Guess which camp the girls are going to this week?

-M

On the subject of presents: A few days after her birthday, Avery said out of the blue, “You know what present I got when I was born? I got my family, and I’ll have it for the rest of my life…” Saw it with me: awwwww…

-M

Ah, to be six (and this happy!) again. Avery opened up one of her birthday presents last week and to say she was excited about its contents would be an understatement.

-M

Speaking of Camp Galileo, last week’s theme was San Francisco – and the girls did several themed science and art projects. Among their creations: a suspension bridge and a Victorian house (Zoe) and a rolling cable car and – not pictured below – a mini BART subway car (Avery).

-M

Last week, the girls’ first official week of summer was mellow (for Zoe) and sweet (for Avery) – but this week was high-energy! The girls were at Galileo, the camp where Zoe has spent the last two summers. The camp is science- and art-focused but there’s also tons of outside time – and the girls, and their good friend, Sophie, have come home hot, sweaty and happy every day.

-M

The girls may be a bit older and have moved on to other interests (e.g. Harry Potter for Zoe), but “Frozen” remains close to their hearts. They were goofing around, acting out one of the movie scenes, last night, and I grabbed my phone for a quick video.

-M

I hope all the dads out there had a nice Father’s Day! We celebrating by going to the water park at Great America – Q’s choice (and our tradition since 2010).

-M

I asked the girls the other day that if they could be superheroes, which powers would they want. Avery responded that she would like the power “to make rainbows everyday.” And Zoe said, “Every time I walked post someone who was sad, they would turn happy.” That speaks volumes about the personalities of our girls!

-M

Avery woke up very excited yesterday – not just because she was turning six but because she was giving a performance later that day. She was only at her Cinderella-themed dance camp for three days this week (she was sick on Monday), but she learned enough to put on a cute show. And, to her great happiness, she even got to celebrate with a birthday cake after.

-M

How fast did she get to here:

from here!

-M

Avery and two of her closest friends recently had a joint birthday party at Pump it Up – here are a few pics from the celebration.

-M

Zoe requested that she had a week this summer where she just reads, hangs out, and goes to work with me – so we made that happen this week. While her sister was off at a Cinderella-themed dance camp, Zoe served as a mini office mate for me (again). I enjoy my job, but it’s a lot more fun when she’s around!

-M

Avery asked me for something one day (a toy? a treat? I can’t remember), and when she started complaining about my answer of no, her sister was there to set her straight.

A: “Why don’t we get one? We don’t get anything.”
Z: “Yes, we do – we get love.”
A (after a pause): “Oh, yeah. We do.”
Z: “It’s a big deal! Not everyone gets love.”

-M

What better way to mark the end of a school year and the (unofficial) start of summer than ice cream?

-M

I was reminded last  week  just how alike Zoe and I are (about certain things). When I was a kid I always got so sad at the end of the school year – to this day I hate the sight of empty school hallways, the walls white where colorful artwork was once displayed – and Zoe is clearly the same way. When I brought her home from school on Thursday, she literally fell into a heap on one of our beds and started crying. “I don’t want school to be over. I want to go to school tomorrow,” she moaned miserably, with big tears streaming down her face. The only thing that made her stop crying was me promising to make her “homework” packets – just like her 2nd-grade teacher makes during the year – throughout the summer. (We did our first one over the weekend.)

Oh, and as for Avery? Not sentimental, or sad about kindergarten being over in the least. She clearly takes over her dad in this arena!

-M