SUKKOT SHENANIGANS 2024

After a week (and a few days) in the Sukkah, we finished taking it down yesterday. Another year of memories and fun times doing our silly stuff out there. This year, we had a hard time narrowing down our list of themes - so whatever didn't make the cut this year, we will likely see next year! The boys are always thinking of new ideas, year-round! My list grows constantly, and then it's hard to make the final selections around the end of July-ish when we vote on which ones we think are best for this year or are most excited about. The winners for this year: Marvel, The Beatles, Squid Game, Get Out the Vote, Israel, Ted Lasso, and Glee. Here's what it looked like!

Marvel Sukkah!

The boys invited some friends (Landon, Jack, Myles, Haden Reid, Nathan, Clark) to join us on this first night. They came up with the theme and many of the food ideas: Thor’s hammers, Iron Man tray, Groot Beer, Fanta-stic Four, The Daily Bugles, Ant-Man on a Log, Infinity Stones, Avengers Pizza, and a Captain America cookie cake. It was simply “marvel-ous!!”

The Beatles Sukkah!

We got to “Come Together” with BeeBee, Zaide, NaNa, and Colby for an incredible evening of songs and fun food! Quinn gave the most “Help!” prepping our Let it B-L-T Bites, Yellow Submarines, and Strawberry Fields. We also enjoyed Penne Lane, Veggies and Dip-la-Dee, Dip-La-Da, Jello Goodbye, Sgt Dr. Pepper, Love Me Dew, and so much more! Sam won the Emoji Song Title competition, and we completed the evening by watching Yesterday.

Squid Game Sukkah

We had a very full, very loud sukkah this evening with cousins and friends. We ate Red Light Green Light Salad, “squiddlers,” savory Turn Overs (as in “your turn’s over”), Tug of War Ropes, rice, corn, and Dalgona cookies before competing in Tug of War, Red Light Green Light, Dalgona, and Glass Bridge. Thank you to the grown ups who helped judge, lead, and “eliminate” players.

Get Out the Vote Sukkah

With less than 34 hours to go before EARLY VOTING begins in Texas, we did everything we could to DO SOMETHING! Grandma, Papa, Aunt Jacque, and Uncle Freddy joined us for a dinner filled with reminders about voting. We had “High Stakes for the United Steaks of America,” Campaign Trail Mix, We the Peaple, zucchini votes, “Eggs-ercise Your Right to Vote,” “Donut Forget to Vote,” AmendMINTS, Bill of Rice, LiberTEA, Cheese Block Walk, Let Freedom Ring, and Churn Out the Vote. We helped write postcards to help turn out the vote across Texas and for our friend, Texas State Representative Mihaela Plesa’s, re-election in HD-70! Then, our guests left with yard signs. Finally, I introduced the boys to one of my favorite movies, Iron Jawed Angels, which reminds us of how lucky we are to GET to vote!

Israel Sukkah

We hosted an Israel-themed dinner with our friends (and Sam’s co-workers), the Friedmans and the Gottliebs. I loved watching my three big kids play with the little ones. I enjoyed conversation and catching up with friends. It’s been a hard year for Israel and for Jews everywhere. When Jewish people across the world celebrated Sukkot last year, we couldn’t have fathomed what was about to take place in Israel. This Sukkot, so many families are missing someone (or many more). With pain in our hearts, we remember them. We pray for the prompt, safe return of the hostages. But with pride in our hearts, we move forward. We are still here and persist and thrive. As Rabbi Stern said in his Kol Nidre sermon, “… in the face of such overwhelming darkness, we insisted on life…. We are more than shattered fragments… We insist on the whole tablets alongside the broken.”

Ted Lasso Sukkah!

What a fun night with Robin, Kevin, Keaton, Mischelle, Brycen, Nami, Hayla, and Jillian celebrating all things Lasso! If you haven’t seen Ted Lasso, you’re missing out! If you have, you’ll probably know why we had all these foods: goldfish, Biscuits with the Boss, an open jar of peanut butter on the counter, kebabs, fish and chips, brown water (tea), sparkling water, Diamond Dogs (ironically, I unintentionally got Nathan’s brand hot dogs)- with Wonder Kid buns, Jamie (Pop) Tartts, and a big “WHISTLE!!” It was, in the words of Roy Kent, “FU…..NNNN!”

Glee Sukkah!

Our big finale to this year's week of fun, family, friends, and food was a Glee-themed evening. The boys started watching the show this summer, and they’re nearly halfway through season 4. It was fitting to have Regan, Fitz, Sandler, and Taryn here because we carpool to Sunday school with these dear friends, and the kids love to take turns choosing songs in the car, singing along and introducing each other to new music. If you watched Glee (and can remember!), you’ll understand why we had: Grilled Cheesus, Cheerios, Rachel Berrys, slushies, tots, Breadsticks (that also happened to be (Emma) Pillsbury), Lima beans, bake sale cupcakes, Coach Bieste bars, little elves, grapes and sanitizer wipes, and Fondue for Two! We had such a delightful time chatting the night away!

Saying goodbye to Sukkot is bittersweet- I’m exhausted and ready for healthy food(!), but I’ll miss our evenings with company every night. We had an amazing week being silly, connecting with people we love, and enjoying some fun themes. We lucked out with the most perfect weather, too! So long, Sukkot! See you next year!