Place's You'll Go:: The National Zoo

Our family loves animals.

My one year old knows a lot of animal sounds with her favorite being the elephant (trunk and everything). The cow comes in a close second.

A group of our friends decided to go to the National Zoo in Washington DC in mid-July (yes, I'm a little behind!). I jumped on the chance to take Baby to see her beloved animals.

SHE LOVED IT.

They had wonderful exhibits. Fun animals.

And lots of cooling stations. I don't recommend going in mid-July when it's 100+ degrees. Go in the spring or fall. The animals will be more willing to be seen in their natural habitats rather than through glass in a cool building. Plus you won't almost die of heat exhaustion.

Best of all:

IT'S FREE!

All you have to pay for is parking and it's about $22 a car. We had ever seat filled in a van so $22 for 7 of us. Not too bad!

Of course a trip to DC wouldn't be complete without checking to see if the President was home!

Things to See:: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Remember Mr. Roger's Neighborhood?



What memories come while searching for Mr. Roger's. He was always a favorite of ours growing up. I don't really remember much about the episodes but I definitely remember his red sweater and the song.

The Song.

You're singing it now aren't you?

Now The Fred Roger's Company has made a new, updated version of the old favorite called Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. 

We've only watched it a few times since it coincides with nap time at our house but from what I've seen it looks like a good one! Baby has enjoyed it and I have too. 

There are quite a few similarities between the two shows and it makes me happy to know that my daughter will have something like Mr Roger's to watch growing up. 

A Season For Tending

Cindy Woodsmall is a well known Amish fiction author. She has written numerous series on this subject and is a New York Times Best Seller.

She starts a whole new series with this book: A Season for Tending.

Rhoda is a young Amish woman fighting against her past. She is trying to come to terms with her sister's death, her perceived roll in events and the duty she feels compels her to push against Amish beliefs. Rhoda is a gardener by trade. She grows and cans fruits and vegetables along with various herbs. These herbs and her knowledge of them cause a conflict with members of the Amish order. She is forbidden to use them medicinally after her sister's death. She agrees as long as she can keep them. But she can't fight her instincts to help people, with herbs or otherwise. She has a keene sense of what is going on around her that she just can't help coming to the aid of anyone, Amish or English. This gets her in trouble many times over yet brings forth a beautiful story of following your heart and dreams as well as God's Will even if you must go against those you love the most.

Although this book didn't move as fast as I had hoped it would, I did enjoy the easy read. A bit predictable but a good read none the less. I have read a lot of Beverly Lewis' Amish fiction so I was comparing it all the way through. I feel it is all the same but some variations in plots make it interesting.  It was fun since we live near some of the areas mentioned in this story as well. There's really not much I can say about this book other than if you like Amish fiction pick it up, it's a good, easy read.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from waterbrookmultnomah.com for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Curious George

We came to a dead end for our Dr Seuss books in early summer. I could not find any more of them available around here (I do the library not buy). I found a few that we watched online as someone else read them but it wasn't any fun. Someday I hope we do come across the remaining few.

Wednesdays are our library days. We go hang out with some friends and pick out books for the next week. And as Curious George has become a new love around here I decided to pick up all the books on the shelf. Baby flips through them and loves looking at what that bad little monkey is doing (yes, he sometimes can be bad!). I got me thinking as I looked at Curious George Goes to the Beach that are a few different varieties of George books. And...

Meet our newest challenge:

Read all of the Curious George books!

There are 9 original Curious George books by Margaret and H.A. Rey:


Cecily G and the 9 Monkeys (When George is first introduced)
Curious George
Curious George Takes a Job
Curious George Rides a Bike
Curious George Gets a Medal
Curious George Flies A Kite
Curious George Learns the Alphabet
Curious George Goes to the Hospital

After H.A. Rey died in 1977, Margaret continued to write stories with Alan Shalleck (they are mostly out of print now but some are being re-released).

Curious George and the Dinosaur
Curious George Goes to the Aquarium
Curious George Goes to the Dentist
Curious George Bakes a Cake
Curious George Goes to a Toy Store
Curious George Goes to School
Curious George Visits an Amusement Park
Curious George at the Railroad Station
Curious George Visits a Police Station
Curious George Goes Hiking
Curious George Goes to the Circus
Curious George at the Beach
Curious George Goes to a Restaurant
Curious George at the Fire Station
Curious George Plays Ball
Curious George Airport
Curious George at the Ballet
Curious George Walks the Pets
Curious George Goes Sledding

Then there is a whole list of other books written by Margart Rey about Curious George. Plus another list of books based on his movies and TV show (we will not include this since the list is never ending!).

Check out our progress as we take on this new challenge!

Book Review::This Scarlet Cord

I. Love. Historical. Fiction.

It is probably my favorite genre.

And yes, this is fiction. Please keep that in mind as you read this and the book.

This Scarlet Cord  by Joan Wolf brings the story of Rahab to life. Rahab was a real Canaanite girl who turned away from her false gods and helped some of Joshua's spies escape the city of Jericho. Joshua was leading the Israelite army into the Promised Land. The spies were sent in ahead of the army to relay information about the much fortified city. As the infamous Bible story continues Joshua marches around the city and the walls that never could fall crumbled at the hand of God. This is the historical part of the story.

Wolf takes this story to a fictional level. Through research about the culture and history of the time period when it is believed Rahab lived, Wolf develops a beautiful story of Rahab and how she becomes an agent of God in His will. Rahab gets a history, a personality and a future. She gets a family. Wolf even produces a reason and way of Rahab's change in beliefs. (Really, who hasn't sat and wondered how and why Rahab decided to give up her gods for the One True God?). She makes Rahab a real person we can all relate to, feel and know that no matter what we have done in our history, God has a plan for us and will use us for His glory!

I had to remember as I was reading this book that it was truly fiction. But it was fun trying to take the real story and piecing together what was going on in the book. It's always fun to dream up what isn't written in Bible as a background (as long as it doesn't take away from the Truth, anyway).

My only complaint is that in the beginning of the book I feel Wolf tried too hard to make this story real. Her descriptions to bring the story to life were a bit over kill and a lot was repeated for no reason. We got the picture the first time. But after the first few chapters, Wolf settled into a rhythm and flow that made this story a good one!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Baby's First Birthday Party

I know this has not much to with books (although we have quite a few of his books and read them frequently! Maybe I should start a list since we got through all the Dr. Seuss ones we could...). But I had to share our newest love...

Who else but Curious George?

We love him here. Baby claps uncontrollably and dancing like a maniac when the music starts. So what else should be the theme?

We had a great day even though it was overcast and the hurricane was coming up the coast. (How fitting since she was born during Lee last year!). But even with the impending rain we had a wonderful time! Almost all her friends she hangs out with came and played on the playground. Both sets of Grandparents made it. 

We Love You Monkey
May you always be curious.