December 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Wow! Another year has gone by. We had an exciting and fun filled year. Many adventures and surprises were abound.
One surprise took place on the “Gray” family trip to Mexico. As many of you know, I often travel without the clan because I work in school. Brian, Amanda and Rebecca leave before me and I then follow the next day meeting them wherever they are. This year Mexico was the planned site. As usual I was traveling alone and was waiting for the Farmers at the airport in Mexico when what should my ears hear but someone calling “Debbie”. I turn around and it’s my best friend Valerie Blanchenay from Minnesota, at the Mexican airport. All confused I couldn’t grasp why she was there, until she explained she was joining the “Gray” vacation and only my dad and sister Susan knew. Unbelievable!! One whole week with Valerie. It was the best surprise and so special. The trip was a lot of fun and never a dull moment. I had to share Valerie with everyone else, but that’s ok, as she is often considered my parents fourth daughter.
Spring was marked by many milestones. My dad celebrated his 70th Birthday. In the usual Gray style an ordinary gift would not do. So we (Cohens, Farmers, and Dassattis) sent Dad to become a lighthouse keeper on Rose Island in Newport, Rhode Island for a week. Dad was in his glory. They had chores and many activities to keep them busy. One family at a time went to visit them on the Island. Added to their adventure was a big surprise. The TV show “Ghost Hunters” needed to film on the island to find the ghost of Rose Island. Mom and Dad had to leave for two whole nights while they were filming. Of course they didn’t mind that they were placed in a B&B in Newport, one of my parent’s favorite vacation spots. It was exciting to see the Ghost Hunters show this past fall. It was silly, but still fun to have actually been there.
In late spring, Amanda had her Coming of Age ceremony at Fellowship, and graduated from middle school, and Rebecca graduated from elementary school.
Then the true adventure began. The girls and I left for a month in Europe. Brian was able to join us for two weeks in the middle. Our adventure started in Switzerland with Amanda, Rebecca and I staying with Amanda's friend Rachel and her family. Rachel was in Amanda's school, and her dad got a promotion to work there for his company. While we were there we went to Basel, Bern and Zurich. We saw how they make Swiss chocolate and cheese (both of which are delicious). Brian then joined us for the last night in Zurich. Then, we went to Colmar, France on our way to Strasbourg. We also went to the Caracalla Therme Baths in Baden-Baden Germany, and went through the Black Forest. I know that we all enjoyed swimming in those Roman Baths. If you have the opportunity I would highly recommend it. It was great for the kids too. From Strasbourg we drove to Paris. NEVER again will I drive in Paris. They are crazy drivers!! We stayed in a little one room apartment in Paris. It was centrally located so we were able to get to everything we wanted. Some of the highlights were Notre Dame, Versailles, Eiffel Tower, a river boat ride on the Seine, and the Louvre.
Then off to London. We were able to stay at Brian's cousin Ellen and Ray's house, which was great. We had the whole house to ourselves, as they spend the summers over here in Sag Harbor. They are centrally located by the St. John's Wood tube station near Regents Park, literally around the corner from Abbey Road, and the same crosswalk, of Beatles fame. There was plenty of room for all of us including Grandma Sue (my mother-in-law) who met us there. We did and saw so much. We went to Bath, Oxford, The Cotswolds, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, The London Eye, Greenwich, The Beatles Walking Tour; saw Wicked and Mousetrap on the London stage. We also went to Hampton Court and the Tower of London (including the Ceremony of the Keys). We were invited to have lunch with the Cripps family. I have remained in contact with them since I was an exchange student in high school. It was wonderful to see them.
However, the highlight for the girls ended up as we had lunch our last day Rebecca looked over to the other table and said "I think that is Nick Jonas". To make a long story short, it was! They went over and asked and got his autograph. That one minute interchange made Rebecca's vacation. No, it didn't matter that she had been to Switzerland, Germany, France and England this past summer. No, it didn't matter that she saw the Eiffel Tower, saw how they make cheese and chocolate in Switzerland, and the Mona Lisa and went swimming in Roman baths twice (we also went to the Roman baths in Bath). NO, SHE MET NICK JONAS!!! It was a great way to end our trip of a lifetime. I honesty believe we could had not planned or had a better trip.
In August, the girls left for Shelter Island for a week at camp. At which time Brian had some thoughts about work. As you may remember he was transferred in October of ‘09 from the Huntington Fidelity office to the Flat Iron office in Manhattan. He really felt he was missing a lot of the girls’ life. Anyone who lives on the Island and commutes into NYC understands. So an opportunity arose at another firm in Huntington. Brian spoke with Fidelity and expressed his thoughts. As a result, they were wonderful and arranged for Brian to leave with a very nice severance package. Unfortunately, the position at the other company did not come to pass much to our surprise and dismay. So now Brian is looking for a position on Long Island. On a personal note, it has been wonderful having him at home. Gone are the days when I have to rush home from work to take the girls to their various activities, make dinner and everything else. Now Brian does all that (not dinner though). I have been much calmer and things at home are running very smoothly. You know how Brian likes organization.
September began with Amanda as a freshman in high school and Rebecca in 6th grade at middle school. Both have adjusted to their new school environments. Rebecca continues to enjoy dancing, and plays both the flute and piano. I continue to enjoy being a speech therapist in Hauppauge school district.
As I conclude this letter, there is one last surprise to share. On Christmas day we added a new addition to our family. A puppy, named Buddy. He is a Poosh. That’s a poodle and a Shih- Tzu. The girls were screaming and jumping up and down. It was a great surprise!! The girls are thrilled as are we.
We wish you all Season Greetings and Happy New Year.
Love,
Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca
