Anna Grows

Anna's first full weekend of summer vacation started appropriately at the beach.  This year we decided to try someplace that has been on our list:  Chincoteague  - an island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  The beaches of Chincoteague are part of a national wildlife refuge which is famous for its wild ponies, which we saw.    (http://www.fws.gov/refuge/chincoteague) Anna enjoyed jumping waves on the beach, body surfing, and building assorted sand castles.  Joe had ample opportunity for fishing, both on the beach and off the dock of the hotel, and was reeling in the fish (he even caught two at one time).  Anna was upgraded to a bigger fishing pole...with a hook, this year, which added to the fishing excitement (both for Anna and the people immediately around her).  It was a relaxing weekend at a beautiful spot.....a great way to kick off the summer. Next up:  girl scout camp!

Father's Day at the ballgame The summer is off to a busy start.  Actually, it seems like summer is off to a late start thanks to all of the snow days that extended the school year and additional week.  Despite the summer vacation delay, Anna has managed to enjoy some fun summer activities. Anna enjoyed the Baltimore Aquarium in early June along with the St. Anthony festival in Baltimore's Little Italy.  After meeting up with Mom's friend Rose, and daughter Robin for a trip to the aquarium, Joe, Theresa & Anna headed to Little Italy for dinner.  Anna and Theresa immediately found the cannoli stand while Joe headed for the calamari.  Anna got to watch her first bocce ball tournament and enjoy the nice weather. Last Day of 2nd Grade June 15 was Father's Day and yet another beautiful weather day.  Joe celebrated with a leisurely morning reading the newspaper followed by the afternoon at a minor league baseball game - the Potomac Nationals. ...

The Pink Predators (minus a couple) Anna's soccer team ended the season on May 31 with a close game against the Yellow Minions.  The season end was bittersweet as four of Anna's teammates will be moving on to the travel soccer team in the fall while another teammate is turning in her soccer cleats for ballet shoes.  All of the girls have played for Coach Tom since kindergarten.  The team has made great strides, especially over the past year as they have built on individual skills and teamwork. Commemorative Team Shirt The team celebrated with a pool party after the game hosted by Molly's family.  As a special thank you to Coach Tom, everyone chipped in for special t-shirts listing the girls and the team name symbols on the back (and there were some pretty unforgettable team names).  As always, Coach Tom had awards for all of the girl.  Anna received the "break-out player of the year" for her big improvements on becoming a "go-to player."  Ann...