Wordless Saturday

I fell during a trail run and caught my knee just right on a rock.

I ended up with 8 stitches.

The girls were shocked by Elise's perfect pancake flip.

Elise was selected to run on her school's cross country team for an all-elementary 4th/5th grade cross country meet.

She finished 7th out of 115-120 girls!

Snow White, the llama.

Watching the 3D printer at the library.

Carter's cell project for science.

What I Read: September

Toward the end of September I got antsy to start my spooky October reads so I went ahead and started reading some books I planned to read in October. There were some eBooks I really enjoyed so I read them extra rather than having a regular book going at the same time. So I read fewer regular books than normal this month.

Books:

• The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley- Lucy Foley does it again with a suspenseful book that kept me guessing the whole way. This book reeled me in immediately and then slowed a bit in the middle before storming off again at the end.

• Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty- I went to the author event for this book and heard how Moriarty came up with the premise of this book which made it even better. She is so incredible and weaves everything together masterfully. The ending hit me in all the feels and I will be thinking about this for a long time.

eBooks:

• The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins- I loved the first book in the Dove Pond series enough that I decided to go ahead and read the 3rd one even though I didn't like the 2nd one very much. After slogging through to finish this one, I don't think I'll read any more books in the series. I love the premise of a family of sisters who all have special gifts and each book focusing on a different sister, but the last 2 books missed the mark for me.

• No Surprises: 100 Flash Fiction Stories by Andrea C. Neil- These are so much fun. I feel like it's a little glimpse into her brain as she writes a flash story each day. My favorite part is how she comes back to the storyline days later and adds to it, it almost feels like that game where different people add paragraphs to a story until it's finished.

• The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose- OH MY GOSH!!!!!! Once I started this book, I could not stop. I'm usually pretty good about putting a book down at bedtime, but she took it down to the wire and I HAD to know what happened so I finished this one well past my bedtime.

• Weyward by Emilia Hart- Weyward women have an affinity for nature. They are able to touch insects, particularly bees, without being stung. They make poltices and help heal the sick. Some may call them withces, some may call them different. I loved reading the weaving of these stories and how they inspired each other to better their lives.

Audiobooks:

• And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini- I absolutely loved the start of this book and the story of Abdullah and his sister, Pari. I especially enjoyed the story their dad told them which included mythology. Then the book wove in and out with other characters and I spent most of that time wishing to get back to their story.

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas- Celaena is the heroine I was looking for and disappointed not to find in A Court of Thorns and Roses. She is an assassin who can hold her own against anyone she is pitted against, a combination of Katniss Everdeen and Violet Sorrengail. There is magic, love, double crossing, and she meets every challenge with the ultimate goal: to earn her freedom.

• Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn- This book was so much more interesting and action packed than the first one! I liked getting an inside view of the round table and how the magic worked.

• Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price- This was the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series. It was so cute. I always love a Jane Austen retelling. Add in a murder? Yes, please!

Wordless Wednesday

Elise's Girl Scout troop at their bridging from Brownies to Juniors.

Wordless Wednesday

Elise reading to me while petting Goldie.

Carter before going to his first middle school dance!

I'm up-to-date with my Covid vaccines again!

What I Read: August

August is always crazy busy for me and I tend to struggle to get into and finish books. I made it through a decent number because I had some short ones that I finished this month.

He's a menace to readers everywhere!

Books:

• The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer- I thoroughly enjoyed escaping to a fantasy world with unicorns, red crows, and stars that actually fall from the sky in this book. As teenagers Rafe and Jeremy disappear for 6 months in Red Crow State Park. Where were they and how did they not only survive, but come out bigger and stronger than they went in? Discover the magical realm of Shanandoah as they return with Emilie and her fancy rat, Fritz (the comic relief). This book was part Narnia, part Neverland, and all lovely. "You can't save them all, but today we will save one."

• Stella by McCall Hoyle- Elise picked this book out when we went to the bookstore on my birthday to each pick out a book, a favorite family tradition. She read it and wanted a special place on her bookshelf to display it because she said it is now her favorite book she's ever read. After I finished Attack of the Black Rectangles, per Carter's request, she wanted me to read this one so I did. It was a sweet story about a bomb smelling dog who had PTSD after an explosion in an airport and the girl who saves her.

• Tallchief by Elise Paschen- This was a book of poetry published by Magic City Books Press. It was written by Maria Tallchief's daughter and the poems were about her mom.

• Survival Instincts by Rainy Dawn Ortiz- This was a book of poems written by Joy Harjo's daughter. It was also published by Magic City Books Press.

• Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura- This was a fun Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft rom com.

• Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman- I was so excited that Abbi Waxman had a new book coming out. I have loved all of her books, but this was a huge disappointment. I struggled to finish it and ended up switching over to audiobook to help me finish.

• How to Stop Time by Matt Haig- This was an interesting take on someone who doesn't age at the same rate as the rest of the world. I liked the historical references. "To teach feels like you are a guardian of time itself, protecting the future happiness of the world via the minds that are yet to shape it."

• The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket- I was really struggling to stay focused and get into books because I had so many things going through my mind and so much on my to-do list. I decided to try reading a children's book to see if the simplicity of the writing would make it easier and I'm a few books away from finishing this series, so I went with it. Not much happened in this one and I was mostly just reading to finish it. There were a couple parts that made me giggle, but other than that, it wasn't enjoyable. At this point, I'm just reading the books to finish the series.

eBooks:

• Neon Gods by Katee Robert- A friend of mine was going to an author even with Katee Robert and I told her I would go with her, so I decided I better read one of her books. I was expecting more character and world building with the Gods and especially the underworld with this book than what it had. It was a story about Hades and Persephone. Once I realized what the book was going to be, I enjoyed it a lot more.

• Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose- I loved this book. It kept me guessing until the very end and the title is fire. Also, that cover is so awesome! 

• The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins- This was the 3rd book in the Dove Pond series. I loved the first book enough that I decided to go ahead and read the third one even though I didn't like the second one very much. After slogging through to finish this one, I don't think I'll read any more books in the series. I love the premise of a family of sisters who all have special gifts and each book focuses on a different sister, but the last two books missed the mark for me.

Audiobooks:

• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry- This was a fun summer read. I was glad it was totally different from Beach Read and Book Lovers because they felt too similar to me. I liked how the book went back and forth between a current summer trip with 2 best friends and their previous summer trips. You got glimpses into their personalities and relationship, little bits at a time.

• The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes- Book #2 in the Inheritance Games series. This book was so much fun. It had so many unexpected twists and turns. I like that the books aren't just mysteries, they are also a game.

• The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones- This was the last book in the Indian Lake Trilogy. I had this book from a book event, but waited to listen to it as an audiobook because he mentioned that Stephen King read the audiobook. It turned out he just did one chapter, so it wasn't worth waiting for the audiobook. I love Stephen Graham Jones so much! This book was wild and all over the place and had so many swerves I  did not see coming. The end was perfection. I knew I could trust him not to take Adie from us.