Also from our recent trip: Some more entertaining from our little singer, who knows quite a few more lyrics than last time!

-M

Preschooler or teen-ager? It’s a question I’ve pondered before and one I asked myself again yesterday when I picked up a very grumpy Zoe from school. After becoming agitated over something small on our drive home, she yelled out (in teen-like fashion), “I had a really bad day! And you’re making it even badder!”

(Something tells me that’s not the last time I’ll hear that sentiment from one of my daughters.)

-M

Almost immediately after returning from Wisconsin, we packed up the girls again and whisked them to Tahoe. Our wintery weekend didn’t go quite as planned – poor Zoe was sick and bed-ridden for much of our time there – but Avery (who likely doesn’t remember her last time there) sure had a lot of fun! (And every time she saw the gondola after her initial ride, she pointed and said, “Want to go again.”)

-M

A week is a long time for a kid, so I was curious how the girls would be about returning to school after our trip. Avery, who mentioned her teacher and some of her classmates several times when we were away, was (unsurprisingly) a bit clingy when I dropped her off in the morning. But her teachers said she was totally fine immediately after – and also commented on how much more she’s talking now. (How funny the changes that just one week can bring!)

As for Zoe, she had talked about wanting to share details of her trip, and Kalahari specifically, with her classmates for days before we got back. And I had to smile when we walked in and several of her little friends called out her name and ran up to her. “On Tuesday the kids started to ask all about her – where she was and when was she coming back,” Zoe’s teacher reported to me. “We really missed her.”

-M

Much of our time in Madison was spent at home: playing games, opening presents, and just hanging out. Here are a few more pics.

-M

A little video from on our way to the Dells last weekend…

-M

We’re back from Wisconsin, and our trip there was a fast and fun one. The air travel went well (even if Avery was a bit rambuctious on our flights there), and our overnight visit to Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells (in honor of my mom’s birthday) was a blast. The resort has one of the biggest indoor water parks in the country, and Zoe still hasn’t taken off her admissions bracelet! (She used it for show-and-tell at school today.)

-M

We’ve been in Madison for a few days to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday, and Zoe was quite excited to get here. “I’m not taking any naps in Madison,” she informed me the day before we left. “Our trip is short, and I don’t want to miss any time with them.”

I’m happy to report that Zoe hasn’t been doing a lot of resting but has been spending lots of time with my parents (and Aunt Sandy). And neither she or Avery have seemed to mind the chilly (to them) temperatures.

We’re heading home soon; more pictures to follow!

-M

A few pics from the fall that haven’t yet appeared on the blog…

-M

After taking those after-school pictures the other day, I asked Avery to sing for the camera the Hamotzi – a blessing she learned at school and loves. (They sing it before snack and lunch every day.) She was a bit distracted, and I had to laugh how she paused (at the :26 mark) to take a spoonful of play food, but she did a pretty good job!

-M

I let out a yelp of joy when I picked up Avery the other afternoon: One of her teachers had put her hair in pigtails. It’s a look I totally love, not only because it reminds me of Zoe, but because it makes Avery look like such a big girl!

(I’ve really got to learn how to do her hair like this!)

-M

I decided to get myself a present and bought a Sony A55 DSLR camera last night. So now we’ll have even more photos to post!

Hopefully they will get better as I get used to all the functions but here is one from this morning:

Click on the photo to open the full image.

More to come!

Jon Q