Anna Grows

A Fagella Family Barbecue Summer 2019 is unofficially underway with a busy Memorial Day weekend.  We had the opportunity to see family and friends - and remember those who are no longer with us.  We began the weekend with a trip to visit family in New York. Uncle John and Aunt Yvonne invited the Fagellas to a weekend barbecue on Saturday.  Little did the know that this casual family event would turn into a full-fledged family reunion when everyone agree to come.  It is rare for everyone to get together, but all of the Fagella brothers and sisters made it to New York.  The Virginia Fagellas, who were determined not to get caught in traffic, set out early Saturday morning for New York and decided to spend a few hours at the New York Botanical Gardens (which happens to be near Uncle John's house) before the party started.  It was a lovely day to spend wandering the gardens and stopping to smell the peonies....particularly after a 5 hour car ride.  he next stop:  Uncle John's

Grandpa, Anna & Grandma Grandma and Grandpa made a trip to Northern Virginia for a long weekend to join Anna for Grandparents' Day at school.  This is always a fun event and Anna was excited that they made the trip. The event kicked off on Friday morning when Joe dropped Anna and the grandparents off in the carpool line for school.  Grandma and Grandpa went to class with Anna and were treated to a lesson with her her science teacher (both grandparents were both relaying later what they learned about the human brain).  They then went to mass with the students, where they got to watch Anna play piano.  This was followed by a breakfast for the grandparents (Grandpa met most of the other grandparents from all over....he has never met a stranger).  The grand finale of the day was the spring fling concert, which happened to have a R&B theme.  Once again, they got to hear Anna sing with the pop choir and were treated to a performance by Anna's friend Petra singing Ain

Enjoying La Jolla Every year, we do something a little different for Easter.  This year was no exception. Where could we go to enjoy the beach and was someplace we had not gone before? What better place than San Diego? Family vacations take a few more considerations these days as we try to balance the entertainment of a tween with what her parents enjoy doing.  Fortunately, San Diego had something for everyone.  We were able to enjoy beautiful beaches, biking/scootering along the boardwalk, Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, La Jolla, and  a visit to the USS Midway.  This was also Anna's first trip to the West Coast.  We also leveraged a lot of technology on this trip, which was fitting for California (we will get to that in a minute).  Of course we also enjoyed some great food. Scootering down the boardwalk We kicked off Anna's spring break on Good Friday with a celebration of the holiday.  The church youth group performed a living stations of the cross on Friday even