Albion Basin

I've lived in seven different states and three different cities in France. That seems like a lot of moving but I am grateful for each one. I've loved each of them for different reasons but I've learned that you can find amazing people no matter where you go and anywhere can be Home. One of my favorite things about moving a lot is that you get to see how beautiful our world is. The sunsets of Indiana, the hills and trees of Pennsylvania, the huge blue skies of Oklahoma... they are all gorgeous.

And don't forget the mountains and wildflowers of Utah! This summer we explored a bit at the Albion Basin. For a couple weeks each year, the basin abounds in wildflowers. It is breathtaking and looks just like a scene out of The Sound of Music. Unfortunately, I think we were about a week late because a lot of the flowers had already faded. I have big plans to spend a day hiking and exploring next summer during the peak of the beauty. But we found some amazing spots this trip, too! The kiddos were not cooperating quite as much as I'd like (when do they ever?) but I still think we got some pretty great shots.

PS: I made that dress! Maybe it deserves a post of its own because it turned out so cute! It's not really ideal for hiking, but great for posing in mommy's pictures!

I'm grateful to live in a beautiful place and explore it with family who lives close. And I can't wait to find more gems like this one in Utah!

The Most Magnificent Thing

The Most Magnificent Thing
Written and Illustrated by Ashley Spires

This is a charming story that I can really relate to. It's about a "regular" girl and her best friend, her dog. She is a creative, hard-working, spunky girl who likes to invent things and then build them. When she thinks up THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING, she excitedly gets to work to make it happen. Unfortunately, it's not coming together quite like she imagined and there are several hiccups along the road. But she overcomes her feelings of defeat and finds a way to create something magnificent, even though it may not be perfect.

One of my favorite things is before the story even begins, when Spires dedicates the book to "all the little perfectionists of the world." Ya know how everything is always way harder and way more time consuming than you think it is going to be? Like I said, I can relate to this one. And I bet most kids can. But it's important to learn strategies to deal with those feelings of frustration and defeat. This is a great story to talk about what makes us feel frustrated and what we can do when we feel like quitting.

It is such a fun story and has adorable illustrations. My two-year-old loves it and I love reading it to him. It's a great bedtime story but I would absolutely use it in my classroom, too. Here are a few ideas:

Verbs: Learning and practicing parts of speech is an important part of every grade. This book is great for exploring verbs. Here in Utah, students are expected to "explain the function of verbs" in third grade (standards here). This story could be used to introduce verbs earlier than that or to review them in the later grades. There are SO MANY verbs in it. It's the thing that jumped out to me the first time I read it. This girl is always doing something. After discussing the role of verbs, ask students (individually or with partners) to make a list of all the verbs they can find in this book. Go over a page or two together first so they can see how you do it.

Writing: This story is a great inspiration story to kick-off a personal writing session. Ask students to write about a time when they had a problem and had to solve it. Or when they created something. What problems did they run into? How did they deal with them? What did they create? In fifth grade, Utah students are supposed to "write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences" (standards here). Make sure students pay attention to the event sequence. There should be a clear problem and solution. Ask them to use descriptive verbs in their story like Spires. I love that there are so many different words for "make." Sure, she spends most of the story making something. But there are so many better, descriptive, interesting words for what she is doing. The story would be a whole lot more boring without those juicy words.

Prediction: Prediction is probably the easiest comprehension strategy to practice because it can be used with almost any story! This one is fun because from the first page, we know the little girl is going to make something magnificent. Each page and picture after gives us clues to what it is, but it's not until the very last page that we find out what she has been envisioning all along. To practice, ask students: What do you think she wants to build? How will she make it? What do you think it will look like? What will she do when she starts to feel frustrated?

