Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

What I’ve Been Reading – October 2024 October 31, 2024

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 12:30 pm

Bookish Thoughts for October

As you can tell from my last few posts, October has been a full month for our family. So many good times, celebrations, and fun adventures. My book list this month definitely reflects that my time was spent elsewhere this month (and that’s okay). September turned out to have extra time at home and my book list was longer than I expected. October had less time at home, therefore, less books read. I’m optimistic that November will fall somewhere in the middle, but we’ll see.

I decided to re-read Wuthering Heights this month. It had the right vibes for October – spooky, suspenseful, chilly, and dreary. I read Wuthering Heights as a high school student and strongly disliked it. I wanted to see if Adult Amy would feel the same way as Teen Amy. While I wasn’t scandalized by the book like I was the first time I read it, I also didn’t warm to it. I kept thinking about how much therapy Heathcliff would need to be a healthy person. I did like the ending, though. There was a whole lot of melodramatic non-sense to get to it, but once it arrived, I was happy with the conclusion. I’ll confess it took me much longer than I wanted to get through the book and that is partly to blame for the shorter book list this month. Wuthering Heights hijacked my reading flow. I started The Tenant of Windfell Hall this week. I’ve read Emily, I’ve read Charlotte, and I plan to read Anne so I can say I’ve read something by all three Bronte sisters.

On to the books I really enjoyed this month!!! The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin was a well-written WWII novel about a Polish librarian who saved books that were being banned and destroyed. Martin’s WWII novels have become a must-read for me. I highly recommend them. At the recommendation of a friend, I started the Timeless series by Gabrielle Meyer. I flew through the first three books and I’m eagerly waiting for the fourth to be released next month. Each books features characters who live in two timelines. They live one day in one and wake up in the other. At a certain age (either 21 or 25), they must decide which path to live in and they leave the other path permanently. It was neat to read two historical timelines in one book. I enjoyed the suspense of finding out which path the character would choose. This series was the highlight of my reading month!

You’ll notice my non-fiction reading was non-existent this month. I have a friend who is going to do a book swap with me soon. She’ll get some fiction from me and I’ll get some non-fiction from her. Hopefully that will pull me out of my non-fiction dry spell! Maybe there will be more diversity in next month’s book list!

Top Pick for October

The Timeless series

The Book List for October
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.

  • The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – 4 stars
  • When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer – 4 stars
  • In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer – 4 stars
  • For A Lifetime by Gabrielle Meyer – 4 stars
  • The Match by Sarah Adams – 3 stars
  • Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams – 3 stars
  • Spectacular by Stephanie Garber – 3 stars
  • That Time We Kissed Under the Mistletoe by Julie Christianson – 3 stars
  • Britta & the Beach Boy by Brittany Larsen – 3 stars
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – 2 stars
 

October is the Best! October 23, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:24 pm

Some people wait all year for the Christmas season. For me, I wait all year for October! Excuse my redundant exclamations, but you just can’t beat October. It’s the best! The flavors, the outings, the birthdays, the weather, the colors!!! It’s all my favorite! I’m truly my happiest self in October. This October has been no exception. It’s been a truly amazing month.

I’ll try to keep this post brief so that I don’t overwhelm you with all the October awesomeness, but I can’t keep it to myself! I hope you enjoy this recap of our autumn activities and celebrations. The major highlights since I last wrote were visiting GG, another birthday celebration for the boys with my side of the family, a family vacation to Sunriver, celebrating Graham’s actual birthday, and launching rockets with our homeschool co-op! Never a dull moment in October!

Sunriver Resort is one of our favorite places to visit. The Cove (the indoor/outdoor swimming complex) and the miles of paved bike paths make Sunriver endlessly fun. We never run out of things to do there! In fact, there is never enough time and we are always hopeful that we’ll visit again. Our big adventure day was visiting the John Day Fossil Beds and going on a fossil dig in Fossil, OR. Behind the high school in Fossil, you can dig for fossils and keep what you find. We found so many leaf fossils! Jeremy and Owen would have dug for fossils all day. I enjoyed the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway as we made our way down scenic backroads. Jeremy joked on his birthday in March that this was the year he’d find a fossil and we made that dream become reality! My favorite part of our vacation was our bike ride by the river with all the beautiful fall color. The boys will tell you that the Cove was their favorite part. They also enjoyed doing some shopping in Bend with their birthday money. It was such a great trip!

