Anna Grows

1st Day of 8th Grade Anna officially started 8th grade at St. Mark's on August 26.  It is hard to believe she is in her 10th...and last year at St. Mark's.  It was a big first day. On thing that was not big was her school uniform.  Unfortunately Anna and Theresa realized a bit late that she was not going to be able to squeeze one more year out of her uniforms (at least not without being in violation of several dress code rules about mini-skirts and tight shirts).  As luck would have it, her new uniforms were back-ordered, so Anna is making do the first week.  So far, only Grandma noticed. There is a new principal and several new teachers (including a recently retired college science professor who has taken on the middle school science teacher position).  The new principal is learning the ropes and quickly realized her first challenge:  white soles.  As the parade of students entered the school, it became apparent that parents completely di...

Enjoying dinner our Anna just returned from her favorite camp of the summer:  Camp Grandma & Grandpa.  Each summer Anna makes a trip to Ohio to spend a week with her grandparents.  This year, her parents tagged along to drop her off and spend the weekend in Ohio.  Joe returned to Northern Virginia Sunday night while Theresa went to West Virginia to work for the week.  Anna enjoyed some quality time in Ohio before meeting back up with her mom later in the week. Anna always enjoys a relaxing week in Ohio full of all of her favorite things.  There is the food her mom will not let her eat along with the television her mom will not let her watch.  There is ice cream every night before bed (courtesy of Grandpa) and there is bike riding all over town....without a helmet.  There is lots of shopping with Grandma, who always has Kohl's cash available.  In addition, there is usually a trip somewhere.  This year's trip was to the Neil Arms...

Anna, Theresa & Joe atop Beach Cliff Mountains or ocean?  Mountains or ocean?  Mountains or ocean?  Where should we go for vacation?  As it turns out, there is one place that has both:  Acadia National Park in Maine. While we have visited Acadia before, it was 10 years ago....in September.....when Anna was 3 years old.  We were a bit limited in what we could do at that point (Anna was not a big hiker at that age...unless someone was carrying her).  Actually, our previous visit to Acadia was a one-day drive through of the park while occasionally letting Anna out of the car....but not too close to the cliffs.  We are happy to report that Anna's hiking skills have steadily progressed over the past 10 years and she was up for the challenge.  Of course the bigger challenge was whether Anna could manage a week with her parents in the wilds of Maine. Anna climbing the iron ladders Our home base for the week was Bass Harbor, located a...

Girls 11-12 Relay team:  Lauren, Anna, Caitlin & Megan The summer swim season has come to an end.  This year was a great one for Anna as she was the top of her age group (11-12) and led her group throughout the season on breast stroke and free style along with her relay team. This year, the Lakevale Dolphins were in Division 6 (as opposed to last year's Division 3....which was tough to say the least).  The season kicked of in dramatic fashion when the first meet came down to the last relay (it also included swims by team members with casts on their arms....and they won).  In a meet the team was supposed to lose by at least 60 points, Lakevale pulled off a major upset.  Anna surprised everyone when she won both of her races.  She did well throughout the season, winning all but one of her races in breast stroke and continuing to place in in freestyle.  Her relay team also did well, winning most of their races....often in dramatic fashion. ...

Aidyn & Anna starting a zip line course The summer is flying by!  It has been a busy couple of weeks for Anna.  In addition to lots of swimming, the past couple of weeks had some different adventures. Anna got her first full-day babysitting job last week.  She spent two days watching one 6 and one 8 year old boy while their mom teleworked.  Let's just say she was quite exhausted when she got home.  Both boys are BIG baseball fans.  Anna spent two days playing baseball (or having the boys "teach" her baseball) or watching baseball videos or talking about baseball.  The experience was educational on several fronts. The boy theme continued when her cousin, Aidyn, came to town for the weekend.  Aidyn enjoyed skateboarding and hanging out at the pool with Anna (or at least hanging around her as he was not quite sure what to make of her friends).  They also enjoyed playing video games and teasing each other...and annoying each other (th...

Senora Maria Fernandez It was with great sadness that we learned Anna's long time Spanish teacher, Senora Fernandez, passed away on July 2 following complications from heart surgery.  She was only 51 years old. Senora Fernandez was a long-time Spanish teacher at St. Mark's school (she has been Anna's teacher since pre-school).  She had just accepted a new position at a local Catholic high school that she was to begin this fall.  She truly served as an inspiration to her students and proudly adopted the U.S. as her home country.  She bravely fought - and beat - cancer a few years ago, all while continuing to teach.  The school community was devastated by her loss, but came together to celebrate her life at a memorial service on July 5.  Despite the holidays, the church was full of former students, colleagues, friends and family.  Anna joined her friends to sing in the choir. Despite the sadness, the mourners tried to honor her wishes by celebrat...

Last Day of 7th Grade Another year has flown by and Anna is officially a rising 8th grader!  Anna was very excited about the end of the school year, but was most excited about her report card.  This trimester she attained straight As, which resulted in achieving her real goal - getting a phone (Mom & Dad had a high bar).  Stay tuned for more details in future posts about how this is going, but don't be surprised if you get a text from Anna with her new number. The last two months of school were busy as always with spring activities and end of year celebrations.  Anna played soccer with her team - the Vienna Tomatoes (the girls are nothing if not creative).  She joined the newly formed school volleyball team for the first time (that was definitely a learning experience).  She got to play three concerts with the Vienna Jammers, including one at the Lincoln Memorial.  As an added bonus, she tried out for the Advanced Jammers Steel Pan drum group...