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.
Long drawn-out decisions of deciding on a costume, the preparation of getting ready for the evening, the hours of decorating and pumpkin carving, and even the fall festival no longer define Halloween for us. It’s a weird feeling. In some aspects, it’s nice not having the stress of having to get the girls fed and dressed in their costumes in record time in order not to miss a second of Halloween. In other aspects, it means they are growing up.
Growing up means animal onesies….
Trick or treating on their own, no parents in tow…
And a quick trip to the pumpkin patch to pick out an array of pumpkins and squash.
Meanwhile, competing for the most amount of candy and then trading it, never gets old!
Once upon a time in the years 2016 – 2019, while Mila lived with us as our second au pair and then later lived in DC, she would anticipate her future wedding in Brazil and shared how much it would mean for Justin, me, and the girls to be there.
Fast forward to 2024…Mila and Artem, who she started dating in 2019 while working in DC, decided to celebrate their nuptials in Rhodes, Greece! While Mila envisioned the girls being part of her wedding, the timing of it just didn’t work for taking the girls out of school and their activities. Justin and I decided we would represent M-Unit and turn the trip into our annual anniversary trip. Mila, the girls, as well as ourselves, were disappointed they couldn’t be there for the big day.
Justin and I had been so busy with work, the kids, and life, that we honestly didn’t give much thought to the trip leading up to it once we booked it in the spring through our travel agent, Jim. In fact, I’m surprised we didn’t forget anything in terms of packing!
We debated back and forth if we should spend the whole trip in Rhodes or visit another island. We opted for the latter and while it was good to see both islands, we spent too much time on flights to do so. We also overbooked tours some so we didn’t have as much down and free time on the trip that we normally enjoy.
Wednesday
Our trip started out with nearly a three-hour flight delay Wednesday evening causing us to miss our connecting flight in Athens.
Thursday
We rebooked on another Sky airline, for an extra fee, so that we could arrive to our hotel Crete four hours late vs. nine hours late. We were given Sky Lounge privileges so at least we had some comfortable seating and free snacks while we waited. It was disappointing though knowing that we were missing out on an entire afternoon that we normally would have used to explore the hotel, hang out at the pool and beach.
It was nearly 8:00 by the time we checked in our hotel (Porto Platanias Beach Resort – Luxury). There were actually three hotels part of the Porto Platanias name….we were in the smaller adults only one and were upgraded to a room with a private pool and beach access! The best part of the upgrade was the two full bathrooms! We also received a bottle of prosecco, some fancy desserts, and had one free round of the filled mini-fridge.
We quickly showered/freshened up and got a taxi to take us up the mountain to a restaurant Cosmos. The location on the top of the cliff was very nice…food was good too though nothing that blew us away.
Friday
Our first full day started with a big European breakfast, that had a great array of options. With full bellies, we headed out to our first private tour…a Chania City and Food Tour. Our tour guide, Aphrodite, was great and we enjoyed eating and walking around Chania City. We were able to visit many historical sites including the Venetian fortifications, the Arsenals, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the Etz Hayim Synagogue, and the Turkish Quarters.
We also tasted some traditional Greek favorites: olive oil, olives, bougatsa, and more cheese, olive, bread and tomatoes.
Visiting the city of Chania was really nice. An hour or so to explore on our own would have been nice.
We spent the afternoon walking on the beach, swimming in the sea and the pool, enjoying our champagne, working out in the gym, and strolling through all the shops and restaurants in town.
For dinner, we went to a highly rated Italian restaurant right, Cugini, which was delicious.
Saturday
Saturday we were up again early for another private tour. This one a Private Hiking Experience, which combined visits along the Akrotori peninsula and offered a little bit of scenery, culture, hiking, and beach. Our tour guide Nina, was great. The first stop was the Monastery of Agia Triada, built in the 17th century; the Monastery is still active today producing wine, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
Our next stop was a smaller and older monastery, Monastery of Gouverneto, where we hiked a rocky footpath passing the Bear’s Cave along the way. The Bear Cave was named after a stalagmite that looks like a crouching bear. The hike was mostly downhill, which meant the return was mostly uphill and had our heart rate up there!
A bunch of goats passed by us on the way up.
Next stop for us was the beach of Marathi, where we enjoyed a nice seaside lunch and then enjoyed the beach for an hour. The water was so calm and clear. It was a beautiful beach….though there were a lot of people there as it was such a beautiful spot.
Sunday
We had an early (7:00 am) pick-up to head back to the Chania airport for our flight to Athens and then to Rhodes. Thankfully both were on time. We arrived at our Rhodes Resort and Spa (Atrium Palace Thalasso Spa Resort) about 2:00 so we had time to enjoy the beautiful beach for a few hours in the afternoon. We were also able to get another workout in at the gym before dinner!
