Note: I started this blog post last September and stuck it in my drafts folder. I’m finally publishing it in January. Such is my life these days!

The past month (September 2019) has been a bit hectic what with our homeschool fall rhythm starting up again. What did that all entail? Let’s see…coming up with a new presentation for a homeschool moms’ retreat, after I planned a different one, mentoring a weekly class for young scholars at my commonwealth school (LEMI’s Sword Project), meetings for my church position, and driving to football practice and seminary, twice every day, 20 minutes one way, every weekday. Also martial arts lessons for one child three times a week. All of that on top of homeschooling and keeping some semblance of homemaking, and an exercise and self-care routine. The casualties? I spaced a dental appointment for one child, a funeral/life celebration for a friend’s mother, and I haven’t been able to blog much. Sob!

Can we just go back to summer? Sigh.

My heart just yearns to share everything I’m seeing and enjoying and loving, right on this blog. Alas, time just doesn’t permit me to do that. (I made some yummy peach ice cream, celebrated my 28th wedding anniversary, cured myself with homeopathy, found a local homeschooling friend to do Julie Bogert’s Poetry Teatime with (herbal tea, of course. See video below on how to do it)

and created a fantastic sugar-free gluten-free carrot cake I hope to share soon. So much delight! )

One thing I’ve been really aching to blog about is picture books for hanging onto summer, #notbacktoschool, especially ones about the ocean. Especially since school for us started in August (!) when sane people outside of Arizona are still having summer vacations, which I want to be doing too. While on vacation in Utah in July, I listened to this podcast episode by Sarah Mackenzie. Maine features prominently in it.

So that made me think of my little sister, Emily, and her lovely artistic life in Maine with her husband and six children. She came to our parents’ cabin where I was staying in July the very next day after I listened to the podcast. So of course I told her about it. (I blogged about her moving to Maine here.) It turns out, one of the books Sarah mentioned in the podcast, about Maine, Hello Lighthouse, was there in the cabin during my stay. Turns out it is one of my sister’s favorite picture books! The copy she gave to my mom for mom’s birthday was there among my mom’s book collection at the cabin.

These pics in this blog post are ones that Emily snapped of my daughter’s trip to the beach three years ago, before said daughter got married. They are from a time when my daughter visited her aunt, uncle and cousins in Maine. It all looks so dreamy doesn’t it?

Now, instead of sharing books about hanging onto summer, I can blog about my sister’s announcement that she is launching her own blog!

Back in the days when I used a NoJo padded sling. My husband was a great sport in using it too! I loved wearing a denim nursing dress from Motherwear, with different vests i bought at thrift stores.

You can visit it here! She is an amazing artist and illustrator with several professional works to her credit, including a book about Isaac Newton published by CarolRhoda Books. She graduated from BYU with a bachelor of fine arts degree in illustration. The picture above is of my husband, my parents and baby with her at her BYU graduation. Now that baby is 21, so this must have happened 20 years ago!

Over 14 years ago she started her break from illustrating in favor of full-time mothering of her six babies. Now that the youngest is 6, she is getting back to her art. She has a few blog posts so far. One is about picture books related to Maine, and the other is about the power of books and stories in her life, called Choose Your Weapons, I Choose Picture Books! So cute! The post includes a bunch of pictures I had never seen before, like the one where she is zonked out on a chair in our early 80s-decorated family room after a tiring round of reading and creating her own books. I also love the post she did for January of books and movies for goal-setters.  Enjoy!