See what's happening with the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge!

 Summer is in full swing, and over at Read, Discuss, Do! that means the Summer Challenge is underway. Check out the fun stuff we've had going on so far this summer. It's all about pairing books with summer fun, connecting with kids, and preventing the dreaded "summer slide" (just don't tell the kids that). It isn't too late to join the fun over at readdiscussdo.com.

Week One: Time to Chill

Story Time Tea

Week Two: Interesting Inventions

A challenge for little builders!

Poetry and Summer Reading

Wow, summer is almost here again! In my part of the world, high school graduations are happening and the last day of school for most other students is this Friday. And it's been nearly two months since I've written an update! So here are a couple things I've been meaning to write about combined into one short post.

1. Poetry! In my last post I mentioned that I had planned to write a poem a day for National Poetry Month. And I did! Well, I wrote at least part of a poem every day during April. By the end of the month I had 32 new poems, most of which still need some polish. During that self-imposed writing challenge, I was intentional about trying some new poetic forms, and one of them even inspired me to write a whole collection! 

I also read a lot of poetry, mostly collections written for children. Here are a few of my favorites:

Clackety Track: Poems about Trains by Skila Brown, illustrated by Jamey Christoph. This is an engaging, varied, fun-to-read book about the various types of trains, and includes back matter that describes each type of train featured in the book. 

Beastly Verse by Joohee Yoon, a wonderful assortment of poems about various "beasts," with vivid illustrations that are sure to catch any young reader's eye.

After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals by David L. Harrions, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis. This is a lovely book that is creative, educational, and a delight to read aloud. 

2. Summer reading. My kids are all grown up, so I'm not planning to sign them up for the local library's summer reading program and bring them to the library at least once a week this summer. But I am an advocate for reading, and it's almost summer, so that means that it's almost time for the second annual Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge! 

Read, Discuss, Do! began several years ago as a simple graphic I created and shared on social media aimed at simplifying the idea of story time. From there it became a social media campaign, then a series of blog posts, and now it has its own website. Last year, my team and I launched the website with the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge aimed at helping parents, caregivers, and educators connect with kids by reading (and discussing and doing) with them over the summer. 

It's not your typical summer reading challenge. There's no page-counting or book logging required. It's all about pairing books with summer fun! The fun officially begins on June 3. If you would like to be involved, you can out more at readdiscussdo.com!

What are your summer plans for summer reading?

Summer's End

The end of summer vacation is here, and I am both happy and sad about that. On one hand I will be glad to get back into a regular schedule. On the other, it's back to getting up early, lunch by myself, and seeing my teenage son for approximately 20 minutes a day. 

I've never been one of those parents who cheers when the kids go back to school. I have always enjoyed the disruption of our usual schedule and spending time with them doing summery stuff like playing in the sprinkler, staying up late building a Lego masterpiece, and going on adventures to the park or zoo. 

But my kids are older now, and summer, though still fairly laid back, is something different. I have their schedules to consider. They are almost all grown up, after all!

Still, the end of summer vacation and the beginning of a new school year is something to celebrate. This year it marks my oldest daughter's first real steps into the world as a college-graduated adult, my second daughter's third year of college, and my son's second half of his high school experience (with which he CANNOT WAIT to be finished).

As the new school year begins, I am hopeful that it will be full of good things. 

P.S. Come back on Wednesday to find out about my back-to-school giveaway!

It's summer!

Summer has officially crept up on me. My daughters have been home from college for nearly a month. My son's last day of tenth grade was a week and a half ago. And we leave for our annual summer road trip in just a few days!

How did that happen?

It seems like, as the kids have gotten older, the transition from school year to summer has become less seamless. It happens little by little until, suddenly, the season is in full swing and I barely even noticed.

Anyway, summer is here! And even though my girls will be working a lot, and my son will be spending a lot of his time playing video games or shooting hoops with his friends at the park, I intend to make the most out of summer.

I'll enjoy my slow, lazy mornings. I'll happily tend my garden. I'll soak up the sun and spend as much time with my kids (two of whom are not even kids any more) as much as they'll let me.

And maybe I'll even get some writing and reading done!

