Anna Grows

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

 It was with great sadness that we learned Brett Leis passed away unexpectedly on October 25.  He was only 52 years old.  Brett was the unofficial mayor of our neighborhood.  We knew him from his role running the swim team and as a fellow dog owner - always walking with his trusty white retriever, Bismark, without a leash.  If Brett was the unofficial mayor, Bismark is the unofficial neighborhood dog.  Brett hails from Australia and in his honor, there are Australian flags all over the neighborhood.  His loss leaves a huge void not only for his wife and 13-year-old son but for the entire neighborhood.   In his honor, I am posting a message to our neighborhood swim team families from one of the team officials and neighbor Scott Nuzum.  This tribute says it perfectly.   There Goes My Hero Whenever a new family moves into Lakevale, one of the first questions they’re asked is, “Do you have kids?” If the neighbor responds in the affirmative, they are invariably met with a follow-up question