Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays

I have not read all of Mem Fox's picture books but the ones I have read, I really like.  So do my kids.  This week we've gotten into several:

The little monkeys in this book are named Cheeky and Chee.  That's enough for us right there.  Sammy laughs at this one every time and Lucy loves to say Cheeky and Chee.  This is a short, simple, rhyming story about the monkeys' adventures.

I read this book to Lucy over and over when she was a baby and we still read it now.  All the babies in the book might be from different parts of the world, but they all have ten little fingers and ten little toes.  Sweet, sweet book.

I think this is one of my all time favorites.  The little boy on the cover lives next to an "old people's home" and knows all the residents.  He hears his parents talking about "memories" and asks them the question, "What is a memory?"  He makes it his mission to find memories for his closest "old" friend who has lost hers.  I get a lump in my throat every time.  Sammy always asks me to read this one again.  A treasure.

Linking up with Read Aloud Thursdays!   

From "Window Poems"

"How sheltering and clear

the window seems, the dry fireheat

inside, and outside the gray

downpour.  As the man works

the weather moves

upon his mind, its dreariness

a kind of comfort."

from Window Poems by Wendell Berry, #6

I have really enjoyed reading this and other poems from Window Poems.  The thing about W.B. is that you get a strong sense of who he is in his poetry, his fiction, and his essays.  They all fit so well together. 

(And check out podso's window post today- also a nice fit!) 

It is cool and rainy here.  I like these sorts of days, usually.  Right now I am ready for a break.  Most of us here today are starting to get on each others' nerves, and I mean that in the nicest way!  So, we have scattered for quiet times and naps and will hopefully regroup in an hour or so.  We did make some cookies- that always brightens things a bit.

We made smores in the fire pit last night.  These two were waiting- wonder what they were talking about...

Some Summer in the Backyard

Is it just me?
Is anyone else so glad it's summer??
My heart is a little lighter.  I am a little more relaxed, enjoying the freedom from school right now, the time to get a few things done, and a chance to enjoy being outside.
There are lots of things growing in the yard this year.  I'd really like to buy out the local nurseries!

While we were in Ohio, our green beans came up.  When we left, there wasn't anything above ground.  A few days later, voila!

This is the first year the hydrangea bloomed.  In the past couple of years, deer have eaten the blooms.  Don't know why they have left it alone this year.  I love walking by this one!

Impatiens are one of my favorite flowers but we have very little shade in our back yard.  I put a few in pots and set them around the yard in the shadiest spots.  (like in that first picture)

Another favorite thing:  these hummingbirds that are coming around.  It seems like there are only two but we see them more and more.

Ohio Trip

We've been gone the past few days, visiting these cuties- cousins from Ohio.
I think the kids all had a great time playing, staying up late, and eating yummy food.
There was something about all the kids sneaking out with Granny and Grandpa early one morning for donuts...
We went to the pool and to a hands-on science museum that kept everyone's interest for most of the day.

Lucy really enjoyed "Baby Joel," who isn't really a baby anymore but to Lucy, anyone smaller than her is a baby.  He's a sweet little guy.

The big event was Brian's sister's graduation.  She got a degree in counseling- yes- while being wife and mom of three!

It was fun to see her walk across that stage and to see her girls watch mom graduate.  

Yay, Sarah!

Kids' Summer Reading Lists

We're having salads with lettuce from the garden!  It's pretty good, too.
Brian built a fire pit in the backyard so we can roast marshmallows.  The kids can't wait.  Hoping the storms hold off so we can make smores tonight.
The kids and I just got back from the library.  I decided to put together summer reading lists for them.  I like to beg, borrow, and steal.    Mostly from recommended reading lists from a classical school and from the IEW (writing program) people.  For me, it gets harder to choose good, solid literature as they get older (like Jack).  I just don't know as many of these titles.  I hope they both enjoy their books!
Here's some of Kayla's (age 8):
Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
Stuart Little by E.B. White
The Littles by John Lawrence Peterson
The Littles and Their Amazing New Friend by J.L. Peterson
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
The Moffats by Eleanor Estes
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli

Some of Jack's (age 10) (shorter list, longer books):
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

This Evening

I've just come in from sitting on the deck.  I listened to the sounds of the evening and realized the birds and crickets have replaced the peepers.  I'll look forward to hearing them next spring.
I occasionally got a whiff of the petunias.  Seemed like by the time I recognized the sweet scent it was gone.  That's such a comforting smell to me- always reminds me of summers as a kid and of my mom, who planted them.  On the top of the list for tonight- I saw the first lightening bug of the summer (which I was watching for)!  It's an annual race for Brian and me- I usually win!  On the bottom of the list- I pulled a tick out of Kayla's hair tonight.  It's the third or fourth I've seen already.  Not looking forward to finding more of those little guys.
Oh well.
The calendar might still say spring, but it's summer now for us.

On the Swings

The best part of swinging for this five-year old boy is to see just how high he can get on the swing.

The best part for his mom is hearing him laugh when his feet touch the leaves.

Getting a little bigger every day.

For some reason I love to watch these two belly-swing.

Lucy has just figured it out.  She's a little calmer, happier when she's just barely moving.

Sammy- not so calm.  He likes to take a running leap to get himself going.

I love Lucy in pigtails.  

She's just so stinkin' cute.