Balls in the Air

So, I never finished my blogging about our great vacation in Washington DC.  I never posted photos, and I haven't finished my photo book from DC.  I really want to do the photo book, but as soon as we got back from vacation, we unpacked, did laundry, and the repacked to go to our synagogue's retreat for two days.  Where we unplugged and had a great time.  The kids really enjoy going, and connecting with other kids from the synagogue.  As the kids get older, the time I get to spend talking with other adults at the retreat, increase, since the kids can play and have fun without me being within 10 feet of them!

Part of the retreat, the parents of the 12 year old kids broke off from the main group, and talked about the pre-Bar Mitzvah year.  Not just about how busy we are, but we talked about the dress of the day, and being respectful of the ceremony.  We also talked about how the Bar Mitzvah is a BIG family event. We watched a movie "Keeping Up With The Steins."  While not a wonderful movie, it provided a dialog between kids and adults, especially once we got home.  We also spoke about continuing the Jewish education.

And then, as we returned and got back into the school mode, we we had Mother's Day, followed by Naomi's FROZEN party this past weekend. 

And now we are entering the zone of transition.  We are starting the end of year concerts, portfolio shares, and of course signing up for after schools and other things.  And of course the yearly doctor's appointments for both kids and now we have entered the "braces" years for Mark.

I have done some great cooking in between these obligations, which I will write about another time!