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 23rd 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 18th birthday, Christina’s 15th, Peter’s birthday and our 24th 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment