It’s the last night of Hanukkah, and I couldn’t let the holiday pass without a photo of, and greetings from, the girls. And while we’re at it: Happy New Year, too!

-M

During our last trip to Maui, we attempted to take the famous Road to Hana – but Zoe (then just under two years old) cried from the backseat throughout. Our trip went much smoother this time around; we didn’t make it the entire way, but what we did see (and eat!) was pretty terrific.

-M

Our first few days in Maui were spent exploring our hotel grounds, hitting the beach, snorkeling, and lounging by the pool. Oh, and we even had a play date with good friends, who were staying on another part of the island…

-M

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Another long hiatus for me and the blog – because after we returned from Madison we pulled together a (very) last-minute trip to Hawaii. This year we went to Maui, where we last visited when Zoe was a baby, and it was just as sunny, beautiful and fun as I was hoping. I have lots of photos to share; for now, here are the first ones I took when we got to our hotel last Tuesday.

-M

More photos from our trip to Madison, which included cooking making with Grandma, hanging out with Cousins Tanner and Brock, having fun with Sandy, and celebrating Grandma’s 75th birthday.

-M

As readers may have guessed by the last photo, we were in Wisconsin for most of last week. Unlike our past December visits it was not only extremely cold but also extremely snowy – and a real highlight for the girls was playing in all the white stuff.

-M

Looks a lot different than San Francisco! (More photos soon…)

-M

Avery was in a great mood when she got home from school on Wednesday, telling me and Q that it had been the best day of her life! The reason? “None of us had lice (MB’s note: they had a check at school that morning); we had choice time, which is normally just on Friday; and we made the house with our mentors. Plus we watched the LEGO Movie during PM care!”

I love what it takes to make a 7-year-old so happy.

-M

At school yesterday, Avery worked with her student-mentor to build and decorate Hanukkah-themed candy houses (made not of gingerbread but graham crackers). She was pretty proud – not to mention eager to eat it.

-M

Zoe is in an after-school running club this quarter, and last Sunday she and her running mates participated in the 5K Girls on the Run race. About 5,000 people ran, and Zoe was the second girl to cross the finish line. (The first was in eighth grade.) It was a gorgeous morning at Golden Gate Park and so much fun to cheer her on…

-M

Just before the Thanksgiving break, Zoe and her fourth-grade classmates hosted a Native California “museum,” during which they displayed results of their quarter-long research project. Zoe’s topic was art (she was lucky enough to be able to interview her cousin-artist Eve-Lauryn LaFountain as part of it), and she was totally in her element when presenting to a group of second-graders one afternoon.

-M

Before we left LA, we sought out a place to view the Hollywood sign — which we found in the Hollywood Hills. Avery, though, was more interested in dancing and singing than checking out the sign.

-M