With clearer skies, we jumped on a snorkeling cruise on our second full day in Hawaii. We were joined by several families from the girls’ school that were also vacationing on the island, and by yellow tang. Many, many yellow tang!
-M
When we stepped off the plane in Hawaii last Wednesday, it was raining – a real rarity for this time of year. But we didn’t let the wet weather (or the clouds the next day) get to us: We made floral leis and swam on our first afternoon, and the next day we traveled about 90 minutes to the beautiful Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Along the way we made lots of little stops, including to admire a waterfall alongside a (very Hawaiian) one-lane bridge. As I wrote recently on Instagram, one of my favorite things to do in Hawaii is jump in the car and stop at whatever piques our interest – which is what we did here. After all, it’s the journey, not the destination – right?
-M
You haven’t heard much from me lately because we were in Hawaii (back to the Big Island) for a week. We have tons of pics to share – for now, here’s one of my favorites of the girls, from one of our favorite spots on the island.
-M
Some more pics now of the girls celebrating Hanukkah at school and home. In order: Avery shows off a cardboard menorah she made with classmates, Zoe presents during an after-school Hanukkah assembly, Avery writes cards to friends, and both girls light candles.
-M
I’ve mentioned the girls’ school pre-winter break tradition here before: On the last day of first semester, the older kids make pancakes for the little ones, and everyone wears pajamas. Here were the girls as they headed into school on Friday morning.
-M
I recently read this (terrific) New York Times piece about a mom’s thoughts on her daughter going to be college, and this passage jumped out at me:
She is a competent young woman. She makes sound decisions, chooses decent friendships and navigates the world with an inner knowingness that has always belied her age.
This is no humble brag. Much of who she is, quite honestly, has little to do with me. She came into the world [this way]…
“That’s just like Zoe,” I thought when reading it – and it’s true. I’ve long thought of Zoe as an old soul, and I’ve also long thought that it has nothing to do with me. But regardless of how she turned out this way, I’m still proud.
-M
I haven’t done one of these in a while (looks like I forgot to write one when she turned 10), but there’s a lot to say about Zoe in her “tween†years.
A lot about Zoe at 11 is the same as in years past: She’s serious and quiet at times (also very much a rule follower and very much a deep thinker), but she has also a fun and silly side.
She loves school and being organized and doing self-directed projects: Much of her downtime is spent doing research projects, putting together lesson plans for school (which is typically taught to Grandma via Skype or to me and Avery), or – new this semester – managing a 3rd & 5th grade performance of Hamilton. (Zoe got this idea over the summer, and much of the fall has been focused on casting and rehearsing.) She works on so many projects and activities at once that it’s often hard to keep track of them all. “Is this for school or fun?†I’ll often ask her.
Fifth grade has been good to her: She joined the cross-country team and had a great first season, and she was selected to serve on a youth mentoring advisory board, which she loves. She also continues to enjoy math and reading; she recently started a book blog, and earlier this month she started a book club for her classmates. And speaking of classmates: She has strong relationships with numerous girls in her class, and she started g-chatting with many of them within the last year.
As “old†as Zoe often appears to us, she still likes doing things she did when younger: She has logged hours and hours over the last year playing with Legos, Groovy Girl dolls or American Girls. And she still does “dramatic play†by setting up and running little restaurants or shops, often with her sister.
Speaking of her sister, the two of them remain close. Despite their age (and personality!) difference, they almost always find something to do together. And Zoe is very sweet with her, comforting her when she’s upset and offering to help with her homework (though Avery often doesn’t want her to). They also have a sweet weekend morning routine, where they wake up early and cuddle together on the couch watching whatever show they’re currently into. (They discovered – and loved – “Fuller House†this year; there was a mermaid show that they spent months bingeing on, and they’re currently into a kids camp show called “Bunked.â€)
Since our last update, Zoe has had phases when she acts more stereotypically “preteenâ€ish than others – we’ve had periods of relatively quick tempers and crying for little reason. She also is less excited about us being around her friends than in the past – just this morning she asked me to not “embarrass” her if I came into her classroom. (When I probed further she said doing something like wiping off her mouth – which I wouldn’t do – would qualify as embarrassing). Still, challenging behavior isn’t the norm, and for the most part she’s not that much different than she was when she was Avery’s age.
One thing that has changed, though: her height! Not a week goes by without someone commenting on how tall she is. She’s almost 5’1†– officially taller than some of my friends – and she’s also now wearing a size 9.5 shoe! Keeping in mind that girls of this age can start feeling self-conscious about their bodies, I recently asked her it ever bothered her to have people comment on her height – and she just shrugged. I think she’s used to it by now!
It’s been a busy week at school for the girls, with lots of Hanukkah and pre-holiday break activities. Here, Avery and her classmates celebrated by making wax candles, making (and eating) latkes, and hugging and singing.
-M
…from the girls.
-M
As part of a big third grade project on San Francisco landmarks, Avery has been assigned to research and write about the Ferry Building. The first step was to visit and take lots of photos – and that’s just what we did today.
-M
Last weekend the four of us went to the Jewish Contemporary Museum’s annual family gala. We had never been before, and I loved all the kids activities (candle making, crafts, dancing, a virtual reality station, etc.) – and the girls especially loved how many of their classmates were there.
-M
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Avery has what feels like the right amount of homework for a kid her age: Each night, she reads about 20 minutes and solves a few problems in a weekly worksheet due back on Friday. And yet she’s not always so enthusiastic about it. When I recently reminded her about that night’s work, she huffed, “So much homework! When do I have time to just be a kid?!”
(I couldn’t help but smile at that one.)
-M
Before we headed home, we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and visited a few other spots in Chicago: The Navy Pier and Crystal Gardens (which we last visited when the girls were much smaller) and Cloud Gate, known to locals as “the Bean.” With most people back to work or school by then, it felt like we had the city largely to ourselves – which was pretty fabulous.
-M
Chicago is one of my favorite cities, so we built in some time to walk around and explore upon our arrival. Also on our itinerary? A birthday dinner at the American Girl store on Michigan Ave. – an event for which the girls schlepped their dolls all the way from home.
-M
As mentioned here previously, Zoe got really into art – and, more specifically, Impressionist paintings – during our trip this summer. After a conversation with her about pointilism and Georges Seurat, it occurred to me that it would be super fun (and super doable, given its proximity to Madison) to take Zoe to the Art Institute of Chicago. And, so, in honor of her 11th birthday, we tacked on a visit there to the end of our Wisconsin trip. Not only did Zoe see the famous Seurat, but she got to see two Mary Cassatts (her favorite), we all got to enjoy a beautiful Marc Chagall window, and Avery made a new friend.
-M
