Readers likely know that it’s tradition for us to go to Great America to celebrate Father’s Day (and sometimes Avery’s birthday), which is why we headed there yesterday. Here are two more pics from our day, including one of the almost-birthday girl enjoying a treat while her dad and sister went on a big rollercoaster. (Just a few more inches and she can join them!)

-M

Hope all the dads out there have had a fun day! The dad in our house was busy riding rides (Great America, per tradition) with his favorite girls.

-M

Before Zoe said good-bye to first grade, her teacher had the whole class (and their families) over for an end-of-year pool party. Below are a few pics from the (hot and fun) afternoon.

-M

Talk about perfect timing: Just as Zoe’s school year came to a close yesterday, a post called “Happy to move up, sad to say good-bye” appeared on a New York Times parenting blog. “I’m always blindsided by the small sorrows that arrive regularly this time of year. I sail into June anticipating summer, hot weather and glorious vacation, and instead find myself caught up in the tiny griefs that come with change,” the mom writes. And, then, capturing why us sentimental mamas feel so, well, sentimental this time of year: “Watching them grow and change brings the same tears to my eyes that I’m engulfed by whenever I’m forced to realize that just as the tough things about having young children won’t last forever, the wonderful stuff won’t either.”

(sigh)

-M

When I walked into Zoe’s classroom earlier this week and saw the white, empty walls – walls where colorful paintings and sayings were once happily displayed – I immediately got a sad, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’ve always been a sentimental person (as a child, I would get sad at the end of each school year), but leaving Zoe’s first-grade class behind is particularly difficult. Simply put, her teacher is amazing: She has the unique ability of identifying each child’s talents and drawing from them, and she has nurtured and empowered the children, making each one feel like the most special in the classroom. This has been a year of incredible growth and happiness for Zoe, and it’s difficult to accept that it’s over.

Today was Zoe’s last day, and there wasn’t a dry (adult) eye in the classroom this morning, as the parents read to the teachers a thank-you poem we had prepared for them. One of the lines I contributed was something alone the lines of the teachers giving my child (and our entire family) sweet memories that will last a lifetime. And I really mean it!

-M

The other afternoon, after a packed (and fun) weekend, I told the girls they’d be going to bed early that night. “Big day tomorrow?” Avery asked, before adding, “We always have big days.” Indeed! As previously mentioned, these past few weeks have been a whirlwind of ceremonies, celebrations, and parties (birthday and otherwise), and still on deck are back-to-back trips to Wisconsin and DC! It’s all good stuff, but  it will be a few more weeks until we catch our breaths…

-M

Some more photos from Saturday’s big party… I especially like how into Elsa’s performance Avery was (second pic), how happy she was with her best friend (fourth and fifth pics), and how sweet she looked when hugging Elsa good-bye (last pic).

-M

She’s not five yet, but Avery celebrated her birthday early on Saturday. She had a joint party, with her about-to-turn-five bestie Sofia (and Sofia’s twin brother), and the theme was – what else? - Frozen. Avery was quite taken with Elsa, one of our two special guests, and Q and I couldn’t hold back our smiles on the way home when she told us, “Matty kept telling me Elsa and Kristof weren’t real, but I told them they were.”

-M

A few scenes from Friday’s opera. I had the back view of Zoe’s turn as a butterfly, but at least you can hear her really well!

-M

I can see why Zoe was excited for yesterday: Her class’s opera performance was so sweet. Below are a few photos from the afternoon.

-M

Zoe has had this day marked on her calendar for quite some time: It’s the day of her class’s performance of the Nanny Goat Opera. She asked me to interview her about the show (about which I knew little, other than that she was going to be a butterfly); below is our conversation.

-M

It’s been a week since Avery’s last day of school, and it feels like the right time to share the last batch of teacher-taken photos from the school year. These are all from the last two months – starting with a photo of her and her bestie and ending with a last-day-of-school silly shot.

-M

Also from Sunday, one of my new favorite pics of the girls.

-M

Safta is in town, and the five of us took a quick trip to Napa yesterday. Here are a few pics from the way we started our day: by picnicking (and posing) at a winery.

-M

There’s been a lot going on with the girls this week (almost more than this emotional mama can handle)! The day after Avery’s Moving On ceremony, Zoe and her fellow first-graders led their school in an hour-long service of prayers and songs – something they’ve been practicing months for.  It was moving and sweet, and though Zoe was sick (which we didn’t discover until after she was done), I know she’ll remember it for a long time.

Below are two of the kids’ songs – “What a Wonderful World” (which gets me sniffling every time) and a lively one about the Hebrew alphabet.

-M