For their first-semester elective, both girls chose to work on the school musical. Zoe was on the crew (stage manager) and Avery was both on the crew and in the cast (candy girl and oompa loompa). Most of the work was during school hours, but things got really busy after winter break – with numerous rehearsals and three (very sweet) performances at the Jewish Community High School.

They both had a lot of fun and I’ve gotta say: I think the stage just may be Avery’s place!

-M

A few more snaps from our trip…

-M

When traveling we like to do things that you can only do in that spot – like night swimming with manta rays on the Big Island. Mountain tubing is something unique to Kauai, so we gave it a try. Avery got cold (we were floating along a cool river), and I got claustrophobic (there were a few long, fairly narrow caves – see video), but it was still a fun experience!

-M

As with most of our Hawaii vacations, a lot of our time was spent in the ocean or pool. Bonus: the girls got to spend time and splash around with our good friends the Newmans, who were vacationing there as well.

-M

The four of us are big fans of the Big Island, but we decided to do something different for winter break and visit the much smaller Kauai (where Q and I honeymooned more than 15 years ago). It’s just as – and some would argue more – beautiful as the other islands, with one minor downside: It’s also the wettest! It rained for the majority of our one-week trip, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the island and visiting waterfalls, cute little towns (including one with a suspension bridge), Waimea Canyon, and the Spouted Horn.

-M

So, I think this is the longest I’ve ever gone without posting on the blog. Shortly after my last post (during which we were still recovering from all the bat mitzvah activities) we headed into a nice long winter break. And after our trip to Hawaii (pictures coming soon) and week of hanging out, it got crazy busy with basketball practice and games, musical rehearsals and then musical performances. Somewhere in there, we celebrated Hanukkah, New Year’s and Q’s birthday, and we remodeled one of our rooms so the girls have a dedicated study area. It’s been a lot, but: Happy 2020, everyone!

-M