It's a Chocolate World After All

Once again the Mancinis descended upon Hershey Park, the chocolateyest place on the planet. They were joined by the Lytle, Porter, and Weigand families in a sort of mini Notre Dame reunion (without the endless alcohol and gawdy polyester pants). After what seemed like 20 or so hours of walking, riding, and sampling chocolate, all the respective families returned home exhausted and satisfied that the maximum amount of fun had been had.

Mancini Sports Update

The spring months were very active for the Mancinis. Tony played tennis for the Gates Chili Boys Junior Varsity Tennis team and Frankie played soccer for the Gates Soccer League Boys Under 15 team. Both boys did very well on their respective teams and are very close to lucrative endorsement deals.

Mancini Family Expands by One

On March 27, Maggie Mancini came home to stay. We were able to adopt her from a local rescue agency a little over two months after she was born. As best anyone can tell us, she is a beagle mix. We have been able to deduce somewhat confidently that the mix part includes a labradour (based on her coloring and the size of her enormous paws). As you can tell, she fit in quite easily with the family and quickly found a special place in everyone's heart.

Whirlwind Tour of NYC

During the weekend of February 21, Tony and the Gates Chili High School Jazz Ensemble participated in the first annual Charles Mingus Competition at the Manhattan School of Music. Frank, Lisa, and Frankie decided to also travel to the city to see the band perform and try to experience everything NYC has to offer in just a few hours. Needless to say, our feet were very tired, but we were able to see Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty (from a distance), Times Square, more of the NYC subway system than we had planned, and perhaps the greatest bagel shop in the entire universe. We all also had the chance to have dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp in Times Square. Though the jazz ensemble did not win the competition, they performed exceptionally well and were able to create some great memories that they'll have the rest of their lives.

Disturbing Footage

The last known footage of Frankie before he became a major You Tube star in his brother's video.

Christmas + Toys + Sugar = Crazy Video

Here's Bobby making very little sense while being hopped up on Christmas for his brother Tony's new digital camera.

The Men Select Tree

As is commonly their tradition, the Mancini men once again prepared to celebrate a major holiday by attacking nature with a sharp implement. Here is this year's Christmas tree found at Wilbert's Christmas Tree Farm in Webster, NY.

Boy Achieves First Award

Bobby began what will surely be a long career of awards and accolades by winning the Panther of the Month award from his school "for demonstrating hard work, compassion, respect and responsibility." He now has the task of explaining what all these words mean to his parents.

Halloween Returns, Pumpkins No Longer Safe

Once again, the Mancini boys carved their own pumpkins in preparation for every dentist's favorite holiday. These images cause one to ask, what could the pumpkins have possibly done to deserve this?


Here are the finished products. Can you tell which one is the self portrait?

Mancini Scores Big in Season Finale

Watch as Frankie, jersey number 77, kicks off, scores 4 extra points (in this league you score 2 points per kick), and gets a tackle on defense while playing for the Gates Jr. Spartans. The Spartans finished the regular season 6-1 and will play in the division championship on November 1.

Homecoming 2008

As Tony contiued in his second year in the Gates Chili High School Marching band, he began the preparations to march in the Homecoming parade and football game on Saturday, September 20. There was one slight problem: Tony broke his leg the Saturday before Homecoming.
Rather than panic, Tony and the family prepared for yet another Mancini adventure and made arrangements for him to still perform in his cast.


Here you see Tony escorted by his pair of loaner legs, his dad. Of course, though his lack of uniform lost him major points with the judges, Frank's lively footwork and superb sense of rhythm earned him an honorary goofy looking marshmallow hat to be awarded later.


Here's Tony performing in the halftime show (lower left corner in the wheelchair) playing in a Beatles medley. Although no one in the band had any idea who the Beatles were, most of the parents in the crowd raised their triumphant peace signs in the air to sufficiently embarrass all the teens in attendance.