Great Nonna's Birthday Goodbye

Here we go again.. more goodbyes. I meant to post these last Monday after the weekend, but this site wouldn't let me download any pictures. I finally got lucky with it today. Last Sunday after our church picnic, there was a birthday dinner held for Great Nonna's 77th.

Katherine and Roberta were Owen's playmates for the day. He dragged them around to create a fort out of blankets and a slide. He had a great time.
Happy Birthday to Nonna! Erin, Matthew and Jake hammed it up for the cameras.
Can you tell whose birthday it was?
If you're stuck to find a word to describe Will, it's focused! I can tell you that his fingers found their way into that icing!

Great Nonna, Barb & Gino, Stef & Matthew, Sabina, Roberta, Bill & Katherine, Elio & Rena, Betty & Huey, Danny, Kathy, Erin & Colin, Nonna, Pop and the five of us all enjoyed a wonderful evening celebrating and playing in the backyard. The kids impressed us with how well behaved they were. It really helps when we're outdoors and not contained inside a strange place. Will loved Rena's water fountain and Owen loved the slide. Jake entertained a giggling Colin and Erin by dragging them around on a magic carpet ride (sleeping bag). This will be the last time we see these guys for a while, I imagine.

I know that the kids will surely adapt to their new home. We'll make new friends. Jake is only in Junior Kindergarten, so everyone tells me it will make no difference to him. But it's a shame that we're leaving when Jake has just reached the age where he is really becoming buddies with kids his own age. He's always had little friends, but this is the age where they are really having fun together. He's formed some true friendships. Matthew, Erin and Jake were all born within months of each other and I'm sad that they won't grow up thinking of each other as extended cousins.

JoAnne's family has always treated us as if we were part of their family and Great Nonna has always looked to my boys as if they were her great-grandchildren and we are sorry that we couldn't stick around to build on these relationships. We will miss the Italian cookies that all of the boys love so much (can they be airmailed?), the yummy pasta dinners and making fun of Gino and Elio. Rena and her sisters, Barb and your wonderful mom.. thank you to all of you for being so good to us. We'll miss you!