Easter with a French Twist - No Foolin

Easter 2018
One of the Easter traditions for the Fagellas is that each year is a bit different.  This year was no exception.  After various scheduling conflicts, it became clear that a get together with the New York Fagellas just was not going to work out this year.  This posed some additional challenges.  Who would Anna color eggs with if her cousins weren't around?  Who would be the Easter bread supplier?  Who would eat the lamb cake?   Where would we eat.  Fortunately we were able to work out some creative options.

Anna solved the Easter bread dilemma herself by volunteering to make it.  Her parents were skeptical...this was a large project.  Inspired by Aunt Mary, Anna did make the Easter bread (with a little help from Dad with kneading the dough and making the loaves).  Her efforts yielded A LOT of bread, which we delivered to some surprised neighbors.

Making Easter Bread
Speaking of neighbors, Anna's friend Julianna and her family came over for Saturday night pizza.  The event also featured a tween/teen Easter egg hunt (each girl had an assigned color of egg to look for with a couple of gold eggs open to everyone that contained cash).  While the girls were skeptical at first, Joe did a good job hiding the eggs as it took the girls quite a while.  The challenge was on!  The girls also colored Easter eggs, including making some tie dye eggs.  Joe made his famous pizza and we had lamb cake for dessert.  It was a fun "Easter Eve."

Anna, Julianna, & Jalena hunting eggs
Easter Sunday began early with 8 AM mass, where Anna is playing ukulele in the choir (you read that correctly).  Mass was followed by a breakfast of.....you guessed it....Easter bread and boiled eggs.  Yummy!  We decided to go out for brunch and take advantage of being in Washington.  So where does one go for Easter brunch in DC?  Why, the French Embassy of course!  Both Anna and Joe were skeptical of this idea.....until they saw the food.  Let's just say the only complaint by the end of the meal was how full everyone was.  Joe met the executive chef and had limited conversation about the cuisine (apparently Joe remembers very little of his two years of high school French).  Theresa was trying to determine if it was Ivanka Trump or a look alike at the table across the room (we determined it was a look alike after we saw the woman's husband).  It was a delicious treat and a different way to spend the holiday.

Happy Easter!


Foosball at the French Embassy

Desserts at the French Embassy


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