This weekend, no, this summer has thus far been a blur. We’ve fallen into a familiar pattern of small excursions around the city, time with our families, and kids parties. This weekend has not been any different. The girls spent time with Baba and Deda. More than that, they had a pottery painting date with my sister and nephew at the very same place I used to take the now 13-year old Alex when he was Sophia’s age. 
We finally got out these little aprons my sister and I made for the girls a few years back when we made them for all the little cousins’ as Hannukah presents. We shipped the aprons with homemade hot chocolate and cookie mixes. The girls were besides themselves with glee and couldn’t wait to cook for each other and us. Sophia made a fruit salad for herself and Eliza with her very own real knife. Her fruit salad recipe had grapes, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and lemon juice in it. She doesn’t usually like blueberries but having made it herself won her over, I suppose. 
Or was it that she worked up an appetite after a morning at the zoo? Whatever it was, we were glad to see the kids enjoy their time in the kitchen and in the zoo, glad to see their time. Period.
Sunday was the first time we had been to the zoo since last fall and it was a beautiful day. We weren’t the only ones who had such a splendid idea but we have a membership and don’t feel the need to explore every nook and cranny each visit. The zebra exhibit was closed which was disappointing to Eliza who asked where is the zebra vacationing. Alas, all it took was a carousel ride, a significant amount of time at the Tree House.