Graham’s birthday was Saturday. We had planned to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for his birthday, but the weather didn’t agree with us. Instead, we went to see The Wild Robot in theaters. Graham was allowed to pick two movie treats which made his day (we usually only allow one treat). After the movie, we had a pizza dinner with all the grandparents in attendance. Graham wanted everyone to have their own pint of ice cream as his special birthday dessert. It was a very fun day to celebrate our now nine year-old!

Jeremy and the boys have been working hard over the last week to create rockets for our homeschool co-op rocket launch day. We met yesterday with our group to launch rockets together. It was a wonderful afternoon! Jeremy was great at helping the boys assemble their rockets and he was also super helpful on launch day. I was nervous that the weather would cancel this outing, but it turned out to be the perfect October afternoon! It was warm enough you didn’t need a coat, blue sky, little wind – it was just right for launching rockets. It’s always a joy to share these experiences with other homeschool families. I am so thankful for our co-op community!

With a little over a week left in the month, we still have a lot more planned. Can you believe it? We cram a lot into October. I’m looking at my November calendar and it’s intentionally going to be quieter. It’s all a balance! I love getting in as many outdoor outings as possible in October. The fall color just can’t be beat and I know the rain will arrive and stay in November. The seasons changing reminds me of God’s faithfulness and the blessings that arrive with each anticipated change in the weather. I am equally happy with a cozy, gray, rainy day indoors as I am with a day of chilly blue sky and sunshine. Each has a purpose. Each season is meaningful.

Graham’s first biome project in science!
The northern lights came back again!
Visiting GG
Another weekend, another party! This time with donuts!
The only ones at the Cove! A perk of traveling in October.
Fossil dig in Fossil, OR
Leaf fossil!
The Painted Hills in the John Day Fossil Beds
Family bike ride around Sunriver
It snowed on our last day in Sunriver
There is a light snow on the golf course in this picture. It made for a steamy outdoor swim.
The birthday boy at the movies to see The Wild Robot
Happy 9th Birthday, Graham!
Pints of ice cream for everyone!
Rocket Launch Day
Rocket Launch Day
 

Happy October! (aka Birthday Month) October 9, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:07 pm

October is here! Hip hip hooray! It’s my absolute favorite month of the year! I am an autumn enthusiast. Fall outings are the best and it’s birthday month for my boys. It feels like the whole month is one big celebration filled with fun. It’s hard not to love a month that feels like one giant party!

Last Thursday was a great family day. Jeremy and Papa were able to watch the boys at soccer in the morning and then our family took off for an afternoon spent at some local farms. We visited Rutledge Family Farm and did their corn maze. We found all the checkpoints in the maze and played their Who-Done-It game for the first time. After learning Clue this fall, the kids loved the mystery in the corn maze. They also loved all the extra games set-up outside the corn maze. Our next stop was Lattin’s Country Cider Mill and Farm. We always enjoy looking at the animals and grabbing a sweet treat from the bakery case.

Sunday, we hosted a Scott family shindig to celebrate the boys’ birthdays. We did an ice cream sundae bar this year. The kids each got to pick their favorite flavors of ice cream and I had fun trying to come up with as my toppings as I could. The kids enjoyed playing soccer with our extended family. The ice cream helped them all cool down after a good game. Then it was present time where Nerf guns were the theme this year. Of course, new Nerf guns meant a Nerf war with the cousins was next on the agenda. Add some pizza and another round of soccer and you have one epic birthday celebration!

