Book Post #6 of 2024

You know it's summer reading when three out of the nine books have the word "summer" in the title. ;)

This was a fun reading round-up! I think I've decided Carly Fortune & Emily Giffin books aren't my faves--I always like them, but I don't love them. And there's just way too many good books out there to spend time on ones that I know I won't love! And Carly Fortune's books tend to be too spicy for my personal taste as well.

Rainbow Rowell is a new-to-me author. Not totally sure how I feel about her yet! Kristin Hannah books are always amazing, and The Women followed suit in my opinion. The Four Winds & The Nightingale might still hold the top spots for Kristin Hannah books in my personal rankings. I think Summer Romance is the second book by Annabel Monaghan I've read--I'm a big fan so far! Memoirs tend to be hit or miss for me, but I'm so thankful I picked up Hillbilly Elegy and Like a River--I would definitely recommend both!

The Anxious Generation reminded me a lot of Stolen Focus which I read a while back. I think both books should be required reading for everyone--especially parents, teachers, principals, and superintendents. This was one of those books that I had to keep stopping so I could share bits & pieces of it with Derek. I know are days are certainly numbered with this, but I am so grateful that we have been able to keep phones out of the hands of our children thus far. Another thing this book highlighted for me was what a monumental difference school/district policies regarding cell phones can make for children. This book will definitely stay with you after reading it & give you a lot to think about!

And last but not least was our final read-aloud of the summer: Duet by Elise Broach. This book was actually supposed to be part of our homeschool curriculum last year, but I saved it for summertime so we could read it aloud with Shelby at home since one of main characters is a pianist participating in a Chopin festival. We all really enjoyed this one!

Summer 2024 Visitors, Round 3 with Grammy & Grampy

In early August, my parents came to Alaska to visit us for one last hoorah of the summer before school got underway. Unfortunately, there was lots of rainy weather while they were here & they ended up getting sick {boo!}, but we still managed to squeeze in a lot of fun! From watching Brady's soccer team in action to card games to waterfalls to trolley rides, we covered a lot of ground! We loved getting to play tourist with them, but we especially loved getting to share our day-to-day lives with Grammy & Grampy! 

We took the Alaska Railroad to Whittier one day during their visit & did a glacier cruise. We were blessed with blue skies & we got to see a plethora of wildlife as well as quite a bit of calving on the glaciers--it was a perfect day!

{Grampy delighted in teaching Hadley & Brady how to use a magnifying glass to start a fire}

The girls had an Open House on the last day of my parents' visit, so it was fun for them to get to see the girls at their middle school finding the classes on their schedule together & searching for their lockers.

And my parents also got to see Shelby perform a piano piece at a little event her teacher hosted at a local homeschool bookstore, which was super fun! 

The last {and first!} time my parents came to visit us in Alaska was our first Thanksgiving here, which was only about 3 months after we'd moved here. It was dark and cold, and it didn't feel at all like home to us yet. It's crazy how different this trip felt compared to that one. Our daylight hours were still plentiful {although the days are quickly getting shorter!}, everything was still lush & green, and this place has slowly but surely become our home. Our days in Alaska are now numbered {we have about ten months left until our next PCS}, and it will be oh so bittersweet to say our goodbyes to this special place. 

Thanks for coming to visit us, Grammy & Grampy! We love you!!

Summer 2024 Visitors, Round 2 with The Griffins

Our second round of summer visitors was the Griffin family! Lots of fun was had & so many memories were made! 

{This pic may not look like much, but it was perfection! Derek was coaching Brady's soccer practice & Uncle Lucas was playing a game of whiffle ball with the rest of the kids, which enabled Maleah & I to enjoy the beautiful weather, views, and conversation while listening to the kids' laughter & squeals of delight--it was the perfect evening!}

{After a rainy day, the weather completely turned around for a gorgeous evening! We enjoyed dinner on the deck at 49th State, a trolley tour downtown, followed by ice cream at Wild Scoops & fun yard games}

And our biggest adventure of the week was hiking the Matanuska Glacier! This was a first for all nine of us, and it was such an amazing experience. Words & pictures simply can't describe the grandeur & beauty of it. We lucked out with picture-perfect weather, and our guide was phenomenal, too! Ten out of ten experience.

{They provided us with helmets & microspikes while on the glacier.}

{All five kids were big fans of the glacial mud!}

We're so thankful for the time we had together! 

Summer 2024 Visitors, Round 1

I think this summer may have been our busiest one yet! We kicked it off with a Memorial Day Weekend road trip to Homer followed by three weeks in GA/Ormond Beach {and a work trip to Japan for Derek squeezed in there, too!} in June, and now we are capping our summer off with three different sets of visitors in July-early August. So busy, but so much fun! What a gift it is to share Alaska with our people!

Our first set of visitors was the Goins Family! When we first met the Goins in 2011, we both were families of three living on Keesler Air Force Base during residency. Angela & I would walk along the back bay with our babies in tow & meet up for playdates at one another's house or at a playground on base. We welcomed our second babies within weeks of one another. Then we were fortunate enough to PCS to San Antonio together for fellowship where the Goins welcomed their twins. We have seen the Goins family multiple times since moving away from one another in 2016 {being stationed together for five consecutive years is unheard of military life, and I'll never get over how grateful I am for it!}, but this is the first time all eleven of us have been together since then. 

We loved every minute of having them in Alaska! Their friendship is such a blessing to us! 

Brady's 8th Birthday!

On July 5th, we celebrated this guy's eighth birthday!

He started his morning with Jason's Donuts & presents.

Then it was off to Dave & Buster's to play, lunch at Chili's, and a quick stop at Cold Stone!

Then it was back home to play with his new toys for a bit, pizza for dinner, and then we headed to a nearby park to play with his new whiffle ball set.

And we rounded out the day by singing to the birthday boy & cutting into his Funfetti cake!

It was such a great day celebrating our eight year-old! Brady, we love you so much & we can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year!