More Spring/Summer Pictures

Grace's Science Fair





Caroline's Pre-School Graduation

Future Rock Star

Hershey Park

Buffett at Great Woods

Unexpectedly, while having some friends over on Labor Day Weekend, we hear that another neighbor has 8 tickets to Buffett on Saturday at Great Woods and its going to be a "guys only" trip. The phone calls start and the plans begin. Everything is a go, right? Not so fast. Of course there are issues. Blake comes down with walking pneumonia. Hanna is on the way and is expected to hit the same day. But this is Buffett at Great Woods and, well, we HAVE To Go!! On Friday they decide to move the concert from 8 PM to 3 PM. Of course this impacts the parking lot time so we change our plans. On the road by 7 we arrive a little after 11. John covered the tickets and all the beer. We drive and supply the food. Blake got better. The weather, while not beautiful, wasn't bad at all (we all actually got a little sun). The pictures tell some of the story of the parking lot. Of course we all know there is so much more to be said. To protect those involved - we won't go down that road. Getting set up... Our general location - as you can see its just packed with set-ups of all types

Tara, Lisa and Erica - our neighbors in the parking lot who provided many jello shots. They had lawn seats with their friends and were soaked during the show. Serves them right for being Red Sox fans from New Hampshire.

The next two pictures speak for themselves...

The "bug juice sprayer" made to our area just before we had to leave for the show. In other words - perfect timing!

The "Buffett Virgins"

So this is when my camera batteries lost their juice. It's really too bad because there were so many more opportunities for great shots inside the arena, not to mention those of Mr. Buffett from our great seats.

This was by far the best place to experience a Buffett show. The best parking lots, a great venue, and the most intense Parrot Heads I've ever seen. From the time the Tiki Torches were lit to the end of the show - no one sat down. The cheering, the singing along, the props - all just incredible! Jimmy played 30 songs straight through. Everyone was wet either from the rain (not us) or from just being in the humidity. But it was all good - very, very, very good!

John - thank you so much for the opportunity!

Eric - thank you for organizing!

Jimmy did say he will be back next year - time to start planning!!

The concert can be downloaded here:

http://www.buffettnews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71666

The Year of Still Here Tour Comcast Center - Mansfield MA Saturday September 6th, 2008 Hot Hot Hot 1 Homemade Music 2 Tiki Bar is Open (featuring Sonny Landreth) 3 Fruitcakes 4 Miss You So Badly 5 License To Chill 6 It's Five O'Clock Somewhere 7 The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful 8 Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes 9 Come Monday (with the Beach Band) 10 Cheeseburger In Paradise 11 Cowboy In The Jungle 12 Brown Eyed Girl 13 One Particular Harbour 14 Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw 15 God's Own Drunk 16 The Ass And The Hole (Mac, while Jimmy changes batteries) 17 Scarlet Begonias (featuring sonny Landreth) 18 Jamaica Mistaica 19 Stars On The Water 20 Son Of A Son Of A Sailor 21 Volcano 22 School Boy Heart 23 A Pirate Looks At Forty 24 Far Side Of The World 25 Southern Cross 26 Margaritaville 27 Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 28 Fins Band Intros: Tina Gullickson, Nadirah Shakoor, Ralph MacDonald, Peter Mayer, Sonny Landreth, Doyle Grisham, Mac McAnally, Roger Guth, Jim Mayer, Robert Greenidge, John Lovell, Michael Utley, and Jimmy here… Encore: 29 Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season (Jimmy acoustic solo) Note: Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful was last played on 06/26/2007 at the Tweeter Center in Camden

Random Shots

Some pictures from this summer:


Sweet Caroline and Blake in the park:

Grace and Caroline after Space Camp

Jen and the kids on a hike in Lake George

Movie night on the lawn at the LaCoppola's...

Dad and the kids at grandma's house....

First Day of School

September 4th was Caroline's first day in Kindergarten and Grace's first day in 2nd grade. Caroline was okay until it was time to leave the house. Poor girl as she was scared as we've ever seen her. Once on the bus though she was comforted by a neighbor and was fine from then on. The next few days still had her uncomfortable but her confidence is building day by day.

Caroline refused to pose as she was too upset.

This was taken as the bus was approaching...

Grace was almost 6 when she started Kindergarten. Caroline will turn 5 in October - very big difference in age and maturity. Caroline is more than ready though and is having a lot of fun with all of her new friends.

Cute Hiney

This happens to be Blake's favorite new picture. Caroline took the picture while we were trying to get the little monkey potty trained. Now every time the camera is out he needs to see this. He's proud of what he's got.... as he tells us "Cute Hiney!"

Blake's 3rd Birthday

Blake turned 3 on July 14th. This year's theme: Bee Movie

Cape May 2008

Cape May July 2008 pictures..... The Family Vacation

Grace taking in the scene

This pictures was supposed to be in Exit 0 but never made it...

