More grad•u•ates and celebrations

This was one busy weekend for celebrations. First of all, congratulations to David and Josemine Carey on their wedding on Saturday, May 18th, in California. We look forward to hearing all about it. While most of the family was out celebrating on the west coast we had some celebrating of our own here.

Cindy Antinori informed me that son Ralph received his Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Accountancy on Friday, May 17 from St. Peter’s University in Englewood Cliffs.  Congratulations Ralph!

It seems like only yesterday we drove the jam-packed car, with Julia nervously sitting cramped among her things in the back seat, to begin college at Providence.  After four years and a lot of hard work, mixed in with a lot of fun, Julia graduated Sunday, cum laude, with a BA in Social Work.

It was a busy weekend. Al, Grace, my mother and I drove up Saturday morning to attend the ceremony for honor recipients. Paul and Debbi happen to be closing on the sale of their house on The Cape the day before so we were lucky they were able to join us for everything. Unfortunately, Charlie had to work on Saturday night so he drove up after his shift to be there for the actual graduation.  Julia’s boyfriend Mark sat with us for the honors and joined us for our other activities of the day. After the ceremony, we went for lunch at a nice little Mexican restaurant around the corner from Hotel Providence where we were staying. Other colleges in town were also having their graduations so the wait was long. So long, we missed the mass being held in honor of the graduates. Stuffed and exhausted we retired to our rooms to rest up for more eating later on. Hotel Providence was great and perfectly located within walking destination to all of our activities.

Dinner at The Blue Grotto was lovely. We had our own little room in the front overlooking the street.  The food was delicious but again the service a little slow. We met Mark’s parents later that night when they came to pick him up.

The graduation was held in Dunkin’ Donuts Arena in downtown Providence. Julia was 7th in line to get her diploma out of 800 or so graduates. Deb strategically got a place close to the stage in time to get a few good shots in. We listened to some interesting an inspiring speeches. When the ceremony ended we had brunch at a nearby restaurant. We had the long wait again but plenty of time to recall all the events and talk over the graduation ceremony.

Thinking we were leaving at a good time to possibly beat traffic, no, as usual we had terrible congestion. Finally, with Connecticut in our rear view, we were glad it was our last time we would have to battle 95 and that state again.

We had a great time. Thank you to Paul and Deb and my mom for being a part of it and making it a lot of fun. So glad to have her home for good. Julia starts her Masters at Rutgers, Newark in a couple of weeks.

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grad•u•ate (n., adj., v. -at•ed, -at•ing)

“Time is not measured by the passing of years, but by what one does, what one feels and what one achieves.” Jawaharlal Nehru

On May 14th, in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in South Orange, my mother-in-law, Betty, received her Master of Arts in Theology from Seton Hall University.  We all would have loved to have attended the graduation, however, there were only two tickets allotted per graduate. Al and Margaret devotedly represented the family.

Mom, we are so proud of you on this wonderful accomplishment. Thank you for setting a valuable example to the rest of us to never stop learning.

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Happy Mother’s Day

especially to my mom and mother-in-law and all the other wonderful mothers I know. Also, let’s keep in mind the special moms who have passed away.
 

Shower for Shavon

On Sunday, April 28th, there was a baby shower held for Shavon given by her mom Dianne and family. The event was held at Lassoni Restaurant in North Arlington. I wasn’t able to attend but mother-in-law, Cindy Antinori, gave me the scoop and some photos of the event . Shavon received many beautiful and useful gifts. Nonna made a beautiful blue blanket for the baby.  Baby games were played, such as, everyone received a bead necklace but was taken away if you said the word baby.  Donna had accumulated many, only to be tricked by cousin Alessa into talking about the Justin Bieber hit  “BABY, BABY BABY OH…” I’m so happy for Shavon and Anthony expecting their first baby this July. We are all looking forward to seeing baby boy Anthony.

“This is the gift I really wanted…

to be with my family and friends. I love you all.” That’s what Nonna said through tears, sitting in front of a beautiful Rispoli cake bright with candles.

In grand fashion, we celebrated my mother-in-law Betty’s 85^th birthday this past weekend.   Fifty or so family and friends –  compiling of  7 of 9 children, grandchildren, in- laws, my mom Meg, Ceceila Rahner and the Reuthers all gathered together to enjoy the party.