Experimenting: I'd love to start an experiment or project (or heck, even a math lesson) with this story to talk about how scientists and engineers often spend a lot of time and energy to find answers or make something that works. A big part of their job is to come up with a hypothesis, test their experiment, analyze the results, and then go back and tweak their experiment. It probably won't work the first time but that's okay! Making mistakes is okay. Working hard is okay. The process of trial and error is important in a lot of subjects and professions (just ask my husband, the computer programmer). Failing is a part of finding answers. Failing is valuable. It is usually through our mistakes that we recognize what is right. The girl in the story has to revisit all 14 of her "wrong" inventions, come at her problem from a different angle, and find the parts that she did right before she finally creates the magnificent thing that is just what she wanted. This is a great pattern for us to realize in our own lives. (Related side note: This made me think a lot about the great book I'm reading now called Mindset. Check it out! It's definitely worth reading!)

Are you convinced that this is a great story yet? Go read it to the little tinkerers and inventors in your life. It's got a great message, subtle humor, and a magnificent story!

Thaddeus

This handsome guy is going to be a thinker. It seems he is always deep in thought and even though he's a little guy, I'll bet he has some big ideas and big dreams.

He made us work pretty hard for some smiles, but luckily his mommy knows how to get a few out. It is amazing to watch a woman become a mother for the first time and Natalie is a natural. I love that we live close enough to see her more often and watch him grow. He is such a sweet boy and I feel pretty lucky to be his aunt. Happy four months, Thaddeus!

Bubble Bath Photography

My sweet girl turned 11 months old this week. The first year is my favorite! There are so many firsts and so many cuddles. I love watching her explore her world and get excited about the things she sees.

Lorelei has started crawling this month! After a few months of some speedy army crawling, she's finally decided that crawling with her tummy off the floor can actually be easier. She zooms around the house these days and disappears in five seconds flat.

She LOVES to pull up on everything and is getting sturdier on her legs every day. There have been several times when she is so distracted holding a toy or watching something that she forgets to hold on to something and stands by herself for several seconds until she realizes it and grabs on.

We had to wrestle her big brother out of photobombing every other shot, but he's never too far away from his favorite little girl. When I asked him to smile for me, this cheeseball gave me this face:

Miss Mae grew her second tooth this month! Now she has two little teeth sticking out of her bottom gums for the cutest little smile you ever did see.

Our little sweetheart started waving to us this month, too! She likes to greet us with a little hand wave after naps and when Daddy comes home from work. She gets so excited to be around us and we kind of like having her around, too.

Happy 11 Months, Lorelei!

Photo inspiration came from this beautiful photo session. And, wow, I seriously mean inspiring.

Wonder

Wonder
Written by R. J. Palacio
Ages 8-12

Auggie Pullman is about to start 5th grade at a new school, his first school, actually. He has been home schooled his whole life because he was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a normal school. But he is a normal kid in every other way. Convincing all the other kids of that, however, will be a challenge. This heartwarming realistic fiction takes a look at how powerful kindness can be and how much we can each learn and grow from our trials.

I really enjoyed this story. It is a quick read but provides a lot of depth. It actually made me really wish I had a class of my own so I could share it with them. It is funny, relatable, and tackles some big issues like bullying and empathy. It is definitely worth a read and, if you are so lucky as to have a class of your own, worth sharing! Here are a few ideas on how to use it:

Read Aloud
My first thought was that this would be an AMAZING read aloud story. It is full of big important lessons that every teacher and parent wants their children to learn. There are lots of great talking points and interesting subjects to discuss with a class. I would especially use this at the beginning of the year when everyone is trying to figure out who they are going to be and how to act around others. Even if everyone has been in the school for years, the beginning of a new school year is a fresh start and everyone feels kind of new. Some things to discuss:

