Little Handprints
This blog won't capture the major milestones of life. Instead, this is the place where I hope to capture the little day to day realities of life...the little things that I want to remember when the little handprints have faded away.
Monday, January 13, 2025
Book 2
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Last Break Hurrah
My otters were out for the first time in forever:
But the chimps were the absolute highlight:
Watching the baby play was so cute, and they were close enough we could really see their faces:
It was one of those times when you really see how we share 98% of our DNA. I swear I've made the same faces playing with my own toddlers.
I love our zoo. All of the animals were active, and it was amazing to watch them. The rhinos were running across the plain, which was really something to see, and we got to see several of the herds of antelope run, too.
It was a fun last day trip of the break, and I'm so glad it's such an easy day trip for us.
Friday, January 3, 2025
Book 1
It's the third in the series, and it did not end at all where I thought it would! I really appreciate how this story is developing, and I'm anxious to see where it goes!
Thursday, January 2, 2025
A Holiday Wrap-Up and Book 31
We had a fabulous end to 2024. For the first time in my career at Meredith, I took my work email off my phone and didn't open my laptop the entire time the campus was closed. That left some extra time for holiday fun.
The week before Christmas, we made cookies to take to the neighbors. We learned a double batch of Grandma Rhodes's sugar cookies is the absolute capacity of the mixer:
I also learned that the kids used to eat sprinkles when they were home alone, complete with a reenactment:
The Monday before Christmas we made another batch of cookies at Nana's:
Christmas Eve found us back at Nana's in the most cozy Christmas pjs:
We did the now traditional mashed potato bar and played a new kind of Uno that is a different kind of complicated.
Christmas morning Santa visited our house:
The kids are almost as tall as the tree now:
Evan was thrilled by some new gear for his VR set:
I was particularly proud of my oven organization this year:
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Book 30!
I have followed this author online for a while now. I really appreciate how she researches time periods thoroughly before she writes, and I enjoy listening to her talk about her process.
Last month, I finally purchased her whole first series. It is not historical fiction; it's another fantasy world that I'm fully addicted to now. Her main character is a strong female assassin, Amira, and I'm so glad there are so many books in this world. The books is told from her perspective, and I love how her character is complicated and evolving.
One of the coolest aspects is at the end the book there is a novella that tells the pivotal event from Daindreth's perspective. He is the target turned love interest turned prince who needs saving, and it his perspective fills in so many of the details that we need to fully build out the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
The Tree is Up and Another Wrestling Tournament Down
Saturday, we had an all day wrestling dual on Saturday. We wrestled six teams and came in second over all:
We were up against some tough competition, but I love the way Coach framed the day. Evan still loves spending the long days with his friends, and Brad and I have learned to go out to lunch during the buys, which makes the day go so much faster.
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Book 29
A colleague plans to read this with our adolescent literacy class, and she wanted to make sure she wasn't crazy. She is not. I think this is a really important text for students and teachers to read. What happened in California was a failure on so many levels, and hearing from all sides of the story and watching it all unfold is so fascinating. I'm truly glad I read it, and I'm even my glad our students will be reading it.