Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I’ve probably been putting off posting because I want to do a big post and I keep not having time at the time of day I have the mental energy for it. (This is also why my one missionary nephew hasn’t gotten a ‘Tolkien Truth’ in a while.) Here’s the bare bones rundown of our trip, then, in hopes that it will make it possible for me to get on with blog life:

9/20/22: All the day-before packing plus tending my great nephew while his parents went to a long-awaited concert. Also the setting of my phone alarm for a most uncivilized hour.
9/21/22: Said alarm goes off at 4-ish am, whereupon we ready ourselves and my nephew takes us to the airport. Our flight, which went pretty well (surprisingly, the littles were fans). Deciding on food in Chicago surprisingly difficult, but we survived and my brother-in-law picked us up from the airport. Dinner and enjoyment of their yard before bed.
9/22/22: Time change plus early flight equaled all of us sleeping in to some degree. A quiet morning. My sister-in-law and I run to Walmart. At 1-ish she and I and my big girls check her oldest boy out of school early and we go to the Washington D.C. Temple. Panda is consumed upon our return.
9/23/22: Our D.C. day. My bro-in-law is a chauffeur rock star. We see Iwo Jima, Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Lincoln monument, the reflecting pool at the mall, the Vietnam Wall, the island memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the WWII memorial before lunch. I get Panera Bread with the girls for lunch while the boys hit Jimmy Johns. Afterwards, the men take my oldest to the National Gallery and I take the other three to the Postal Museum. There is some grumpiness by then but we manage. We take the metro to meet up and head home.
9/24/22: The National Zoo with both families, since it’s a Saturday. My kids are much happier after getting pretzels and ice cream and my youngest has a beautiful moment with a sea lion. Hot dogs for dinner, which my youngest eventually threw up. It was a one and done and no one else had an issue, but she slept in our room the rest of the trip.
9/25/22: Sunday. We enjoyed their ward, games, pasta, and dessert.
9/26/22: Luray Caverns, which were incredibly cool. Also a one room ‘toys of yesteryear’ exhibit and a big showroom type exhibit of carriages and cars and such. Lovely Shenandoah Valley scenery, and another day with cousins because they were out of school for a teacher work day (or something).
9/27/22: Brunch with bro- and sis-in-law to say thank you for being incredible hosts. We grab doughnuts on the way home for after dinner. The kids hang with their aunt and play/do homework and enjoy cousin time once the cousins get home from school; my hubby and I go to the Battlefield Memorial in Manasseh.
9/28/22: The flight home, which at least left at noon-ish. We survive and Britt’s hubby picks us up at the airport.

It really was an amazing trip, folks. Perhaps there will be more later? At any rate, you also get a quick book review so I don’t get too far behind. I finished Faith Erin Hicks’ Ride On the other night, which was my first contender for a Christmas graphic novel for my GN-obsessed 13-year-old this year. Content-wise it’s perfectly eligible–horse loving girl has friend struggles and finds a better fit for herself all around at her new stable–but it feels a bit short, somehow. It could easily have been fleshed out for another 50-75 pages, at least in my opinion. The story’s all there, though, and horse fans, Trekkies, boys with older brothers, and middle grade girls making friend adjustments should all enjoy this one.

Clearly I’m struggling to catch up, but it was a full weekend and now a busy week. I’ll get there, right? In the meantime, I listened to Aven Green, Sleuthing Machine today so I could hand it off to my 7-year-old, and it was kind of hilarious. It may be a shorter book for younger readers, but fans of Aven from Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus should still check it out. I’m hoping my girlie will love it!

We’re back from Virginia, folks! We flew Wednesday to Wednesday and stayed with my hubby’s youngest sister and her family, who spoiled us rotten; we tried to pack plenty in, since who knows when we’ll be back that way! (They’re moving, among other things.) We’ve been unpacking, settling in, catching up, and (today) watching General Conference; I’ll have to give a play by play next time, however, because I’m not up to it at the moment. What I AM up to–if only barely–is reviewing one of the graphic novels I finished while we were in Virginia, because otherwise I’m only going to get further behind. Hence–Jarad Greene’s Scullion: A Dishwasher’s Guide to Mistaken Identity, which was seriously bizarre. (Entertainingly so, you understand, but yowsers.) I guess if you crossed one of Shakespeare’s mistaken identity comedies with contemporary-ish pop culture and gave it a few twists for good measure, you’d have the story of Darlis and Mae, some royalty, and assorted trolls? Fans of Renaissance fairs should be extra fond of this one, but it should be an unusual but positive experience for most graphic novel readers. Let me know what YOU think!*

*And I’ll try and fill you in on our trip when I’m not so tired.

Hey, folks–yesterday got away from me, but it was really just going to be a post about taking a week off for family time, so here you are–I’m taking the next week off for some family time. See you sometime next week!

