Zoe came home last Friday afternoon very tired, very smelly, and very happy. She said the camping trip was “way better” than she had expected, with the highlights being the food (apparently the barbecue chicken and grits were quite good) and the campfire stories. The school is sending us more photos soon; for now here she is with a few friends, moments after stepping off the bus.

-M

As you may have seen on Facebook, Wed. was a big day for Zoe: She took off for her first school overnight as part of so-called outdoor ed. She and her classmates headed to the popular and picturesque Camp Tawonga in Yosemite, where they’re going back in time to 1855 and looking for gold in “Hang Town.” We had a lot to prepare for (the packing list was long!), and Zoe had a lot of questions about what the trip would be like, what she should wear, etc. – but she was all smiles as the bus arrived.

-M

Another week with lots of school activities for the girls: On Monday night, Zoe performed with the choir at an event honoring Israel’s Independence Day, and on Tuesday there was an all-school assembly, a dance party and other events for both girls. I popped in the classroom to help out with the second-graders as they made Israeli salad — they didn’t really need my help (the teacher and I marveled over how independent almost-third-graders are), but it was fun to be there just the same.

-M

As I think I’ve mentioned here before, Zoe is running again: The spring program began several weeks ago, and she had her first 5K of the season on Sunday. It was a trail course with tons of hills (held in the very pretty and very large McLaren Park), but she seemed okay with it!

-M

A big event in the life of our family happened recently, when we left the girls home in the evening for the first time. We stayed close and just had a quick dinner in the neighborhood, but it felt kinda monumental. And I’m happy to report that all went well: Avery got a bit sad at bedtime and kept asking Zoe to call me, but Zoe made her feel better by pulling up the restaurant on a map on her tablet and showing her how close we were.

The next morning, we gave Zoe some money – like we would any other babysitter – and she looked surprised. “I don’t need that,” she said, only to have her sister cry out, “Ooh, I’ll take the cash!” (And if that story doesn’t perfectly encapsulate their personalities, I don’t know what does.)

-M

Every Friday in Zoe’s class, a student and his/her family comes in to give a presentation on their family’s Jewish traditions. It was Zoe’s turn last Friday, and I so enjoyed being there and sharing some of our stories. But an even bigger highlight was how her teacher started things off: by having her classmates write on the board their favorite things about Zoe. I can only imagine how it made Zoe – who was sitting in the middle so proudly – feel.

-M

One recent weekend, the four of us did something we’ve never done before: Hung out on the bay and watched the planes fly in and out of SFO. It was cloudy and a bit cool but also the best place to just sit and be.

-M

The girls and I were playing around the other day and one of them called me the best mommy in the world. (Ha – hardly.) “But I yell sometimes,” told them, to which Zoe shrugged. “So? Everyone has flaws, Mommy. I just think that’s your Achilles’ heel.”

-M

Whenever we’re in the city on Easter, we head across town to the Union Street Spring Celebration. (Four years ago, we were even quoted in the paper about it.) Despite last weekend’s rainy weather, we went again this year – and unlike in years past, Avery (joined by her dad) was part of the parade. “This is the best day of my life,” she told us at lunch.

-M

The girls are officially back to school – spring break ended yesterday – but before they headed back we spent some time at the zoo (where we hadn’t visited since December). And, a lot of photos were taken…

-M

Over the weekend I asked the girls if they wanted to make cookies (using a recipe Safta left us). Avery said she was up to it but then said, “I have a deal: You guys do all the work – and I’ll eat them.”

Classic Avery.

-M

A look now at something that occupied a bit of Avery and PopPop’s recent time together: dancing.

-M

As mentioned below, we held both Passover seder dinners here. The girls and Isaac were really engaged: Isaac read some of the four questions in English (impressive given he’s a preschooler!) and Avery did so in Hebrew, while Zoe answered numerous questions about the Passover story, prepared holiday Mad Libs for the family, and sang “Ten plagues in Egypt Land.” I love the photo below of the girls, taken when Zoe was singing — it’s a classic shot of a little sister looking admiringly at her big sibling.

Oh, and for a holiday blast from the past: Check out these photos from a few years back.

-M

The girls have been on spring break all week, and it’s been a good one for them so far: Safta was with us for a full week, and PopPop, Dan, Jenny, Isaac and Dorothy then joined us to celebrate Passover. The family time was great, and Zoe and Avery loved playing with their cousins. The only downside? The sadness when everyone left: When I went to work on Wed., I received several little videos of a teary Zoe telling me how sad she was. “I just miss everyone so much,” she cried out.

-M

“I’m so lucky – I have the best sister in the world,” Avery said in the car one day. I turned around to see what was happening in the backseat and saw what was happening: Zoe was tying her sister’s shoe.

-M