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| Christmas Eve with Grandma & Grandpa |
It's the most wonderful time of the year....at least according to the song. It was a good Christmas and as always we enjoyed lots of activities, including school celebrations, parties with friends, and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks to the awesomeness of Amazon Prime, the holidays were a bit less stressful for Mom and Dad (we can't say the same for the mailman who seemed to be delivering mail consistently at 8 AM at night). We also ate too much good food, but had a lot of fun.
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| 6th Grade girls basketball teams |
The month of December was filled with activities. Anna kicked off the basketball season with two games (they lost, BUT the girls definitely improved). She performed with the Vienna Jammers at Jammin Java the second weekend of December, always a fun gig. Anna George joined us for that event. Theresa got to meet up with Pauletta for a wine and cookie pairing (that was a brilliant idea). There was also the German Christmas market, hosted by the German military command in Reston. Even though this event is not really advertised, the crows were huge (the line for a bratwurst was 45 minutes). Fortunately the line for the gluvein and beer was short. Fun fun!
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| Christmas market at German Military Command |
Some of Anna's friends organized a secret Santa exchange at school. That lasted for all of about two days before a parent complained and the teachers busted up the Secret Santa ring (apparently all must be able to participate or it is a no go). Anna was quick to point out that it is ok if the teachers get gifts (and you don't have to give a gift to every teacher) so why is it a problem if friends want to get gifts. Secret Santa was soon forgotten after the girl scout cookie exchange party, which we hosted this year. A total of 11 girls organized dinner and the exchange themselves, which was fun. The last week of school involved Anna playing piano during mass and performing in the school Christmas program (the 6th graders played ukeleles). Anna celebrated the last day with a lunch and sanctioned gift exchange off school property and another cookie exchange at her friend Ellie's later in the week.
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| Anna, Zoe & Julianna frosting cookies |
Grandma and Grandpa arrived just in time to see Anna in the school Christmas program. They spent the week, which was also packed with activities. Grandma helped with a large amount of cookie baking (sugar cookies, press cookies, date pinwheels, and buckeyes) adding to the other assortment that Theresa made. There were rumors that Theresa "hid" the cookies, but in reality she ensured they were more accessible to Grandpa.
Aside from the cookies there were many other activities. There was shopping followed by Grandma's first pho lunch. Grandpa and Joe worked in the yard and completed some other projects. The big surprise of the trip was Grandpa and Storm, who became buddies. Grandpa took Storm for walks and even let Storm set on his lap in the car while going to see the Christmas lights. The grand finale was Christmas Eve, which involved opening all of the packages the grandparents shipped in advance following the seafood dinner. Grandma and Grandpa were surprised with a vacation in February for their 45th wedding anniversary.
Grandma and Grandpa left Christmas Day to return to subzero Ohio. As with any trip, there are always some lessons learned, including:
1. If there are any dishes in the sink, they will have them cleaned in less than 5 minutes - no dishwasher needed.
2. Do not remove them from social media for anything longer than 1 hour.
3. Make sure there are cookies within 50 feet of Grandpa at all times.
4. Grandpa really does like dogs.
As for the rest of Christmas....well after so much food the Fagellas decided to have leftover pizza for Christmas dinner. It was delicious. A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for making the trip out and for all of the generous gifts.
Merry Christmas!
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| Christmas morning with Grandma & Grandpa |
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