I have yet to read a Dusti Bowling book I didn’t love, although The Canyon’s Edge was emotionally wrenching. I finished her newest–Across the Desert–yesterday, and while I suppose it, too, is somewhat emotionally wrenching, it’s also triumphant in a very gritty sort of way. Jolene’s quest to find the online friend that crashed her Ultralight (a gas-powered glider) in the desert is scary and painful and full of obstacles; her quest for help in her own life is no different. On the other hand, she finds her way through both of them against considerable odds, making some amazing ally-friends along the way. Readers are going to cheer for Jolene even when they’re hurting for her, and by the end there will be relief and tears and all the feels for everyone. You AND your middle graders should definitely read this one!

In the meantime, we’re having a calm Saturday instead of last week’s insane one, and that’s a very good thing. It’s ALSO a rainy one, and for that we are truly, humbly grateful. God bless the firefighters in the west with rain as well!

That’s what Hockey Night in Kenya reminds me of, folks. Co-written by Danson Mutinda and Eric Walters, this ‘Battle of the Books’ pick follows Kitoo, a Kenyan orphan who learns about ice hockey from an old book too worn for the library to keep. With the encouragement of his friend, Nigosi, Kitoo investigates what hockey options there are in his own country–with surprising (and inspiring!) results. Hockey Night in Kenya has only 91 pages, some of them full page illustrations, and while it’s aimed for a younger audience than I prefer, it should have wide appeal for elementary school boys and be an good option for reluctant and/or struggling readers.

In other news, I got my hair cut and blown dry straight today, successfully freaking out my family in the process, and our PTA sponsored Fitness Fun night at the school–involving both a presentation from our amazing PE teacher and skating/scooting/biking/etc. around the pickup/dropoff lane–was definitely successful. Wahoo!

I probably wouldn’t have exerted myself to blog again today, given that I just got home from more than four hours volunteering at my kids’ elementary school, but Tara Dairman’s Stars So Sweet is due and not renewable by 9 tonight, and if I don’t review books BEFORE they go back to the library, there’s no telling when I might get around to it. Look at me getting forced back on track!

Anyway–the book. Dairman’s ‘Stars’ trilogy has made for a lovely reading aloud experience for my 13-year-old and me, and Stars So Sweet brings it to an end in a completely satisfying way. We see Gladys starting middle school and getting better at socializing in ways that suit her foodie personality; we also see her considering both her own career and her relationships with her family in ultimately healthy ways. (And in case that sounds boring, we have Sandy’s search for a legacy appropriate to an elementary-aged boy AND lines like “Gladys felt like a mini hot dog, all wrapped up in a puff pastry of love,” which was pretty hilarious to read aloud to a new teenager.) You’ll cheer for Gladys, her family, and friends; you’ll wish you were eating with them, too. If you like food, writing, or E.L. Konigsburg-y characters, don’t miss this trilogy!

I was really going to post on Friday–and then Sunday–and then, well, I didn’t. On Friday it was because I was waiting to review the book that I finished reading to my 13-year-old on Friday evening, only to find that I’d run out of brain power; yesterday I didn’t manage because oh my goodness, the crazy weekend and the tired. On Thursday morning my oldest had her big toenails worked on, which means that she wasn’t doing a ton on Friday and didn’t clean the church with her siblings and me on Saturday morning at 8. There was a service project at our building at 9, but donations were supposed to be dropped off at leaders’ houses the night before, so we didn’t really go the day of. (We dropped them off at the same neighbor’s house who took me in their truck to pick up the rest of the rocks to fill up the last bit of the park strip on Friday–we have great neighbors!) Britt’s youngest got baptized at 10, so we left the church building and the girls and I got dressed in our church clothes and headed there; when we got home I attacked the laundry, my hubby took our son to a birthday party and then left for the BYU game with his parents within the hour, I picked up my son and he left with friends to the same game, my older girls made cookies, I exercised, we ate dinner, cleaned up, packed up, and left for my in-laws’ house around 6:30, stopping for Sonic slushies and churros on the way. We had the house to ourselves, since Grandma and Grandpa were at the game, so my oldest went with me to pick up a cousin to come hang out with them after my youngest went to bed. She didn’t stay super late, but no one got to bed exactly on time, especially considering that the game that started at 8:15 went into double overtime. (No, the girls and I weren’t there, but I was tracking the score on my phone, and it was too close of a game not to stay up for it.) My oldest ended up not being able to sleep, so she and I were awake when my hubby and his parents and our boy got home at 1-ish or something.

No one slept well.

On Sunday we went to hear a nephew speak in his ward about the service mission he’s just begun and then a niece speak in her ward about the proselyting mission she leaves on next week; we brought the cookies my older girls made to both parties before packing up our overnight stuff and going home to do dishes, eat a little something for dinner, and get us all into bed early. (I was too tired to wash my hair last night, let alone write something comprehensible for y’all.)

