Bat Mitzvah!

Today was a meaningful and fun day for our family. Cousin Debbie's daughter Maddie had her bat mitzvah. Lauren got to hang out with her girl cousins that she never gets to see and was in cousin heaven. A bonus? The rabbi who performed the service was the same rabbi who married Norm and me (Debbie referred us to him when we were looking for a rabbi willing to come to the Ritz Carlton on a Father's Day to marry 2 Jews he had never met before, lol). It was great to see Rabbi Mark - what a wonderful man. It's too bad we don't live closer to Manhattan Beach otherwise we certainly would join his congregation in a heartbeat.

Cameras were not allowed in the synagogue, but I managed to capture a few moments from the day.

The little miss was dressed in her finest, but that didn't stop her from playing on the temple's outdoor kiddie playground during the service:


Cousin Ryan (age 6) became her new best friend. Lauren sat on her lap during some of the service and they raced around the banquet hall during the luncheon afterwards.


So wonderful to see my cousins, Lisa, Kim and Debbie (only Lisa and Kim pictured here), in addition to so many other family members:


The next generation of cousins, including the bat mitzvah girl, Maddie (center in purple):


Overtiredness amongst the littles set in right after lunch, just as the impact of the dessert buffet kicked in full force. Ryan, her little sis Jordan (age 2) and Lauren got a serious case of the giggles on the couch in the lobby of the temple:


Which only escalated when Jordan decided it was time to begin taking off her clothes:


And nothing shows reverence for the Sabbath more than continuing the shenanigans out in front of the shul for the benefit of the entire congregation. Problem is, they are all so stinkin cute we just couldn't help laughing, which of course only reinforced the behavior:


Lauren's superhuman energy continued during the initial part of the car ride home, as she snatched the Nikon D5000 and began snapping away (she even puts the strap around her neck now!):


Alas, the revelry was shortly thereafter replaced by the ever popular "crash and burn", which remained in effect until we arrived home (and then some):


An exhausting but glorious day.