Friends, the weather is really getting me down this year! It's been so hot. Even when the heat drags on at least we are usually in the low 100s or high 90s by this point. This year it's just a string of numbers over 105º week after week after week. Last week it was 112º. (Maybe it's going to break next week?) Although summer is stubbornly holding on, Maeve and Cedric saw the first geese of fall during the last week of August. The evenings are getting darker a little earlier and the mornings are at least less hot. For... Read more →

As of this past week we could declare that we've made it through another hot summer, hallelujah! Let's not think of those endless hot days again until we have to next year. In September we enjoyed being outside again, especially in the morning, and started leaning into fall. From where I sit right now at our dining room table I see little pumpkins at home on our bookshelves, a wax-dripped skull candle holder, and some half-hearted spiderwebs in our front yard tree. (Note: the used spiderwebs at the thrift store are not worth it.) I've pulled jeans on for the... Read more →

Reading stacks of seasonal books with my kids, mostly during fall and Christmas, is one of my favorite parenting things. In September, the return of fall books is one of the few signs of a change at our house in the Arizona desert. Even though it's still so hot, at least we can experience fall through the pages of a book. I add a seasonal book or two to our permanent collection each year but get many through the library as well. In my library account I'm able to create lists of books so I have one specifically for "fall"... Read more →

Fall weather is very reluctant to visit us in south central Arizona. So we have to bring the fall spirit ourselves. A list of fall activities reminds me of the fun seasonal things we can still do despite the over-eager sun. The boys are old enough that they're excited to think about fall activities too which makes a family bucket list much more fun. We brainstormed ideas together with the boys one night after Maeve's bedtime. Some of the boys’ ideas are not quite fall themed (like "play with friends") but I love hearing what they come up with. Cedric... Read more →