Pandemic Week 65: School is Out & Anna is Vaccinated!

Anna & her 13-14 (vaccinated) teammates
 Anna if officially a rising sophomore!  She finished her freshman year on June 11.  It was a memorable one with a good finish thanks to a return to in-person school.  She met a lot of people and has a core group of friends.  She auditioned and made it into one of the competitive choirs.  She finished with decent grades. There is lots to celebrate.   Unfortunately the weather on Friday was rainy, so Anna and her friends could not do their regular trip to the town green.  Instead, they did what many teenage girls do - they went to the mall.  This was a big event as it wasn't that long ago that wasn't even an option.    A big thanks goes to some brave parents who drove about 8 girls to the mall.

It was a great first weekend of summer for several reasons.  In addition to the last day of school, Anna got her second vaccine on Saturday morning.  She was feeling tired and achy on Sunday (this could also have something to do with the fact that she did not want to go on a hike), but seems to have mostly recovered by the evening.    She got in early for the vaccine so that she could make time trials for the swim team.  This is the kick-off for the season in which the swimmers do all of the strokes to get a base time.  The most important part is the pancake breakfast afterwards.  Fortunately the weather cooperated for an outdoor breakfast (even though it was chilly) and the team worked out mask protocols for the 11 and under kids who cannot get vaccinated yet.  There was a lot of excitement by everyone just to get back to swimming and seeing all of the neighbors.  Anna is excited for the season and has lots of strong swimmers in her age group (she is the veteran thanks to her late birthday).

The other event for the weekend was the return of the monthly youth mass at church.  Anna participated in a fully masked choir and the results were fantastic.  The kids sounded great (not to mention everyone is better at projecting since they need to sing with a mask on).  There were lots of talented kids who Anna has sang with over the years.  It was fantastic to see them together, not to mention how happy they were to sing together.

This week marks the first official week of summer vacation.  Anna will start off her mornings with swim practice at 8 AM (the swimmers are an early crowd).  She will be coaching the Mini-Ds swimmers twice a week (these are the little kids that are learning to swim. She starts her summer babysitting job on Monday.  She also kicks off her summer on-line PE class on Tuesday.  Let the summer begin!

Anna ready for backstroke in the left lane


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