Happy summer to you too! (Or winter, for those of you way down south!)

Our Latest Family Adventure

Summertime brings road trips. This year we headed south to Branson, Missouri for a few days of fun. I had never been to Branson before, but many people over the years had said how fun and family friendly it is. So it seemed like the perfect spot for us since we wanted to take a quick trip to someplace new that didn't take us more than a few hours from home.

Branson is situated in the heart of the Ozarks. The area is green and gorgeous...and humid! The city is small, but swarming with tourists. The best way for me to describe the most tourist-trappy part of the city is as a big amusement park in which almost everything costs at least $25.00 per person.

That's not to say that you can't have fun there on a budget. There are hotels for every price range, a variety of restaurants, plenty of nature to enjoy, and a few attractions that even my miserly husband was willing to spring for.

It was a bit of a whirlwind of a trip, but we had a fun time.

A sampling of what we saw and did in Branson (minus some excellent food).
We went on a super high ferris wheel, rode the ducks, swam in Table Rock Lake
and enjoyed some gorgeous nature. If you go, don't miss the fountain light
show at Branson Landing (it's free!).

We veered slightly off-course on the way home to visit the capitol in Topeka.
If you ever have the chance to visit, don't miss the dome tour (296 steps to the top!),
the cage elevator (93 years old and still functioning) and the library (full of mostly
historical books and documents, but also some Kansas Notable Books).

Have you gone on any adventures recently?

Book-Inspired Projects: Moose-approved treehouse alternatives!

Reading WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? or some other tree house themed book may inspire your kids to build a tree house of their own. But what if building a tree house is not a possibility for you? No worries! There are plenty of alternatives that are almost as much fun!

Build a fort out of blankets and pillows.

The temporary nature of a blanket fort makes it ideal for a rainy summer day, or a day in which the temperature makes it impossible to play outside. Plus, building an indoor fort is not only fun, but it's an exercise in creativity and engineering. Just imagine the creative thinking involved in getting that blanket to stay in just the right spot!

Pitch a tent in the back yard or family room.

Blanket forts not your thing? Or maybe you're a little worried that the kids will pull that heavy lamp onto their heads? Pitch a tent instead! A small tent can be a perfect fort for indoors or out.

Grow a sunflower fort.

This takes some time and commitment, but if you have the space, the time will be well worth it! Imagine escaping into a hideout made entirely of sunflower stalks! That would be magical.

Savvy Housekeeping: Grow a Sunflower House

Construct a mini tree house for a bird or fairy.

You may not have the perfect tree house tree, but you can still build one for a bird or a tiny magical creature. Here is a good place to start for inspiration and instruction.

Make a fort out of a large cardboard box. 

Empty cardboard boxes are full of potential, and if a box is large enough for a child to crawl into, then it will make a perfect fort for indoors or out. Decorate it to look like a house or a castle--like this one that I found at Cornerstone Confessions. The only limit is your (or your child's) imagination!

Build a tree house out of Legos.

My kids and I have often stayed up late on summer nights constructing some ambitious structures out of these colorful blocks. Building a tree house out of the best toy ever invented can be a great way to spend a hot summer day!

Design a tree house in Minecraft. 

A few years ago my son got me into the video game Minecraft. Not only is it a fun video game, but it's a great way to get creative without making a mess. A quick internet search for "minecraft treehouse" will give you an idea of just how creative these houses can be!

End of Summer, again

My goofy family

It's Wednesday. It's the last week of summer vacation. And I am feeling a little odd about that. Normally I get to this point in the year and I'm all excited about making the last week of summer lots of fun for my kids.

But this year is different.

This year nobody wants to go swimming or biking or hiking or picnicking at the park. Because it's too hot. Or they haven't shaved their legs. Or they made plans to join their friends online to play Call of Duty.

It's all another symptom of having kids who are nearly grown up.

It isn't that we haven't had a good summer. We drove to Kansas City. We rode roller coasters, shopped at Ikea, and visited a tree house. We had a tea party with friends. We went to see Jurassic World and Ant Man. We stayed at a cabin with relatives and toasted marshmallows and talked around the campfire until 2:00 a.m.

