For me, this year’s recital was different…in a good, beautiful way. I still did Avery’s make-up, but she did everything else….her own hair, gathering of all her costumes, preparation of her snacks, etc.
For recitals, I no longer go back to the dressing room with her; there is no helping with quick costume changes. In fact, she does so much on her own that I literally forgot I had to do her make-up for the 3:00 Saturday show!
It also escaped my mind to take pictures. Normally, I take pictures at dress rehearsal. She had so many dress rehearsals (ok…three) that I wasn’t at all of them and even the ones that I was at, I flat out forgot to take pictures. Good thing Avery took it upon herself to get professional pictures taken in most of her costumes! And they are great…I may actually buy some this year!
And for the first time ever, two of Avery’s dance performances in the Friday night show (Jazz III and Lyrical A), I had never seen before. I hadn’t even seen the costume, which she hid in her closet for several months.
I absolutely love watching the company dances over and over; at the same time, there was something really beautiful and special about watching a dance for the first time at recital.
In total Avery, performed Friday night in four dances:
Days Like This – Lyrical A
Mambo Italiano – Junior A CDC Jazz
Baby I’m a Star – Jazz III
Brand New Day – CDC
Saturday 3:00 afternoon show:
Hold On – Junior A CDC Solo
Consider Yourself – Junior A CDC Musial
Brand New Day – CDC
Saturday 7:00 pm show:
Landslide – Junior A CDC Solo Lyrical
Brand New Day – CDC (that was the plan anyway)…
…Avery injured her already hurt knee in her second to last dance to the point she couldn’t walk and perform the final dance in production. She was heartbroken.
I went back to the dressing room after she was injured and seeing the girls and teachers come together to care and support her is truly heartwarming. What these girls have with one another is so incredibly special…a true gift.
Avery performed beautifully and it was extra rewarding to watch her perform her solo in front of close to 400 people. While there is more at stake performing a solo at a competition, there are far less people watching you. At recital, it’s all eyes on you!
As for her knee, we have had several appointment and have more to come…we are holding are breath and remaining calm for the news.
I’ve been trying to think of something clever to start this blog, but the words escape me; I try to quell my mind of the reality of this year’s graduation. Avery and Emerson finished 8th grade and will be freshman at James Madison High School, the same high school I went to just a few years ago…alright maybe more than a few but not more than a decade 🙂 ! Harper finished 6th grade and will be a 7th grader at Thoreau. Our family’s run of elementary school is officially over. Nine years at OES have come and gone.
As young toddlers, they watched the big yellow bus from the kitchen window thinking “one day they would be on that bus”. They got their turn after several years and now next year when that big yellow bus comes by in the afternoon, if they aren’t at their activities, they may just think “one day, I was on that bus”.
Avery and Emerson are thrilled to not have the 6:30 am bus stop departure time.
Harper will inherit it.
I am not too thrilled. This is pretty typical of my days of driving the girls to the bus stop….rolling out of bed in my pajamas and getting straight into the driver’s seat!
Thoreau did an 8th grade party during the school day for the 8th graders.
OES had a formal graduation, where Harper received two awards:
Presidents Education Awards Program for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Youth Citizenship Award
Only 5 students (out of 125) received the DAR Award….I’m not surprised…..Harper is always helping others and cares deeply about doing the right thing.
Harper and her entourage.
We arrived home to Avery and Emerson’s surprising Harper with a driveway celebration!
Later that night, Harper attended the Oakton Elementary 6th Grade graduation party. We carpooled with a few of her friends. Such a great group of girls and wonderful friendship.
The annual last day of school bus stop tradition continued with water balloons, water guns, and Kona ice.
How amazing is this….I know this is a memory that the girls will cherish always.
The girls are ready for a laidback summer full of little surprises.
Sitting on the stairs next to each other isn’t possible as it once was.
And the mad dash to see what the Easter Bunny brought is quite a dash anymore…just a relaxed curious stroll.
The Easter Bunny delivered mostly chocolate with a side of sour patch kids.
We made it to the 9:00 VPC Church Service….along with much of Vienna, which meant we had to sit outside the sanctuary!
