Even more of the same Summer

Sijing and her mother left and we packed our bags and headed for Moab. Courtland planned a family reunion for our family in July in Moab!? What was he thinking? Yes it was hot but it was so much fun that I think in the long run no one cared. All but Beckett and his family had access

to a jeep and they have their 4X4 truck so we all went on the trails. If you read my blog you know that we bought a new Jeep on Memorial Day and by the end of the family reunion we had the necessary "Rocky Mountain Pin stripping" to prove that this Jeep isn't just a pretty face. It is tough to know that our new Jeep is all scratched but such is life.

We went to Gemini Bridges on Friday and on Sat we took the LaSal Mountain Pass. Friday we cooked and Sat by the time we got to the top it was 61 degrees and the kids were all freezing. We had them wrapped in blankets and sweatshirts and finally put them in the car with the windows rolled up. The adults were cold as well. I even went places I never imagined I would go. I drove up Baby Lions Back. I had Courtland with me and he was a wonderful co-pilot. My husband wouldn't drive it so I felt obligated to do it to show I am a "real" woman. It worked. Joseph said he could now brag that he sat and watched his wife drive it.

Thank you Courtland for all the time and effort you put into making this family reunion one that we will remember forever. Don't ever think that your family didn't invest in the activity.

More of the Summer

I came home from Wasnington DC to find my husband standing at the airport with a 16 year old Chinese girl and her mother. My flight had been delayed so Joseph picked up Sijing and her mother Yangyang and then waited for me. Sijng is our little girl who was coming to compete in the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition. (For those of you who don't know about the piano competition you are missing out on a lot. ) These young kids know how to play the piano. The following week turned out to one of the highlights of my life. Sitting everyday listening to the kind of music I love most played by someone live in my house was a blessing I will never forget. They were the perfect house guests. They don't smoke or drink. they didn't even drink tea. They were very respectful and very appreciative of everything that was done for them. They liked my cooking and preferred to eat at home rather than go out. They loved watching the birds in the back yard and loved walking in the rose garden.

The fact that Sijing won the whole competition was the grand payoff. To see her face and her mothers reaction was priceless. Sijing plays with such passion that you can't help but feel the music. I would keep her if it was possible.

Here is Sijing with one of the other competitors.

Summer!!!

This summer for me has been one for the record books. It started the middle of June when my mother, sisters and I donned our trusty tiara's and headed for our nations capitol. Imagine 3 middle aged women and 1 elderly Gran wearing tiara's all over Washington DC. We went to places like the capitol building, Arlington, Mt Vernon, and government briefings wearing our goofy little crowns. We have learned that the 4 of us together wearing them is OK. People think we are a little strange but we get a lot of funny reactions. But one person alone just looks out of the sanitarium crazy. (like when you have to go to the restroom and you have to go alone) One thing that has become a standard for our retreats is the picture of nothing but our feet. So here we are standing in the absolute middle of Washington DC and our feet prove it. (can you imagine if you were there that day watching 4 old ladies standing in the middle of the rotunda wearing tiara's and taking a picture of their feet what you would think?)

Inanimate Objects

We have a small area in our front yard that is fenced off and is called "Arch's National Park With Benches" It is a place the grand kids (and unknown neighbor kids) like to play and look around. The micro-gust winds blow the pine cones out of the trees overhead and make it hard to walk around in the park. This morning I was out raking the pine cones and other junk out of the area when I bumped into one of the little figurines. I found myself talking to the little object and apologizing for having tread on it with my adult feet. As I realized what I was doing I started to laugh thinking if the neighbors were listening they would think I was nuts. (Actually they already know I am) I tried to figure out why I was talking to this little thing when I realized that after many years of having a family I have spent most of my time talking to inanimate objects. They are so busy doing their own thing that they can sit and ignore you while you are talking right at (not to) them. So I felt right at home in the park with all the metal, resin, glass and plastic do dads that make the park a pleasant place to be. You should come for a visit if you promise not to step on the little decorations.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to rememeber loved ones who have passed on and this we do in our society by buying hot house forced blooming mums and trecking off to some distant cemetery. Well this year we decided to do something different. We were going to stay home and weed the rose garden. I had gotten Joseph to agree to help for a few hours and I was excited. I was actually getting help from my husband in the garden! Well we awoke to the heavens playing a joke on me by sending rain. There would be no working in the garden! We called Gran to see if she wanted to go to lunch, but alas she was busy. We ran a few errands and were done for the day. Joseph called a friend who was working a tent sale for used cars and invited Joseph to come over for a free hot dog. Joseph loves free hotdogs so we decided to go. I am unable to explain how we got from eating free hot dogs to signing papers on a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, 4-door, 4x4. Oh how I wish Gran had been available.

American Idols

For several years now our family has gotten together to watch American Idol. It is our FHE. We rarely know the names of the contestants. We refer to them by such names as "Shower Curtain Girl", "Dreadlock Boy" and "Comb over Boy". We have fun critiquing the singers, eating good food (it used to be great food but that ended when D'nita moved away) watching the little kids play together, and just spending time together.

One never knows how many people will show up for dinner. We have gotten good at throwing another potato in the pot and making it all work out. We don't own a boat or a cabin. We don't go camping or to Europe but you can count on the street in front of our house being filled with cars on Tues night come 7:00 PM. These are my American Idols. I hope that you and your families are making memories as well.

Family!!!

At the end of the movie Nicholas Nickleby by MGM the character Mr Crummles (played by Nathan Lane) makes a toast to the brides and grooms and says " In every life no matter how full or empty ones purse there is tragedy. It is the one promise life always fulfills. Thus happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it but to a delight in it when it comes and to add to other peoples store of it. What happens if too early we loose a parent, that party on whom we rely for only everything? What did these people do when their families shrank? They cried their tears, but then they did the vital thing. They built a new family person by person. They came to see that family need not be defined mearly as those with whom they share blood, but as those for whom they would give their blood."

And so it is with this quote we introduce the Carbone Family Characters. We are a family of wide interests and even wider beliefs. We laugh together and we cry toghether but in the end we have proven that we are bigger than the blood that binds many families. We embrace those that will come and accept us for who we are.