Anna Grows

18 Years Ago  Time flies when you are having fun!  It is hard to believe 18 years have passed since Joe and Theresa were married.  It is definitely a day they look back on and smile when they think the convergence of the New York and Ohio families on Fairfax, VA to celebrate the occasion (let's face it - neither Theresa nor Joe's family ever thought that either of them would get married).  After 18 years and a pandemic, the celebrations are a bit different.  This year was a nice (takeout) sushi dinner and a bottle of wine along with flowers and cards to mark the milestone.  In other news of the week: Anna at last had a long-delayed bridging ceremony to the rank of Ambassador.  With everyone's busy scheduled, their troop later found a 10 AM Sunday morning time for the ceremony before everyone dashed off to their activities (you will note Anna is dressed for church).  Even if it was brief, it was nice to see the girls together (there are still 8 of them that have been involve

 After lots of tests and paperwork, Grandma finally got her shoulder replacement surgery scheduled for September 6.  Given that she was going to be without her right arm (and she is right-handed), Theresa went out to assist.  This turned into a two-week trip (fortunately she could telework from Ohio) and the longest she has stayed with her parents since college.  The good news is that Grandma is doing well and progressing on scheduled.  There were several notable events/lessons learned from the two weeks from all parties involved. From Grandma & Grandpa Their house will smell like garlic for weeks to come because most things Theresa cooked involved garlic. Theresa definitely buys more at the grocery store There is much more space in the refrigerator and cupboards now (more on that one) It is unclear what her job is, but she was locked in her room all day on the computer for work. There are some really good recipes in the Taste of Home Magazines  From Theresa Don't ever call the

 September 4th marked Anna's 16th birthday!  It is always nice to have your birthday on a holiday weekend and this year was no exception, including no school on Friday.  Anna had an action-packed day  As luck would have it, Hamilton  was playing at the Kennedy Center.  Anna and Theresa had watched the show on Disney with the original cast (Anna knows all of the songs), which was impressive.  The live performance was even better.  As an added bonus, Pauletta and Grayson joined for the show.  Pauletta also knows all of the songs.  Grayson was not nearly as excited as the rest of the group (it should be noted that Grayson is in 7th grade).  The group also enjoyed lunch beforehand at Pauletta and Theresa's usual brunch spot.  Actually, they learned that there is no longer brunch which was quite disappointing BUT they still had good food (much has changed since the pandemic).  In the meantime, Pauletta has found a new musical buddy in Anna.  The girls are already eyeing the next sho