Anna Grows

The Girl Scouts recently celebrated their 100 year anniversary.  While they were established as a way for girls to experience the out doors and participate in community service, there is one thing they are known for above all else:  the girl scout cookie. Anna with her cookie order Anna is in her second year of Girl Scouts (she is technically a Daisy Scout).  This is also her second year selling cookies and she is really getting the hang of it.  She can either sell and earn money or prizes.  As a typical 6-year old, she was motivated by the prizes.  Her goal this year was a stuffed golden retriever puppy,which required selling 115 boxes of cookies.  Girl Scout cookies sales have come a long way.  They now have an online system for girls to manage their accounts.  Anna set up her own user name and password.  She sent emails out to customers that purchased last year (some of you probably received these).  She also could set he...

Valentine's Day was extra special for Anna this year.  In addition to parties at school, valentine's from her friends, making heart cookies with Mom, a flower and card from Dad, and lots of other sugary treats, Grandma and Grandma arrived for a visit! A visit from the grandparents is the equivalent of Christmas for Anna as every day a new surprise seems to emerge from Grandma's suitcase.  This trip was no exception.  Grandma came armed with chocolate for Anna along with a new dress for Easter and assorted toys and books.  Grandpa was not sure there would be enough room in the suitcase for his clothes. Grandma and Grandpa had a busy weekend.  They spent Valentine's Day touring Capitol Hill with tours of the Capitol, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress.  Friday was a shopping day while Anna was at school.  Saturday they were on the Anna social circuit, where they were able to watch her ice skating lesson and went along to drop her off at the birth...

We are happy to report that Joe made it safely back from his annual work trip to Las Vegas.  There is a pattern worth noting when Joe takes these trips: February 2010 - Joe's first Las Vegas trip for work.  Snowmageddon hits Washington leaving him "trapped" in Las Vegas and Theresa & Anna snowed in. January 2011 - Joe's second trip to Las Vegas for work.  A freak rush hour snow storm hits DC drops 8 inches of snow in 2 hours and leaves commuters stranded throughout the region abandoning cars on the roads.  Theresa & Anna take refuge at Ms. Be's for the night because they cannot get home.   February 2012 - No trip to Vegas.  Washington has a winter of record warmth with no snow. February 2013 - Joe's third trip to Vegas.  A record blizzard is currently pounding our family members in the Northeast.  While Theresa, who was watching the weather with great apprehension this week, is grateful the storm went north and Joe made it hom...

"The Real Santa" by the National Christmas Tree It is safe to say that Anna had a GREAT Christmas vacation.  Between parties, ice skating, Santa Claus and a visit to Massachusetts just in time for the first snow, it was non-stop entertainment. Anna kicked off her break with her friend Molly's birthday party on December 22, complete with a visit from Santa.  Anna decided that each state has its own Santa Claus in addition to the real Santa. She concluded that the Santa that visited Molly's house was the Virginia Santa.  This was definitely the largest Santa ever - he was easily 6'4" and very big.  Anna was so surprised to see him, that she forgot to tell him what she wanted for Christmas!  Dad & Anna at the National Tree That was taken care of the next day with a visit to the real Santa at the national Christmas tree.  Anna told him she wanted a Monstaz and that was it.  After enjoying the tree and some holiday dancers, we headed over to...

The Christmas Season has been a busy one for Anna.   She kicked off the season by joining her Daisy Scout troop for a trip to the Warner Theater to see The Nutcracker for the first time on December 1.  One of her classmates was dancing in the show and got tickets for the girls.  Aunt Gayle joined in the festivities.  Joe also decided to go since he never saw The Nutcracker before....or so he claimed.  Theresa remembered taking him to the show, along with friends Wil and Pauletta, sometime before they were married.    According to Aunt Loren, Joe also went when he was a kid.  Clearly going to see the show was not a memorable event for Joe.  As for Anna, she had a great time watching it with her friends.After the show, we stopped at the U.S. Botanical Gardens to enjoy the fantastic train display and beautiful flowers and lights. Anna & Dad at the Botanic Gardens Breakfast with Santa December 8 was breakfast with Santa...

There are times when it is necessary to expand blog coverage and focus on other members of Anna's extended family.  This entry will also serve as a reminder to Joe that he may have snagged the least crazy Kohler. Christmas in the Kohler family is always a big deal.  One of the most important parts is the selection of the Christmas tree.  It is all about getting the largest tree possible to fit into a not so large space.  It was always considered a tragedy among Theresa and her brothers that her grandparents had a house with 12 foot ceilings, yet a small Christmas tree while they were left to suffer with 7 foot ceilings that required a small tree.  Since that time, Uncle Rod and Uncle Tim have sought to right the wrong as they hike the tree farms of Ohio in search of the largest Christmas tree possible.  This year they set a new record. The tree: Uncle Rod & Uncle Tim's Christmas tree   To fully appreciate this, you  must watch the ...

This was the year for a Kohler Thanksgiving.  Once again, everyone met up in beautiful Deep Creek Lake, Maryland to enjoy the holiday in the mountains. Anna was beyond excited for the trip and had a great time with her cousin Aidyn.  Grandma arrived with Thanksgiving dinner in tow.......and roughly enough food for 50 additional people.  She truly is meals on wheels.  She also had daily presents for the grand kids.   Uncle Rod was in charge of bringing condiments and promptly arrived with a bottle of ketchup with approximately 1 tablespoon remaining in the bottle and a case of Mountain Dew.  Fortunately he also brought Courtney, who served as chef for a large part of the weekend. The weather was beautiful on Thanksgiving Day with temperatures in the low 60s.  Everyone enjoyed the outdoors, including an evening hot dog and marshmallow roast.  The rest of the weekend was snowy and cold. A hiking trip was attempted on Saturday only to discover tha...