Anna Grows

 To go or not to go-that was the question.  We decided to try a different part of North Carolina for Anna’s spring break and Theresa booked a place via AirBNB.  It was all good until the owner had to cancel a week before the trip.   After a last minute scramble to find something that as available AND took dogs (Storm’s usual dog sitters were not available) we ended up in the Moorhead City, NC area.  Stay tuned for more details on this adventure.

A Sunday walk at the park  Big news for the week - Joe got his first vaccine!  He was the recipient of dose 1 of the Pfizer vaccine.  Second dose is scheduled for April 7.  Progress!  We are a step closer to getting out and about a bit more. Theresa is still waiting for the call and who knows when Anna will be eligible since she does not meet the 16 and over requirement.  For now, we will take what we can get. In other news, Joe replaced the mailbox after the door would no longer stay closed.  Why is this news?  Well, we happen to notice two other neighbors replacing their mailboxes over the weekend - also because the door would no longer closed.  We suspect this may have something with the new mailman's overzealous closure of the door.  We are currently assessing and may need to contact our local post office to see if they can reinforce mailbox etiquette with the staff. Theresa's big event for the weekend was taking over the swim team t...

Hiking at Manassas Battlefield  Who would have thought?  As Anna commented, we didn't do much this year but A LOT happened.   It was fitting that we spent our weekend  doing what has become our normal routine.  There was take-out on Friday night (still no indoor restaurant dining for us....something we have not done since the pandemic).  There were good dinners (because we do like to cook).  There was Netflix (everyone has their own favorite shows, but occasionally we find a family movie).  There was hiking (Manassas national battlefield is a favorite).  There was schoolwork (we will just say that virtual school is a struggle for all involved).  Here are some highlights from the week: Happy Birthday to Grandpa on March 14!  Grandpa celebrated with a dinner, cheesecake, and gifts (thanks to Amazon). Anna had her second week of partial in-person school (two days).  Thanks to the beautiful weather, she was able to enjoy lunch...

No Poses for School  Back to school arrived at last on March 2!  Anna started back two days a week (Tuesday and Wednesday) for in-person instruction.  Students with last names A-L attend on Tuesday-Wednesday and M-Z are on Thursday and Friday.  This past week was only freshmen and seniors with everyone else returning this coming week.  There were lots of protocols in place, including desks in the cafeteria spaced 6 feet apart and all pointing in one direction.  We are wondering if Anna's high school friends will forever be from the first half of the alphabet.  Anna was thrilled to go back and had some swim team friends in her classes and lunch group.   The other big event for the week was the start of her Jammers tech class.  The Vienna Jammers instructor decided to offer a class to train students on how to produce music videos and virtual concerts (a brilliant move on his part as he can train kids to produce all of the materials). ...