Casa De Clark

Another great year here at Casa Clark 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (a moderate life) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:29:00 +0000

Happy Holidays from all of us Crazy Clarks 2011!

I got a little bit messed up this year. You see most years I start my letter when it is snowing out and that has been the case for many years past. Since we got our first snow before Halloween and I didn’t keep a date book this year, also an oddity, I completely spaced my duties until I got my first Christmas card of the season! Then I had to jot down notes as I remembered the many events we had and that took a lot of brain work! So without further ado I will share with you what has been going on in our world this year.

The day after Christmas we had a monumental snow storm which kept us indoors for a week. The late winter was spent making final visits to colleges for Samantha, which mostly meant visiting Boston with a singular side trip to White Plains to visit her state school choice. She finally settled on applying to Emmanuel College, Northeastern University, Lesley University, Alfred University and the Conservatory of Art and Design at Purchase College. She was accepted to all her schools and we were proud of the academic scholarships she received. Christina was lucky enough to be the only one of us to ski this winter, going with the Bushey’s to Windham Mountain for a long weekend.

In February I trekked out to Vegas a day late because of a huge snow storm to see Blue Oyster Cult in concert at Boulder Station Casino and got to see all my good friends, Jack and Alma Heffling, Bob and Karen Cowley, Steve Hobbs, Rich Smalley, Donald Roeser and Steve LaCerra. Had a great party after the show and then spent a few days shopping and relaxing with Alma.

In March I had a lovely late birthday dinner with my two dearest friends from my work days, Kathy Johnson and Gail Esbin. No matter how much time goes by, we always have fun getting together. I also had a great dinner and drinks with Noreen Revuelta and Tina Whyte, my girls from the old neighborhood, and what silliness we had! We also planned a senior Girl Scout trip to the Bronx Zoo which is something we hadn’t done with the girls before as a troop. It was a lot of fun remembering all the trips we had done with this great group. Christina had a great time as a cast member of the Student run main stage production of the Boyfriend and Sam did her final stint as Makeup director for the play.

We spent Easter at home and had a great dinner at my sister Veronica’s house, joined by Emilio Montero, Sam’s boyfriend. My God son AJ decided to transfer to Emmanuel College in Boston and since he is a huge Red Sox fan like us (though sadly we didn’t get any games in this year!) I think it is the perfect place for him!

Spring also brought the event of a lifetime for Samantha and her choir, when they were invited to sing at a choral festival and premier a new choral piece written by a famous contemporary composer, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The event was spectacular and the kids had an amazing time practicing in the hall, getting ready backstage and simply being on the stage where world famous performers had stood during its storied history. We were joined by Emilio, my mom and dad and my Uncle Christo and then had a delicious sushi dinner afterwards on the Upper East Side. A few weekends later we were back in the city to take the girls to see Greenday’s rock opera American Idiot with lead guitarist Billie Jo playing the part of St. Jimmy, which was very exciting for them.

As the weather turned warmer we took our final trip with the girl scouts to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. It again amazed us at how many trips we had taken far and wide and how few involved the typical New York City tourist spots. Everyone was touched by the trip, and overjoyed to see a huge pod of dolphins jumping and playing right in New York Harbor on the trip back to the battery! We then walked up to Little Italy and had a great dinner with Noreen Revuelta, Tracy Deegan and Mark and Linda Smith. I will surely miss my Girl Scout parents along with the troop!

Spring turned warmer and events started cranking up around here for the family of a high school senior. Lucky to have a nice relaxing Sushi lunch with my cousin Juliet Singh-Kenny and my mom before things got too crazy. After a final visit to Emmanuel College in Boston for an overnight stay for her and a great visit for me with Matthew and Diana and the super cute Evelyn, Samantha finally decided that she was going to attend SUNY Purchase art conservatory, which is one of the toughest art schools to get into. With that decision behind her, she received her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award for young women (she even got a letter from the President!) in a beautiful ceremony with all Long Island Girl Scouts participating at an oceanfront restaurant on the south shore. It was great to share our pride with other scouting families such as the Kileys, the Smiths, the Deegans and the Revueltas, as well as my parents.

We also had a family delivery at the beginning of June as my nephew James Michael was born to my brother Matthew and his wife Diana. Evelyn is such a proud big sister and James is going to be a strapping young man. My brother Stephen and his wife Krissy came up from North Carolina to see the baby and visit so it was great to see them as well in late June, though sad to see my brother had damaged his shoulder and had to have surgery.