• Kindness: One of Auggie's teachers challenges the kids, "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind." I love how the quote emphasizes that kindness is a choice. Each of us is capable of choosing to be kind and each of us deserves to be respected by others. Some of the kids in the story were probably afraid to be kind to Auggie because they didn't know how others would react. But they missed out on all the good things that come from being kind. How are Summer and Julian different? How are Summer and Charlotte different? Choosing to be kind can be more than not being mean. It can be more than just being nice. Let students share experiences when others were kind to them and when they were kind to someone else. What happened? How did they feel? One of my favorite things in my 5th grade class was a spotlight jar where students got to highlight the good deeds they saw happening in the classroom. Fostering an environment of kindness and friendship is so important to helping students grow.
• Empathy: One of the strengths of this story is that it is told through several different perspectives. Many characters get to speak to us and we learn a lot about each of them through their own words and thoughts. Since we are kind of stuck in our own minds and only see the world through our own eyes, it is helpful to remember that other people see the world differently. They each have their own problems, difficulties, and concerns. Auggie is so wrapped up in his experiences at school that he doesn't always understand why Via is upset. Via sees the changes making Miranda popular but doesn't understand the problems making her so sad. We often don't see the trials people hide but we all have them. Recognizing that everyone has good things and bad things going on in their life might help us choose to be kind a little more often.
• Bullying: Unfortunately, I don't think bullying will ever go away. It will always be something children (and adults) have to face at some time in some form. Along with kindness and empathy, I believe it would be helpful to discuss how the kids in the story hurt Auggie. Only one time does a bully physically hurt him, but there are many times that he is hurt. How do the kids hurt him with words? How do they hurt him with the things they don't do? What things can your students do to prevent that kind of bullying in their school?

Voice
I love that this story is told from the perspective of several different characters. As a reader, I get more than one perspective on events from the school year which is helpful in seeing the whole picture. And it is done very well! Palacio carefully considers the voice of the character narrating and his or her personality certainly shines through the writing. Some of the "background" characters that we might not really get to know get to speak to us in their chapters with their own quirks about their own concerns. Some, like Justin, even use their own teenage, casual, too-cool-for-capitals writing style. I remember our fifth grade class working a lot on the Six Traits of Writing (and I'm sure this starts in the younger grades). Voice can be a tricky one to show because it is kind of abstract. Wonder is a great example of Voice that can really help young students grasp what it means and start thinking about their own voice.

After talking about Voice and how it is used in this novel, I would want my students to practice. As an exercise, ask students to write about a personal experience from someone else's perspective. Preferably, this would be an event or story that they've already written about (possibly in their journal). They will have to think about the other person's personality, feelings, and opinions. How do they talk? What kinds of words do they use? This would be a fun opportunity to buddy up and share the two versions with a partner who can help identify the differences in voice.

Alternatively, ask the students to write a new chapter for Wonder from the perspective of someone else in the story. There are still many characters we don't hear from that would be really interesting to read. A few options would be Auggie's mom, Charlotte, Mr. Tushman, Miles or Henry. There are lots of new perspectives waiting to be explored.

Mr. Tushman (the principal at Auggie's school) knows there is something special about this fifth grade age. He tells them that this moment in their lives moves him, "because you're at the cusp, kids. You're at the edge between childhood and everything that comes after. You're in transition" (p. 299). We need more stories like Wonder to help inspire our children in that transition to be better, to try to understand others, and to choose kindness.

*Bonus! Here's a link to a great article with lots of stories and behind the scenes from Palacio. If you've read the book, you'll especially find it interesting!

Sausage and Cabbage Soup

We are a soup family. We love soup! We have soup at least once a week and have recently decided to branch out a bit and try a few new ones. My incredibly lucky husband gets delicious catered lunches at work EVERY day. Every night I ask him (with mouth watering) what he had that day and listen as he tells me about the exotic, fun, and fancy meals he was served that afternoon. Being a SAHM definitely lacks some perks... 

Anyway, one night he told me they had this really good sausage and cabbage soup. I was intrigued because I had never even heard of such a thing and, to be honest, it's probably not something I would normally pick out and want to try. But he raved about this soup! So we just had to try to recreate it. 

I searched online and found a few different recipes and decided to (mostly) follow this one. I like that it seemed pretty simple with lots of yummy veggies. All you have to do is:

• Cook 1 lb sausage (I just used Jimmy Dean) and drain on separate plate.
• Heat olive oil in pan and saute 1 cup diced onion and 3 cloves minced garlic with salt and pepper.
• Add 2-3 diced carrots, 2-3 stalks celery, and 2 potatoes (I didn't use celery root or turnips because, well, I've never actually used them before and this is what I had on hand. Maybe next time?) Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add about 1/2 head of thinly sliced green cabbage and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Return sausage back to the pan and add 8 cups broth, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon rosemary, and 1 tablespoon thyme.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover, and cook for an hour. Uncover and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. 

