Ms. Be's Vacation - Week 1: The Grandparents


Ms. Be usually takes a couple weeks off each year. This year she decided it was time for a "vacation of a lifetime" with a two week trip to Europe, including a cruise home. While we all agree that Ms. Be and her husband truly deserve a vacation, this means finding someone to watch Anna. Who do we call? Grandma of course.

This time, Grandma brought Grandpa along for a week of entertaining Anna (or perhaps it was the other way around). We think Grandma brought Grandpa along realizing that it takes a lot more energy to entertain a three year old as oppose to the infant days. Grandma came prepared with a suitcase full of activities and surprises.


The first surprise was a set of hula hoops, which Anna immediately took to. Now, Grandma thinks she is funny because she knows that Mom & Dad will be forced to spend hours in the basement hula hooping with Anna. What she forgot was that she and Grandpa would also be hula hooping (or as Anna calls it "hoopty hoo.") Grandma's hoopty hoo is not quite what it use to be and she was experiencing some back pain after the first couple of days. Despite the pain, Grandma noted that this was the best she had slept in months thanks to chasing Anna around all day.


So, what did Anna do with her Grandparents besides hula hoop? Well, Grandma brought along arts and crafts activities. Then there was Christmas decorating. Anna is really into Christmas this year and was SO excited about the tree. In true three-year old fashion, she hung ornaments all in one section of the tree at her eye level (Mom would sneak around a re-position the ornaments when she wasn't looking). When the tree was finished, she exclaimed "its beautiful Grandma" and proceeded to ask Grandma to take a series of photos of her under the tree.

Anna also helped Grandma bake Christmas cookies. Grandma played all sorts of games with Anna. It wasn't unusual to come home to find Anna making Grandma tea and both of them wearing princess crowns. Grandpa took care of a series of household repairs and hung the outside Christmas lights (he chose not to wear a crown). Grandma and Grandpa braved Washington traffic and took Anna shopping and to a children's concert (this was the first time Grandma and Grandpa got to see "Rocknosaurus.") They sang Christmas carols. They played bingo. They also played with Mom's fisher price dollhouse that Grandma and Grandpa brought along. The week concluded with a visit to the holiday display at the U.S. Botanical gardens and Union Station as well as an unusual 5 inch snowfall.

Grandma and Grandpa departed at 5 AM for Ohio this morning. Anna was quite upset that her grandparents were gone. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great week.


Next up - Anna & Charley babysitt. We hope they are ready for some hula hooping!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Swimming with the Lakevale Dolphins

Image
The Swim Gang - Leo, Aidan, Megan & Anna Tonight Anna completed her third season with the Division II Lakevale Dolphins.  It was a great season for Anna as she improved her strokes and her times and made it to the "A"team to compete at Saturday meets.  It was an educational season for Joe and Theresa, who learned the ins and outs of life as swim team parents. The neighborhood swim team is the hub of neighborhood social activity in the summer.  There are events throughout the season, including Friday night pep rallies, and Sunday night fund events that include such things as the neighborhood scavenger hunt, laser tag night, bingo night, and even a team night at the Washington Nationals game.  In between the fun is the seriousness of the swimming, and there are definitely some top notch swimmers on the team. Anna with her lollipop for getting a "personal best" time Kids are motivated by different things. Some kids love to race.  Other kids try to beat
Read more

Camp Coles Trip & June Birthdays

Image
Anna at Girl Scout Camp Anna just returned from a fun-filled week at Girl Scout camp.  This year she was old enough to go to Camp Coles Trip, which is on a bay area off of the Potomac River.  This is a water camp, so she spent her days on the bay learning to paddle board and sail along with kayaking. Girl Scout Camp is definitely roughing it.  The camp is in the woods and girls stay in platform cabins with screens.  Anna shared a cabin with 4 other girls.  Mosquito netting is very important at night.  The only electricity is at the dining hall, health center, and activity building.  The girls are also responsible each day for doing "kapers" or chores.  They take turns helping serve meals, cleaning the bathrooms, and general clean-up.  They are also responsible for keeping track of their own things and carrying their bags. Anna had a fantastic time, despite the lack of modern conveniences, and is already planning her return next year.  She made new friends and her favo
Read more

Thanksgiving in New Jersey

Image
The Fagella family (or part of the Fagellas) celebrated Thanksgiving this year in Northern New Jersey thanks to James.  Since James was house sitting for his boss, they were very generous in letting us use their large home in their absence for a Thanksgiving celebration.  We joined Aunt Loren, Aunt Mary, James and Sundance for a Thanksgiving feast.  We could have easily fed another 20 people with all of the food, which meant lots of leftovers.  We also celebrated Aunt Mary's birthday (November 22) and Aunt Loren's (November 27) with a homemade coconut cake courtesy of James. Joe carving the turkey with his assistants. The festivities continued the next day when James hosted 22 of his high school friends for his annual Friendsgiving dinner.  Anna was kindly invited to attend the event.  Since she has attended previous dinners, she already knew many of James' friends.  Once again, the amount of food was staggering with everyone bringing a dish. Aunt Mary and Aunt Loren have c
Read more