The end of school saw a whirlwind of activity. Sam had her final choir concert and the retirement of their director, Mrs. Leopold. It was so nice to have Sam and Christina in the select choirs together for a year. We had a very moving end of Girl Scouts troop retirement party in my parent’s lovely garden and this marked my retirement from scout leader as well, since Christina has chosen not to continue on next year. I will certainly miss scouting and my girls! The next Thursday was Senior Prom for Samantha and she was a vision in purple. We held the pre-prom party in my parent’s garden and all her friends came for pictures. Two days later it was graduation for Samantha who graduated on the President’s List of High Honor and 23^rd in her class. We couldn’t be more proud of her accomplishments and hard work! The very next day Christina traveled with Mark, Veronica and Sydney Andree to New Orleans for a week’s visit and had a wonderful time walking around Bourbon Street and visiting haunted houses! What a lucky girl!

Summer commenced with a wonderful reunion party for the Theta Chi fraternity and us Gettysburg girlfriends at Ken and Annemarie Foreman’s house in New Jersey. It was so awesome to see Eric and Despina Lipkin, Cha Coventry, Luke and Sandra Percario, Greg and Heather Andrews and all the kids! We spent the night at Greg and Heather’s house and the girls had a blast hanging with Chelsea. The next weekend we had our annual breakfast on the beach gathering with the Revuelta’s where we eat bagels at Robert Moses Park on Fire Island and stay for a BBQ dinner. It is always so much fun and reminds us of how lucky we are to have great friends and to live in such a beautiful place!

In August we had a visit from our dear New Hampshire friends Tom and Kelly Smart who had just moved back to the mainland from Nantucket and needed a good old friend fix. Wish they could have stayed longer but it was wonderful to get them even for one night! We had a family fun day at Six Flags Great Adventure the following week with Elizabeth Bushey in tow. All was well until the girls talked me into riding the Green Lantern stand up roller coaster and the pressure blew a vein in my foot causing pain for a week. Clark Family summer reunion was again held at Chris and Susan Clarks house in Massachusetts. Uncle Tom and Aunt Sally were in attendance along with cousins Tim, Betsy, Steve, Mike and Noreen, Joe and Deb, Leslie Freeland, Jeanne and Doug Boshen, Allison Clark, Peter’s Mom Mariann and all the kids swimming, barbecuing and playing hide and seek in the dark. We then had a big graduation party for Samantha which might have seemed a bit late but since all her other friends were having parties earlier it was right on time! It was great to have my mom and dad, the Andree’s, Roaches, Teresa Wuckich, Emilio Montero and his mom Nancy and Bopchi Jeanne, Al Orlando, Marge Dorfman and the many high school and work friends come over to party!

Sam started college at the end of August, but we couldn’t drop her off on time, due to Hurricane Irene which caused massive flooding and power outages. We weathered it pretty well, only losing cable and internet for a week, but my sister Veronica and her family lost power for quite a long time! Sam finally got settled in on Monday and started classes on Tuesday. After a period of homesickness and adjustment she is really enjoying herself, making friends and doing well in her 6 hour long classes! Here at home the adjustment to a three person crew has been interesting and continues to evolve but we see Sam quite a bit because she is only about an hour away. With Samantha’s departure from Elwood Movie Theater as a regular staffer and party hostess, Christina began working there as a hostess and very much likes the job and of course the spending money!

October brought Samantha’s 18^th birthday, Christina’s 15^th, Peter’s birthday and our 24^th Wedding Anniversary. We had a great time seeing BOC play the freshly renovated Paramount Theater in Huntington for our celebration. It was great to see John Castellano and his family including Nicole. Also awesome to visit with Sandy Roeser and share pictures of her first grandbaby, daughter Danielle's precious Abigail Rose. We then shared a delicious dinner and warm conversation with Stephanie and Ed Bushey and their daughters Elizabeth and Megan at the newly opened Zappata’s restaurant which replaced our favorite Mexican joint.

Peter traveled down to Virginia in November to hang out with his buddy Curt Corl in Virginia Beach and then visit with Toni and Amelia Corl at their home. The next weekend I was in Vegas again to see Blue Oyster Cult and visiting with Jack and Alma Heffling, Bob and Karen Cowley, Dave McConkey, Rich Smalley, Daryl and Christina Maxwell, Donald Roeser and Paul and Sue Gittens, all the way from England. It was great to also visit with Jules Randino for his birthday, Richie Castellano and Andrew Gearheart. We were sad to have to go to Greg Andrew’s mother Vera’s funeral at the beginning of the month. My cousin Ghislane and her daughter Kezia came for a shopping trip from England and it was great to see them for tea as well as Juliet.

Thanksgiving was at Mom and Dads with all the kids, Uncle Christo and Matt and Diana and the babies. James is so big and Evelyn is so cute and smart! The following weekend I had a great dinner visit with Noreen Revuelta. I miss her so much now that we are not doing scouts every month!

Cruising out to Jersey to party with the Andrews and start the Christmas season off after picking Sam up from college. Christmas will be spent at my sister Veronica’s and then Clark family Christmas the next weekend. Hope everyone has a healthy and happy new year and all your wishes come true!

