Lately: February Celebrations and More

Life lately has been very full! The kids are busy with school work and activities and we're spending lots of time with family, but our weekends have been quieter. Rainy gray days = perfect for staying inside.  

Here's a peek at some of what we've been up to lately:

The boys put on their Patriots caps (thanks to Aunt Rosemary) for the Super Bowl. Too bad it didn't help them win!

Henry made two cars for the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

Neither of his cars won anything, but he enjoyed working with Gene to build the cars.

I snapped this photo of the boys with one of Ruby's toys. Ruby usually rips her toys to pieces immediately, but this one (Monsieur Acorn) stayed intact for months -- which was ironic because there was a hidden "sad" acorn inside the outer shell!

Playing Dungeons and Dragons by candlelight.

Henry loves grapefruit, so we usually come home with a bag from the farmers market. We love citrus season!

More food: we had a simple Valentine's breakfast of heart-shaped cinnamon toast with red strawberries. I even managed to find my Valentine's decorations (all two pieces) just in time!

The school libraries have been keeping me busy as well. My friend Gwendolyn and I made a door sign for our school librarian for teacher appreciation week.

Our school also had its first author visit. John David Anderson, author of eight middle grade novels, came to talk about his newest book, Granted. He was so funny and the kids roared with laughter. Author visits are my favorite!

I spend a lot of time in the library, but I'm not always there when Henry's class comes in. A couple of weeks ago, I was covering for a volunteer during Henry's library ancillary, so I snapped a bunch of photos for his class Shutterfly album.

Nana's birthday is this week, but we were over for dinner a couple of weeks ago and celebrated early with brownies. 

We had a bunch of outtakes trying to get one good shot -- Henry is laughing that the candle blew out.

Happy early birthday, Nana!!

Will had a birthday party to attend out near Nana and Pop's last weekend, so the rest of us spend a few hours hanging out and enjoying a couple of hours of sun and blue skies!

We celebrated Will's half birthday with my parents twice -- once with leftover cake

and once with presents!

March and its many birthday celebrations will be here before we know it!

A Sunday Adventure: Brazos Bend State Park

We've had a rainy stretch here in Houston, at least on the weekends, which is the only time we're able to get out and about as a family. It's disappointing, especially since our summers are so hot. We did manage to get out to Brazos Bend State Park on a chilly Sunday a couple weeks back. It wasn't raining but the trails were muddy and hiking was tough.  

Gramma and Grampa joined us, as they are also always up for an adventure -- even a muddy one!

We saw one lone alligator hanging out on a log.

The birds, like this white ibis, were out in force!  

Great egret

Great Blue Heron

Check out the water line on the trees -- remnants of Harvey!

More rain is in the forecast for this weekend, but our fingers are crossed that we see some sunny weekend days in the near future! 

Good Reads {January 2018}

I was on a middle-grade reading kick in January, so I only made it through a couple of adult novels, but I read some pretty great books last month. 

Here are my very favorite reads from January:  

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time and I am recommending it to everyone! My mom and I actually went to hear the author speak last week at Brazos Bookstore and she was so impressive. Pachinko is a sweeping family saga that examines the lives of four generations of Koreans who emigrate to Japan. Beautifully written, this story looks at themes of race, immigration, family and home. It was stunning and gave me a serious book hangover. 

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

What a gem of a collection! There are laugh-out-loud funny moments as well as stories that will make you tear up. Excellent on audio.

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

This is a beautiful middle-grade novel, told from a tree's perspective, about community, family and intolerance. Reminiscent of The Giving Tree.

Posted by John David Anderson

I read this middle grade novel because the author is coming to WUES next week to talk about his books to our 4th and 5th graders. In this novel, cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School and the students take to leaving sticky it notes on lockers and mirrors and walls. As you can imagine, some of these anonymous messages take on a threatening tone. The book examines friendship, communication and the power of language.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Henry picked this novel after previewing it during a genre exploration activity at the school library. He adored it and passed it on to me. Melody is not like other children. She has cerebral palsy and at the beginning of the book, she cannot communicate, despite having a brilliant mind. This is an incredible story.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Ghost, aka Castle Crenshaw, loves to run, and accidentally ends up on an elite track team. The story deals with so many current issues -- abuse, poverty, and friendship. It is beautifully written and an excellent choice for upper elementary and middle school kids.  

What have you been reading lately?