I've made this soup twice now and I always forget that you have to cook it forever. If you're starving and can't wait the whole hour, it's still pretty good. It's best to let some of the moisture cook out though. Otherwise it's too brothy. 

You should also know that this makes a LOT of soup. Definitely too much for two people (and a toddler) because we still have some in the fridge even after a week of eating it for leftovers (remember how my husband doesn't have to eat leftovers for lunch anymore? Spoiled). 

I'm so glad we tried this one because it is so good! Flavorful, filling, and loaded with veggies. So why don't you mix things up a bit and try it out this week? Let me know what you think!

These Is My Words

These Is My Words
Written by Nancy Turner

For the past month, I have been trying to convince just about everyone I have talked with to read this book. So I guess it's your turn now. After half of the characters I was introduced to died within the first twenty pages, I wasn't sure this book would be worth it, but it is. Just keep reading a bit and you will be as absolutely and completely hooked as I was.

This is a snapshot of the life of Sarah Agnes Prine from 1881 to 1901. It begins when she is a 17 year old girl traveling with her family from the Arizona Territories to greener pastures in Texas. This voyage (as well as a few others) and life in the Territories is shared from Sarah's perspective through a novel comprised of her diary entries. It's full of adventure, heartache, and a truly swoon-worthy romance. It's honest and funny. I don't think I have ever read a book that has simultaneously made me long for a life in a different era and also be so glad I don't live in it. Sarah is a lovable, relatable character who is hardworking, down-to-earth, intelligent, and stubborn. She has a thirst for knowledge and a knack for writing that make this novel inspiring and enjoyable.

"It seems there is always a road with bends and forks to choose, and taking one path means you can never take another one. There's no starting over nor undoing the steps I've taken. It isn't like I'd want to... It's just that I want everything, my insides are not just hungry, but greedy" (p. 309).

Since I'm sure you'll wonder how much, if any, of this diary is real, I'll tell you. The novel is a historical fiction, based on the real Sarah Agnes Prine, the great-grandmother of author Nancy Turner. As an assignment at a local junior college, Turner decided to write a short story about her great-grandmother Sarah and thus began These Is My Words. Turner says that while she had heard many stories of her great-grandmother, she didn't know many facts about her life. Turner used the only written documentation of her family's story available - a memoir written by Sarah's older brother, Henry, describing a wagon trip from Arizona to Texas. Turner used real events from Henry's memoir, actual places and dates that correspond with historical events, and real people that lived in Pima County at that time. However, there was no diary from Sarah's life. While many of Sarah's character traits are authentic, the details of her life were imagined by Turner. Many of the main characters were also created for the story. So, though it is based on a real person, it is a work of fiction. A fabulous work of fiction.

"Mama told me to make a special point to remember the best times of my life. There are so many hard things to live through, and latching on to the good things will give you strength to endure, she says. So I must remember this day. It is beautiful and this seems like the best time to live and the best place" (p. 327).

One of my favorite things about the story was watching Sarah grow up. We only see a glimpse of twenty years of her long life (the real Sarah lived into her nineties!), but they are perhaps the twenty years of the most growth, change, and life. She starts as a simple girl and becomes a loving wife, a strong mother, and a wise woman. I enjoyed watching her relationships change as she did, in particular her relationship with her mother. At one point Sarah explains, "I don't think I really knew my own mother until I had children" (p. 370). As a mother myself now, this made me long to really know my mother, for all my child-memories of her seem insufficient. I look forward to the day when I can sit and talk with her and really find out who she is. 

"We are driving away, and I look back over my shoulder with a strange feeling of parting. It is not a lonely feeling, but just as I am always sad to close the cover on a book, I feel I have finished with this part of my life and will have to begin a new book" (p. 286).

This quote is talking about books like These Is My Words. The kind of book that you don't want to finish so you stretch out the last twenty pages over a few days just so you can let it linger a little longer. Let this be your next novel; You won't regret it. Then give me a call so we can chat about it.