When in Rome

We got back this afternoon from our trip to Rome (New York, not Italy). I would love to post pictures, but I had to use my parents' camera because mine is playing dead. They are currently on a cruise ship headed for New Brunswick (?) and they have the camera with all the pictures I took. (And there were alot of them!)

We had such a great time!!! First, I'll start with the 24 hour road trip. No, we were not in the car for 24 straight hours. But it kind of felt like it. The kids were great in the car, and I didn't hear 'are we there yet?' too many times. Thanks to the portable DVD player,Gameboy,and enough snacks to start our own 7-11 we still have our sanity. We drove through the mountains (literally in PA-there was a tunnel that went through a mountain!!)and marveled at the beauty there is in other states. We were able to stay at a friend's house in NC, and Mackenzie saw her first fireflies! It really was a cool road trip. We felt like the Griswalds!

When we finally reached Rome on Thursday night (around 8 p.m.)I pointed out all the things I remembered about Rome from my visits to my grandparents' house when I was a kid. Cheesy I know, this little town holds such a special place in my heart, and I can't get enough of it! Driving through it, all I had to do was take a deep breath and so many sweet childhood memories flooded my brain. Funny how certain smells do that. The smell? Fresh cut grass, it's kind of sweet smell of the outdoors. Totally different than S. Florida cut grass.

We pulled up to my grandparents' house on Lorena Road and all the family came out to greet us. It was such a comforting feeling to have everyone together again! People from as far west as Portland, OR came, as well as St. Paul, MN and all of us Florida folk. My grandparents were a little overwhelmed at first, but so happy to have us all together and speechless that with all the love poured out just for their 60th anniversary.

My mom blew up a picture of them when they were dating in 1941 (I think that was the year). They looked so young. We had an open house for them on Saturday and Sunday where all the family from in town could come and celebrate with us. We had lots of food. We got to see many people we hadn't seen in a long time! One of my mom's cousins said that Mackenzie looks just like I did when I was her age. So cute! My aunt Pat had gone through some pictures of my grandmother's and grandfather's families, and I don't think I have ever held such old pictures before. They almost didn't look real. I saw a picture of my great great great grandmother. (Is that right?) I love to see old family items, whether it is a picture or a dish or a piece of furniture. Those kinds of things have such character.

Saturday night we went to have dinner at a local inn called The Beeches. It is a really old hotel and restaurant, and before we went in to eat my aunt Pat had booked a photographer to take a family picture of us. He captured the moment nicely. Dinner was spectacular! (By the way, did I already mention that I ate like a pig this weekend?)

The kids were in hog heaven! Not only did they love being at Grammy and Poppa's house, but they spent 3 WHOLE days outdoors!! It's times like this that make me sad that they have to play in the street at home. Matt laughed that I brought so many toys for them to play with, but they all came in handy!! Everything from the scooters, to the bubbles, chalk, bug houses and even the pop up playhouse. I came prepared. Speaking of the bug houses, Ethan fell in love with the fuzzies, aka the caterpillars. And there were lots of them-everywhere. My grandfather has lots of beautiful flowers, and all Ethan had to do was take a look near one of the flower beds and he was bound to find a fuzzy. Unfortunately, my grandparents' will have a lot less butterflies this summer because there were a lot of squished fuzzies this weekend.

Mackenzie had a blast with her new best friends-Uncle Big Joe and Yo! Joe P and Leah P, aka my uncle Joe and my cousin Leah and her husband Joe. They live in Portland, and we don't get to see them often. My aunt and uncle had met the kids a couple of years ago, and Joe and Mackenzie bonded back then. Well, the bond became stronger this weekend. They even have their own secret handshake. Kenzie totally came out of her shell. Most of you who know mack know that she is a pretty shy gal, until you get to know her. Well, she performed special scooter shows for the whole family, where my uncle and my dad mc'd and my cousin Leah awarded her with a gold medal. (Again, the pictures will come soon!) All I have to say about the show is that she is really limber and has really good balance on her scooter.


My mom and her sisters, Susie and Pat, really did a great job getting everything together. All I could think while I was there was if my kids would do something as nice for us if we live to see our 60th. You guys really did a beautiful job!

My grandparents really were speechless about the outpouring of love they received from the whole family. When I called them today to let them know we got in ok, my grandma was so incredibly appreciative. I am so grateful and happy that we could make it there.

Sure, we had a few glitches, like having to take the car in to have the compressor replaced and having to bum rides off my parents, and not really a glitch - but having to wake up at 2:15 AM to leave on Monday morning (BIG OUCH!!) But we got home safe and sound and that's all I care about. Everyone else is on their way home now or has already made it back.

I came across a diary entry I had written in July of 2000 when we had just come back from visiting my grandparents (bk-before kids). I wanted to write down everything that I love about their home and Rome, so since I don't have any pictures to share, I thought I would share these memories. (If you want to go to bed and not continue on with this abnormally long post, here is a good place to end. My family knows what I'm talking about...)

*their house-the way it looks on the outside *the inside of the house-it's so warm and cozy *the old photographs of their families on the wall *the mugs on the top of the kitchen cabinets *the old wood stove in the living room *the front room with the toys (which are now at my house - thanks Grandma!) *the bathroom window that faces grandpa's garden *the tall bed in grandma's bedroom *the mudroom by the back door - I remember the sleigh bells on the door at Christmas time *the windchimes by the back door - I love to hear them when someone opens that door *the steep, cold stairs that lead to the cellar -my dad had to drag Ethan down there so he could see that it really wasn't scary *the cellar - I especially like the corner where all the jelly jars are kept. *All the old things in the basement-the sled, the ice skates, headboards, Radio Flyer *the garage-the deer skin on the wall, grandma's old purses used for fishing gear, Grandma Greene's old refrigerator used for Grandpa's tools, the spot where Grandpa kept the worms *The flag that hangs from the covered porch and wood stacked against the garage (that wasn't there this time) *the bird that flaps its wings when the wind blows *the Everett Hall's sign on the light pole *the long driveway that we used to pull each other on the Radio Flyer along (and that my kids rode their scooters on) *the pretty flowers everywhere (bleeding hearts, baby's breath, roses, irises, begonias, peonies, and many many more!) *the tall, tall trees-maple, silver maple, pine * the rock with Daisy's name painted on it in blue-surrounded by flowers *the garden - used to be filled with corn and other veggies, now filled with rhubarb and other things I didn't know *the open hill *the raspberry bushes-so sweet and juicy *the huckleberry bushes - we could find lots of 'fuzzies' there * the soft, soft grass *I love that my grandpa dug out the cellar by hand and that he built it *the kitchen window -where you can look out and watch the birds eat *the smell! I love the smell outside on a summer day. It's a combination of many things-hay, grass, pine trees. It's such a sweet smell. I loved driving along the country roads with the windows down. *Most of all I love the people who live there-my grandma and grandpa!!

I added alot more memories to this list while we were on our family road trip. God has blessed us with an incredible family. There are more things to mention, but this post is ridiculously long. If you want to get a better look at Rome, come back soon and check out my pictures. (I'll probably post them some time next week.)