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2012! Love Peter, Alex, Samantha, Christina, Maggie Mae, Slinky, Scarlet, Calle, Ambrosious, Balthazar and the frog twins.

Holiday Greetings 2010 From All the Clarks!

noreply@blogger.com (a moderate life) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:10:00 +0000

Merry Christmas 2010 from All those crazy Clarks!

Looking back on my past few letters, I always seem to start them on the first day we have snow. This year is a bit different as the small snow we had was last week and I hurt my right hand and I was unable to type, so, now with my hand all better, I am playing catch up, but do not want to miss wishing you all a happy holiday and letting you all know what we have been up to this past year.

After spending a lovely Clark Family Christmas up in Massachusetts at Chris and Susan Clark’s with the whole crew including Leslie and John Freeland, Allison, Mariann and Jeanne and Doug Boschen, the following weekend Pete and I trekked down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to go to Angie Hartley’s wedding to Ben Sprenkle, her high school sweetheart! We had a ton of fun and it was lovely to reminisce with Angie!

The beginning of February found us visiting with Dave McConkey and seeing the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular at the Patchogue theater which is always a good time. During the middle of the month Peter hopped down to Virginia to see Curt and Toni Corl for a visit. I also launched my new career as a food blogger with the introduction of my website at www.amoderatelife.com where I talk about all things food and fun. It has been really great getting back to cooking with passion and abandon and I am actually starting to make money doing it!

In March, Blue Oyster Cult threw me a birthday gig at Bb King’s blues club in New York City (I can dream can’t I?) and it was lovely to visit with Steve LaCerra and Don Roeser. The following weekend we went up to Massachusetts with Sydney Andree to celebrate my brother Matthew’s daughter Evie’s first birthday. It was great to visit with Diana and her family, and Evie had such fun with all her presents. At the end of the month Samantha was inducted into the National Honor Society and we were all very proud. Over the Easter school break, we traveled down to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to Massanutten for a much needed vacation in the woods. We enjoyed hiking, swimming and vegging out. On the way back north, we stopped into Washington, D.C. for a long overdue visit with Fred Zeytoonjian and Karen Sosnoski and their adorable kids Forester and Anton. Fred acted as tour guide of the Cherry Blossom Festival on the Mall and then we went to see the Red Sox play the National’s in an exhibition game at the new stadium. We really had a blast and are so glad we hooked up with them all!

At the beginning of April we were so pleased to attend Dana Roach’s Bat Mitzfah and had a wonderful time celebrating with Sheryl, Brian and Dan. Samantha’s select choirs were invited to travel to Philadelphia for the national Heritage Choir Festival and they brought home all gold medals and were the overall winners for the competition. This was quite a feat and due to their accomplishment they were invited to sing at a festival at Carnegie Hall next winter, which is a musician’s dream come true!

Christina’s choir was also invited to sing at a choral festival in Hershey Park in May and the also brought home top awards. Christina participated in NYSSMA as a soloist this year as well and made top marks and has been invited to join the All-County Chorus for next spring’s festival. At the end of May my old college friend Marcia Podsiablo came for a day trip to cook and make Kombucha with me. It was so great to catch up with her. Samantha went to the Senior Prom with Nick DeLeo and spent the next day at Six Flags in New Jersey. Everyone had a ton of fun!

June brought final exams and the completion of the Girl Scout Gold Award for Samantha and the Girl Scout Silver Award for Christina. We are so proud of them both for accomplishing so much through scouting this year. Karen Sosnoski came up for a few days with Anton and Forester and they had a blast playing with our pets. Anton is definitely a dog whisperer! Mid-month we went down to Lancaster PA to visit the Stoltzfus Amish farm where we get our dairy through a milk club and had a terrific lunch and visit with Cheryl and Larry Landis and their family as we toured the farm and got to pet the cows, horses and new puppies. We spent the night at Cha Coventry’s mom’s house nearby and had a great visit with them. The kids were very intrigued that they lived next to an old cemetery! At the end of the month, Christina bridged to Senior Girl Scouts in a lovely ceremony and I took the girls and their friends to Six Flags for the day and went on every single roller coaster they had. I think I might have been a bit crazy that day!

Over the July 4^th weekend, I hopped on a plane and traveled to Seattle to hook up with Alma Heffling and we drove up in Alma’s Razmanaz Mercedes to Vancouver, BC to join the Nazareth Canadian tour for a few days in Coquitlam and Vernon. It was a beautiful trip through some spectacular countryside, but it was rather cold at the outdoor festival in Vernon! It was nice to get to see Stevie McCormick again and the rest of the Naz crew. We spent a few days driving back to Seattle and had a blast enjoying some girl time. When I got home, we traveled up to northern Connecticut to see Blue Oyster Cult for two shows and it was nice to have some time to hang out again with Woody, Richie Castellano, Don and the rest of the crew. We also got a chance for a quick visit with Eric and Despina Lipkin and their beautiful daughter Anna who is growing up so fast!