Monday was another big day – Owen got his braces off! After a year of being a metal mouth, he is finally in the home stretch of his orthodontic journey. He still has his lower palate expander in – it should come out next week when he picks up his retainer. It’s been a wild ride and I’ve been so proud of Owen through it all. Monday night, we were able to see the northern lights from our backyard. We missed the big event in May and we’ve been hopeful that another opportunity would happen. It finally did! It was such a neat experience. I couldn’t stop taking pictures!

Yesterday was Owen’s 11th birthday! Jeremy was able to take the day off. He joined us in celebrating Owen all day long. Our morning was spent at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. We visited the hatchery as a homeschool co-op field trip a couple of years ago and Owen wanted to see the salmon again. It’s a fascinating place to explore during the fall salmon run. In the afternoon, we met up with our co-op at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It was a day filled with fish and wildlife which perfectly reflects Owen’s love of nature. Dominos pizza, Safeway chocolate cake, and a big bowl of popcorn completed Owen’s birthday celebration.

Every day feels like an adventure in October! I’ll be back with more autumn activities and birthday celebrations soon!

Blackberry Cobbler! Gotta love fall flavors!
The bubbles at Rutledge were a big hit!
Corn Maze at Rutledge Family Farm
Always a favorite photo op at Lattin’s
Doughnuts at Lattin’s
Excited for sundaes!
Family Soccer
Make a wish!
Nerf Wars!
My first time seeing the northern lights! So beautiful!
Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery
Nisqually Wildlife Refuge
Happy 11th Birthday, Owen!
 

What I’ve Been Reading – September 2024 September 30, 2024

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 1:00 pm

Bookish Thoughts for September

It’s been a very fictional fall for me! I’ve been in book heaven with so many new releases this month. It seems like each week I’m looking forward to a new book! This month, I enjoyed new Christmas novellas from Melody Carlson and Roseanna M. White. I couldn’t wait for the Christmas season to read them. I had to start them right away! When I wasn’t reading a new release, I was filling my time by binge reading Kasey Stockton’s regency romances. The regency era isn’t my favorite genre, but it was nice to mix things up and camp out there for a while. A big thanks to Kasey Stockton for filling my September!

A good chunk of my month has been quiet and around the house. My husband’s work schedule shifted and hunting season started at the same time. For a couple of weeks it felt like Jeremy was only eating and sleeping at home. In his absence, I became the parent that held down the fort at home. The boys did join Jeremy out hunting a few times which meant I got extra time to read. I’ve been playing those cozy (aka cheesy) YouTube videos with falling leaves, crackling fires, and soft piano music while I snuggle in with a good book. September has definitely been my month to stay home with my nose in a book. Not a bad way to welcome my favorite season of the year!

Top Picks for September

I’ve read At Your Best three times now. It’s such a good book for calibrating your calendar and priorities! I’ve made it annual read to keep me on track. Roseanna M. White is go-to author for me and Christmas novellas make my heart happy!

The Book List for September
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.

Non-Fiction:

  • House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget by Myquillyn Smith – 3 stars
  • At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor by Carey Nieuwhof – 5 stars
  • How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away by Emily P. Freeman – 2.5 stars

Fiction:

  • When in Rome by Sarah Adams – 3 stars
  • Don’t Go Faking My Heart by Kate Watson – 3 stars (new release)
  • Once Upon a Boyband by Jenny Proctor – 3 stars (new release)
  • West of Port by Carina Taylor – 3 stars (new release)
  • Finding Jack by Melanie Jacobson – 4 stars
  • Reel Love by Savannah Scott – 3 stars (new release)
  • The Christmas Tree Farm by Melody Carlson – 3 stars (new release)
  • Christmas at Sugar Plum Manner by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars (new release)
  • Sensibly Wed by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • Pleasantly Pursued by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • Honorably Engaged by Kasey Stockton – 4 stars
  • Properly Kissed by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • A Noble Inheritance by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • To Forge Her Fate by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • A Proper Governess by Kasey Stockton – 4 stars (new release)
  • Journey to Bongary Spring by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • Through the Fairy Tree by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • The Enemy Across the Loch by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
 

Autumn Adventures! September 28, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 1:41 pm

Autumn is my favorite season. I could be done with my blog in just that one sentence. But… that isn’t how I roll and you know it! Autumn is my favorite season for adventuring. I love fall activities and there is a sense of making the most of the good weather before the rain settles in for what feels like forever. Late September and the month of October hold my favorite traditions and outings! Lots of fun to be had!

