Anna Grows

Andrew, Joe & Anna One of the highlights for Anna over the past three months was getting the opportunity to see more of cousin Andrew.  Andrew, who is finishing his junior year of college, was able to spend the spring semester in Washington, DC where he served as an intern at the U.S. Department of Education in the Congressional Affairs office. After watching Andrew's experiences, Joe & Theresa concluded  a lot has changed since they were in college....starting with housing.  First, they expected he would have some small dorm room at a local university.  Instead, he was housed in a spacious luxury high rise apartment complex within walking distance of everything he needed.  Every week, the University arranged visits with local alumni, including Senator Bob Casey and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  On his last day, Andrew got to meet Chris Mathews and watch a taping of Hardball .  In between, he got some great experience attending ...

Spring is always a lovely time in Northern Virginia.  One of the many beautiful sites is the Virginia bluebells.  Ever since we stumbled upon them a couple of years ago, we try to make a trip to Riverbend Park on the Potomac each spring to enjoy them. This past Sunday we were able to enjoy a gorgeous spring day along the river.  We even took Storm along to enjoy a stroll through the woods.  It was definitely a slower stroll with Storm - but we made it.  Anna enjoyed taking pictures and put together a great video with her photos.  Enjoy!

Well, there are no photos, but Aunt Lucy and Terri did come to visit the weekend of March 9.  Unfortunately for them, Anna was down with the flu all weekend.  On the plus side, they were able to visit with Andrew and see some sites (the American History museum, art museums, Old Town Alexandria...).  They also treated us to some homemade sourdough bread and granola (it was delicious).  Theresa was even able to find some goat yogurt to enjoy with the granola.  It was great to see them.  Hopefully they did not take the flu bug home as a souvenir....

Delivering cookies If it is February, it must be Girl Scout cookie delivery time!  This year, Anna's troop sold far less than in the past (the girls realized they could make more money doing other fundraisers).  Anna still has a solid sales base in the neighborhood and got some nice weather to delivery her cookies.  Thanks to our neighbors, the Briggs, she also updated her deliver  vehicle from a wagon to a granny cart (much easier to push).  In addition to neighborhood deliveries, she also is selling at local cookie booths.  She and her friend Petra sold outside of the local lacrosse store (there is nothing like high school boys lacrosse players to get the attention of our tween girl scouts).  Cookie sales are winding down soon and her troop has a few more sales to do. Speaking of girl scouts, Anna also got to join her troop for indoor sky diving.  This was something she always wanted to try and the girls alternated between terror and enjoy...

Anna & Christina on her wedding day It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of cousin Christina on January 10 to cancer.  She leaves behind her husband Jonah and two young children - Elizabeth (6) and Noah (2). Christina was only 36 years old, but the positive impact she had on the lives of so many was on full display at her memorial service, which was held on February 9.  What transpired in the face of great tragedy and sadness, was a beautiful service that truly celebrated her life.  The church was completely packed and adorned with the sunflowers and fresh flowers that she loved.  The theme of butterflies - something she loved, was woven throughout, including a beautiful urn adorned with butterflies made by Aunt Lucy.  The music - her favorites - was sung by a friend.  Her best friend Sarah (who also happens to have the exact same birthday as Christina) gave a beautiful eulogy  - remembering Christina as a wife, mother, te...

Happy Birthday Joe! If you are have a January birthday AND it happens to fall on Martin Luther King weekend AND it is a major milestone birthday AND it is right after the first snowstorm of the year AND it is going to be the first polar vortex of the year, what do you do?  Why go to Mexico of course!  That is exactly what Joe requested for his birthday, so on January 18 the family headed south of the border. There was concern about traveling as we wondered whether the unpaid TSA workers would show up.  Fortunately most of them did (and we thanked them) and we were off.  What we found when we landed in Mexico was not caravans of immigrants mobbing the roads trying to go North, but actually caravans of cold Americans and Canadians trying to get in.  We joined huddled masses whose only desire was to get out of their socks and closed toed shoes and waited in the long customs line to get in. At last we made it to our place of refuge - a sunny resort with a love...

Colorado Vacation As we approach the end of 2018 and look to the year ahead, it could be easy to fall into the overall malaise (some may say fear and dread, but we will stick with malaise) that surrounds the country.  When you live in the greater Washington, DC area, there may be a heightened awareness of the goings on in the world.  Anna will certainly recall some interesting dinner conversations when she gets older.  What will we remember from 2018?  Well, we decided we definitely do NOT want to remember everything that was going on in Washington.  From the Fagella household, there were definitely some memorable events for the year. The beginning of the year was most memorable for Grandma and Grandpa, who after 45 years got to go to Hawaii  to celebrate their wedding anniversary, as a gift from the family.  The good news is the false alarm nuclear launch happened right before they went and the volcano eruption happened after they got home, so...