In August we went to the Clark Family Summer Reunion at Chris and Susan’s and it was wonderful to see everyone, but even more wonderful that Pete’s mom had cochlear implant surgery and could hear us all speaking for the first time in a long while! So happy the surgery went well and she is continuing to hear better every day. Uncle Dave Clark was also there along with Jenny, Blair and Morgan, so it was certainly a full house and the girls had fun hanging out with William, Andrew, Claire, Emily, Max and Hannah swimming in the pool and playing sports on the front lawn. Went to Robert Moses for our mostly annual Clark-Revuelta breakfast at the beach day, and Sydney came along too. The waves on Fire Island were huge though because of an off shore tropical storm so eventually we all got out and barbequed and lounged on the beach. Over the Labor Day weekend we went back north to Boston for a Red Sox game and a few days touring the city. It was great to see our friend Terry Watts and Samantha got to tour the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University which she is interested in for college and did some sketching at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. On our swing back down south we went to the Woodstock Country Fair in Connecticut to see Blue Oyster Cult again before getting ready for school the next day.

September found Samantha in her senior year of high school and Christina in her freshman year at Walt Whitman as well. Sam took driver’s education and is now preparing to take her road test. She has turned into a very conscientious driver, of which we are very happy! Christina was accepted into the Walt Whitman Choral and Women’s choir in which Samantha also participates, and Sam started her first job working at the Elwood Movie Theater as a self proclaimed “Candy Girl”. She really likes her new job and has made many new friends. We also love it because we can go to the movies for free now! Stephen and Krissy Karas came for a great visit when Stephen had his 20^th reunion at the Merchant Marine Academy. My parents threw a lovely barbeque with Mark, Veronica, AJ, Daniel and Sydney Andree also in attendance. Had a great dinner with Noreen Revuelta and Tina Whyte, our old neighbors, at the end of the month, and it was just like old times!

October is always busy with birthday celebrations, and this year was no different! Jack and Alma Heffling came east to celebrate Peter’s birthday, their 25^th wedding anniversary and our 23^rd with a fall foliage swing through New England and three more Blue Oyster Cult shows! The foliage was not as spectacular this year as in the past due to the drought we had this summer, but it was still wonderful.

Samantha is in the thick of researching colleges for next year and wants to study art therapy and go to college in the Boston area. November found us on the road again to Boston with AJ Andree in tow to visit Emmanuel College and Northeastern University. Samantha’s first choice is Emmanuel and AJ loves it too. She has applied early action so hopefully we will hear back soon. On the trip back home, we stopped in to visit Matthew and Diana in their new home in Shrewsbury, MA. Evelyn dressed up like a lady bug and gave us a tour of their cozy ranch house and even let Samantha and Christina do her hair in pig tails! We are also thrilled that Diana is expecting another baby which is due by summer, so the Karas Clan grows and grows! We took the ferry home across the chilly sound and started prep for Thanksgiving. Veronica’s family came to celebrate at our house along with my mom and dad and Uncle Christo Karas. We had one of the best Thanksgiving dinners ever! I wonder if my recent daily focus on cooking and food had anything to do with that!?

In December both Samantha and Christina had roles in the Walt Whitman Center Stage production of the comedy, Come on Over to our House, which was wonderfully funny. Sam played a 12 year old bratty girl perfectly, and Christina did a wonderful impersonation of a crazed fan bobby soxer! My parents were not able to come because they were off traveling again through the Panama Canal, but they are home for Christmas and Matthew and Diana will be down as well with Evie. My brother Stephen is home for the holidays with his family in North Carolina on leave from working as an engineer on a merchant ship in the Persian Gulf, so we are happy he will be with his family at this blessed time of year. Veronica will have Christmas Eve at her house and then it is on to Mom and Dad’s for Christmas day and then up to Massachusetts for Clark Family Christmas over New Years.

Wishing you all the best in the New Year and may 2011 be your best year ever! Tons of love, Peter, Alex, Samantha, Christina, Maggie, Slinky, Calle and Scarlet Clark!

Holiday Greetings 2009 from all of the Clarks!

noreply@blogger.com (a moderate life) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:54:00 +0000

It is inevitable that whenever I get to the task of writing this yearly update, it invariably starts to snow! Almost 2 feet of snow later and I am homebound and determined to finish this!

The kids had two weeks off for Christmas and New Years which was lovely, but we jumped right back into the swing of things in January with a trip up to Bear Mountain in the frigid cold for a winter camping and Gold Award workshop with the Girl Scouts. At the cabin, the girls freaked out after finding live field mice trapped in the garbage can, but felt happy to be able to feed and release them.

At the end of February my mom had a shower for my sister-in-law Diana who was expecting in March. My sister Veronica knit some amazing things for the baby, and her talent continues to astound me! Sam participated in the Girls Sports Night competition at the end of the month and her team won the Women’s Calisthenics event.

