After a quiet week (aside from a tropical storm), it was a busy weekend for Anna. Actually, it was an unusually busy weekend for the entire family. The weekend started on Friday with Anna's confirmation. This event was scheduled for May 15 and would have involved the Bishop coming to confirm around 100 8th graders. Usually the entire event takes around 3 hours (it is a lot of kids). Clearly that was postponed. The alternative was to hold 5 separate masses (20 kids each with a total of no more than 10 people per family in attendance) and to delegate confirmation responsibilities to the priest. Masks were required for everyone and the families were spaced out. Anna was able to secure the August 7 mass and her favorite teacher, Mrs. Miller, was her sponsor. Father Pat presided and kept the mass to 1 hour followed by some socially distant photos at the end (he almost appears to be photo bombing the confirmation photos). While it was not quite the same tradition, it will definitely be more memorable than the usual confirmation ceremony. This was Anna's final 8th grade event at St. Mark.
Following the ceremony, we stopped for ice cream and came home to find our yard flocked. This was not flocking a Christmas tree but rather a flock of pink plastic flamingos in our yard, courtesy of the swim team. There are two flocks that have moved around the neighborhood throughout the summer to different swim team members' yards. After a couple of months, the flamingos are not looking so good with few standing. This also means the recipients have responsibility for moving the flock to someone else's yard. Since Anna is currently gone, this means Joe & Theresa will be moving flamingos around the neighborhood.
The rest of the weekend involved a road trip to Ohio. Anna was very excited to be going to her grandparent's for a couple of weeks. Normally she flies; however, that does not seem to be the best idea during a pandemic. Joe & Theresa drove her to Uncle Tim's in Columbus on Saturday (complete with a stop in Parkersburg, West Virginia for a 5 minute tour of Theresa's office locations & a stop on the Ohio River) and Grandma & Grandpa arrived on Sunday to pick her up. They took a different route and headed through Parkersburg, West Virginia. There was time for a cookout on Sunday (thanks to Grandma bringing a bunch of food and Uncle Tim supplying the venue). Rod & Courtney were able to join as well and Anna & Aidyn got to hang out Saturday night and Sunday. Anna was very happy to say goodbye to her parents for a few weeks. Joe & Theresa drove back to Virginia on Sunday via the Northwest Turnpike (Route 50), which was surveyed by George Washington in 1748. When google maps tells you there is an accident on the interstate that has traffic backed up for miles, you find an alternative. It was definitely a scenic drive over the Alleghany Mountains that involved lots of twists and turns. Meanwhile, Anna had a much less dramatic ride back to Paulding with her grandparents that included a stop at McDonalds AND the ice cream place (let the party begin).
Storm was initially excited about the road trip and immediately headed for the car....until he realized he was not going. He got to stay with our neighbor Jean for his own little weekend getaway. We suspect there were some extra treats involved for him.
A big thanks to Uncle Tim for hosting us Saturday night and to Grandma & Grandpa for picking up Anna. We will see you in a couple weeks.
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