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

I couldn’t write about our trip to Universal without mentioning the wand shop Ollivanders. Just like in the movie (and books), visitors get to visit the shop and — if they’re lucky — participate in a wand-pairing ceremony. Zoe and Avery were chosen by the wand maker to find a wand and test out some spells, and it made for an extra-special visit.

-M

Some photos of our second day at Universal (where we mostly explored the non-Harry Potter section of the park), as well as some photos of the girls on the beach and in Santa Monica. You can’t go to Southern California without visiting the ocean, right?

-M

Our first day at Universal was the day before Thanksgiving. It wasn’t all that busy (at least not compared to the next day, or to the times we’ve visited Disneyland), and we had plenty of time to wander around the Harry Potter section of the park. True fans of the books and movies have tons to geek out about there: Walking through the gates to Hogsmeade, you really feel like you’re part of the wizarding world. We went on several rides (including Zoe’s favorite, the 3D – and very realistic - Forbidden Journey ride), but to me they were almost beside the point. Just looking around and being immersed in the surroundings was worth the price of admission!

-M

When we heard last year that Universal Studios down in LA was opening Harry Potter Wizarding World, we knew we’d have to take the girls someday. Zoe’s 10th birthday turned out to be the perfect time to do it, and the four of us headed down last Tuesday and wound up spending two days there. I have tons of photos to share; for now, here’s one of my favorites – of the girls holding their wands.

-M

When Zoe was quite small, I asked her when she’d want me to stop bouncing and singing to her each night; her answer, after some thinking, was when she turned ten. At the time, it was hard to imagine her ever being that old – she was so little! And yet, here we are, facing a huge milestone of a birthday. Zoe is ten years old today.

I’ll post a full update here soon, but for now I’ll share a few photos of her from over the years and quickly reflect on what what November 23, 2006 means to me. Having Zoe plunked on my stomach that Thanksgiving night (11:11 PM) was the best moment of my life – despite her crooked nose and funny little face, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And becoming a mom and learning from a girl who often seems wise beyond her years has been humbling, exhilarating, exhausting, and amazing. I learn from her almost every day, and I can’t wait to see what kind of (gulp) woman she grows into and how our relationship evolves over the next 10 years.

Oh, and as for our nighttime routine? I stopped bouncing her long ago, but she recently amended her plan and still wants me to sing my lullaby (which I made up when she was a baby) to her every night. She said I can stop when she turns 18.

-M

My favorite photo from Zoe’s party…

-M