Samantha was privileged to be asked with her choir to the Tilles Center at CW Post University to sing the Mozart Requiem with gifted choirs from all over Long Island. It was a very moving! My birthday weekend was quite eventful with Christina playing the Baby Kangaroo in her school production of Suessical. I also got a little present the day after when my brother Matthew and his wife Diana welcomed the latest Karas baby Evelyn Jane into the world! Samantha went to the Junior Prom with Nick the following weekend and we also celebrated the 65th birthday of our dear friend Marge Dorfmann with a lovely party in New York City. We ended the month with a great trip to the Coney Island Aquarium where the scouts were sea lion trainers for a day and we got a kiss from a sea lion which was very wet and smelly!

April sent us to Massachusetts to see baby Evie for the first time! What a joy! We had plans to go to opening day for the Red Sox as we won a raffle for roof deck seats. It poured with rain so we had a day’s delay, but they won the game, so that made up for it! Easter was spent with my parents who had quite a spring, taking a cruise around the tip of South America! My dad also celebrated his 80th birthday with a lovely party at Centerport Yacht Club. My brother Stephen was able to join us, so all the kids were together!

The Girl Scouts painted faces at the Huntington Tulip Festival in early May. Samantha was inducted into the Walt Whitman Art Honor Society and the Theater Honor Society at the end of the month and we had a lovely Memorial Day Barbeque at my parent’s house as well.

We saw our first Blue Oyster Cult concert of the year at BBKings Blues Club at the beginning of June. It was great to see Don and Sandy Roeser, Steve LaCerra and Diane again along with all the usual crew! Celebrated Jackie Fusco’s Bat Mitzvah with Jen and Richard in the pouring rain mid June, but everyone had a blast! School ended in a swirl of grad parties and sweet 16’s for Sami at the end of the month. Had a great dinner with Kathy Johnson and Gail Esbin, who has made a career change to Real Estate.

David Karas came up for a visit in July and we had a great pool party at my Mom’s house on the Fourth. We also went to the Bronx Zoo with Sydney and AJ Andree and then Sam had a party with all her friends in honor of her cousins. We had a lovely visit with Greg, Heather and Chelsea Andrews at their spectacular new home in Jersey the following weekend.

Then, after a whirlwind of packing, checking and double checking we departed on our long awaited European Tour with the Girl Scouts. We had 33 girls and various family members on the trip, including my fun loving parents, the Kileys, Smiths and Busers. I was so happy to be doing this trip with my dear friend Noreen Revuelta, as we had dreamed of it with the girls for years and finally made the dream come true! We had ten days split between London, Paris, Adelboden and Lucerne Switzerland, with a great EF Tours guide. We saw the highlights of these amazing cities which only whet our appetites for more in the future! I still smile every time I think about it!
I got to spend some time with my friend Alma Heffling road-tripping with BOC in Ohio after we got home, which kept me from too much anti-climax! Pete’s sister Leslie and her kids came for a visit mid month and we had a blast sightseeing in Manhattan and spending the day at the beach on Fire Island. The waves were HUGE as a hurricane was coming up the coast so we had to keep a watchful eye on the kids. The next weekend was our annual Clark Family Summer Reunion and we had a lovely time seeing Chris and Susan, Jeanne and Doug, Allison, Pete’s mom Mariann, Uncle Dave Clark, Jenny and Blair, and all the kids. What a lovely surprise to see David and Carey visiting from Colorado! An even bigger surprise that they didn’t tell their mom about it! The following weekend we were up in Boston at a Red Sox game with AJ Andree in honor of his high school graduation! We had a terrific dinner and visit with Terry Watts and finally got to meet his lovely Ellen!

School began again in September with Samantha proud to make the select choirs for both Women’s Choir and Chorale. Christina made Showstoppers select choir as well. My senior scouts began the long process of working on their Gold Award which is the highest level in scouting. They received project approval in September and should be completed by March 2010. The girls painted more faces at the Greenlawn Historical Society Pickle Festival at the end of the month.

In early October we went to see BOC in Lakewood NJ at a minor league ball park, which was very cool. We then celebrated Pete’s birthday, Christina’s 13th birthday, Samantha’s sweet 16th and our 22nd wedding anniversary. We had the added blessing of Christina’s Confirmation at the end of the month, with Diana standing as her sponsor. We had an extra special Halloween with BOC playing at the Patchogue Theater and Jack and Alma Heffling and Bob and Karen Cowley coming for a visit! We all dressed up like characters from BOC songs and had a great time! Sadie Fijalkowski, and Chuck and Lynn Saden also made the trek!