Jeremy wrapped up his hunting season on Thursday, September 19th. He is more in sync with our family schedule again. It’s good to have him back! We planned a family adventure for the next day after hunting season. We visited a local zoo thanks to free tickets from our library summer reading program. We had the zoo mostly to ourselves. Homeschooling gives us the ability to visit places while others are at work or school and I love avoiding crowds! In fact, we talked to a lot of zoo employees because we were the only ones around. It was also a cool, misty morning. In the PNW, weather can also keep crowds away. The animal must love mornings like that, though, because they were all out and active! We saw animals we don’t usually see, like the Arctic foxes. The red wolves and clouded leopard were actively running around their enclosures. It was worth adventuring on a chilly morning to see active animals.

The zoo kicked off a busy week for our family. September was very quiet and then bam! For one week, it was not quiet at all! Friday was the zoo and we ran errands while in town. I came home in time to turn around for book club on Friday night. Saturday was a full day at church for our annual Women’s Conference. This year I led a crafting workshop after lunch. My hope was a simple craft would be a good outlet for ladies to sit, chat, and connect. I believe my mission was accomplished! Sunday afternoon after church, our church staff stayed to have lunch together, watch the Seahawks, and play games. Monday was the beginning of our annual staff retreat for Jeremy. I wasn’t able to attend on Monday, so I hosted a playdate at our house after school. Tuesday, I joined Jeremy for staff retreat… and by Wednesday, I was a bit peopled-out. I stayed home all day and recovered from all the activity!

Friday is our favorite day for family adventures. Yesterday, we visited Mt. Rainier National Park. We were a little early for all the fall color, but we were early enough that the marmots weren’t hibernating yet (we missed them last October). We also found a black bear foraging for berries. We weren’t disappointed that it was cool and cloudy. The animal sightings made up for missing a clear view of the mountain and the autumn colors were lovely. The mountain did emerge just before we left. It’s always an impressive sight! We love having a national park so close by!

That about sums up our September outings. I’m looking forward to all we have planned for October. The combination of birthday month and favorite fall traditions makes for the best month of the year! It’s almost here. Hooray!

Owen was twinning with his dessert!
Beautiful flowers that my mother-in-law grew and arranged! So talented!
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium – The walrus was so friendly!
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Cute little Baby Boos my mom shared with me!
A beautiful morning for soccer!
Family Game Night
Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier National Park – I took so many marmot pictures! Ha!
Mt. Rainier National Park – a pretty place to wander!
Mt. Rainier National Park – the mountain emerged from the clouds!
 

You Know It’s September When… September 18, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats — Amy Scott @ 1:37 pm

All the signs of September are here! Back to school, apple and pumpkin treats, fall decorating… and a big shift in our family schedule – hunting season! For as long as I’ve known my husband, he has spent a good chunk of September in the woods with a bow in his hands. He has shared his love for archery with our boys as well. Jeremy’s hunting days start early and can end late, but he lets the boys tagalong on the evening hunts if it works in our schedule. They love the adventures with Dad and I love quiet evenings at home with a book. It’s a win-win!

Another very September activity is upon us – soccer season! We haven’t participated in organized sports before. The main reason we’ve avoided sports is the schedule. It just feels a bit too much for our family. Thankfully, there is a local homeschool group that meets only once a week for soccer. It’s a little over an hour of soccer drills and scrimmaging. We invested in soccer gear and showed up to the fields for the first time last week. At first, the boys were super nervous. Doing new things can be intimating, even for me! Once they were on the field, they were all smiles. They left saying how they can’t wait to go back and they’ve mentioned that sentiment multiple times over the week. I’m so glad it was a positive experience for them. I finally joined the ranks of being a soccer mom!

