The holidays looked different this year, obviously, with everyone at home and unable to go to synagogue. We did, though, tune in to services from the comfort of our home (I admit to kind of liking it; I watched in my robe for one of them!) and break the fast in a socially distant way with friends. And I was so proud of the girls, who without being asked by me or Q, got a little dressed up for Rosh Hashanah – as shown here.

-M

Since the four of us can work/go to school anywhere, we took a little break from the city and recently rented a house up near Redding, Calif. There were wildfires in other parts of the state, but the skies were mostly clear for us as we spent five days relaxing, playing games and swimming. We also visited their main landmarks, a pedestrian bridge/art installation called the Sundial Bridge and the nearby Turtle Bay Exploration Park.

-M

The beginning of the school year was a very busy one, with Zoe and her good-friend Zachary campaigning as co-presidents for their school’s student board. They’ve been planning to run together for more than a year, and they met every other week over the summer to come up with their platform and speech.

I was excited and a bit nervous for them – they were competing against two other teams – and also proud and nostalgic. These two have been friends since their first year in preschool! They took it very seriously and worked hard, and our families were thrilled when the votes came in and we found out they won.

-M

I’m a bit late to sharing this, but we captured the girls’ thoughts on the eve of the new (very odd-looking) school year.

-M