Thanksgiving was spent at my parent’s house with the Veronica’s and Matt’s families. Little Evie is now Big Evie and starting to say a few words and is almost walking! The following weekend Samantha was the lead in the Whitman play called You Could Die Laughing, where she was a murderous airline hostess! We then ran our last Girl Scout event for the year, which was a holiday crafts workshop for little girls. Right before the snowstorm, we got to see Danny, Richie, Jules and Ann Marie play a special rock show in Staten Island, and now we are getting ready for the season with Christmas Eve at my mom and dad’s, Christmas day at Veronica and Mark’s and Clark Family Christmas at the New Year. We are all so blessed to have you in our lives and we wish everyone their heart’s greatest desires in 2010!

Love, Peter, Alex, Samantha and Christina Clark!

The Clark Show!

noreply@blogger.com (a moderate life) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:41:00 +0000

Merry Christmas from the Clarks!

noreply@blogger.com (a moderate life) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Hi All! Welcome to our new blog that will replace our annual Christmas Letter! Please feel free to comment and enjoy all the stories from all our wonderful adventures in 2008! Love, Pete, Alex, Sami and Christina~

Holiday Greetings from All the Clarks!

It seems like every time I settle in to reflect on our lives over the past years, it is snowing. This year is no different, as I have just come in from playing in the snow with Christina and building our first snowman of 2008. Loads has happened this year and we had a ton of fun, so I will just get on with the sharing of it while I enjoy my cup of tea.

January started out slow, which is always great after a busy holiday season. We had the pleasure of seeing Blue Oyster Cult in New York City at the Irving Plaza, which is now called the New Fillmore East. Timmy Zuicko surprised us by flying in from Minnesota for the show, and we also got to see the lovely Dani Roeser.

The next weekend was February, and we were off on a ski trip with the girl scouts and the Revueltas up to Butternut in the Berkshires. The girls had lessons and finally feel confident on the slopes. Peter and I went into the city on Valentine’s Day to have dinner with Greg and Heather Andrews and see Alanis Morissette and Matchbox 20 in concert at Madison Square Garden. We then hopped a plane for a trip to Puerto Rico during the girls’ winter break. We had such fun staying at the La Concha, which is the hotel my parents honeymooned at 45 years earlier. We went to El Yunque, the rainforest, spent some time in the mountains down south where my grandparents used to live, near Guayama, and enjoyed a full lunar eclipse with our feet in the Caribbean Sea. Puerto Rico is one of our favorite places in the entire world! Upon our return we went to see the Moscow Ballet perform Romeo and Juliet with the Samantha’s Girl Scout troop.

The beginning of March had us on the road again to Ridgefield Ct, to see BOC at a lovely little playhouse. This was the best BOC show we had ever seen up to that point, as it was the longest show they had ever played! What a treat! The next weekend, we took Christina’s troop to the New York Hall of Science for a sleep over, where the girls got to experience all the exhibits after dark. The next weekend was my birthday, and we saw Christina in the middle school play called Pirates, where she was part of the pirate crew and had a vocal solo. Dan Roach had the lead so both families enjoyed the weekend of performances very much. The next weekend, I took off to the west coast for my birthday present and hooked up with Jack and Alma Heffling, as well as Bob and Karen Cowley to see Blue Oyster Cult at Slims in San Francisco. We had a lovely time partying afterwards with Don Roeser and Melne Murphy at a Karaoke bar in the Japanese district of SF. The next day we drove up to Petaluma to see the band again in an old opera house that reminded me of a scene from The Lost Boys. There was graffiti all over the insides and skateboard ramps, with teenage skaters lining the walls high up top. Very surreal. We hopped a plane to Vegas the next day to see BOC at Boulder Station Casino, then spent another day touring around Vegas before flying home. The next weekend Peter left to visit Curt and Toni Corl down in Virginia and I took the girls to a magic show with Brian and Cheryl Roach and on a seal watching trip off the south shore of Long Island.

In the beginning of April, Peter and I had our first trip alone in ages, while my mom and dad watched the girls. We flew out to Salt Lake City and crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats into the mountains of Nevada. What a freaky drive, as all you can see for miles is flat white salt, where people have made signs in the crust along the side of the road with stones and beer bottles, and you can even smell and taste the salt it in your mouth for days after. We traveled through mountain passes all the way to Jackpot Nevada, on the Idaho Boarder to see 4 BOC shows in 2 days with the Hefflings and the Cowleys. Christina Maxwell also showed up and we had a marvelous party with Don Roeser and all the crew in our most excellent suite after the first nights shows. The town was so small that you could see the entering and leaving signs at the same time from the highway. It contained two casinos, a gas station and a trailer park, but we had fun anyway and really enjoyed the second night of shows. When we woke in the morning, we were horrified to see blizzard conditions for our drive back to Utah, but the Gods were with us when the storm dissipated just as we got to the mountain passes. The girls had their spring break at the end of the month and we traveled back to Cancun Mexico to spend a week there. We enjoyed swimming in the pool and spending time at the beach, snorkeling in X –caret and floating down an underground river, feeding the Iguanas and tropical fish by our dock and even seeing a crocodile on the shore there for the first time ever. We also got to parasail, which was something that Samantha had longed to do, so we all got up the nerve and went. Christina and I saw two huge manta rays swimming across the shallow coral reef from the air. It was amazing!

