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June 8, 2005
Family Reunion - Pointe South Phoenix (0)
My mother's parents served as a focal point for her family. My mom, her 2 brothers and their families always came together around Mimi and Papa when I was little. At my grandfather's funeral, we all got together for the first time in a long time. We spent several evenings in his backyard drinking wine and telling stories. It was there that we decided that without Mimi and Papa, we would need to find another reason to get all of us together.
So now, every two years, we get together for a long weekend. This was our fourth reunion. The first was in Iron Springs, Arizona. In 2002 it was in Fredericksburg, Texas and then in Red River, New Mexico. This year we were just outside of Phoenix at the Pointe South Mountain Resort.
We got a fantastic deal on rooms with a living area and a bedroom, since June through August is considered off season in Phoenix. Fortunately the weekend was a relatively cool one, only reaching a high of 97F. Besides the swimming pools throughout the place, there is a small water park attached. With a hotel stay, you get free admission to the park. Needless to say, the girls loved it!
I made a life-changing decision while I was there-- I need a lazy river installed in my backyard. I could stay on that damn thing all day, if you let me! Sophia and I had a great time floating, while Francesca learned how to say, "Get me out!"
It was great to spend time with family! We even got to eat at a mexican restaurant with the unfortunate name "Aunt Chilada's." The only thing I didn't get to do was play with my favorite spades partner, Jackie...
Aunt Ann paints Sophia's Nails
George, Uncle Pete, Mom and Uncle Ben
Sophia and Mia Play Near the Pool
Karen and Francesca Lounging
The Card Sharks
Mom's Cowboy Birthday Surprise
La Famiglia Scardello
Here are a couple of small video clips of the girls dancing at Aunt Chilada's. I took them with my digital camera. Sorry about the sideways clip. I take loads of pictures that way and didn't even think about the fact that I was shooting video. (and it will all work better if you save the files to your hard drive: Right-Click, Save as)
Posted by Rich at June 8, 2005 5:45 PM