The girls spotted a “celebrity” at church and were starstruck…they were even giddier when they got to take their picture with her. They had to tell me who she was…Kendall Vertes from Dance Moms.
We enjoyed the free treats and warm weather on the Town Green. It was a beautiful day and I was so happy that the outfits that the girls wanted to wear all coordinated with one another. Once I knew what they were wearing I pulled out my blue dress to maintain the look! And Justin and I always seem to wear the same colors so he blended in very nicely too!
We took the obligatory family pics.
And the annual Easter Egg Basket holding picture in the driveway.
The girls enjoyed an extended Easter Egg Hunt of chocolate filled eggs, hidden in both the backyard and the front yard. Each girl had 49 of her own designated colored eggs and there were 27 “free for all”.
My parents came over for dinner. It made oven braised chicken with white rice and roasted carrots and asparagus. Emerson made a delicious loaf of bread. Avery made a fabulous Easter Bunny cake.
Harper made home-made cake-pops!
I have been on a gut health protocol the last four months and don’t indulge in desserts nearly as much as I used to. But I did for Easter….as Harper said, “Life is about eating cake”.
A few months back, I had the realization that our girls’ future schedules upon entering high school would mean less available weeks of family travel. With this Spring break potentially being our last “free” one, I originally thought we would take a big trip. Flight prices were insane though…so we decided to go to the Outer Banks for four nights…turns out it was just what we needed to relax and replenish.
Sunday:
We arrived Sunday evening just in time for dinner. We ate at The Run Down Café just around the corner from our Airbnb. It was yummy…so yummy that we actually went back for dinner a second time Wednesday evening.
Our Airbnb was super cute and quaint. The house was impeccably clean….I have stayed at a lot of beach houses and even the nicest ones often have some mold in the bathrooms…there was seriously not a speck of mold or dirt on the grout or anywhere in the bathrooms or the house.
Monday:
Justin woke up early and went to the store so we had food to make for breakfast, lunch, and one dinner. We enjoyed a breakfast of oatmeal and maple sausage and then spent several hours at the beach. While the water was freezing, the sun was strong and it was an enjoyable few hours.
After lunch at the cottage and some time playing ping pong and corn hole, we played a round of mini golf at Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf. Fun was mostly had by all!
On the way home, we had ice cream for the first time at Scoops. Avery thought it was good…I didn’t try any so I can’t say, but it wasn’t a place that I would rush back to.
For dinner, we went to the Blue Moon Café in its new location, a favorite of mine and Justin’s. We hadn’t been in at least six years and we were excited to share our favorite OBX restaurant with the girls.
The food was delicious (other than the calamari which was okay), though Justin and I both agreed there was a little something missing with the larger size of the restaurant.
TUESDAY:
Originally the forecast for Tuesday had rain in it, but the morning couldn’t have been more beautiful. We spent a few hours at the beach, followed by lunch at home, and more ping pong and corn hole.
Avery had a good time doing dance poses by the water.
We went to Jockey’s Ridge in the afternoon. It was warm when we left and by the time we arrived 15 minutes later, the weather had completely shifted. The temp dropped and the winds picked up.
The girls would have to stand still and hide their faces during a big wind gust.
Despite the sand blowing, it was such a cool experience.
We had ice cream and acai bowls on the way home at Noosa…it was SO good!
Tuesday evening we cooked at the cottage…pasta with sausage, ground chicken, mushrooms, and a ricotta sauce.
WEDNESDAY:
Our friends from home, the Sittas, were also vacationing in Kitty Hawk, so we met them Wednesday morning for donuts and coffee at Duck Donuts. We then went to brunch at Arts, right near our cottage. Between all us, we had omelets, pancakes, French toast, a sausage breakfast sandwich, bacon, and fruit.
The weather was considerably cooler Wednesday so while we went to the beach it was a little chilly. Harper enjoyed flying her new kite! Emerson had a turn and while she too had fun, she almost decapitated Harper and Avery in the process.
Avery had one more session of dance poses and back walkovers by the water.
We went back to The Run Down Café again for an early dinner as there was something on the menu for everyone. And since we had an early dinner, we decided to get dessert one last time. We went for frozen yogurt and soft serve gelato at a super cute place called Surfin Spoon.
There was more ping pong and cornhole….I didn’t play a ton but when I did, I quickly got into it!
We had a great few days of family time and relaxation and I certainly felt replenished and refreshed. The sand, sun, and beach were good for our souls.
My dad’s 75th birthday fell on a Monday, a heavy activity night…so we opted to celebrate on Saturday. I gave my dad three options to celebrate his birthday…1. Go out to eat a restaurant of his choosing; 2. Come over for a home cooked meal of his choosing; or 3. Come over for a Passover Seder / birthday dinner combination. Secretly I was hoping he wouldn’t choose the third option as it was my least preferred…I just didn’t know if I was up for cooking a full Passover meal the night before we were headed on vacation. He chose option 3! Ha!
SO…I opted for a simple yet delicious menu of oven braised beef brisket, Hungarian potatoes, and garlic green beans. I seasoned and seared the brisket and sauteed the onions Friday night so Saturday morning all I had to do was stick the brisket in the oven! My dad bought latkes and Matzo ball soup from Parkway Deli to complete the meal.
I made a Seder plate…a real Jew would probably laugh but for my first one, not bad. We did the same abbreviated Seder we have been doing at my parent’s house over the years.
We ate!
We took pictures to celebrate 75 years of life!
We sang Happy Birthday and my dad blew out the four candles in one breath!
And we finished off the evening with Passover desserts as birthday treats!
Twenty years in the making….that’s how I felt about finally going to visit Katie in Guadalajara, Mexico. One of my biggest regrets is not visiting Katie in Argentina during the four years she lived there in our mid-twenties. When Katie told me three years ago that she and her family were going to live and work somewhere in Latin America for two years, I knew this was my second chance. With just a few months remaining in her time in Mexico, a little nudge by Katie and my trip was scheduled.
We had a wonderful girl’s weekend….we walked, we talked, we checked out markets, and caught up on life. Katie and I haven’t spent more than a few hours together each year in years past so having 2 ½ full days of mostly just us time was wonderfully good for the soul.
Katie wrote up everything we did (as she knew I likely couldn’t remember it)…
-stayed in Colonia Country Club
-visited the American School Foundation of Guadalajara
-walked around Bosque Colomos park
-had tacos at Don Miguelón in Colonia Providencia
-had a glass of wine and a popsicle at Brick Steak House in Country Club
-visited Teuchitlan and Guachimontones including lunch at Monte Carlo on the Laguna de Teuchitlan
-walked around, had brunch, and visited the Tianguis in the Santa Teresita (Santa Tere) neighborhood
-explored the tianguis and walked around Colonia Americana including Avenida Chapultepec and dinner at La Matera Argentine restaurant
-had Ceviche and margaritas at La Mar restaurant on Avenida Terrenova in Providencia
-explored the San Juan de Dios/Mercado de la Libertad (largest indoor market in Latin America)
-walked around el Centro to see the Catedral Basílica de la Asunción de María Santísima (Guadalajara Cathedral), Rotunda, and plaza
Competition season has begun. Avery’s much anticipated first two back-to-back dance competitions yielded some amazing results:
Platinum – Solo Friday night, convention Saturday morning and early afternoon, 3 group dances Saturday evening, and convention Sunday morning and early afternoon
“Hold On”, Avery’s solo adjudicated High Gold
All three group dances adjudicated Platinum
Cuppett received the “Studio of Excellence Award” award
Avery was recognized in convention for always having a positive attitude, smile, and always giving 110%, actively participating, being up front, etc. and was given a $300 scholarship to Brant Lake Dance Camp in NY. To say she was elated is an understatement…she had been wanting to get some type of convention award for hard work. I’m so proud of her, especially considering her head was bothering her and she pushed through
Groove – Three group dances Saturday morning, followed by a long afternoon break and Avery’s solo performance in the evening.
“Hold On”, Avery’s solo adjudicated Diamond and received 1st place
All three group dances adjudicated Diamond and “Mambo” received 1st place, and Landslide received 3rd place.
Cuppett received the “Studio of Excellence Award”!
Meanwhile the same weekend of Platinum, Harper had:
3 basketball games (semi-final, final, and All-Star Game)
3 soccer games (a tournament)
Her team won the soccer tournament and her basketball team won the championship game.