The beginning of May brought up the daffodils and tulips and so we found ourselves at the Huntington Tulip Festival with the girl scouts doing face painting and raising funds for our planned trip to Europe next summer with Sam’s troop. The Clark family gathered in Henniker New Hampshire to celebrate Mariann Clark’s 80th birthday, where she received a commendation from the governor of New Hampshire, presented by her friend “Tiny” Clark who is in the legislature. At the end of the month we then took the high speed ferry from New London to Block Island for the Memorial Day weekend. Having worked on Block Island as a teen and traveled there many times by boat, it was a joy to spend some time there with both Matthew and Diana Karas and my parents. We enjoyed great sea food at Finns, toured Mohegan Bluffs and the lighthouses and took long walks on Crescent Beach. The old Surf Hotel had just closed and was for sale—if anyone wants to invest 12 Million Dollars, I would be happy to run it for you! The next weekend we made a trip down to Baltimore to see the Red Sox play the Orioles at Camden Yards for two games. We got to see Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homerun before leaving to become a Dodger. It was a very surreal weekend, as there were more Red Sox fans in the stands than Orioles fans.

The next weekend in June, Peter trekked up to Boston to do some Red Sox/Mariners Games with Jack Heffling. We then had a wonderful celebration luncheon at Ruvo’s in Greenlawn for Samantha and her Girl Scout troop as they earned their Silver Award. It was lovely to have the Revueltas and my parents in attendance, as we were all so very proud of the girls and their big accomplishment. I got a chance to catch up with Kathy Johnson and Gail Esbin, my old friends from work, at a Japanese Hibatchi dinner the following week. At the end of June, we traveled up to Burlington Ma, so I could meet up with my dear friend Stephanie Griffin and her husband Terry and attend an Abraham-Hicks workshop, where I got on the hot seat and asked a question. It was a very spiritual weekend and I adored hanging out with Stephanie and meeting other “Abers”! While I was at the workshop, Pete took Terry and the girls to see Fenway Park and then to the Museum of Science. School finally finished at the end of June, with both girls making the High Honor Roll in their respective schools.

We spent July 4th with my sister Veronica and all the Andree’s at their home for a BBQ and pool party. That Saturday we took the girls to Yankee stadium to see a Red Sox game so they could get a look at the stadium before they pulled it down at the end of the year. It was quite an experience, even though the Sox lost! Summer settled into a nice pace, and the next weekend Sheryl Roach and I took the kids to Adventureland amusement park. My brother Stephen and his wife Krissy came up for a visit with their kids Katie, Matthew and David. Katie, my Goddaughter, starts Duke in the fall and I am so proud of her! Pete and I took Christina, along with Richard and Jackie Fusco to Twilight Racing at Belmont Park. We had fun picnicking and betting on the ponies, and Christina even won $35! We then saw BOC on the Great South Bay in Patchogue on the Sunday. We took a trip up to New Hampshire the following week to see Peter’s mom Mariann as well as Kevin and Natalie Laughy. We then trekked down to Pawtucket Rhode Island to see a Paw Sox game with my brother Matt and his wife Diana. We got to see Big Papi, David Ortiz do a rehab start at the minor league level and hit a home run out of this beautiful little park. We also enjoyed going Lindy dancing with Matt and Diana, which is something they so enjoy and do competitively. Samantha and Christina then settled into doing historical home tours for Girl Scout leadership hours at the Suydam House in Greenlawn on Sundays during the summer, which they found quite educational and fun. The next weekend I winged off again to the west coast to visit with Alma. When I flew into San Francisco, they lost my bags, and I had to borrow clothes from Alma for two days. We drove up to Redding, CA to see a BOC show, and the wild fires were so bad, the entire town was engulfed in thick black smoke. It was very unnerving, and I so feel for the people who have to endure such trials. We then cruised with the top down to Santa Cruz to meet up with Bob and Karen Cowley and see BOC play right on the beach by the pier. It was the biggest crowd I had ever seen at a BOC show, with fans spreading out on the beach as far as the eye could see! The next day we parted company with the tour and our friends and drove up the pacific coast highway to Half Moon Bay, and on to Pacifica for a lovely day of surf watching and an evening of fun at a local club. It was amazing that this town is only 15 minutes from SF, as it seems a world away.