Around the house, we’ve been playing Clue and Labyrinth often. They are the current go-to games for our family. Owen just happily finished up the How to Train Your Dragon book series. Graham has been my blackberry picking buddy around our property. Jeremy has been kind enough to assist us grabbing the blackberries we cannot reach. Owen has jumped in a few times to help us, too. It’s been a family effort! I made a blueberry cobbler this week and I plan to make a blackberry crisp soon with our freshly collected berries. I also have a hoard of frozen raspberries I need to start daydreaming about! Yay for berry season!

Our homeschool co-op shifted it’s format this year. We went from meeting weekly the last couple years, to twice a month (at least for the fall, maybe for the whole school year). With adding soccer this fall, the change in our co-op schedule gives us some extra margin. It’s been appreciated. Our co-op met for a social gathering at the start of September and again yesterday, for a nature walk around a local lake. It was a gray day, but perfect for fresh air and exercise with friends. My heart was especially happy as we walked through spots on the trail with leaves falling gently like autumn confetti. So pretty!

There you have it! It’s definitely September! It’s been a good back-to-school transition. We’re loving our homeschool activities and the boys are enjoying the nature adventures with Jeremy. The first official day of autumn is this coming weekend, but we’ve been living in fall mode all month long. Good times!

Hunting Buddies
My Berry-Picking Pal
On a quest for elk!
Making Memories
Prepping for soccer season!
Go Blue Herons!
All smiles after their first soccer practice
My food photography skills are not so great, but thankfully, my baking skills are better! Blueberry cobbler – yum!
Co-Op Adventures
A lovely, gray day for a PNW nature walk
All the Fall Feels
 

Back to School 2024 September 7, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats — Amy Scott @ 12:36 pm

We got back from the our beach vacation on a Monday and dove into our new school year that Wednesday! It was a quick flip from summer vacation mode to school mode. Thankfully, we get back into our school year groove fairly easily. Our daily flow has served us well and I haven’t had to tweak it much year to year. Back-to-school feels a lot like falling back into a familiar routine. We’ve got this! It’s always neat to see how the kiddos have grown year to year with first day of school pictures. As a homeschool family, we don’t have “school picture day” like public school. I try to get a good photo of each boy on the first day of school to use as their version of a school picture.

I realize that the first day of autumn isn’t until September 22nd and we started school at the end of August. We are technically still in the summer season (and the weather in the PNW reflects that). There is something about the start of school and Labor Day weekend that triggers all the fall feels for me. I don’t have a ton of autumn décor, but it all comes out at the start of September. I find it’s a visual switch to a new season. Pops of orange are found in my throw pillows, kitchen hand towel, and tablecloth. I added pumpkin hand soaps in orange bottles to all the bathrooms. A few pumpkin and thankful decorations are out. By decorating for the fall season early, I don’t feel bad heading into Christmas mode by the middle(ish) of November. Many think it’s wrong to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I am not one of them. Autumn gets to shine to for 2.5 months at my house. Christmas is welcome to have a solid 1.5 months of display time!

While I revel in fall colors, I also adore fall flavors! I’m one of those crazy pumpkin spice lovers and I’m proud of it! Just yesterday at Costco, I stocked up on pumpkin quick bread mix and pumpkin muffins! Yum! I also did a baking project this week with my favorite sugar cookies. I made apple cookies (vanilla in flavor, apple in appearance). October is the perfect month to showcase pumpkins and September feels an apple month to me. I have been eyeing some blackberries at the end of my driveway as well. After this heat wave passes, I hope to do some berry-picking. All I need is enough blackberries to make a crisp and my fall taste buds will be happy campers!

