"Our New Piano"

We decided to buy a new piano about a month ago. Our old one was beyond repairing, so we began the search. It was a major decision for us as a family. Whenever we make a big purchase, we do a lot of research before making it final. After we saw this piano, I called all over the country to salespeople who couldn't actually make a sale and asked their opinion. We made the decision to go with a digital white baby grand. I wanted something that served our needs as a piano and looked good as a piece of furniture. I know that some people say to only buy acoustic (hammer and strings), but we also realized there is so much you can do on a digital that you can not do on an acoustic. We were not buying it to resale, but to encourage our kids as they develop their musical talents. We are so happy with our choice. It has so many features including disks and an SD card to download. It does just about everything except mop the kitchen floor. Of course, I have that taken care of too. I can just tell the kids that they can't play the piano until the floor is mopped.

Here are the four kids with instruments--one crazy bunch.

I found Julianna playing and discovered that she had laid a track and then played it back adding another part. It is so neat seeing the kids experiencing with all of the possibilities.

Here Lydia used the headphones. This is a nice feature if I want to play the piano after the kids are gone to bed.

We feel so thankful to God for allowing us to have so much fun while learning new things on the piano.

Our mini concert

We decided to have a Bozone kid's concert while Marlin and Elaine were here. Their kids are also involved in music like ours are, and it was neat to see them making music together.
Daniel and Samuel playing a trumpet duet.

The girls playing a violin trio.

Lydia had just started playing the bells in band camp, so she showed us what she was learning.

Of course the little guys had to have a turn. We were howling as they both took a turn at the slide trumpet.(Doyle's new toy)
Joseph blasting away.

Andrew doing a tune.

Julianna plays a piano solo.

Doyle and Marlin having way too much fun with a sax duet.

We also were invited to the Negron's house. This is Elaine's sister and her family. Her dad and stepmom also were there. We really enjoyed ourselves. Here is a good game of Dutch Blitz.

The guys playing a game of basketball.

Joseph and Andrew played so well together. They had not seen each other for 2 years, but you would not have known it. They picked right up and kept us entertained. Here they pose for another picture.

Yummy ice cream.

They look deep in thought, don't they? I think this was a game of Rook.

Elaine and her sister, Becky, with their girls.

Elaine and me. She is my sister-in-law, but has become a good friend as we share life together.

The female cousins pose for one more shot before saying good-by for another year.

Family Time

When the Bozone clan was in town, we spent some time together at a park. We had a lot of fun and made more memories as a family. There are 7 siblings and 6 of them were here. We missed having Merlin and his family. Here is the crew.

These are the 6 that were here: Marlin, Joy, Joel, Daryl, Doyle, and Danae.

Here are the grandchildren. (We were missing Joy's two, and Merlin's two.)

It doesn't take much to entertain some folk. Such was the case with the guys at the park. They discovered this tree that they could run up and jump to catch a football in mid-air. We had a lot of laughs with this and got some great pictures. Here is Daryl.

It is Doyle's turn.

"Way to go Daniel!"

And here comes Sam.

The crew enjoying a game of batmitton.

This is Doyle's younger sister, Danae, and her husband, Sam.

Daryl and his girlfriend, Amber.

Andrew and Joseph (two peas in a pod).

Katie and Julianna enjoying their watermelon.

Joy broke her foot before she flew down, so she had to have some help getting around. Katie also broke her clavical before arriving from Alaska. It made me a little nervous--who was going to be next?

Marlin, Elaine, and their family.

We took the kids to the inlet to play in the water. Lydia is having a good time.

Katie and Julianna in the water.

Samuel looking below the surface.

Joseph gets a different view.

Elaine and I got very tickled about something and could not stop laughing. Our husbands captured this moment.

This is Bruce (Joy's son) holding Joseph.

So many people tell me that Lydia reminds them of Danae. We took this shot of them together.

Well, I think I have one more post after this one to be caught up on our Bozone family time.

Fourth Fun

The fourth of July in the Bozone household started out with a concert for the summer band camps that Doyle is in charge of. A two week camp ended on the 4th. He always has a mini concert to show parents and friends what the students have learned. Julianna and Samuel were in this particular camp. Since their cousin, Daniel, from Alaska plays trumpet, Doyle allowed him to join the event. After the concert we went out to eat with the family that is in town for the holidays. There were 6 out of 7 Bozones in the area for several days, so that is why I haven't spent time on the computer blogging. It has been busy, but fun.

Here are Marlin and Elaine's kids along with ours.

Samuel poses with his trumpet.

Julianna playing the timpani. She plays whatever percussion instrument Doyle assigns her.

Later on in the afternoon, we attended our church community day. This was a first for us, and it was a hit. We invited the community to a free event to celebrate the day with our church family. There were 6 bounce houses, free t-shirts advertising our V.B.S., a petting zoo, pony rides, and lots of food and treats. This included grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, Starbucks lemonade, sno-cones, popcorn, slushies, cotton candy, and bottled water. It was so much fun.

Samuel and Doyle enjoy themselves.

The cute lambs.

Lydia and her friend, Cassidy.

Lydia and Janessa in the jump house.

Joseph and his friend, Collin, with a lamb.

I had to get this picture. They were captivated with the lamb's wiggly tail.

Samuel and several of his friends left the bounce houses to play in the mud. They had a blast using a skim board to sail across the water.

Samuel holding a rabbit.

Julianna eating her sno-cone.

Joseph enjoying his cotton candy.

What do you do when you have the sticky stuff up your nose?

Julianna taking a pony ride--she loves horses of any kind.

Dr. Gordeuk manning the t-shirt table.

Lemonade anyone?

The guys making sure the grill is loaded.

One of the jumping houses.

Julie hands out cotton candy.

Another jumping house for energetic kids.

After the community day, we joined our family for fireworks in West Palm. Doyle and I waiting for the fireworks to start.

Boom!!

The 6 of us--our precious family.

The Bozone cousins.

We had a grand time being together. I have lots of pictures from our time with the Bozone clan. We are making memories together and I will post more next time.