While her team lost the All-Star Game, Harper scored four points with two layups.
Thankfully Emerson did not have a tournament the same weekend, but she did have:
1 hour lesson with Ian
Victory practice
Emerson did have a softball tournament the following weekend, the first one of the season. She made nice contact with the ball Saturday. Her team did not do that great, but they have many more tournaments coming up and she is eager to play.
A rarity, Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah fell on the same day this year. Verdict is still being determined if we like that or not.
Christmas Eve tradition continued and we went to PF Chang’s for dinner. We (mama) thought about changing it up but was vetoed. Dinner was early this year, the early bird special, as we went to the 7:00 Church Service versus the 5:00 service, as we aged out of the earlier service.
Family pictures before heading out to dinner.
Christmas morning we opened Santa gifts and stockings before breaking for a delicious breakfast.
Avery made cinnamon buns and Harper made scones the day before Christmas so Christmas morning we just had to stick them in the oven. They were beautiful and delicious. It was a family affair prepping and making all the food, which was joyous and amazing. Bacon, sausage, eggs, fruit, orange scones, and cinnamon buns!
My parents came over for dinner. An Italian theme menu of chicken parmigiana, ricotta meatballs, sauteed green beans, and homemade crusty bread was derived and executed as a family affair.
Hannukah was celebrated…we gifted a new menorah to the girls.
And we celebrated with lighting the menorah and saying the “bah-rookh ah” seven more nights and eating Harper’s scrumptious homemade red velvet Star of David cake.
And for that verdict…the house is split on having Hannukah start so late.
A weekend of bringing grandma back to Florida and sharing with the girls just how special a place Hallandale was to me and my mom.
We visited her old building; my favorite part the mirrors were still there.
And so was the mezuzah on her apartment 808 door!
The pool area was like I never left….
As was the shuffle board.
We even made our way into Point East and saw Grandma Mollie’s apartment.
It was late but even in the dark the Point East pool looked very much intact and as simple as it used to be. The bay, in the dark, looked even bigger than I remembered!
The mall expanded and even a non-mall lover like me could have spent hours there. It was upscale stores coupled with indoor vendors resembling a farmers market feel.
The walkway to the private beach across the street, while updated, still brought back vivid memories. We popped out onto the quiet beach for a quick moment, but when it came time to hanging out at the beach, we spent the time at The Hyde’s crowded beach area so we could have beach chairs and towels.
The girls enjoyed being able to get another beach vacation in for the year.
I would have loved to go to The Rascal House, but the Rascal House went out of business years ago, before my grandma even moved up to Virginia. We ate at Flannigans and Mo’s, which were favorites of Papa and Grandma’s, and both were delicious. We filled in our other lunches and dinner with new places, that all turned out to be fantastic! From wood fired pizzas and mouthwatering salads to top notch chicken parmigiana and corned beef sandwiches and tuna salad sandwiches, it was truly a culinary delight. We have been back six days and I still can’t stop thinking about the food!
We unexpectedly saw one of my grandma’s third cousins, Vinnie and Selma’s son Andrew. That was a treat!
And we had a short sweet ceremony with just the four of us girls and Stewart. Harper read the Welcome Home poem that Papa left for Grandma as a newspaper clipping in his drawer; the one we framed for her after his death.
I updated grandpa on the family….below is what I wrote and read:
Papa! It’s been a while…almost 18 years actually. Though it doesn’t’ feel like that at all. Your voice is still so vivid in my head…as well as so many memories of us together…from the times you would come to Virginia and the times I would spend in Florida.
I loved when you would visit twice a year…in March and September, but I think I loved my visits to Florida more. I loved the routine of it. You would get up early many days and spend the mornings at the JCC playing racquetball and running…always sporting your sweatband and wristbands…you always worked up a huge sweat. Grandma many mornings would go to Aerobics. I love how working out and exercise were such an important part of your routine and you didn’t change your routines when we were there. Breakfast time was always a favorite routine as well. Coffee would brew for the adults and a very leisurely breakfast would occur with newspapers spread all over the table, and sometimes the morning news on the small TV in the dining room. Grandma would often stop at Publix on her way home from Aerobics or running other errands…there was never a shortage of cheese or lunch food in the condo. We would spend a few hours at the beach each day….I remember bobbing on your knee in the calm warm waters. Grandma would often pop over but didn’t go in the water regularly…always being careful of her hair, the hair that was “set” once a week.
