Book Nerds

We took the girls to their first public library outing on Friday.  We have frequented
the library at Isabelle's school weekly since she first started attending preschool, but this
was our first visit to the big and exciting public library in our little town.  Isabelle was
ecstatic, this trip was on our summer bucket list and she has been asking me every day
if today was the day we got to search through the stacks for new books.  She had her
library card with her freshly penned signature scrawled neatly on the back all ready to
go.  She even had a pep talk with her baby sister about library etiquette,
encouraging her to "not cry too loud" or "spit up on the books".

We wandered through the stacks, looking through the shelves that seemed to stretch
on forever with books of every kind, picking out treasures from the travel section,
books about exotic animals, mysteries and childrens' classics.  I love the smell of books
more than anything.  I love finding the oldest, wrinkliest, leather bound copy and
carefully flipping through the pages, imagining all the other people who have done the
exact same thing.  I could get lost in the library for a very long time.

After we had weighed our arms down with enough books to supply a small school, we
settled down at a table near a window, quietly reading to ourselves and sharing little
snippets with each other.  Brees enjoyed listening to us read aloud and rested sleepily
on my shoulder.

I had a complete geek out moment when I stumbled upon the entire Babysitter's
Club collection, my entire pre-teen era flashing right before my eyes!  Oh, how I loved
these books so much!  I read every single one, hiding under my covers at night with a
flash light, getting lost in the world of these girls and their babysitting adventures.  And
now, here I am: a 30 something, college educated woman, squealing in excitement in
the middle of the library with my two kids, over a book about pre-teens.
A nerd I will always be!

It was a fantastic day and we can't wait to go back.  Shawn and I are both avid readers
and hope that our daughters will follow suit.  What better way to spend a summer
afternoon than getting lost in a sea of bookshelves, transporting yourself to another world
via fiction?  That's if you don't mind being embarrassed by your mother reliving her
12 year old self:)

The Episodes

Summer is here, the children are out of school, the grown-ups have fire in their bones and are ready to create and express.  It's such a care-free, inspiring time of year.  The sun is out and the days stretch so much longer, giving you a sense of possibility and endless potential.  I created a list of goals for our family, hopes and dreams for how we might spend our days together, and we have already begun pouring through the list and enjoying various activities.

This afternoon, we gathered in our music room with our best friends and created a musical feast.  We strummed guitars, pounded on drums, and shook our tambourines to a groovy beat.  The babies stomped and sang, writing their own lyrics about family and unicorns.  

 My brother and I spent our childhood afternoons teaching ourselves all our favorite songs, learning harmonies and guitar solos.  My mother limited our TV time and instead encouraged us to express ourselves through music, sending us to dance class, pushed us outdoors and into the wild.  We learned so much by keeping our heads and hands busy, learning to occupy our time with productive and creative passions.  I can only hope to pass these qualities on to my own children, encouraging them to find their niche and allowing them to reach their full potential, all while being able to spend time with family and enjoy their days as much as possible.

Shawn and I have an amazing collection of instruments including guitars, various drums, a harmonica collection, and lots of movers and shakers.  Shawn's most prized possession is his great-grandfather's Gibson acoustic, an amazing guitar that his grandmother left to him when she passed away.  My mother gave us my grandfather's harmonica, purchased back in the 1940's when my grandfather was in Germany serving in the Army.  Such incredible pieces not only make beautiful music, but they carry on family legacies and serve as sentimental treasures.  I spent so many afternoons with my grandfather on his porch swing, listening to him play along to Johnny Cash and Muddy Waters.  The sound of that beautiful instrument warms my heart every time I hear it, bringing me back to the arms of an amazing man.

    It was a beautiful afternoon full of noise and chaos.  We promised each other to do it again, soon, and often.  Seeing those sweet faces dancing so free, singing words straight from their hearts, was the most inspirational sight I've witnessed all week...

Summer Goals

The school year is winding down, activities and clubs are wrapping it up, homework is coming to an end.  Before you know it, we will officially be calling this season SUMMER!!

Summer is a time for independence, for endless possibility.  It is a season to be free, to roll your windows down and let your hair blow in the breeze.  Summer is a time for travel and new experiences, for enjoying the simple pleasures in life.  And being the list maker, goal oriented woman that I am, I thought I'd make a list of summer goals.  Hopes and dreams of what we'd like to spend our days doing, how we plan to spend those long summer nights.

• Visit the local library for story time
• Try one new recipe per week
• Attend the local Saturday farmer's market
• Spend the night in a tent under the stars
• Learn to knit
• Get all of my favorite women together for a "Paint the Town" event
• Attend the Louisiana Corn Festival
• Take the girls fishing and teach them how to bait their own line (Girls should know these types of skills, too!)
• Enjoy late evening family bike rides
• Get through my entire summer reading list and blog about each selection
• Take a road trip to New Orleans for a long weekend as a family
• Visit Vermillionville in Lafayette, LA
•  Renovate the laundry room and make it a more usable space
• Build an A-frame for the porch swing my mother gave us
• Buy ice cream from the ice cream truck
• Help Isabelle write letters to a pen pal
• Attend Summer Kids' Flicks at the movie theater
• Roast marshmallows around a fire
• Visit the Childrens' Museum in Alexandria, LA
• Go antiquing, as much as possible
• Learn at least three new songs on the guitar
• Send Isabelle to swimming lessons and vacation bible school to keep her active
• Complete our family mission statement art project
• Eat as many home grown veggies as possible
• Finish this school year's scrapbooks
• Go canoeing

Just writing this list makes me excited!  I can't wait to get started,
to begin making memories to last a lifetime!