Last Week of Summer

This past week was filled with activities which included:

• Pool day with the kids at my parents house in JC
• Dinner at Little Venice with kids and parents
• Seeing Jimmy Buffett in AC (including pre/post concert activities)
• A few days of R&R for Jen and I in Cape May
• Parents visit to Saratoga/Track and dinner Thursday
• New pictures of the kids taken Saturday
• Cocktails and waterslide with friends in the backyard on Sunday
• Mini-golf with the girls, a ride on the Saratoga Carousel and a bike ride on Monday

Many pictures to come later this week...

The Police

After 25 years of listening to their music, we finally saw The Police live at SPAC this past Friday. While Sting is looking more like Sean Connery these days and Andy Summers is showing his age, Stewart Copeland stole the show. Impressive in every song - the man can play!! The show was worth every penny and then some. While they could have played a few more songs, they clearly demonstrated why they are one of the world's best bands. One of the best shows I'll likely ever see...

We missed Elvis Costello due to pre-concert activities. We understand he put on his best show of the tour.

Here's one of the reviews:

Thousands captured by Police at SPAC...

It was played up as one of the biggest shows to hit the area this year. The announcement came months ahead of time, and people eagerly shelled out hundreds to get a ticket.

Those same people endured horrendous traffic jams around Saratoga Performing Arts Center, jockeyed for position on the lawn or fought their way through the crowd to make it into the amphitheater and sat through a sultry, but dry, Friday night.

So the question remains - was The Police worth the hype? In a word - absolutely.

Opener Elvis Costello and The Imposters warmed up the excited crowd (at least those who weren't still stuck in traffic) with a 45-minute set. He was well-received as he performed 'Pump It Up', 'Radio Radio', 'Every day I Write the Book' and '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding', among others.

But it was obvious the fans wanted The Police as they erupted in cheers when Sting joined Costello on stage for 'Alison'.

This was the first (and will most likely be the last) time local fans had a chance to see Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland together on SPAC's stage.

The band pulled an 18-song, 90-minute set together, performing hits from every album, including 'Message in a Bottle', 'Walking on the Moon', 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', 'Every Little Thing She Does is Magic', 'Wrapped Around Your Finger' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da'.

It was impossible to not sing along. And Sting encouraged it, often prompting the crowd to clap along as well, at one point saying, "With 40,000 New Yorkers out there, I want to see 80,000 hands up there."

They even dug a little deeper into their immensely popular catalog with such songs as 'Voices in My Head', 'Demolition Man' and 'Hole in My Life'.

Copeland and Summers did get an opportunity to showcase their talents at various points, but it was Sting who stole the show. The scruffy, yet svelte frontman often engaged the crowd, making SPAC feel much more intimate. It was a real treat for the fans, since a band of this stature would normally be reserved for a much larger venue.

The stage set was nothing spectacular, but the fans didn't need visual aids. They just wanted the band to play. The diverse crowd ranged from children to senior citizens (yes, seniors!) and they stood throughout the night, absorbing every bit of musical history in the making.

The only lull of the evening came with 'Invisible Sun', which featured images of children whose haunting eyes stared at the camera in the most heart-wrenching fashion.

It was perhaps the band's way of bringing the charity Unitus to light during the show. Proceeds from the tour benefit the organization, which is working to stamp out worldwide poverty. There were no pleas from Sting, but the eyes of the children said a mouthful.

Things did pick up again as The Police launched into a five-song double encore, beginning with 'Roxanne'. Lights from the stage bathed the crowd in the infamous "red light" as they sang along.

The encore continued with 'King of Pain', 'So Lonely' and 'Every Breath You Take'. As they exited the stage, fans stayed put, hoping for just one more. And perhaps most apropos, the band's last song of what is one of the last shows they are ever expected to play together was the first track from the first album.

"Next to You" came with a montage of images from the band's career, blazing across the screen. It was a fitting end to a trip back in time.

The band wraps up its 14-month reunion tour in a few days with a special show at Madison Square Garden. As the tour goes into the musical history books, the 40,000-plus fans in Saratoga can say, "I was there."

©The Saratogian by Deanna Amore

Busy Summer = No Posts

Summer continues to fly by and we have been very busy. As for a quick update on events:

Jen out of Commission - Back Injury: June 13 (Friday the 13th as well; hmmmmmmm)
Caroline's Graduation: June 23
Jen's Birthday: July 4
Cape May: July 5 - 12
Blake's Birthday: July 14
Summer Camp: Every Day for Grace!!!
Summer Camps for Caroline and Blake - 3 Days/Week
Blake's Birthday Party: July 20
Police Concert: August 1 @ SPAC (Also very fun pre & post concert activities at the house)
DePiano Family Visit: Aug 2-3

Constant Lawn Mowing as it has been a very wet & stormy summer!

Lots of pictures to come - just need to find some time! Hoping to post this weekend...