May 23, 2018

Summertime BLUES ~ what happens when the children run amok!

I found this post that I had put on my blog a few years ago.  Summer Break is coming fast and I have only a few outings planned for the kiddos.  I want to keep them busy, yet still give them time for carefree fun. 

I am interested in ideas!  What do you do with your kiddos during breaks from school when you are not gone on vacation?  I do have some chores for them but also want some fun ideas that are low-cost to entertain them and also stimulate their minds.   Here is what happened in the previous post . . . . . .

 
When in doubt about how to get the kiddos to get along during school breaks - separate them.

May 22, 2018

What happens when the bride wears BLUE? Find out in this review!


The Bride Wore Blue
by Mona Hodgson
The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek—Book 3


Headed toward a fresh start but tethered by her past, Vivian longs to break free, to find forgiveness and love.


At last, the sisters are reunited! The youngest Sinclair, the family“ baby”, is moving from Maine to Cripple Creek, Colorado and joining Kat, Nell, and Ida. But Vivian is a young woman with a will of her own, and made some decisions back in Portland that have begun to haunt her. Will she be able to live up to the expectations of her three perfect and now happily-settled sisters?

The sisters warmly welcome Vivian to the mountain west, but the wild-and-woolly mining town isn’t ripe with opportunities for a respectable young woman. The youngest Sinclair sister is determined to make her own way, so when she’s offered a job as a

May 20, 2018

New books in the Fairday collection: Check out this review of the original Secret DMS files!



For this review, I was sent a paperback copy of The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow by one of the authors: Jessica Haight.  I was so excited for the chance to read and review for Jess since she is my most faithful follower on this blog; and since I am always on the lookout for new middle grade books to entice my 10 year old to read more. 

About the book ~ taken from the blog :


The newer book cover!


~ For more info on the book, the authors and some clue-finding fun ~
visit: Jess's blog:   http://jessicahaight.com/The_DMS_Home_Page_.html
or Fairday's blog:   http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/
Fairday on Facebook:  #/fairday
Jess on Twitter:  #/#!/@dmsfiles


My Review :
I fell in love with the characters in this book from page one.  Fairday and her family are unique, entertaining, and completely believable.  I enjoyed getting to know Fairday, her family, Lizzy and the kids in Fairday's new school.  The  mystery and suspense is perfect for young readers (and even older ones like me).  The writing flows and I never had to re-read or pause to figure out what was going on.  I love that the story is easy to read and understand and yet written in such a way that kids ages 10 through teen will enjoy the story, the characters and the adventure.  I am anxious to see what happens next!  The story ends perfectly with a mystery solved, yet with more adventure and mystery yet to come!  Excellent job Jess and Stephanie!  A definite 4.5 stars from this book lover!

On a personal note - I was trying to think of a creative way to entice my 10 year old son to give this book a try.  So, I pretended that the spiders on each page were "scary" to me (I would fake shudders and quickly close the page repeatedly to make him laugh and tease me).  Now, all 3 of my kids tease me about the spiders every time they see the book. - lol

I highly recommend you give this book a try - as I've found out from the blog, this is the first book of a series of five.  I can't wait to read the next mystery solved by the DMS team: Fairday Marrow and the Talking Library!


Disclosure: I received free the item(s) mentioned in this post in exchange for my honest review. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.