We ran into Mila on our way to the beach and she invited us to join all the wedding attendees at the hotel’s Italian restaurant that evening. We saw her parents and Nicholas again after many years. We also got a chance to meet many of Mila and Artum’s friends, who were all super nice and gracious. Many of their friends were friends from their time in Virginia and DC. Their friends and family came from everywhere….the U.S (Maryland, Virginia, Richmond, Pittsburg, Charlotte, Florida), Portugal, Brazil, London, Germany, and Australia.
Monday
Monday morning was our only morning where we didn’t have to wake early to catch a tour or flight. We slept a little later than normal, went to the gym, and had a leisurely morning eating breakfast (another great spread) and drinking coffee. We ran into Karolin at breakfast and she joined us for breakfast.
We spent a few hours in the afternoon at the sea, enjoying both laying out and the water.
Then at 2:30 it was time to get wedding ready!
First stop, the hotel lobby waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to the beach ceremony.
Waiting for the ceremony to begin.
The ceremony!
Mila and Artum each wrote their own vows. It was really beautiful to see that despite being very different from one another, they have a mutual respect for one another. They communicate, challenge one another, and support one another.
After the ceremony pictures!
Then the bus shuttled us about 20 minutes to a restaurant in the most beautiful setting where we took picture after picture witnessing the majestic sunset.
Screenshot
The location of the wedding was absolutely breathtaking. Mila and Artum had a few technical difficulties with some of their planned wedding festivities (i.e. translation of speeches, slide shows, etc.), but they made the most of it. The majority of Mila’s guy friends are gay and they knew how to get a party started on the dance floor. They had me laughing much of the night watching them.
The shuttle bus brought us back home about 12:30. Justin and I proceeded to go to bed. The younger crowd had a beach afterparty until 4:00 am!
Tuesday
Our last full day! We had a tour scheduled for the medieval Rhodes town and while we wanted to see it, we didn’t necessarily want the tour portion. We tried to cancel but it was too late for a refund, so we stuck with our tour starting a little later than originally anticipated and cutting the tour portion in in half so we had time to explore and buy some souvenirs on our own. Our tour guide, Mary, was very nice and she thankfully wasn’t too offended about us wanting to cut the tour short.
We saw the Palace of the Grand Master, once home to leader of the Knights of St. John of Rhodes. Today it is a museum housing medieval furniture, elaborate mosaics, and archaeological exhibits from Rhodes.
We explored the Jewish Quarters and the Kahal Kadosh Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Greece, and the Jewish Museum of Rhodes.
We spent a few hours on our own eating gyros, gelato (my one time) and exploring shops.
We enjoyed a few last hours at the beach until dusk and then ate our last full meal at a local Greek restaurant.
We had a great trip, though this trip we didn’t stick to our travel principles and it was a reminder to us that our best times of travel are when we stick to the travel principles that are us.
Cheers to Mila and Artum and a second trip to Greece!
Year 4, though not consecutive of staying at Conch’d Out in North Topsail Beach, NC with our beach family, the Brophys and Nidays.
We had incredible weather and we “beached” and “pooled” daily. The kids loved catching the waves while boogey boarding, even Avery was in the mix this year riding the waves to shore.
I even went in the water one day!
Pool and hot tub time often followed beach time, and often the pool was frequented again in the late afternoon.
We kept to our standard food routine…each family cooked one night and then we had pizza, BBQ, burgers/dogs, and a seafood boil the other nights.
We left the house rarely, only going to the grocery store and Bada Bing Bada Bang for delicious ice-cream and creamy ices.
We celebrated Harper’s Birthday – 11 years of loving this girl!
We “Christmased” in August, a first for us. Ms. Augusta orchestrated it and we all enjoyed giving and receiving; Christmas breakfast, dinner, and cookies made a showing. I napped twice, carried a book with me, read barely, walked a lot, and cleaned very little. We had fun, soaked up the sun, and made memories.
The first day snuck up on us. Eight weeks of summer wasn’t long enough. We all could have used one or two more weeks of summer, especially mom.
Avery and Emerson did great waking up to their alarm and making their own breakfast. Mom was on the struggle bus. Bus rolled up at 6:42, a few minutes late!
Harper too woke up to her alarm, showered, and was excited to be a 6th grader. Two sets of pictures as the planned first day of school outfit could have easily turned into a wardrobe malfunction.
The annual bus stop breakfast didn’t disappoint. Pretty sure the ratio of food to what is actually eaten is 10:1. Harper confidently rocked the last seat of the bus.
Afternoon Update: Avery was quite talkative and had a good day. Emerson is already counting down the days until summer. Harper had a great day and is excited about the flexibility seating including the yoga balls. Mom got dressed, did her hair, and is feeling good about day two!
