Of all the years I really should have written more blogs, this past year (2024) was a big one for our Zoe, with lots of milestones and accomplishments. Maybe that explains part of why I didn’t get a lot of blogging in? HA. Prepare yourself for Zoe’s (fast-tracked) Year in Pictures (with commentary).

Just as the past few years have gone, Zoe started off January with Girl Scout Cookie Season. BRACE YOURSELF, it’s coming up again THIS January! Last year was our best yet in all ways: strong sales, positive collaboration (this is new), and lots of quality time spent together. She again recorded her now-famous Cookie Creativity promo videos, and we spent hours at cookie booths learning to interact with the public, make change, and track sales. Zoe learned some stuff, too.

In February, as cookie sales continued (it’s an 8-week adventure!), we took in a show at Segerstrom Center in OC, a gorgeous venue that put on an excellent version of The Lion King. As much as she loves being on stage, she also loves going to the theater–and knows most of the words to most of the musical theater shows out there. It’s a passion.

Believe it or not, I actually blogged about March, which included Spring Break, our first of two trips to Vegas this year. One thing I left out was Zoe’s 8th Grade Spring Dance, and I’m only showing you this photo because you’ll see the dress again (she chose that) at 9th Grade Homecoming, with what I think is a totally different child (still Zoe) in it. So soak this green dress in and come back later to compare:

Now let’s keep moving forward to April, which was chock full of fun. Up first, Zoe earned her Silver Award from Girl Scouts for a project she did with two friends in her troop. They scripted an entire tour of the Ebell of Los Angeles, a women’s club that’s been around since 1894, including a “Living History” where the girls dressed up as famous characters from the Ebell’s history and were installed in various rooms of the venue, sharing historical facts about the women the represented and the rooms they were in–the girls even crafted their own costumes with guidance from the Ebell. Over 200 Girl Scouts attended!

Also in April, Zoe performed in a middle school production of Bye Bye Birdie as Nancy, with lots of dancing, a few lines and quite a bit of singing, followed by a black box stage showcase for her Young Actors Studio class as well. Gotta love stage time!

I have few pictures of May, as I was traveling and she was wrapping up her Middle School experience (gulp!), which culminated in a Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence and a graduation ceremony in early June that made me cry (you can watch her receive her diploma here). And here’s a picture of her first day of school (ever) and her grad day:

She also officially bridged from a Girl Scout Cadette to a Senior in another lovely ceremony where they literally cross a bridge to acknowledge the change, while their fearless troop leaders sing a kind song. And no bridging ceremony is complete without homemade “bridge” cupcakes. What style!

Speaking of June, you already know that her dad turned 60 and we took a trip to Cabo to celebrate, and that we took our second trip of the year to Vegas in July to see a volleyball tournament. In early July she also had a “Girls Weekend”, where she had her first Ax Throwing experience. Though I’ve never thrown an ax, I’m pretty sure the fact I wasn’t there was a good thing.

Then in late July Zoe took her second and longest trip away from home with her Girl Scout troop to Savannah, GA. Their itinerary was slammed with activities, including a trip to the birthplace of the founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, the first Girl Scouts headquarters, an etiquette class, the Savannah Bee Company, where they got to do some beekeeping, and Savannah Square Pops, which Zoe can’t stop dreaming about… What a magical experience, and THANK YOU to all those who made this trip possible by buying Girl Scout cookies!

August brought possibly the biggest moment of all, as Zoe started HIGH SCHOOL. I could (and should) write not just a blog but a long and heartfelt Thank You note to my daughter, who has embraced high school fully and is (so far) the best teen a parent could hope for! She is again part of a Performing Arts magnet inside a regular high school (of 2,400 kids!), only this time the whole school can audition for parts in their production, so competition is fierce. Not to spoil any surprises, but so far she has been selected as part of the Costume Crew for their drama production of The Haunting of Hill House (here’s the bow) and just before Winter Break she found out she got cast as part of the ensemble for Mamma Mia in the Spring, one of only two freshmen who landed stage roles. SO PROUD!

In addition to her continued theater enthusiasm, she’s rocking academics with all As and has even chosen a Spanish class (be still mi corazon). She is even setting the curve in her honors math class (that part of the brain comes from her Dad) AND got kudos from her English teacher for an essay (the writing part is NOT from Dad).

Not long after starting high school, she celebrated her 14th birthday (yes, I blogged about that one, too) in September and managed her sister’s party like a champ (also in that blog post). She was asked back to the Ebell for their Open House to reprise her “Julia Morgan” impersonation and promote the new Girl Scout patch she and her friends gained for their Silver Award.

And in October we debated about what a “casual Glinda the Good Witch” costume might look like and though there are a LOT of very sexy costumes out there, we agreed on this one, which I think is fabulous. Oh, compromise.

Side Note: As my mother reads this, she’s laughing and thinking about the shortest skirts on the planet that I used to wear and insist were “not that short”. Love you, Mom.

Also in late October, Zoe’s Girl Scout troop participated in Girl Scout Day at the LA Central Library again! They wore vintage costumes and walked around like celebrities teaching younger Scouts about the costumes and posing for pictures with them (not kidding – and it was so cute!). If you’re on Instagram, check out this fabulous promo video for the day, featuring Zoe’s troop!

And now it’s time to see that pretty girl in that pretty green dress you saw above at her 8th grade dance, now transformed as she evolves into a super cool high school kid.

I know that second pic is extra sassy, BUT I much prefer this confident version of our beautiful daughter as she steps into her next phase of life. I’ll trade some sass for some grown up decisions any day.

November was another busy month, including a Girl Scout “Celebrate the Night” event which Zoe’s troop designed, orchestrated and ran. Zoe was on the face painting team, and Ella (which I’ll explain in her post) got to attend for the first time as an actual Girl Scout! She’s too young to join Zoe’s awesome troop and is already adopted by them, so we went the “Juliette” route, which is a Scout without a troop. More on this later, but in the meantime, check out the artist at work.

We also took a trip home to GA, about which I should definitely blog, so I’ll just tease a picture here of Zoe wearing some props provided by her former piano teacher, who recently performed at a respite care facility in Marietta where my mom was recovering from some broken (but healed!) bones. That could also be a blog but I’ll leave her story to her to tell if she wishes. I’m just thankful and proud she’s back home! But I digress, meet Zoe in her “Elvis” costume, in which she performed a terrific rendition of Blue Suede Shoes (in black leather sneakers).

In December the girls were treated to a well-deserved trip to Universal Studios Hollywood on their last day of school where Zoe kept asking and asking until we finally got her a Butter Beer (no actual beer involved) at Hogwarts. She also rode the Harry Potter ride three times in a row, while Ella (not a coaster gal) surfed the gift shop… I’ll save that for her story.

And finally, we traveled to Minnesota to see Bart’s family, another blog I need to write, but one of the best parts was landing at night on a Wednesday to NO snow and waking up on Thursday morning to a blanket of it and more falling softly from the sky. It was near impossible to get these girls OUT of the snow, and their favorite snow activity was (drumroll, please) EATING IT.

And there you have it: Zoe’s 2024 Year in Review! She worked hard at school, outside school, and pretty much everywhere to learn new skills and continue on her journey to adulthood, which we realize will be here before we know it. She’s already excited about driving, though she really wants that bumper sticker (two of them) that says “Student Driver, Please Be Patient”. We’ll get there. Be Patient.