Our House in the Middle of Our Street

View from the Amtrak train ride from Seattle to Bellingham I didn't think I'd finish much in October, but I actually surprised myself. My best friend from Nebraska came all the way out to see me and stay for a week, and then we had guests after that, much less just settling in for the past 5 weeks; it was a busy and full month. Here are the books I read and enjoyed in Ocotober. Hope Runs by Claire Diaz-Ortiz was a side-by-side memoir between an American tourist and a Kenyan orphan. Throw in the mix a non-profit helping kids get started running their first marathons, and you've got a really good, under 200-page book. I enjoyed Claire's book and won a beautiful hard-back version on a blog contest earlier in the year. I know just the woman I'd like to pass this onto, as well, whom I think will also enjoy it. This story follows an American tourist around the world, landing, very surprisingly, in a Kenyan orphanage for a night. From this one night comes many mont...

 I read   Re'and , by Victoria Easter Wilson in one sitting. I was given an advance reader's copy of Re'and earlier in the Fall by the author, whom I follow on bloglovin .I was happy to review this debut novel and found it to be very fast-paced.  I don't read fantasy novels very often. Heck, I don't even read fiction very often, especially that of the young-adult kind. I read it in a few hours, because of the constant action, and flowing descriptive visuals, both of the scenes and characters. Wilson definitely has that down pat. This is a coming-of-age story about a princess named Aideen who has an unforeseen fate of growing into her ruler duties and helping to unify the kingdoms without succumbing to the fear of a threatening nearby nation. Throughout the book there are legendary creatures, many whom will support Aideen on her quest. Although the timeline was hard to follow, the ending clarifies the months passed. The description keeps the book moving at ...

I'm not really a selfie person, but when you chop 7-10 inches off, you need to document it! I'm super excited for the rest of the month. It'll be filled with friends reconnecting, traveling with said friends, eating food with said friends, etc. And then we get to repeat it with more visitors! I chopped my hair off, which somehow buoys my mood, and things are slowly starting to fall into place . By the end of the month, I'll have a specific book review, a giveaway, maybe a home school post or two, and then a What I Read in October (spoiler: not much!). Here are some links I wanted to share because I thought they were creative/interesting/worthwhile. Did you read or see something online that you wanted to share a million times on social media? Leave it in the comments for all of us to check out! I really want a shirt like this , in a lot of different fabric patterns. Gorgeous drape.  We've been checking out different churches and we recently walked int...

via Remember when we got to watch a science video in class and it was the best day ever?! Well, nature documentaries for kids have come along way since I was in junior high. Nature documentaries are a fun pastime for our family, and as homeschoolers, we can use these as part of our curriculum and get science credit. Disney, BBC, Pbs, and National Geographic have definitely stepped up their cinematography and story-telling ability from the 1990s and have some really great movies that families can enjoy together, that kids are enthralled with on their own, and that adults wouldn't be embarrassed watching by themselves, either. Here are a few of our favorites, that can easily be used for science credit, research, or enjoyment for kids (and their adults): * Bears is a Disney Nature film and the most recent doc we've watched together. This story follows a female brown bear and her two cubs over the course of one year in the Alaskan wilderness. The shots of the grizzlies al...

When you get a sunny day in a Pacific Northwest Fall, you drop everything, go play outside and laugh at your good fortune! We moved into Canada just under a month ago, and I still have the residual feeling of anxiety over what still needs to happen within our family to fully be "here". I haven't blogged nearly at all in that time (boxes were priority, spending time with friends, and our laptop crashing were a few of the reasons) and I realized although I was thinking about blog posts, I wasn't actually writing them. Ahem. We just had a three-day weekend to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving and it was so needed. Just that one extra day made a lot of difference. I unpacked the rest of the boxes while Stefan and the kids went out exploring in the canoe, caught up on some of my TV addictions (Nashville, New Girl), and just felt like I had a few hours to catch up and get my head screwed back on straight, or what my grandpa might have said, 'slowed down those BBs ...