Lovely Lucid Life June 2023

Summer has arrived for us and despite persistent rain here in Maine it’s been lovely. Here’s a snapshot of what June 2023 looked like for us.

Camping

Our first camping trip of the season brought us to Camden Hills State Park. You can read about it here.

Jake’s Last T-Ball Game

Jake finished up T-Ball for his third year.

Lupines

Anika has loved lupines every since reading Miss Rumphius years ago. I don’t know if it was just a really good year for lupines or if the area we moved to is spectacular for them but, WOW… they were gorgeous this year. We got the inside scoop from a friend who told us the best places to go to see them and did a tour of the lupines in our town one afternoon.

Mary Poppins

We took my mom to see the play Mary Poppins at the Penobscot Theater for her birthday. This is a favorite show for her and we’ve taken Anika and Jacob multiple times since they were born. The story line of Mary Poppins is beautiful with many lessons for any age. I pick up something new every time I watch it.

Favorite quote this time around…

“You’re right that the coin is worth six-pence, but the value of money is determined by how you spend it.”

We’ve been listening to the soundtrack on Spotify and now plan to read the book and watch the movie this summer.

Challenger Learning Center and Cole Land Transportation Museum

The Challenger Learning Center teamed up with the Cole Land Transportation Museum and put on a program where each child built a rocket and launched it. We learned a bit about engineering during the process also. Afterwards we were given free admission to the Cole Land Transportation Museum, which was so cool and we will definitely be visiting again in the future.

Tie Dye

An annual tradition for us, every year at the beginning of the summer we tie dye shirts that we wear all summer long.

Strawberry Picking

Strawberry picking is an annual tradition in our home. We’ve gone to the same strawberry patch in New Hampshire, Butternut Farm, since Anika was born and were nervous that our new area wouldn’t have strawberry picking. We were pleasantly surprised by Treworgy Family Orchards. Although it’s definitely more wild in appearance then Butternut was, the strawberries were just as delicious and the crowds were significantly more manageable. We were impressed.

50+ Science Experiments

We’ve been having so much fun working our way through this box of experiments this summer. With the exception of a couple of commonly already owned household items everything you need to do the experiments are included. So far we’ve dug for gems and identified what they are, grown a crystal and the completed the classic volcanic eruption, to name a few. 100 percent recommend.

Library Summer Reading Programs

The kids signed up for the summer reading program at two of our local libraries and are loving them. Besides, the free ice cream upon sign up they love the process of tracking their reading and the anticipation of the prizes they will receive. We read a lot. Like A LOT. We also listen to a ton of audiobooks. The kids currently finished listening to the Bunnicula Series, both collection one as well as the second collection. They recently started on the Freddy the Pig Series. I’m linking these on audible but we were able to get them through the audiobook app from our local library for free. 100 percent recommend checking to see if your library offers this and looking for them here first. I do the same for any books we read, unless it’s something I know we are going to read over and over I always check the library first instead of buying.

Books

Anne of Green Gables

We finally read Anne of Green Gables. This was one of my absolute favorite books as a child so I’ve been saving it to read with Anika until she was old enough to appreciate it. I wanted her to love it, and she did. This is such a fantastic piece of literature that somehow stands the test of time and in no way seems dated. When it was done both kids asked, “are there more of these”? I was happy to report it was in fact a series and we are looking forward to enjoying the next one soon.

This book is just beautiful and so inspiring. I love many of the quotes but a couple of favorites…

“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive–it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?But am I talking too much? People are always telling me I do. Would you rather I didn’t talk? If you say so I’ll stop. I can STOP when I make up my mind to it, although it’s difficult.”
― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I’d look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I’d just feel a prayer.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“True friends are always together in spirit.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The Heartwood Hotel

The Heartwood Hotel series is one of my favorite children’s chapter books of all time. The stories are beautiful written, the characters so well developed and lovable and the themes so important. There are four books in the series, each taken part during a different season. This year on the start of each new season we would start the Heartwood Hotel book that corresponded. The summer was the final book in the series and is my favorite. A scene at the end of the book directly applied to our life and I used it to help my daughter and I process some big emotions as we are currently in the process of selling our old home in New Hampshire and committing to the new wonderful life we have created here in Maine. We are happy with our decision, but it’s still difficult to give up the life and home we lived in for so long. Without spoiling the book too much Mr Heartwood wants to protect his hotel, possibly at the risk of his own safety. One of the other characters reminds him that the Heartwood Hotel is so special, not because of the tree that it is located in, but because of Mr. Heartwood himself and as long as they have him they can recreate a new hotel anywhere.

“Mona turned to face him, and caught a glimpse of the wedding portrait, hanging on the wall. Everyone together, with Mr. Heartwood at the center. Not gathered around the tree, but around him…She had been wrong before. The Heartwood wouldn’t be gone-but it was in danger.”

“I need to stay with my hotel”, he said.

“But , Mr. Heartwood, you ARE the hotel!” Mona burst out. “You want to save the Heartwood? Well, then you have to save yourself.” Heartwood Hotel Home Again, Kallie George

As we sat in my daughters old bedroom feeling emotional about letting go of the house, I reminded her of this part of the book and the fact that as long as we have each other the house that we live in makes no difference. It’s our family that makes the home, not the house. We are the heart of our own Heartwood Hotel.

The Land of Stories

We are only five chapters into the first book in this series and so far the kids and I are both hooked. We will keep you posted on how we end up liking it, but so far it’s been the perfect summer time read.

Movies

The Little Mermaid

We ventured to the actual movie theater for this one, such a fun activity for us! Our local cinema has 5.00 tickets on Tuesday, which we decided to take advantage of to watch this classic that the kids and I have been anticipating for awhile now.

Turbo

I FINALLY got to watch Turbo. After being vetoed by my family for years as watching this as a movie pic for pizza and a movie night, I finally got my way and it was fantastic. I have a thing for snails and I love an underdog story and a snail racing in the Indy 500 is about as underdog as you can get. It includes some of my favorites, Ryan Reynolds (who doesn’t love him?), Maya Rudolph (hilarious as usual), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Rec is still my favorite television sitcom) and of course Snoop Dog (nothing more needs to be said about him) The movie made me laugh, cry and dance. The soundtrack is fantastic. I found it on Spotify and for anyone looking for some kid friendly hip hop this is the album for you. 10 out of 10 recommend.

Finalizing Next Year’s Homeschool Plans

As I type up all the things we’ve done in the first month of summer vacation I’m realizing that although we are on summer break, learning hasn’t stopped in our home. I absolutely love how easily our days incorporate reading, art, science and social studies without us even trying. Homeschool is my favorite. 💛

I’m currently in the process of finalizing our plans for our second year of homeschooling. We are keeping some stuff the same and switching things up too. Last year we used Rightstart Math, but we are trying something different next year. I picked up this homeschool planner too, that I’m excited about.

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