And THAT brings us to today, right? It’s an even day, and that’s not ideal, but I finished reading Terri Libenson’s Remarkably Ruby during my son’s counseling appointment this morning, and if I don’t review it and pass it off to my 13-year-old posthaste, she’ll probably die. (Or something.) And honestly, I’m excited to both review it AND pass it on, because I thought it was excellent. I liked Truly Tyler and all, but Ruby resonated with me on a deeper level, engaging me far more thoroughly. (Which was nice, given that it’s the longest ‘Emmie & Friends’ book so far.) Ruby–aka Baked Bean Girl–is struggling through seventh grade, feeling alone and unable to do anything about it; Mia is running for 8th grade class president, but she’s starting to feel left out of her friend group and stressed out by the election. The girls used to be close, but that’s ancient history. Are their middle school journeys fated to meaningfully intersect? The ending might surprise you!

Okay, that was cheesy, but somehow that’s the direction the writing took me. The ending DID get me, though–I did NOT see it coming. Let me know if it gets you, too…

Sometime in the last ten years or so it occurred to me that coming up with a book title is hard. I can’t remember what book I was thinking of, but my thought process went something like, “That was a terrible title for that book, really, it SHOULD have been called…ummm…ummm…oh, snap…” On the other hand, published authors have editors and such on hand to help with that, right? which is why I only feel a little guilty saying that I totally enjoyed Katherine Center’s The Lost Husband, but dang, that was a lousy title for the book in question. For one, the husband is most definitely DEAD, and that’s not a spoiler–he’s already dead when the book starts. For another, well–the book’s not about him. It’s about Libby, her two children, and their journey to a different life with their Aunt/Great Aunt Jean, an honest-to-goodness farmer. There are a few other characters that matter, of course, but really, this is Libby’s journey, and the book focuses on her relationships with her mother (another difficult one, making me wonder about Katherine Center’s own mother), her aunt, her children–AND the hairy handyman who milks the goats with her. It’s a lot about healing, dealing with life’s challenges, and coming to terms with yourself–and a little about cheese. The Lost Husband is a thoroughly enjoyable book about a positive emotional journey, and I’d definitely recommend it as a thoughtful but cozy comfort read.

On the other hand, it’s NOT about a lost husband.

In other news, I missed Saturday and Monday because we spent Saturday prepping for Monday, and Monday working and hosting a BBQ. My hubby’s side of the family–just about all of the Utah ones PLUS the Virginia branch that flew in Monday morning–came to help us move our shed, fill it back up again, and prep and rock our park strip. (As in, put rocks down…although other interpretations are amusing to contemplate!) They came early to beat the heat, and since I had trouble falling asleep Sunday night and woke up at 5 on Monday with weird dreams and couldn’t get BACK to sleep, I was completely exhausted last night. On the other hand, my shed is no longer crooked and currently VERY neatly organized with room to spare, my garage is clean and I AM PARKED IN IT!, and my park strip is mostly rocked (we did run out before we were done). Not to mention that my fabulously helpful in-laws also demolished the weeds by my fence and reinforced our sagging mailbox. (No joke–family is an unimaginable blessing.) And if there were a few casualties of the drive to get rid of stuff, well–they pale in significance to what was accomplished.

That pretty much brings us up to date, folks. I can’t promise a post tomorrow, even though I’ll try, but in the meantime, have a lovely short week!

Sooo…last week my newly-13-year-old asked me to get her Flipping Forward Twisting Backward from the library. I’m not actually sure how she found it, but it’s a new verse novel about a girl who’s amazing at gymnastics but has made it to the 5th grade without anyone realizing that she can’t–not really–read. When her vice principal catches on, however, he offers her options she didn’t realize she had; the catch is that her mom has to consent, and her mother doesn’t actually believe her. (That last part was difficult for both the parent and the teacher in me, because really? I managed not to hate her by reminding myself that a relatively-recently-divorced single mother with an emotionally demanding job–surgeon–isn’t always thinking straight.)

I knew my girlie was excited about the book, but when it came in at the library on Tuesday, I took a good look at it and decided I could commit myself to read it quickly before passing it on. (If she’d been at loose ends for something to read, mind, I would have given it to her, but as far as I know, she’s solidly into at least two different books at the moment.) I started it on Tuesday and finished it yesterday, and I’m reviewing it before she gets home from school so that I can surprise her with it (she did seem a little glum when there weren’t any library books for her on library day). The best part is that it was beautiful. I especially appreciated the supportive friends and sister, and I think the intended audience is going to love it, since it won’t be judging the parents and teacher in the same way I can’t help doing. (Also, Flipping Forward packs plenty of feels into its 130-odd pages.) If you like verse novels, gymnastics, or Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s Fish in a Tree, don’t miss this one.