We really did spend a lot of time at the dining room table…from breakfast, to lunch, and to most dinners, when we weren’t eating out at The Rascal House, Mario the Baker, or the latest Chinese food restaurant that was good. Love…there was always a lot of love at that table.
SO Here is what I wanted to really share….a LOT happened since we all last saw you in 2006.
I’ll start with me, since I’m the one writing this!
In 2007, Justin and I got engaged! Remember him…you liked him, I think! Well we got married in 2008, had a wonderful wedding…Grandma was there…oh how I wish you were there! We then had twins Avery and Emerson in 2011 followed by Harper exactly two years later. Yep, three girls very close in age! And today they are 13, 13, and 11…and they keep us very busy with their different school schedules, and activities from softball, dance, and soccer, and more! You would have adored them….they are pretty amazing.
Lauren got married in 2017…in Sweden of all places…to Gabriel who is half Argentine and half Swedish! They have two little boys, Noah (almost 6) and Elias (3). They live in London…Lauren went there 13 years ago for work and never came back…visits excluded.
Mom and Dad had their 50th anniversary 2 years ago….crazy…they still live in the same house in Vienna. Both are retired and they help out with the girls a lot. Mom helped with Grandma a lot and saw her multiple times a week from the time she moved up here in 2015 until last year. In 2015, Mom, Stuart, and Perry and Grandma decided she was moving to Virginia (Norman passed away by then so it was best)…anyway, she liked her place initially…she felt it had everything she needed!
Onto Stewart…Stewart and Lynn moved to a new house (surprise) a few years ago. They also have a condo on the Delaware Shore.
Ryan married Christine who I think you may have heard about, as they dated in college. They have two boys…Wyatt (5), James (2) and another boy on the way. Brett married Jessie; they met in college…William and Mary actually. They have two girls…Emily (5) and Molly (2). Katie got married two years ago to Conner. They all live in Virginia relatively close to one another.
Onto Perry…Perry and Gail moved about a year ago from California to Las Vegas. They now live by Michael and his wife Darrah (they got married in 2008). Michael and Darrah have two boys…Tyler (16) and Jenson (11)?.
Jason still lives in California with his 5 boys…yep! He has 4 boys with his first wife Alli (you were at their wedding in Santa Barbara). He has twins (Blake and Brady – 16), Carter (13), and Colty (11). And he has one more, River (4), with his current wife Gina.
I’ll save you doing the math….that’s 16 great-grandchildren with one more on the way. Grandma got to meet most of them, and know some of them when they were younger! You would have loved all of them.
Well, Grandma is now home with you….its crazy to think that she lived 17 years without you. You are reunited now and I hope you are having a blast. I hope you are doing things together that you loved and I hope Grandma isn’t bustin your chops too much.
We miss you always and forever!
I also stalked my cousins Facebook pages to print out recent pictures of all the grandkids and great-grandkids for Papa to see and hold close. And I spoke one more time to Grandma now in her resting place and shared what I had shared with her not long before her death and at her celebration of life in Virginia last year:
“He’s the penis”.
While my grandma had been speaking gibberish for the last year or so, she sometimes made complete sense with a statement saying “I love you”, “where are you going”, “I’m listening”, “I remember”, “how are you”, or “he is handsome” in reference to a soap opera character.
Three months ago, I knew her time earthside was winding down and I wanted her to know she was loved, and it was okay to let go. I went with my mom, Avery, and Harper with the intent of reading her a letter I had written; Emerson joined us later coming from 643 (softball) with my dad. Upon seeing my dad in her room, my grandma looked at him and said “he’s the penis”. While I am pretty sure that is not exactly what she meant to say, she clearly knew it was my dad or a man and those are simply the words that came out of her mouth; the girls and I certainly got a chuckle and asked ourselves if we heard what she said correctly!
Below are the words I read to my grandma, to which several times, I said to her, “Grandma, are you listening?” when I felt like she wasn’t with me and she responded back “I’m listening” or “go ahead.”
