Anna Grows

  The 2017 swim season ended this past weekend for the Lakevale Dolphins.  Last year, the Dolphins were undefeated in Division 5.  That was a lot of fun and as a reward for their efforts, the team moved up to a new Division.......Division 3.  Now, for those of you that do not really pay attention to competitive swimming (and until moving until this neighborhood, Theresa & Joe fell into this category), this is how it works: Division I:  Swimmers that train for the Olympics (think Katie Ledecky) Division 2:  Swimmers that are alternates to the Olympics Division 3:  Swimmers that are training for the junior Olympics in the hopes of getting to the Olympic Trials Division   4:  Swimmers that will settle for a college swim scholarship Division 5-6:  Swimmers that will get a college swim scholarship to a small school Division 7-18:  Just have fun swimming Anna in action Needless to say, Division 3 swimming meant that th...

July 4th bike parade It is almost the end of July and what a busy summer month it has been.  In between lots of swimming, Anna was able to enjoy other fun events and visitors. The month kicked off with the 4th of July of course.  This is always a big event in the neighborhood, beginning with the July 3 block party (that includes a band....although Anna informed her parents it only played music that parents would like).  July 4 was the annual Fairfax parade, which lasted almost 2 hours and included numerous bands, politicians, floats, fire trucks, and librarians (complete with their book cart drill routine).  After that, it was back to the neighborhood festivities with a bike parade and pool games.  Anna is right on the line of participating in the events and being too cool to join.  This year she opted to join in the bike parade, but was too cool for the pool games.  The day ended with neighborhood fireworks (as in one of the neighbors bought a b...

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....

Greenland display on International Day The school year at last came to an end.  Anna if officially a "rising 6th grader."  There were a lot of lessons from 5th grade - mostly involving be responsible for your work and yourself.  There was the brand new 5th grade teacher (so new that it was his first teaching job), which came with its own set of lessons.  Mostly we are just glad the year is over.  Fortunately there was ample opportunity to celebrate the completion of some major milestones. Each year there is a major school project that the students spend the year working towards.  This year's project was international day.  Social Studies this year focused on regions of the world.  Each student picked a country and did a series of smaller projects about the country throughout the year with the grand finale of international day.  Anna chose Greenland (this is still a mystery to her parents).  One of the projects was cooking a recipe ...

Celebrating 1 year with Storm What better way to celebrate Memorial Day than performing with the Vienna Jammers at the biggest event of the year in Vienna?  That is exactly what Anna got to do as part of the concert series on the Vienna Town Green for the Viva Vienna festival. Viva Vienna is the biggest event in town all year - a carnival with rides, games, food, and exhibitors.  All the kids look forward to it.  All the parents dread it.  You never no what the weather be, but there is always a good chance there will be one 90+ degree day with lots of humidity.  This year it rained periodically the first couple of days but then was sunny and beautiful on Memorial Day.  This meant everyone in Vienna turned out to take advantage of this "must do" event of the year on the last day of the festival. Anna has been planning for weeks to attend.  She was excited to perform on the Town Green - the main concert stage in town.  Her group performed to...

Anna, Grandma & Grandpa The first Friday of May is the annual Grandparents Day event at St. Mark.  Once again, Grandma and Grandpa made the trip from Ohio to join in the grandparents day festivities.  Apparently they also brought the rainy, Ohio weather with them. The grandparents day festivities kicked off on Friday morning when all of the grandparents were dropped off at the carpool line with the kids......in the pouring rain.  A major downpour hit at the height of carpool.  Fortunately Anna was dropped off right in front of the door.  The grandparents went to class with the students, where they were able to experience the chaos first hand.  On the plus side, the kids were very well mannered, even offering Grandma a chair and brought snacks for the grandparents.  After some time in the classroom, everyone went to mass.  The grandparents were treated to a breakfast afterwards, followed by the Spring Fling concert (the theme was Disney)....

Anna & Officer Valesquez Anna returned to school this week after spring break to several activities. The highlights this week:  DARE graduation and her annual piano recital. The 5th grade students at St. Mark get to participate in the Drug and Abuse Resistance Education (DARE).  This is an 8-week program that is taught by a local police officer.    This year Officer Valesquez from the Vienna police department taught the St. Mark 5th graders - his very first class.  The class focuses on teaching strategies for kids to make good choices in dealing with drugs, alcohol, and bullying.  As Officer Valesquez stated at the graduation ceremony, he will always remember this class.  The kids were asked to put together either skits or posters for the ceremony.  One day, Anna came home from school quite incensed with her teacher about the preparation.  Apparently he told them they could use whatever props they wanted for their presentation....