August saw us back on the road. First, we hit Boston for a date with the Red Sox at Fenway Park, and we got to see Jason Bay’s first game, replacing Manny Ramirez. We then crossed New England to spend a week in the mountains at Stowe Vermont. On the way up we dropped in on Eric and Despina Lipkin and their beautiful baby girl Anna in MA. Chris and Patty Hussey also stopped by for lunch with their girls and everyone had a blast! In Vermont, we got a chance to see Jim and Gabby Glatz and their lovely kids Melana and Harrison before they moved to Nova Scotia. Even though it rained almost every day, we still had a great time enjoying nature, hiking on Mount Mansfield and the Stowe Green Trail. Back to Long Island for a few days and then up to Boston for a few more Red Sox games. We then went back up to Massachusetts for Clark Family Reunion, at Chris and Susan Clark’s home. It was great to see Pete’s mother Mariann, his sister Jeanne and husband Doug, sister Leslie and her kids, Emily, Hannah and Max, sister Allison, Chris’s kids, William, Andrew and Claire. Uncle Dave Clark also came down for the day with his grandson Morgan and son-in-law Blaire. We then shipped off to Boston with my nephew AJ for his first ever Red Sox game! Thank goodness they won, and we had a blast going on the tour of the park with him. When we got home, we spent a lovely Labor Day weekend with my parents at their home along with the Andree’s and Matt and Diana.

School started in September, with Samantha in 10th grade and Christina in 7th grade and at Stimson Middle School. Samantha tried out for the play and received a leading role, so play practice began in earnest. The first weekend in September saw us driving through tropical storm Hanna to see BOC play in Danbury CT. for two shows. The weather cleared by the second day and we had a lovely time visiting with Dani Roeser at the show. The next weekend we tail gated at Shea Stadium with the Roaches and the Revueltas and went to our last Met Game ever at that stadium. The kids got to run the bases after the game, and it was very moving. BOC played at Westbury the following week and then the girls face painted at the Historical Society Pickle Festival for Girl Scouts.

October began with Peter traveling to Virginia Beach to hang out with Curt Corl for their birthdays. For Peter’s birthday present, we all went to a Red Sox ALCS playoff game against the Tampa Bay Rays, where I clean caught a foul ball off Alex Cora! We then traveled up to New Hampshire to attend a party for Kevin Laughy, our dear friend who passed from this life soon after. We got to see Tom Smart and many other dear old friends from Peter’s youth. It was a blessed time as we also got to see Peter’s mom and spend his birthday with her. Our dear friend Marge Dorfmann took us to the Sweet Adeline’s concert the next weekend for the girl’s birthdays and we went out for a great Japanese hibachi dinner. We celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary the following week along with two sleep over’s for the girls, one being on Halloween.

At the beginning of November we got to see the Broadway play A Tale of Two Cities in the city with the girl scouts. My cousin Ghislaine came over from England for a quick visit and we got to see her at my parent’s house. Then, my parents watched the girls while friends came in from all over the world for a weekend of Blue Oyster Cult. Friday night was spent in Middletown NY with Jack and Alma Heffling and we had a great little party after the show with Mark and Lisa King, who surprised us by coming, Chuck and Lynn Saden, Don Roeser, and Marty and Cheryl Brilley. We then traveled back to New York City to see the Blue Coupe, and join up with Dave McConkey, Timmy Zuiko, Paul and Sue Gittens, Tommy Clark, Sadie and Rick Fijalkowski, Mark Middendorf,Daryl and Christina Maxwell as well as tons of other fans. Sunday, we picked up the girls and traveled to Hoboken New Jersey for a 3-1/2 hour hardcore fans only show at Maxwells, where 180 fans gathered for an extra special treat that they all helped to create. It was magical, and replaces our longest and best show ever! As if that wasn’t enough, I then flew down to Florida to join Alma for her birthday trip to see Nazareth. Since the band canceled a number of shows, we ended up spending two days in the Orlando area and then moving on to Clearwater Beach Florida where we enjoyed the gulf coast and got to see Don and Sandy Roeser at a concert where Cheap Trick played a 40th anniversary concert for the Beatles Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club album. The benefit jam session and auction afterwards was wonderful! The next night we saw Nazareth in Largo Fla and had a blast partying afterwards. Thanksgiving was spent at my mom and dad’s this year instead of our house, as they are traveling around the tip of South America between now and Christmas. It was great to play games with the Andree kids and visit with our dear Uncle Christo.

December has been as busy as ever, with no time to take a breather before Christmas, which will be spent at my sister Veronica’s house along with my brother Matthew. Samantha was spectacular in her play, A Delightful Quarantine and we look forward to many more performances from both girls, as Christina is preparing for the Middle School Musical in the spring. Looking forward to holiday gatherings with the Revuelta’s and the Fusco’s, as well as Clark Family Christmas up at Chris and Susan’s in MA. We wish you all wonderful blessings in the New Year as we continue on with this wonderful adventure we call life! Happy Holidays!

Love, Peter, Alex, Samantha, Christina, Maggie-Mae, Slinky, Calle and Scarlett Clark!