******
Grandma –
It’s been awhile since we have had a real conversation. I’m not sure when the last one was…5 years ago probably and I am sure you were asking about the girls and what they were up to. You loved to hear about them!
Anyway, I got to thinking and I wanted to share with you…share with you some of the hundreds of memories I have that involve you, and Papa during my childhood. So in no particular order:
Walking the wagon across the street to the beach
Bobbing in warm lake like ocean every summer
Going to Hollywood beach and picnicking at the picnic benches
Hanging out at the pool for hours and watching the boats go by.
Hanging out in the lobby, checking the mail in the lobby, and riding the elevator to the 8th floor.
Getting the beach chairs from the storage unit.
Doing kicks in front of your hallway mirror…and checking myself out constantly.
Your kitchen wall phone cord and you always having conversations with your friends.
Your twice a year two week visits to Virginia…every March and September like clockwork.
Going to TCBY as much as we could when you visited!
Driving back to Florida with you and papa after one of your visits….stopping at rest stops with our cooler of sandwiches to eat our packed lunch.
You and Papa taking me to Disney World…me wanting to see the fireworks, you not knowing where they were, going on the Dumbo ride instead only to realize that the fireworks were over Dumbo.
Driving with you to run errands especially Publix and ordering cheese at the deli counter which was sliced each piece separately.
Listening to Taylor Dane in the car
Going with you to your aerobics class…I love watching you through the window in your leotard with all the other ladies. I remember your sweat head band.
Waking up every morning and you and Papa would always be at the dining room table, paper spread out, reading the paper or some crossword puzzle action, eating breakfast, drinking coffee. The small kitchen Tv on too!
Always a jam-packed fridge.
Having a sit-down lunch daily and discussing at lunch what was for dinner that night. I always thought that was so crazy and yet I totally get it now!
Your delicious dinners….peppered steak, some type of chicken, white rice, and salad for you and papa that consisted of iceberg lettuce and a slice of radish. Oh salads back then!
Oh and the yellow cushions…they were old and I remember some of them were in better condition than others…how old was I when I finally stopped sitting on them. Why did we sit on them? Was it for height or was it so we didn’t spill anything? Probably the former since they had holes in them!
Going over the bridge to visit Grandma Molly…walking around the bay at Grandma Mollie’s house, eating Grandma Molly’s rugelach and star cookies. Why did we not get the recipe?
Talking to you long distance weekly and always ending the conversation with “I love you”
Going out to dinners in Florida and Virginia with you, papa, mom, lauren, and me…you always making sure everyone brought a sweater…since you thought every restaurant was freezing….you complaining of your food always being served cold at restaurants…oh how that drove mom and Stuart crazy!
Going to the movies….always with a sweater!
Walking around the Aventura Mall when we visited.
The time we went out for Chinese Food at House of Mandarin and Papa and Mom split the check in half when they were arguing who would pay it (literally ripped it in half)
Going out to eat at The Rascal House…eating lots or rolls at The Rascal House.
Eating a tuna sandwich as takeout from The Rascal House before heading to the airport back to Virginia
You and Papa coming to see my graduate high school
You and I talking about our Weight Watchers experience
Coming to visit you on my spring break with Robyn and you and Papa taking me and my friends out for dinner
You giving me some of your white seashell necklaces in Santa Barbara at Jason’s wedding
You coming to my wedding and being so happy for me…you and I both walked down the wrong aisle!
You coming to visit alone after Avery and Emerson were born.
Me always sharing something to indicate I was the coolest and you and Papa always absolutely agreeing.
These are just some of the memories…you and Papa were such instrumental part of my childhood…I always felt so much love from you both. I am so fortunate and blessed to have grown up with both you being active in my life. 26 years Papa was in my life…43 years you were in my life…incredible. And you not only met, but you knew and loved Justin and my three girls.
Papa and you were a great pair…you lived almost 17 years without him, which truly seems hard to believe. He didn’t live to see any great grandkids and here you are with 16! 3 kids, 3 daughter/son in-laws, 7 grandkids, 16 great grandchildren.
Its time…go be with Papa….he left that letter for you…its time that you meet again.