We even launched WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?, which was a new and exciting experience for all of us!

But the last week of summer vacation is here, and I have spent most of my time working on a new picture book while my kids busy themselves with their own thing.

And I don't feel bad about that at all.

Just odd.

The End of Summer

Photo credit: Me!

The End of Summer

Coneflowers in full bloom
bees buzzing from blossom to blossom
hints of red and orange tinted leaves
cooler evenings
morning dew shimmering in the sunlight
cicadas whirring, whirring in the branches
the sudden absence of robins
and goldfinches
sun peering into south-facing windows
chrysanthemums unfolding
apples ripening in the orchard.
A beautiful end,
a hopeful beginning.

Suddenly, it's August!

How do looooong
 s  l  o  w
...lazy...
summer days
multiply so quickly?


SUDDENLY
it's August
and I'm faced with
a pile of back-to-school paperwork,
a long list of summer TO-DOs
that didn't get done,
and the dread of moving my daughter
back to school
for her second year
of COLLEGE.

Is there some way that I can
s..t..r..e..t..c..h
the next week
so that it feels more like
a month?

No?

Then I suppose I'll have to do
what I always do
and make the most of this last week
of summer break.

238 Years

Road Trips, Family, and Monster Mosquitos

The St. Croix River

We are one week into summer, and it has been a full week indeed!

It began last Saturday, May 31, 2014, with a 7+ hour drive to my folks' place in Minnesota. They live in a small town about an hour north of the Twin Cities, and their house is miles from anywhere and surrounded by vengeful swarms of large Minnesota mosquitos!

Seriously. Monstrous mosquitos. These insanely large blood suckers swarmed around our minivan the  second we pulled into the driveway, bumping into the windshield and hovering near exits so that we had to make a mad dash for the front door as soon as the van doors were flung open. It was like something from one of those corny horror flicks I saw as a kid. Run, or the mosquitos will drag you into the woods! Of course we knew in advance about the mosquitos. But wow! All that rain they've been getting in that part of the world has sure helped the mosquitos thrive!

You may be happy to know that I received only about 8 or 10 bites. That's without using bug spray AND without keeping myself locked up indoors. What can I say? They just don't like me that much.

The mosquitos were almost tame compared to the swarm of people that joined us for dinner on Wednesday night. Three of my siblings came (there are seven of us in all), and between us we had   18 CHILDREN in attendance. Add a couple of cousins (one with a baby in tow) an aunt, all our spouses, and a sprinkling of family drama, and you have one crazy party! It was madness, but it was fun, and I was so happy to see all of the beautiful people--especially tiny people--who were able to come.

And then there were the road trips. We drove down to the cities to visit the Mall of America (really just Lego Land) and Ikea. Another day we went north to do a little rock picking on the shores of Lake Superior, and another day we headed out to Taylor's Falls to hike around Interstate State Park and check out the glacial pot hole, watch rushing waters of the engorged St. Croix River, and enjoy a frosted mug of root beer at The Drive Thru!

It was a beautiful trip. But I am glad to be home where I can sleep on my own comfy bed, where chaotic family parties are a blissful memory, and where the mosquitos are a more manageable size and quantity!

Summer means NOT writing, at least for a little while

Today is the last day of school.

And I am excited! Even though I don't go to school or work at a school anymore.

I'm excited because I get to sleep in almost every day. I'm excited because I will have more time to spend with my kids, who are growing up way too fast. I'm excited because summer brings hot weather, and hot weather in my part of the country usually brings thunderstorms!

And one more thing. I am excited because summer vacation means I will be forced to spend time away from my latest novel, a YA fairytale mashup/retelling written in verse, which I am tentatively calling WHERE THE PATH MEETS THE WOODS. I recently finished this project's second round of revisions. And now I need to leave it alone for a while.

That's a hard thing for me to do. Even as I write this, it calls to me. Pleads for my attention. But I will stay strong for at least as long as it takes my first readers to read it.

Time to soak up some sun, have a little fun, and spend more time reading than writing.

What are your plans for the summer?

