Seeking Suggestions

 

So I have a lengthy TBR list - it seems like the moment that one comes off, there are like legit, three or four to take that completed book's spot.  I am, however, terrible at figuring out what books I should get my kids to read and so I'm going to respectfully ask everyone here!  A littel bit about my kids and what they like:

My son is 12 - he'll be 13 in December. He is currently tearing through Harry Potter everything - the movies, books, you name it. He liked The Hunger Games books, the Divergent Books, Ender's Game and the Scythe books.  He enjoys reading but isn't a particularly fast reader.

My daughter is a bit more tricky. She's 9 and it's more of a struggle to get her to read. Where my son will pick up books and read (he was reading in the car on the way to ziplining and camping, and at camping would often prefer to sit at camp and read), it's definitely a battle to get my daughter to read. She loves graphic novels best. She reads at grade level.

Of course I'd love to hear recs for me - but this is about getting suggestions for my son in daughter. That being said, I'm not going to discourage you from leaving three recs in your comments - one for each of us! 

Covid Positivity

 

In this day and age, it's so easy to think that 2020 has just been a kick in the balls. And in some ways, it absolutely has. We've had the Covid, killer hornets from outer space, asteroids, earthquakes and Joe Exotic (you're either Team Carol or a traitor). But there has honestly been some positivity here right? Right?! Who is with me?!

This weekend was, for me, one of those positive moments.  I took my children tenting for the first time on my own.  A few summers ago, we had rented an RV but this year, tenting seemed the better option for us. We stayed at The KOA Twin Mountain/Mt Washington on a tent site and it was wonderful (although I highly recommend bringing pads to sleep on otherwise you'll be in pain and also good instant coffee!).  While there, we visited below:

I took that picture of Echo Lake Beach in Franconia Notch State Park. The kids and I spent most of the afternoon there.  We love swimming and paddle boating here.  We also managed to visit Littleton, NH

where we visited the candy counter (shoutout to Chutters for keeping everyone safe during the visit!), got some coffee (for mom and blueberry lemonade for the kids) and stopped in the bookstore.  The weather was perfect and my son even taught me how to cook sausage and green peppers in aluminum foil on coals!  Sweet!  We're headed back in September for a weekend and the kids have requested to go back next year for a longer period of time.  I have a KOA membership, and we have talked about RV'ing/camping through the country next summer, so we may end up doing that. 

Another positive thing is that tenting normalizes my weird circadian rhythm of waking up at 5 as the light is starting to get gray and light.  The red squirrels were REALLY loud and chittery too.  We had one that regularly visited us and spent some time by our fire with us on Saturday night.  Also, reading! I finished a book on Ted Bundy (maybe not the best choice for reading on a camping trip but whatever). I will review it shortly.

Anyways, lots of positive things.  I'm looking for suggestions for things to do with the kids this weekend. I already have on the list: hike, beach (Rye or York), blueberry picking, biking.  The things must be outdoors and we must be able to socially distance or safely wear masks.

Thanks!