SWAGGER WAGON

Book Sale Finds . . .

One of my great weaknesses: the semiannual library book sale.

I am very lucky to have a very patient husband who doesn't ask how much I spent. Or ask me where I am going to put all the new books.

The last couple of book sales I have gotten some great books for the kids.

So I thought I would share some of my most recent finds:

Did you know there was a sequel to "Caps For Sale"? I didn't! But there is, and it's pretty good! Maybe not quite as good as the original, but still a fun story and great illustrations. And who can't help but love the peddler with his classic line, "Caps for sale . . . "
I think I've posted about Frog and Toad before, but they are just one of my favorites. Maybe because they are innocent and a little silly and have an inspiring friendship?

I was so excited to find this book. I had gotten it at a library years ago when James was little, and we enjoyed it so much but I could never find it again and didn't remember what it was called. Imagine my delight in stumbling on it at the book sale! It's a great story about a grandfather's gift and how a little boy can't quite let go of it. If you get this, don't miss the little "story within a story" of a little mouse family . . . I like Oliver Pig almost as much as Frog and Toad. We have read all of these books of short stories (there are many in the series), but this is the first one we have owned. Part of the reason I like these? Because the mom in them is so human (she needs a break sometimes like all of us!) and her kids love her the more for it . . .

We love Busytown, but particularly like the stories in this little book. Jack is just the right age to really enjoy these.

Slow Day . . .

Today we had a welcome "slow day" after being a little crazy-busy lately. James had a day off school and we were without a car (in the shop due to car vs. deer at 55 MPH). So we worked on projects and played.

Jackson's "project" was finger painting with pudding. He doesn't usually like food on his hands, so it took a little convincing, but eventually he dove in and had fun.
James had a project for school to work on, a report on the African country of Mali.

And this photo, which Blogger insists on putting sideways despite all my efforts, shows the highlight of the day--when the mail arrived, it contained a new Lego magazine. James pores over these until they are falling apart, dreaming of all the Lego sets he would love to get. Jackson was thrilled to find new "Cars" legos from the new movie.

And, the highlight of the day for me, which I did not take a picture of: the sun came out in the afternoon, which was fantastic given that we've had several days of incessant rain and thick fog. Altogether a nice day!

Adventures in Single Parenthood . . .

Jake was out of town for a few days, so I stepped it up and tried to do a few unusual and fun things with the kids to distract us all . . .

James had a cooking class at school where they made homemade butter and he's been wanting to try it again. It was fun and worked great! I got my smallest canning jars (you can also use baby food jars), put a marble (washed clean!) in each, then filled each about 2/3 the way with heavy cream. Then, the kids shook and shook them. I helped Jack a little with his, but they did great, and the homemade butter was tasty on waffles!
Our ward did a great service and provided babysitting at the nearby temple president's home in Palmyra so adults could go to the temple. They even walked over to the temple with the kids while we were gone, so the kids could see it. Luckily it was a nice day!

We went and had a picnic near the Sacred Grove and Smith family homes.

The entrance to the Sacred Grove.

That night got a good fire going in our backyard fire pit and roasted hot dogs and smores. My new favorite smore: 2 marshmallows, one on each side of the chocolate. A little messier but definitely better!

So glad to enjoy a little sunshine in this very rainy spring!! And, few things are better than a campfire!