Ho ho ho

Aloha, it certainly has been a while! So much has happened! I ran a half marathon and did a 65 mile bike ride! I got a part time job so I could beat the horrible 495 traffic! So many exclamation marks!

I write today to give a shout out to my friend Mikey, who passed away 2 years ago today. He was a great guy who taught me the true meaning of being quirky and being yourself. In all my 23 years I've never met anyone who was so generous and accepting of all kinds of people. Its no wonder he was loved by everyone and is missed every single day. He would've really appreciated the next thing I'm about to share: my family's Christmas letter. I wrote it and thought people might like to have a taste of it before its sent out to the great beyond that is Snail Mail. I think its quite comical. Other family members chimed in, I will make those times apparent. 

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Hello all, and welcome to the Virginia Foggs Christmas Letter 2013. It is I, Alex, writing the letter this year, as both my parents are still shell-shocked from the Nationals/Hokies (they like to ignore their other daughters’ college sports teams because they are evil) utter lackluster seasons and are not able to cough up a letter. Literally, my mom is sitting on the couch yelling: "LOGAN THOMAS IS NOT A QUARTERBACK!!! and  "WHY DID THE NATS GET RID OF BOTH OF THEIR LEFT-HANDED RELIEVERS!! WHY!!" However, I promise you a letter full of laughs and smiles and I promise to not brag about anyone, except for, well, myself, because I am very excited about my most important news of the year. Additionally, I asked everyone a very personal, provocative question and they had to answer honestly. Here goes:

Julia, at 19 is the youngest pup in the litter, is a sophomore at James Madison University, and also a Sandwich Master at Potbelly. She works at the gym at JMU and makes some mean chocolate cherry cookies, one of which I am munching on as I write this letter and gaze wistfully out the window, wishing it was summer. 

Question: Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses?

Answer: Neither. I would fight Caroline because I know I could beat her.

Caroline is 22 and learning to survive in the wilds of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She ran a summer camp for kids interested in art and took all of downtown "Fred Vegas" by storm when the kids decorated the streets with street paint and the covered trees with paper cranes. She still attends THE university of Virginia, The University of Mary Washington – for one more semester, because she is due to graduate in May. 

Q: If you were any Lord of the Rings character, who would you be, and why?

A: I'd be Gandalf, because you can toss me down a deep, dark, tunnel, BUT I'M STILL COMING BACK, better than ever. (No nerds in this family. Why do you ask?)

I am 23, recently graduated from Virginia Tech and working in Bethesda, Md., as a graphic designer for a company that designs corporate wellness programs. (Woo, that's a mouthful!) And that big news I was talking about? I was on the Jumbotron at Nationals Park four times this past summer and was ALMOST Fan of the Game one time. Surprisingly, I got robbed for the title by an Elvis Impersonator. Smh…

Q: If you could invite anyone from history over for dinner, who would it be, and why?

A: All the colonists from Roanoke Island who disappeared. I'd ask them "What does Croatan mean?" and "Where did you go?" (Seriously, no nerds here, why do you keep asking??)

Spencer, 25, is working at the Navy Yard as a defense contractor (survived sequestration so far, and the government shutdown --BOOYA!) and helping my dad make batch after batch of delicious, seasonal home-brewed beer. He is a Magic: The Gathering board game devotee. He and his townhouse roommates have a beagle…so…you know. (No, Alex, what do we know?)

Q: If a movie was made about your life, what genre would it be, and who would play you?

A: It would be a dramedy, or maybe a tragic comedy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt would play me. 

Alan still works for the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority in Tysons Corner and continues to eat super healthy. Seriously, I came home from school and our fridge had been completely wiped out. We don't even have peanut butter. Or milk. We have almond butter. And almond milk. He still likes beer though, so thank goodness for that. His brand is called Hoppy Fogg and the label is him, doing his signature ecstatic photobombing jump. I wish him luck in his photobombing endeavors in 2014. 

Q: If you had to get a tattoo, what would it be?

A: The Zia sun (from the New Mexico flag), with “Sic Semper Tyrannis” (from the Virginia flag) written around it, and big ol' Curly Dub (that’s the Washington Nationals’ “curly W” for you non-baseball enthusiasts) in the middle. Attaboy dad! AMERICA!

Vicky is still blissfully working at the Washington Post, designing the most fabulous pages in the Style section. This year, she almost ran into the Duck Pond down in Blacksburg. I kid you not, her arms were flailing in the air and she was headed right toward the big pool of toxic sludge that is the Duck Pond. It was a highlight of my year. Her three favorite things are movies that make her cry, sports, and sparkly things. This segues perfectly into the question:

Q: If you were an X-Man and had a mutation, what would it be?

A: I would be able to shoot glitter out of my fingers.

It was a great year for all the Virginia Foggs, culminating in the best Thanksgiving supper ever, asking crazy questions such as those above and trying to figure out who said what. My personal favorite question/answer combo was this:

Q: There's a movie called The Big Cheese. What is it about?

A (from Grandpa Clark): The Big Cheese is a documentary about a 500-pound super fan of the Green Bay Packers and his quest to find love.

Hope you all had a great 2013, are enjoying a swell Christmas and holiday season, and an even better 2014!

blue: Julia

green: dad

purple: mom

Well there it is. Stay tuned for my 2013 year in review.

RIP Mikey!