Yes, I realize that Halloween was a month ago. But I am just now feeling like posting pictures.

Sassy wanted to be a dragon for Halloween, and I thought, “Great! We can re-use Sporty’s dinosaur costume and put wings on it!” I bought some inexpensive blue wings which matched the dinosaur costume. She looked adorable in the dragon costume, but then that evening, she came up to me and whispered in my ear, “I don’t want to be a dragon anymore. I want to be a fairy.” Good thing the dragon wings can double as fairy wings. And the tutu she got for her birthday was a perfect match for the color of the wings.

My friend Angie carved this incredible pumpkin.

Sassy started soccer last month, and for one reason or another, I haven’t been able to make it to any of her games. Yesterday, I took her for the first time, mostly because her game overlapped with Sporty’s. But partly because her lackadaisical attitude was driving Howard crazy. The first photo is a perfect depiction of her attitude towards soccer. Oh well, at least I won’t have to be a soccer mom.

My kids wear uniforms to school, which is a total blessing since Sassy can be a pill to dress. She won’t wear anything with buttons, and she changes her mind constantly about what she likes and dislikes. The school has free dress day two Fridays a month, and one Friday, I laid out Sassy’s favorite heart dress with matching leggings. When I got home from work that afternoon, Sassy was still in her heart dress, but she had added her polka-dotted Babylegs leg warmers. Howard informed me that she came downstairs that morning with the dress, leggings, leg warmers, and bright pink socks. He made her go back upstairs and change her socks, but she wanted to keep the leg warmers on. She definitely knows her own mind. And while it can be difficult to deal with now, I hope it will come in useful as she gets older.

My friend Maria told me that The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was a must-read. I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of science fiction or books for teens, but I was willing to give it a go. It’s a book set in the future when a totalitarian government is in power of what was once North America. As an annual punishment for a past rebellion, each district in this new country has to send 2 teenagers to a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death. I was sucked into the book, and right after I finished it, I downloaded the sequel, Catching Fire, onto my Kindle. The final book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, came out on the day that my friend who borrowed my Kindle was returning from her trip. I went to her house at 9:30pm, got home by 10pm, and stayed up until 2:45am reading it. Needless to say, I enjoyed all three books.

Recently, I read the series that Suzanne Collins wrote before The Hunger Games. The first book, Gregor the Overlander, is about an 11-year-old boy who is sucked into the world underneath his home in New York City. There, he encounters a group of humans who have lived there for hundreds of years, as well as giant-sized cockroaches, rats, spiders, and other creepy crawlies. Like The Hunger Games, you can read it for pure entertainment, but you can also ponder deeper issues, like racism. I read all five books in the series in a week, and I’m sort of missing Gregor and his friends.

Today was the first day of school! My goodness, where did the summer go? My 7yo Sporty is in 2nd grade, and 5yo Sassy is in kindergarten. I love that they wear uniforms to school. Sassy complained about the buttons on her shirt (she won’t wear anything with buttons), but for the most part, she didn’t whine too much about getting dressed. Sporty is used to the routine, though, thankfully.

When I picked them up, I asked them what their favorite part of the day was. Sassy said, “We got TWO recesses!” Sporty said, “Math”. Quintessentially them!

When we went to Banff, I brought only one book with me because I didn’t want to carry around any extra weight. Once I finished it, I wished that I had my Kindle, but I had lent it to a friend who was traveling overseas. But all was not lost. Hey, I can buy a new book. What a novel thought!

I popped into the Indigo Spirit bookstore (part of the Chapters chain in Canada) and started browsing the shelves. Buying a book is a serious purchase for me. I usually don’t buy a book unless I think it will be one that I will read more than once. Decisions, decisions…so many books, so little time, so little money. I spotted an old favorite, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, that had a sticker on it: Heather’s Picks. Hmmm….I wonder what that means. Then I saw The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini with the same sticker. I could be onto something here. It turns out that Heather is the CEO and Chief Booklover (what a great title!) at Chapters, and if you buy one of her picks and don’t like it, you get your money back. What a great deal!

I bought a book called The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (in the U.S., it’s published as Someone Knows My Name). There was an actual Book of Negroes that listed the names and descriptions of slaves who had helped the British during the Revolutionary War and then were granted travel to freedom in Nova Scotia following the war. The book chronicles the life of an African girl from freedom in Africa to slavery in America to freedom in Canada, and then a return to Africa. As with any book dealing with slavery, it’s a harrowing tale of inhumane treatment and inhuman behavior. But the perseverance and courage of the main character in the face of horrible circumstances is amazing.

I was excited to find a list of Heather’s Picks on the Chapters website. It’s been a great resource for me to find new books to read. I also go to the University Bookstore or Costco to get recommendations. I feel a little guilty when I take a picture of a book so that I can check it out from the library, but I figure that I’ll be buying books from them in the future.

My husband and I love Banff (in Alberta, Canada). Gorgeous mountains, stunning lakes, the beauty of God’s creation everywhere you look. We went there for our honeymoon, and we went back two more times after that. Earlier this month, we took the kids and my mom since they had never been.

Lake Louise is so peaceful with its clear water and the mountains surrounding it.

The poppies at the Chateau Lake Louise were simply beautiful.

We took my mom to see the Banff Springs Hotel, which is designed like a castle. Of course, my husband encouraged the kids to try climbing the walls. And when a passerby saw them, she told her kids to try it out, too.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova is a book about a woman named Alice who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. It’s written from Alice’s point of view, and it’s so revealing to see the progression of her mental decline. Because of the nature of her disease, she often doesn’t recognize the holes in her memory. I don’t have any family members or friends who have had Alzheimer’s, but the author does an excellent job showing how the disease affects those whose lives touch Alice’s. I was sobbing through the last third of the book because of the devastation that AD wreaked on this intelligent, vibrant woman. If you’re looking for a light read, this book is obviously not up your alley. But I highly recommend it if you’re willing to shed a few tears.

Most strangers assume B & W are twins, and then they do a double take when they find out that they are 10 days apart. Through some unusual circumstances, both their birth moms chose R & T to parent their babies. And once you meet them, it’s not a surprise why they were chosen. They are warm and loving and incredibly laid back for first-time parents who have their hands full.

I’ve noticed these sisters since they were babies, and it’s such a blessing to be able to see them grow up. The older one is so thoughtful of others’ feelings and has such a tender heart. The younger one is feisty and impish.

She lost one of her front teeth, and her other one is poking out. Cute, huh?