Anna Grows

A Fagella Family Barbecue Summer 2019 is unofficially underway with a busy Memorial Day weekend.  We had the opportunity to see family and friends - and remember those who are no longer with us.  We began the weekend with a trip to visit family in New York. Uncle John and Aunt Yvonne invited the Fagellas to a weekend barbecue on Saturday.  Little did the know that this casual family event would turn into a full-fledged family reunion when everyone agree to come.  It is rare for everyone to get together, but all of the Fagella brothers and sisters made it to New York.  The Virginia Fagellas, who were determined not to get caught in traffic, set out early Saturday morning for New York and decided to spend a few hours at the New York Botanical Gardens (which happens to be near Uncle John's house) before the party started.  It was a lovely day to spend wandering the gardens and stopping to smell the peonies....particularly after a 5 hour car ride.  h...

Grandpa, Anna & Grandma Grandma and Grandpa made a trip to Northern Virginia for a long weekend to join Anna for Grandparents' Day at school.  This is always a fun event and Anna was excited that they made the trip. The event kicked off on Friday morning when Joe dropped Anna and the grandparents off in the carpool line for school.  Grandma and Grandpa went to class with Anna and were treated to a lesson with her her science teacher (both grandparents were both relaying later what they learned about the human brain).  They then went to mass with the students, where they got to watch Anna play piano.  This was followed by a breakfast for the grandparents (Grandpa met most of the other grandparents from all over....he has never met a stranger).  The grand finale of the day was the spring fling concert, which happened to have a R&B theme.  Once again, they got to hear Anna sing with the pop choir and were treated to a performance by Anna's friend...

Enjoying La Jolla Every year, we do something a little different for Easter.  This year was no exception. Where could we go to enjoy the beach and was someplace we had not gone before? What better place than San Diego? Family vacations take a few more considerations these days as we try to balance the entertainment of a tween with what her parents enjoy doing.  Fortunately, San Diego had something for everyone.  We were able to enjoy beautiful beaches, biking/scootering along the boardwalk, Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, La Jolla, and  a visit to the USS Midway.  This was also Anna's first trip to the West Coast.  We also leveraged a lot of technology on this trip, which was fitting for California (we will get to that in a minute).  Of course we also enjoyed some great food. Scootering down the boardwalk We kicked off Anna's spring break on Good Friday with a celebration of the holiday.  The church youth group performed a living stati...

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...