As kids grow and change, summer does too

I never understood those stay-at-home moms who dreaded summer vacation. As a mom, it has always been one of my most anticipated times of the year. Right up there with Christmas! It has been a time to catch up with my kids, to make up for the seemingly countless hours they spend away from me during the school year.

When my children were younger, summer days were spent doing typical summer stuff. Afternoons running in the sprinkler, whole days at the zoo, weekend camping trips, swimming as often as we could, picnics, parties, barbecues, bike rides, berry picking, chasing down the ice cream truck, playing hide-and-go-seek after dark, and so much more. I was right there with them, enjoying the moments and knowing that one day they were going to grow up, and all that fun was going to change.

The growing up has happened a little bit at a time, but it is most noticeable during the summer. The fun activities we once enjoyed have been dropping out of our lives like cheerleaders in a horror movie.

The first victim was the sprinkler. Teenage girls are just not interested in running around in their back yard in their bathing suits. I'm kind of surprised that it lasted as long as it did.

The next one was swimming. Sure, we still go to the pool or the lake, but neither of those have the draw that they once did.

And now the zoo has lost some of its magic; the mention of camping or fishing elicits nothing but groans; and bike rides only happen if the weather is springlike and we promise not to go up any big hills.

So I have had to adjust. Running through the sprinkler may be a thing of the past, but my kids know how to handle a water gun! My kids may not enjoy fishing or camping so much, but they'll spend an hour or two at the archery range or in the woods with their sling shots. And though they might not be too thrilled at the idea of swimming in a crowded pool or with the fishies at the lake, they know how to have a good time in the wave pool.

Yeah, things have changed, as they are supposed to. And, even though my kids aren't so little anymore (one is starting college this fall!), I still treasure every moment I have with them.

Serendipity

Don't you just love surprise finds? I had one of those moments over Labor Day weekend, when we decided to just get in the car and drive along one of Nebraska's scenic byways. I'll admit that there wasn't much to see besides small towns, rolling fields, and farm houses. But we enjoyed our afternoon, and these little yellow gems helped make it worth the gas money.

Daughter #2 just happened to be wearing a shirt that matched the flowers!

What surprises have you enjoyed recently?

What is Summer For?

For the past few summers, I have made it a goal of mine to get lots of writing done. And it's never really worked out for me. So this year, I did not delude myself into thinking I would get much written. I have realized that, even though I have two and a half months off from my day job, summer is not really for writing.

This summer has been for:

• My oldest daughter's last summer before her senior year.
• Water gun fights.
• Mad dashes in the rain at 10:30 at night (after over a month of heat and drought).
• Horseback riding for the first time.
• Tubing on the river for the first time.
• Celebrating birthdays. 
• Visits with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
• Making a patchwork quilt with my girls (still in progress).
• Book binding.
• Lego projects.
• Art projects.
• Experiments in the kitchen. 
• Lemonade stands.
• Books and reading.
• A little writing.
• A poem in Highlights.
• A few queries.
• A few rejections.
• A couple requests for fulls (one still outstanding).
• And two more weeks to fill up with whatever we want.

What have your June and July been filled with?

Mourning the wildflowers

In the middle of my neighborhood is a little bit of wild--a small ravine filled with cottonwood trees, mulberry bushes, thistles and other wonderful things most often found in more rural areas or the unmown sections of woodsy park settings.

This little bit of wild is only a street's width away from my house. I like to admire it as I walk with the dogs or the kids (or the dogs and the kids) on the way to the playground. The ground between the sidewalk and the ravine floor slopes at a steep angle for about a block before widening out to a more open space nearer to the playground.

That bit of sloping ground is my favorite part, and here is why:

This small field filled with clover and goldenrod is a haven for bees and birds and butterflies. It is too steep to walk along, so it is safe from tramping feet. And I thought it was also safe from the lawn mower.

I was wrong.

When I got back from Minnesota I witnessed a horrendous sight. Someone had hacked it all down! Nothing left of the lovely little field of wildflowers except for a few stubborn clovers rising defiantly above their mangled neighbors.

I'm sure it will grow back. But why did they mow it in the first place? And when will they do it again? Is it too much to hope for never?

