The Mother's Day Surprise


One of the challenges for Anna these days is keeping a secret. In fact, any gifts in which Anna is included in the purchase are usually revealed to the recipent as soon as she returns from the store. This was the first holiday in which she managed to keep a secret (well, mostly) until she handed the present to Mom.

Now that Anna is a little older, she has become an invaluable asset to her father in the gift arena. She remembers birth dates (especially Mom's) and holidays. She also remembers what Mom tells her she wants. This year, Mom suggested a big mixing bowl would be a nice gift. Anna dutifully reported the information to her Dad. In fact, two days before Mother's Day Anna mentioned that Dad still needed to shop for the mixing bowl. "It will be a surprise."

Dad did a very good job in coaching Anna on keeping a secret. When Mother's Day arrived, Anna spent a good part of the day telling her Mom, "we have a surprise for you but it is a secret, " or "shhhh......we have a surprise." Finally at the end of day Anna delivered the surprise: a mixing bowl. Dad also had a separate surpise - tickets to the Lyle Lovett concert this summer. Theresa was very excited about that.

As for Mother's Day, it was a quiet one spent enjoying the lovely weather and planting flowers. Now Theresa needs to make sure Joe orders the Lyle Lovett tickets.......

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