had a wonderful time.