Me, Checking In

Do you hate it when a blogger has a long, unexplained absence only to return to blogging in order to tell you nothing more than why they had a long, unexplained absence? Would you prefer they get right back to their usual topic, or are you interested in the occasionally mundane details of their actual life?

Personally, I'm always interested in knowing why the authors of my favorite blogs have been absent. Even if their reasoning is nothing more than a spell of blogger's block.

You might have noticed that I have been one of those absent bloggers for the past few weeks. Maybe you're hoping that I have some fantastic story of adventure to relay that will explain my negligence.

I'm sorry to disappoint you.

I have not spent time in the hospital, or been bed-ridden with an illness or broken bone. Nor have I been in a faraway land seeking adventure or welcomed a new addition into the family. I have simply been busy.

The end of May leaves little time for thinking of much besides the end of the school year. And then the end of the school year comes around and leaves little time for much besides hanging out with my kids. Add to that a big family service project* and that leaves me with zero time and a negative balance on my inspiration meter!

Now the service project is over and my family is preparing to spend a few days on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. I hope to come home with a few treasures from the pebble beach and the time (and inspiration) to get back to blogging and writing. Oh, and some pictures too!

I hope you are all having a wonderful June so far!


* The big family service project was a yard sale to raise money for the House of Dreams Orphanage in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It was a long, sweaty weekend, but we were able to raise over $400 to help them in their goal of building a permanent home for their "dreamers." Glory to God!

On Summer and Writing

It's happened every year since I went back to work. At the beginning of the summer, I think about how much time I'll have. How much writing I'll get done. How many queries and submissions I'll send out before school starts and I go back to work.

But during the summer, life gets in the way. And that's okay.

Summer is for the kids. It's meant to be filled with days of doing little or nothing, of playing in the sun or relaxing in the shade. Staying up late, going to the movies, taking trips near or far, doing projects we might not have time for during the school year.

So what if I'm having fun with my kids instead of writing as much as I wanted to? Soon enough my kids will be grown up and I'll have more writing time that I'll know what to do with!

Summer's here! (almost)

Today is my last day of work until August! Tomorrow is the last day of school. And yesterday, the weather actually felt like summer (fitting for Memorial Day). It was warm and humid and wonderful, even though I ended up in bed with a migraine for three hours in the afternoon. The thing about pain, though, is that once it's gone I feel twice as great as before it showed up.

I am very much looking forward to summer and hope that it will be as pain free as possible. I have no major plans besides reading a lot, writing a lot, and most importantly, spending lots of time with my kids. We're planning on heading to Minnesota for a family reunion in June, and my two girls and hubby will be going on a church trip in July, but no big vacations planned this year (unlike last year's big road trip, which kinda seems like it was only last week).

What are you looking forward to this summer (or this winter, for my readers on the southern half of the globe)?

Summer Wrap-up

Tomorrow I go back to work after just a little over two months off. The kids go back to school on Wednesday. Whatever happened to the 3 months of summer vacation from my childhood?

I said before that I wanted this summer to be fun and productive. Just how fun and productive has it been?

I'll start with the fun.

We began our summer with a big road trip. We drove to California, where the kids got to swim in the ocean for the first time. We saw the Sequoia trees, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest and the Garden of the Gods. Lots of driving. Lots of good times. Lots of pictures. Here are a couple:

The Grand Canyon

The Sequoias

We spent a lot of days sleeping in and being lazy. We played video games and watched movies. Spent some time at the pool, the lake, the sprinkler park. Had some picnics with friends. Spent a couple nights at a cabin, away from TV and computers. Built Lego houses. Celebrated birthdays. Stayed indoors a lot. It was really hot!

How about the productive?

I've done plenty of writing this summer, especially during the month of July. I've kept filling pages in my poetry journal and gotten my latest picture book nearly polished. Corey and I have two new picture books polished up, one drafted, and have done plenty of brainstorming for new ideas.

I also shampooed the family room carpets and did a big art project with the kids. Here's the finished collage:

It was a wonderful summer. Tomorrow, it's back to reality. But reality isn't so bad. I'm sure a lot of great stuff will happen this year.