All American Summer Fun

When I was growing up I often heard the statement "As American As Baseball and Apple Pie." So it was exciting when we found out we had won four tickets to a Mud Hens' game this past week through the Northern Ohio Scholarship Fund. Bobby isn't that fond of sports, so Emily, her bestie Rachel, my sister, and I headed out for some all American summer fun!

The NOSF not only offered us tickets, but we were invited to share in a buffet which featured the most interesting cake for dessert that I have ever eaten. It turned out to be a sheet cake that was a yeast doughnut that had been frosted. The girls posed with the team mascots Muddy and Mudonna. And Rachel even ended up with a pop fly game ball.

The rest of our week included other all American past times like swimming, attending Farmers' Market where our friend Katie was a jr. chef for the day, and baking. I attempted my first ever loaf of Italian bread which I sliced, topped with home made garlic spread, and melted slices of mozzarella. The beautiful thing about America is that even Italian bread can be an American experience since our country is such a melting pot of people and cultures.

And of course, I read. I read Lottie's New Beach Towel which is a fun story of how Lottie the chicken makes great and multiple use of a beach towel her aunt sent her. The illustrations are done in little blocks with most pages having two blocks that help tell the story beautifully. This book was published some time back, but it is definitely worth checking to see if your local library has a copy. Or you can find a used copy online.

I also read Surfer Chick which is a totally awesome and gnarly surfer rhyming book about a chick who learns to surf from her amazing surfer dad. Definitely a fun read. I'm not sure how I ended up with two chicken books where the characters were at the beach, but there you have it.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

A Goldilock's Kind Of A Week

Not often, but sometimes, I have a Goldilock's kind of a week. You know, one that is just right. A week that is not too busy nor too humdrum. This week was a week like that. Emily and I did our home school lessons. She attended choir like normal. And on Friday we took the day off to get ready for her to go to church camp. A little laundry washed, a little packing, and voila, she was ready to go. She was excited to be going with her bestie, her cousin, and other friends, so I took a few pictures to remember the day. It was a happy moment and some photo bombing even happened.

While she was gone, I had the opportunity to work in the yard a bit. I love, love, love my trees, but they do reqire some work.

And of course, I read some kidlit. My first book was by the ever so talented Kwame Alexander. I previously reviewed Kwame's, The Acoustic Rooster And His Barnyard Band,which is an incredibly good book and a perfect addition to any home schooling music curriculum. This time, however, I read, Surf's Up, which is a book encouraging kids to read books. Two frogs are going surfing, but the first frog says he has to finish reading first. The beautiful art shows us the adventure frog one is taking in his mind as he reads his book. Eventually frog two, who thought reading was boring, is enticed into reading the book himself.

The second book I read was a non fiction picture book about a young girl living in the White House during Franklin Roosevelt's term called, Diana's White House Garden. It was war time and Diana wanted to be useful even though she was only ten. She tired many things, all which turned out poorly, but then President Roosevelt decided everyone should plant Victory Gardens. Mrs. Roosevelt put Diana in charge and showed her how to take care of the tiny plants. I generally love biography type picture books and this one was no exception.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.