A Perfect Day
From this summer – no other words necessary
Travels with Gannon & Wyatt, Review & Giveaway!
We LOVE reading in this house.
I mean really, REALLY love it.
The day I told the girls I had brand new books for them to read was a party and a half. They were so excited, and when we cracked open the books from the “Travels with Gannon & Wyatt” series it was all over.
I mean, it’s ANIMALS!
The girls immediately dove in and scanned for pictures first, because the pictures of the live animals (the alligator was a big hit for our little alligator), and they couldn’t wait to see every one of them.
Once they’d settled down we sat down to read.
The stories are told in journal form, with separate entries by both Gannon & Wyatt, which make for short “chapters” perfect for my ADD readers.
I also love that each of the entries start with a great learning opportunity (or 2). They list the location – with a longitude and latitude. Temperatures and weather listings are there too. These gave me and the girls some great chances to talk about what these things are, and find a map (~cough~ or a computer ~cough~) to look them all up. Of course, there’s all the animals, which my kids LOVE. Oh, and at the end, there’s a few pages with spots for journal entries. The girls are dying to take a trip to the zoo to use them!
Kennedy got to read first and eagerly dove in, and by the time she was home, she was dragging Molly over to join her.
Hearing Kennedy say words like “Botswana” and “Kalahari Dessert” at her young age, is so much fun. She’s having fun, she’s reading, and she’s learning.
Kennedy has taken a shining to the Botswana book. It has all the animals she loves. Elephants, alligators, rhinos and cheetah’s.
We love sitting down and devouring chapters as fast as she can.
I have a feeling these books are going to be long lasting around here, so much to read and learn, and the older they get, the more they’ll understand!
As you can see below, the girls HIGHLY recommend the books and want you to win a set of your own. (Look below the picture for how to win)
Gannon & Wyatt have a Facebook Page and a Twitter account you should really follow to keep up on their latest adventures!!
Giveaway Time!!
Entry is easy…
1. Leave a comment telling me what you love about these books and why you want them for your kid!! (required entry)
2. For an extra entry, tweet the following exactly (copy & paste should do it). ~optional extra entry
Travels with @GannonandWyatt, a review & a #Giveaway. Great books w/ learning opportunities! #GannonWyatt http://bit.ly/1ej1dZG @sadiecass
3. Pin this post using the giveaway picture & leave a comment with the link to the pin! ~optional extra entry
That’s it! The giveaway ends on 11/25 at 9AM. The winner will only have 24 hours to get back to me, as I must turn in your info by the 26th! There will be no second chances, as I have a deadline!
There is another giveaway over at my dear friend, Emily’s place if you want more chances to win, head on over there!
You should also know that Gannon & Wyatt are having a Kindle Fire Giveaway on their Facebook Page the month of November!! There’s still time to enter, so head on over!!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
A Coon’s Tale the Second – W/O Happy Ending
Back at the start of NaBlo I spoke of a coon tale with a happy ending. I also foretold of a second story minus such an ending. Today I give you that story.
I was young, probably 6 or 7 when this happened.
Back in New York we had a place we called “The Farm”. It was my dad’s hunting lodge, acres of trees and a small plot of land with a two story run-down old farm house.
Often my dad and uncle would take us kids out and we’d climb trees, play in the woods, ignore the scurrying of mice when we slept in the attic.
My dad and uncle would make repairs as they went. The stairs one year, the roof another. We had a fancy outhouse (not designed for girls, modifications were necessary for me). No electricity, a wood stove. We played outdoors 95% of the time we were there. There was a beehive in the walls that buzzed, and everything was old and drafty and I loved every visit.
The year the roof was redone my dad was up working hard peeling off tiles and taking off rotting decking.
He peeled back a panel of decking and happened upon a coon’s nest. A momma and her five babies.
Keeping in mind at this time Rabid Racoons were a major issue at the time – and the momma was PISSED, my dad did what was necessary to defend himself.
He grabbed the nearest weapon, his hammer, and took care of momma. He would have moved the babies, but they were way too young to fend for themselves, and so he also took care of them.
For years we tormented my poor dad with this tale of bopping the baby coons on the head…
But it was necessary (unlike in the earlier story I told).
A sad tale, true…but also a fitting descriptor of survival of the fittest.
Because if dad hadn’t taken action…that momma coon sure would have.
Shorts From A Short Mind
* My brain is still a pile of mush, and sometimes I can barely focus.
* In the span of four months I’ve gone from not working outside the home, to a part time job, to a full time job I started today.
* I’m still not sure how I feel about that (pretty sure I don’t like it).
* We’ve been having kleptomania issues again.
* I have a book coming out in just a couple weeks and I’m totally unplanned for it.
* My series “completed” back in September and I haven’t had time to crow about it.
* I’ve got a to-do list a mile long and absolutely no time to do any of it.
* The game obsession in my house has reached critical mass. Uno is the big winner, but the kids have been going bonkers.
* It started snowing – and sticking…today. I’m both elated and a little upset by the end of the fall.
* I have a ton of posts planned and just haven’t been able to write them.
* I’m barely hanging on by my nails on this NaBloPoMo thing. This was supposed to help me better my blogging activity…but I’m failing.
Thoughts and Turns and Tumbles
This week has been an intense, crazy, world-shattering week.
My brain has been blown to bits. My concentration shattered.
Things I can’t discuss have turned everything upside down and sideways.
But in the turmoil have been moments of good that have helped me maintain balance.
An almost 3-hour lunch with a good friend.
A food fight with my kids over dinner.
The beautiful colors in the blanket of leaves covering my yard.
Hours on the phone with my best friend.
Playing Uno (Star Trek Uno, of course) with my kids.
A night out with good friends and more hugs than I even knew I needed.
Small moments of peace amidst the chaos that help me keep my balance.
Small moments of joy.
Sometimes it’s the small moments that get us through.
Wordless Wednesday
