Wonderful Weekend

Lolo and Lola came to town for Bea's performances in her school talent show Friday night, and they're staying for a bit so we're cramming in as much fun and celebration as possible!  We had a family birthday party a couple weeks early for the nearly-7 year old, and it was capped off by a surprise visit from Rabu and family.  We had 22 people in the living room to sing "Happy Birthday" and share cake! On Sunday we celebrated early Mother's Day with Lola, heading to Uncasville for dim sum and spending a couple hours at the casino. We came home and watched the first Star Wars movie altogether.  Bea got two light "savers" for her birthday and boy is she putting them to good use around the house.  (Nothing broken yet!) We sure were wiped out on Monday, but in a great way. This weekend Bea has her first aikido belt test, we celebrate Hank's first communion, and we hope to go to a Manny Pacquiao party with the local Filipino community. April is ending and May is starting with enormous bangs!

We were grateful to have her piano teacher/our friend Nicole, Hera, Louise, and the Fulcos all join us.  She was the second performer and played "Morning Has Broken."  She did a great job and I think she enjoyed the big applause more than she'll admit.

We had a collection of cakettes made to celebrate the combination of talent show/birthday:

 And here's the littlest performer:

The second act started off with her class play "The Mice, The King, and The Cheese," which was adorable and she had no problem acting like a series of real animals on stage:

                            Luckily, Mary Jane snapped this one critical photo from Saturday evening:

                She played a piece (in her new hat from Weezy) for those who couldn't attend the show:

Happy, happy girl!

 

Here we are Sunday at Mohegan Sun:

Star Wars was playing on a TV in one of the shop windows and Bea was entranced. We came home and watched the first movie later and she loved it.  Another new phase begins....

End of Vacation

We ended the week with a bang:  an overnight in NH with Rachel and a day with cousins Truman and Hank!

Here are the girls reading quietly to start their day, after a very late night:

It was a gorgeous spring day and we spent the morning outside playing:

3 months of snow left a lot of mud behind!

Ryan got in on the sidewalk chalk action!

another fabulous memory for these almost-7-year-olds.  hard to believe.  

Auntie Louise spent the afternoon with her 3 favorite people on the planet, and they ended at a restaurant. I only got these cell phone pics as a glimpse of the fun:

Reality, we'll see you tomorrow!

Spring in the nation's capitol

We just got back from five days in Maryland/DC for a weekend of Foronda family reunions and a chance to see the cherry blossoms at their peak!

It's amazing that we got about 30 family members to all meet at the same time and place on one of the busiest days of the year in the city:

 Beatrice got a big dose of cousins, cousins, and more cousins!  She is so lucky to be surrounded by such an awesome family and, while we see them a decent amount considering the distance, it's never quite enough:

My sister and I haven't been in DC together since 1976.  Long overdue!

Here I am walking around the lake, trying to burn off some leche flan, with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece and "nephew" Mato:

Forget the memorials, cherry blossoms, and historical sites.  The kids were happiest playing with sticks and dirt near an old tree:

We looked like a chain gang walking through the crowds in DC:

Enjoying a nap on Uncle Matt's belly after visiting the Jefferson Memorial:

3 of Anthony's Titas with Louise and me Friday night in Alexandria:

Anthony with 2 cousins, a brother-in-law, and a cousin's husband:

Cousin Joey's always-smiling grandson Marcello was perhaps the biggest hit of the weekend:

The view really was spectacular:

Cousin Linden, looking so big with Marcello's big sister Melinda:

Did I mention there was enough homemade food to feed 55 people twice and still have leftovers?

Sweet, sweet Marco:

We hired a professional photographer and this was taken as the grandchildren were being assembled:

Tita Evelyn with Liza and us:

The sunshine, green grass, 75 degrees, and loads of family fun combined for a perfect weekend!