In June, our family had the pleasure to spend an entire weekend celebrating Jenna. She became a bat mitzvah and we were so excited to share in this special milestone with the entire Vorobiof/Reisman/Price family.
On Friday night, Lori and Richard hosted us for Shabbat at their home in Camarillo. We enjoyed a delightful, intimate dinner with them. Just what we needed after the long drive from Phoenix.
We spent a majority of Saturday in services at the Chabad of West Hills with a subsequent kiddush luncheon. It was my first experience at an Orthodox shul. In Orthodox temples, the women and men attending services sit separately. So, Josh sat with Gabriel and Richard in the men's section while I sat with Alisa, Lori, and Selma. I definitely think the women have more fun on our side of the partition. As a part of the Saturday morning service, the Torah is read out loud. Gabriel, as the father of the bat mitzvah, is in charge of selecting the guests that are to be called up to the bimah (pulpit) to chant the blessings that occur before and after the Torah portion. This is known as an aliyah and it is a great honor. We cannot thank the Vorobiofs for including us in Jenna's special day. We, especially Josh, felt very loved and blessed to be considered for this great mitzvah.
After the luncheon, we assisted Alisa with prepping her backyard for the party on Sunday. The kids enjoyed hanging out with their cousins while the adults set up tables, chairs and other odds and ins.
After dropping off the kids back at the hotel and ordering them in food, Josh and I joined Alisa, Richard and Lori for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. It was so nice to have an adults only meal with lively conversations about current events.
Sunday was the big day! We spent most of the morning being lazy and lounging around the hotel. By mid-afternoon, we started to get dressed for the party. Alisa asked that we arrive early to assist with last minute party tasks, which included a quick run to Taco Bell to feed her and her kids.
By the time we arrived, the backyard had been transformed into a pink oasis. Jenna loves the color pink and wanted everything at the party to be pink. There were pink balloons. Pink table cloths. A pink name board. She even asked her family members to wear pink, which we did.
The party was fabulous -- tons of great food and drinks, lots of dancing, a make your own slime and bath bomb booth for the kids to enjoy, a multitude of laughs (especially during Gabe's slideshow tribute to Jenna), and the most magnificent So-Cal weather. Again, we were so honored to have been invited to join in the festivities. We loved every moment of it!
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