October is by far my favorite month of the year, but the hints of autumn that come in September also make my heart happy. We had a lovely summer, but I am ready to shift gears into school mode again. I am so grateful for the opportunity to homeschool my boys. Right now with Owen starting his 5th grade year, I would just like to freeze time. Elementary school as been the absolute best and I am not ready for this window of time to pass. I have a feeling I will remember our elementary school homeschool adventures with fondness for the rest of my days.

Owen – 8/28/2024
Graham – 8/28/2024
When you buy non-sporty kids soccer goals and they pretend it’s a prison…
Still warm enough to swim!
Teaching the boys Clue for the first time
First Day of Co-Op! We did a social gathering with board games, a paper airplane flying contest, water balloon toss, and playground time! It was a blast!
Apple Sugar Cookies
I stocked up on pumpkin treats and autumn tablecloths yesterday!
A few fall touches around the house
A few fall touches around the house
A few fall touches around the house
 

What I’ve Been Reading – August 2024 August 31, 2024

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 9:45 am

Bookish Thoughts for August

My book list this month is super long! There are a few reasons for this, so let me explain. (1) I was home alone while my family was at summer camp and I had extra time to read. (2) My boys came home from summer camp with colds and we had four days of cancelled plans to spend at home. (3) Our beach vacation was very chill with plenty of time to read. (4) Many of the books listed are under 300 pages, which means I can read them in just a few hours. All of these factors combined into a very bookish month! I’m not complaining! (Okay, it would have been nice to not have summer colds, but… other than that, I’m not complaining.)

Highlights from this very bookish month would be binge reading Katie Bailey and Marie Soleil. I really enjoyed The Midnight Princess by Kiera Dominguez which was a reverse Princess Diaries – the prince gets the makeover and learns how to be royal. It’s been ages since I read a regency romance so I enjoyed the change of genre with Sarah Adams and Kasey Stockton’s novels. Courtney Walsh is a favorite of mine and her new release, The Summer of Yes, was the perfect beach read while on vacation.

Another highlight of the month has been my new study Bible (pictured below). I loved using the NLT Filament Bible journals to study the gospels these last few months. I wanted the Filament app content for the whole Bible so I bought a new Bible to accomplish that. I’ve used it to read the Book of Acts and I’m now into Romans. I love way the Filament app enhances my Bible study, especially the videos from The Bible Project. Plus, this Bible is super pretty. I love my new beautiful and nerdy Bible!

Top Picks for August

The Book List for August
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.

Non-Fiction:

  • NLT Filament Bible Journal: The Gospel of John – 5 stars
  • The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer – 5 stars
  • Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You by Monica Swanson – 4 stars

Fiction:

  • The Midnight Princess by Kiera Dominguez – 4 stars
  • Stay Close by Kiera Dominguez – 3 stars
  • So That Happened by Katie Bailey – 3 stars
  • I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey – 3 stars
  • Resorting to Romance by Savannah Scott – 3 stars
  • Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery – 4 stars
  • To Con a Gentleman by Sarah Adams – 4 stars
  • To Catch a Suitor by Sarah Adams – 3 stars
  • But He’s My Roommate by Annah Conwell – 3 stars
  • Speak Your Truth by Marie Soleil – 3 stars
  • Feel the Rhythm by Marie Soleil – 3 stars
  • Let Love In by Marie Soleil – 3 stars
  • Take a Chance by Marie Soleil – 3 stars
  • Cookies & Kisses by Marie Soleil – 3 stars
  • Love is a Roller Coaster by Marie Soleil – 3 stars
  • Exceptional Emma by Marie Soleil – 4 stars
  • The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh – 4 stars
  • Love in the Bargain by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • Love for the Spinster by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
  • Love at the House Party by Kasey Stockton – 4 stars
  • Love in the Wager by Kasey Stockton – 4 stars
  • Love in the Ballroom by Kasey Stockton – 4 stars
  • A Groom of One’s Own by Emma St. Clair – 3 stars
  • Runaway Bride & Prejudice by Emma St. Clair – 3 stars

 

A Week at the Beach August 28, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:15 pm

