Anna Grows

It is wild here in Northern Virginia. In addition to chipmunks viciously attacking Mom's flowers, we found another plant predator: the deer. Actually, it was four deer (bucks to be precise). We are not sure what constitutes gang status in Northern Virginia, but we are pretty sure these bucks were part of a neighborhood gang responsible for the recent destruction of flowers and trampled lawns. We awoke on Saturday morning to find these gang members frolicking in our back yard. Just as Mom was ready to bolt out the backdoor in her pajamas to save her flowers, (there is some truth to the adage about girls turning into their mothers), the bucks jumped the fence and decided to take a stroll through the neighborhood to remind the neighbors of who really owns the land, despite the name on the property deeds. Anna informed Mom and Dad that "the deers are going home," to which Dad replied, "I think they are home." In addition to deer, the weekend included dinosaurs - si...

It was bound to happen. We had only hoped that it would be a few years from now. Anna got her first manicure. While we were holding out for Cousin Margaret to make good on her promise to take Anna to get her nails done, peer pressure and some older girls at Ms. Be's Daycare took hold. When Mom picked up Anna, she proudly displayed her purple nails, courtesy of Ms. Li (that would be Ms. Be's cousin). One by one, all the girls ran up to show off their purple nails. Anna informed her Mom that "boys don't wear nail polish," which I am sure was quite a relief to her friends Anthony and Thomas' fathers. While mom thought the whole activity was innocent enough, Dad was concerned that this could quickly domino to other things, like dating. For now, Anna is happy with her pretty purple nails, although Ms. Li will need to do a touch-up job on her thumb tomorrow.

After a weekend of construction projects with Theresa's Dad, Joe got to kick back and relax on Father's Day. The day started with a luxurious treat: sleeping in until 8:30! This was followed by a leisurely cup of coffee along with the newspaper (not much different from most mornings) and a nice breakfast. The day also included a trip to the playground for Anna, the playground for Dad (Home Depot to use some giftcards) and dinner at Pistone's Italian restaurant for what Joe has deemed "the best chicken parm I've ever had" (a very high compliment from a native New Yorker). Pistone's usually has a jazz jam session on Sunday nights; however, not for Father's Day. Anna was disappointed, but proceeded to provide the entertainment for everyone anyway by singing "You Are my Sunshine" over and over and over again - loudly. She was invited back by one of the regulars to sing with the band in about 12 years. Happy Father's Day to Joe!

Several comments were received from participants in the events of the weekend of June 13 and some clarifications need to be made. First - It is important to note that not only did Joe and Grandpa put new siding on the shed, but they also put a new roof on AND had to take a tree down (see photo). Joe was able to use his new chainsaw for that exercise. Apparently the writer of the blog failed to emphasize the complexities involved in renovating the shed, including the fact that the structure was not square, forcing Grandpa to recalculate the angles and cuts. Further complicating matters was the fact that they left a bag of supplies at the Home Depot check-out, resulting in Theresa being dispatched to retrieve the goods. Second - one of the activies that Anna helped Grandma with was cookie baking (see photo). Grandma taught her how to crack an egg. On another note, this weekend began with a rock concert on the Vienna Town Green. Anna and Charley joined us for the festivities, which inclu...

Some days we wonder who is more excited about the new/old house.....us or Grandma and Grandpa. You may recall from earlier posts that Grandma and Grandpa braved snowstorms and wild animals (well...deer) to come for a visit in January and help with numerous projects. One large project that was on the horizon was the renovations of the storage shed. Theresa and Grandma saw little to be salvaged in the 1960s mint green shed, but Joe & Grandpa saw the potential. With plans in place, Grandpa loaded up the car and headed for Northern Virginia with tools in tow. Actually, Grandpa had several things in tow. In addition to tools to work on the shed, he brought a new bathroom sink and a trap. The sink was for the guest bathroom (normally our house guests do not need to bring their own sinks; however, Grandpa's business made a new granite one to replace our cracked one). The trap was for the wildlife that has infested the yard and seemed to have directed their attention to eliminating all...

After a restful week at the beach, it was time to resume the duties of home ownership in the suburbs. On the agenda: gardening. This was not just any gardening but rather heavy duty renovation work. Theresa purchased flowers and with the assistance of Anna proceeded to plant. Joe got out the shovel, hatchet, and eventually the new chain saw to remove a 9 foot bush that was threatening to take over the entrance to the garage. It appears the bush was planted shortly after the house was built, judging by the roots. Digging out the roots became an all day project. The good news is Joe conqoured the bush. The bad news is there are two others just like it. As for Anna, she was content to practice her supervory skills from the shaded front porch while enjoying a popsicle in Theresa's new rocking chairs. She also happily watered the plants....a lot. No plant wants for water with Anna on the case. Stay tuned for the next project.....the renovation of the shed.

At long last, vacation time finally arrived and the Virginia Fagellas headed south to the Outerbanks of North Carolina for a beautiful week at Duck. Memorial Day week is a great time to go - before the summer crowds, heat, and mosquitos set in. As always, traveling to the beach for a week requires a lot of stuff and it takes some time to pack the car. Anna was a little anxious to get going and proceeded to climb into her carseat, buckled herself in, put her sunglasses on, and declared that she was ready to go before the packing was completed. After some negotiations, she agreed to get out until Dad finished packing the car. You would not know it from the pictures, but we actually packed less stuff this year as evidenced by the fact that no rope was necessary to secure the contents of the vehicle. After a few high fives on the excellent packing job, we loaded up Anna and her kitty cat pillow, headed south, and spent the first half of the trip discussing what we may have forgotten (how ...