Last Sunday we spent the day on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge – first shopping in Napa and then watching a (really great) middle school performance of the Sound of Music in Marin. On the way there we stopped at a vista point that I (despite having lived here for almost 20 years) had never before visited. The views didn’t disappoint – and it was fun getting our photo snapped and feeling like tourists…
Each year, each class in the girls’ school leads a one-hour prayer service for family and friends. Third grade’s turn was on Thursday, and the school’s newsletter described the service as such:
With Passover beginning next week, students explored the theme of freedom, with each student sharing a quote about freedom—“’A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself,’ said Jim Morrison,†a student shared—as well as about what freedom means to members of the community. To prepare for the tefillah, third graders first selected the theme of freedom (voting as a class), and then looked at the prayers in the siddur (prayer book) to select the prayers that spoke to their chosen theme. “This whole process was done to empower the students to take ownership of the process and be leaders,†says Judaic studies teacher Sharona Israeli-Roth.
Speaking of Zoe and Coco: When we were visiting, my sister pulled up the first photo on her phone – taken when Zoe was five. I’m a big fan of then-and-now photos, and I just love these.
Our trip to Madison was both quick and mellow. We spent a lot of time hanging out, playing games (Zoe taught us a bunch of new card games and we played old favorites like Kings Corners) and just relaxing. And a big highlight for Zoe was seeing her aunt and Bruno and Coco; she loves dogs (and especially these two), and getting to walk them was a particularly big treat!
Since my mom isn’t up to traveling, and we didn’t want to go too long without seeing her and my dad, we decided to take a quick trip to Madison this month. This time around it was just me and Zoe; it was the first trip we’ve taken on her own, and she was the perfect travel companion.
“I don’t get parents,” Avery said to me out of the blue one day. “You only have time off on vacation and on the weekend?” “Yes, Avery,” I patiently explained. Daddy and I need to work year-round; we don’t get summers off like kids do. “Well, that sucks,” was her response.
I didn’t share this in real time, but here’s a sick-with-flu Avery bouncing around not long ago. Now, just think of the energy she has when she’s not sick!
During pick-up at school yesterday I spotted a holiday-themed collage featuring all the students. Avery and I had a hard time spotting Zoe at first (“It’s like Where’s Waldo!” I commented) but once we did Avery bent down and kissed her sister’s cut-out. “Did you just kiss the board?” I asked her. “Yeh, I love her,” she responded matter-of-factly.
It was pretty much a non-stop party at the girls’ school yesterday, with a costume parade, a carnival, and a special holiday program. Here are a few pictures of their day, including one of the third grade class. (She’s hard to see, but Avery – and her antennae – are in the back.)