We just got back from our final hurrah of the summer – a week at the Oregon Coast! We stayed in Oceanside for the first time. It’s near a favorite of ours, the Tillamook Creamery (we visited three times on this trip). While the creamery was familiar, this section of beach was new to us. We loved discovering a new stretch of the Oregon Coast. Highlights from the trip include visiting the Yaquina Head and Bay Lighthouse in Newport, exploring tidepools, collecting rocks and shells, daily beach walks, a tour at the Cape Meares Lighthouse, and a walk to the Octopus Tree. We enjoyed our favorite coast restaurants – Mo’s and Pig ‘N Pancake. We visited Terra Del Mar and Pacific City for the first time. We visited Jacobsen Salt Co. and learned how they harvest salt from Netarts Bay. Jeremy and the boys tried their hands at crabbing and clamming. There was also lots of restful downtime around the beach house. We played board games, the boys got video game time, and I read many books! We appreciated the extra time spent with my parents and sister. All around it was a great trip and an excellent way to wrap up our summer vacation!

Welcome to Oceanside
Collecting cheese samples at the Tillamook Creamery
Exploring the Cobble Beach tide pools by the Yaquina Head Lighthouse
Yaquina Bay Lighthouse
Cape Meares Lighthouse
Octopus Tree at Cape Meares
First time crabbing!
Birding at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area
Love family beach walks!
The results from clamming
Terra Del Mar
Jacobsen Salt Co.
The ice cream line at the Tillamook Creamery was too long our last night, so we all got pints at Safeway. A tasty way to wrap up our trip.
Last beach sunset (with Jeremy photobombing)
 

Kids Camp & Mom Camp August 14, 2024

Last week was a milestone! Both boys are now old enough to go to summer camp as campers! Two summers ago, Owen went as a first-time camper while Graham and I stayed home. Because Graham missed Owen and Jeremy so much (my company wasn’t enough), he and I went last year and stayed with Jeremy in his cabin (Jeremy is the co-director of kids camp). But this year! This year they could all go and I opted (with the blessing of my husband) to stay home.

I’ve dreamt of a having a solitude retreat for many years. I’ve read from multiple authors who suggest solitude retreats at hotels or conference centers, but I don’t have the time or budget for that in this season of life. Staying home while my family went to camp gave me the solitude retreat I’ve been envious of without paying to go away. Also, as a homeschool mom, I’m in the background (or forefront) of most of my kids’ activities. I figured by staying home, I could give them some growing independence and a chance to make memories without me. It’s difficult to say that since I love making fun memories with my kids, but I can also release them to have good experiences without me. I’m looking at it as preparation for launching adults someday. Baby steps toward the main goal!

Summer camp is always a whirlwind of activity! The kids enjoyed snack shack, swimming at the lake, boating, paddling boarding, climbing the rock wall, smores, chapel, and time with cousins and church friends. Summer camp is such an awesome experience not only to have fun, but to connect with God and deepen friendships. I went to this same camp as an elementary student. I love that the boys are making summer camp memories in the same spot I did.

I enjoyed my own version of summer camp – Mom Camp! I definitely had a plan for each day I was home. I’m so happy with what I was able to accomplish! Some of my home projects included mopping, washing all the bedding, and washing the sofa covers (all tasks that are easier alone). I did a mini-spa night with Crest White Strips and a hair mask. I watched Unsung Hero, both the movie and the extras. I worked on a diamond art coaster craft. I’ve never done this craft before and since I’m leading a workshop on it this fall, it was good practice. I was able to make photobook of our Yellowstone road trip on Shutterfly. I did some baking. I took extra long walks. I enjoyed so many good books and did a prayer exercise that really set the tone for my alone time. Right before the start of a new school year, it felt like the perfect time to invest in my physical, mental, and spiritual health. I’m already brainstorming and daydreaming about what next year could hold.

Ready to load and go to camp!
Go Green Team!
Making summer camp memories with the cousins!
A few Mom Camp moments!