Al and I went down friday night to get a head start with the set up. There when we arrived were Nonna, Kate and Paul Mundell and Paul’s girlfriend Natalia up from Philadelphia and Haverford College. Margaret, Jim and James arrived shortly after. Michele stayed back home to go to a sweet sixteen. My sister-in-law Debbi was away at a conference only getting back by the end of the party. At the conference she met and had lunch with Temple Grandin.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin  (I added a photo of their meeting.) We missed Deb and she always takes a lot of pictures which I really missed. I mistakenly left the memory card to my camera home ( yes, I was sick over that) and had to rely on Grace and Kate’s iphones for photos.

Saturday morning, Margaret and I went off to Costco to get supplies for the party. She thought we should use two carts but I thought that was unnecessary. With our one cart piled high but smartly filled to capacity we got in a good workout pushing it around and then strategically loaded up Nonna’s little car. The important big shop was checked off the list.

The day of the party was a little cool. Unfortunate because earlier in the week we enjoyed temperatures in the high 70’s. Happy there was mostly sun and thankfully no rain, tables and chairs and food were set outside but most of us took to eating indoors.

We started off with grand platters of perfectly cut mozzarella and tomatoes and bread from Joe Leone’s. We had dips and chips and cheeses, crab claws and shrimp cocktail. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs also as appetizers. The main course consisted of Joe Leone’s orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage, meatballs, and chicken francese. We also enjoyed grilled strip steak, two kinds of green salads, Marilyn’s lasagna roll ups and orzo and vegetable dish. Jane brought a delicious smoked ham and mashed potatoes.

The season’s signature drink made it’s debut. The Tai’d. It was inspired from Margaret and Jim’s recent trip to Hawaii. The latest libation consisted of pineapple rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, ginger ale or seltzer, tai basil and a lemon grass stick. We never did acquire the Tai basil but regular basil seemed to work pretty well. For most of the day the tai shaker didn’t get much rest.

Throughout the day the little Carey girls, Ella, Tori and Alex ran around happy to play with James and Grace. The girls, with James assistance and Doug consulting, painted clay flower pots and had a fun time.

For dessert we had the Rispoli cake and fruit that Tony and Cindy brought, Cindy Depice made a new yogurt cake she wanted to try and her much loved chocolate chip bundt cake. The party continued after most of the guests left. We stayed up late laughing it up with the Reuthers enjoying the time together.

Sunday morning was another nice day and little less cool. Margaret made egg, ham and cheese on english muffins again like she did the day before. She and I and Kate took a nice walk up to the beach. The boardwalk that Sandy washed away was in progress to be rebuilt by summer. After the walk, we packed our bags for the ride home. Al and I took Kate, Paul and Natalia with us to drop them off at Penn Station to get their train back to Philly.

Great weekend, fun for all.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We love you.

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Mason’s Big Day

It was Christening day for Mason Dominic Antinori this past Sunday.  Mason, together with three other babies were baptized during a traditional mass presided over by Antinori family friend, Fr. Gerard Graziano.  The service was at Immaculate Conception in Hackensack.  Mason was a sweet, happy baby during the mass content to be in his dad Danny’s arms with mom, Kaitlyn, by their side. Godparents were Donna Antinori and Kaitlyn’s brother Steve Knapp.  Cindy brought the original Christening gown that all of the nine Antinori children and some grandchildren including her son Anthony wore. Mason didn’t fit into the heirloom but wore an adorable little suit and looked so handsome.

A lively reception was held after the mass at Biagio’s in Paramus. The food was great and there was plenty of room for the little kids to run around. Little Ralphie and Avery were adorable in matching outfits. There was lots of mingling and everyone was happy to see each other.  Margaret and Jim and Michele and James were back from their Easter trip to Hawaii. They were so happy to spend the time together enjoying many activities surrounded by beauty.

Looking forward to getting together next week for Nonna’s birthday.

God Bless Mason

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That Trip Sure Was Good

This gallery contains 30 photos.

Our Easter excursion to North Carolina was a great trip. Al and I and Marilyn and Doug drove together to visit Joe and Jodi and the boys in Burnsville.  Paul, Deb, Nonna and Grace had a head start on Thursday … Continue reading →