Anna Grows

A visit to Meadowlark Gardens  The Christmas season flew by, partially because of a delayed start due to a late Thanksgiving this year.  We wanted in great anticipation for the arrival of Anna rather than Santa.  No one knew quite what to expect for her return home for a month.  Here is how it played out so far. Anna took the train from Richmond on December 13 (that would be Friday the 13th).  This took about 45 minutes longer than planned as she got to experience the reality of Amtrak sharing the rails with Norfolk & Southern (freight rail takes precedent).  Theresa picked her up in Alexandria and then Anna dropped Theresa off at the metro station so she could catch a plane for Ohio.  Anna proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend in her room as she was sick and finishing one final paper (it is unclear if Joe knew she was home).  Theresa arrived home on Monday in time to take Anna to get all four of her wisdom teeth out on Tuesday.  Ann...

 The Kohler family met up in beautiful Deep Creek Lake, Maryland for a Thanksgiving gathering.  This has become a bi-annual event with different houses each time.  This year's house had a lovely view from the top of a mountain and a wonderful deck to enjoy said view.  That was all good for Wednesday, but then the snow and wind moved in for the rest of Thanksgiving week.  Fortunately, there was plenty of other activities to keep everyone occupied. There were many ping pong games, led by Aidyn (at one point he and Anna decided to play while on their knees).  Grandma, an experienced ping pong player from her younger days, decided to show them how it was done but then realized this was contingent on them actually being able to hit the ball back to her.  She decided to coach from the sidelines.  There were also some highly competitive Uno games with Anna introducing new rules that the rest of the family did not know (Aidyn called them the "college rule...

 Anna has arrived home for fall break, which for her means that she has the week of Thanksgiving off.  She made it home on Thursday night (no class on Friday) thanks to a ride from one of her high school friends.  She arrived to be greeted by Benny, who was the only one home as Joe & Theresa were at a concert.  Joe told her later that her parents were busy every night of the week and had joined a bowling league, been out dancing, played darts, went to concerts.... really she was lucky Benny was home.  😄 Anna has all sorts of tales from the first semester of college life.  An overall theme is fire alarms going off several times a week (usually in the middle of the night) thanks to people smoking/vaping (one would think they would learn).  There also seems to be an appreciation for those basic life skills, like cleaning up after yourself (ask her about the communal kitchen).  She has her roller skates and has been doing some skating with a frie...

Richmond Botanical Gardens  Parents weekend at VCU was October 18 -20, which turned out to be a gorgeous fall weekend.  Joe & Theresa headed to Richmond Saturday morning (they did let Anna know in advance) to spend the day.  The first thing on the list:  a library tour (we didn't get to do this at orientation).  Anna noted that she had not actually been on a tour of the building.   That turned out to be a great find.  First, we discovered the makers lab in the basement.  This room has all sorts of cool equipment that students can use on site or check out - everything from 3D printers, to camera, to sewing machines.  You name it, they had it.  While touring the special exhibits on the 4th floor, there was a mini-Vienna Jammers reunion after running into Ryelyn and their mom Amy, who happens to be in Jammers Gold with Theresa.  The crew opted for lunch in the dining hall and headed out to tour some parts of Richmond.  We...

 Anna returned home from college for a visit the weekend of September 14.  Actually, she came home to work the last weekend at Wolf Trap where they had three sold out shows (two for James Taylor and one show with Kristen Chenoweth).  Anna got up bright and early on Friday the 13th to take the bus to the Richmond train station, where she caught Amtrak to Northern Virginia (go public transit).  In a sign of how good of a travel packer she is (and how convenient the laundry facilities are in the dorm), she arrived with nothing more than her backpack for the weekend.  Upon arriving home, she briefly chatted with her parents and then went to her room.  It as if she never left..... As for the rest of the weekend, she worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.  The weather was beautiful - a great way to close out the concert season.  Theresa and a friend went to the Friday night Kristin Chenoweth concert.  Sunday night at the last minute, Theresa ...

Anna celebrated her first birthday on September 3!  This also marked her first birthday away from home.  It is hard to believe how time has flown by (at least for mom and dad...maybe not for Anna).  Joe & Theresa decided to take Anna for an early celebration on Sunday when the drove to Richmond to take her for lunch.   After a quick tour of the dorm and a brief stop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, they headed to Joe's Inn for a birthday lunch.  Side note - Theresa happened to be talking to Aunt Gayle, who lived in Richmond for 25 years, and she mentioned this great Italian place she would go to all the time with friends.  Apparently, Joe's has been a Richmond staple for a long time. Anna was happy to receive all of the messages for her birthday from family and friends, along with some gifts, including a cake.  She noted that since she is 18, she can now: Buy a gun Purchase cigarettes Get a tattoo Her parents were thinking more along the l...