Oh--to be a 1930's wife...

78 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

i love illustrated books

I love illustrated children's books. I have a hard time clearing them out of my house. I can't stand to part with them while they are intact. I especially adore the books with the best illustrations. Content is not crucial at this point. Somewhat like gazing at a handsome man with a substandard IQ.

Just kidding. But you see where this is leading?

As a child, my mom would take us umpteen kids to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. I think the Provo Library simply had you fill out a bookmark-sized paper of your 20 (read) books and you got the reward. I don't remember what the reward was, because I just loved having piles of books around me. I would read my books-- and then my brothers' books. If I were particularly bored, I'd grab my older sister's chapter books. No illustrations? I returned the chapter books unfinished.

I have my favorite illustrators and want to share. After all, aren't our little children knocking down the library doors to get inside? Well, beware!! My friend Audrey said the local library is wary to us moms and they have posted a "Guard" (my friend Audrey used a different word that I loved better). It would seem that your children should not be making any noise in order to be allowed in the library. Check. We'll be taking our noisy children's business elsewhere...

Maybe Amazon.com? Well, here are some books by Audrey and Don Wood, in case you haven't seen them. They are favorites of ours.

Heckedy Peg.

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and He Won't Get Out.

Piggies.

The Napping House.

Since I came across these, I found another illustrator today. I can't wait to get my hands on these books this summer.







The name is K. Y. Craft. I especially think Fairy Tales belong in the You-Gotta-Have-Great-Illustrations category. You can click on each book to see more illustrations.


June 27th edit: I went to my library and found only one book by this illustrator. Jenna and I enjoyed this story. It has a bit of 'Cinderella' mixed with 'Hansel and Gretel'.

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave

summer haircuts!

Its been only 1 1/2 official Summer Vacation days away from school...but look at the changes in these cuties! I know of many boys that get their heads shaved for summer, but how many girls or women take a little off the top as well? We are tickled pink with the results of Mandy's hairstyling skills. Monica and Amanda hit the 'Mandy Salon' yesterday. We'll have to catch a glimpse of those elusive girls later.

Brielle couldn't wait to jump into the chair fast enough.

The before shots

Almost done! (That's our cute friend, Mandy, in the mirror)

It's way too tough to wait around for your turn when you are six.

"Come on...it's not so bad....."

Whew! Crisis averted! Her smile has returned.

Jenna's before shots.

Jenna is picture perfect!

The two models at home. Brielle is acting like she is tired of being the model
(but secretly she swishes her bob when she thinks we aren't looking).

We have often discussed how wonderful it would feel to donate our hair to a charity that makes wigs for children/adults with illness. We haven't done that yet.

Promotions and Pies

Its official. My girls have all been promoted to the next grade. Whew! Amanda gets the spotlight this time because she actually gets the fun of changing schools. She leaves behind middle school and goes to high school next fall.Amanda (in back) and friend Allison and Monica

James has had a great berry crop in the backyard!

He made some scrumptious pies for us and I thought I'd show you his masterpieces. If James were blogging, he would like to tell the Story of the Berries. Once upon a time, his family lived in Studio City, California against a hill. There were wild boysenberries growing on the hill. They were delicious and, unlike most berries, they had no thorns. When the Green family moved to Sherman Oaks, the berry starts went with them. As adults, the boys now have the same berry starts in their own gardens. During peak season, James can pick enough berries for a pie each day! James' mother's pie recipe has also followed the berries. As the kind and giving wife that I am, I have allowed James to be the sole berry pie maker in the house. He's really good at it, and also likes to make the fancy-schmancy lattice. This is where he used to drag me into the fun. I nipped that in the bud and got him a lattice-cutter gizmo last year for his birthday. Whew!

a Shout-Out to Craig...my little bro

Craig and baby Gracie...now

Craig and Susan, circa 1989

This is Craig. He's cute, right? He also has a very cute wife and very cute kids. He is another sibling of mine enjoying life in Happy Valley.

Although the three of us youngest kids had aspirations to be great artists since we were little, my career ended during 6th grade, and Don, the youngest, was basically only driven to sketches during our church's Sacrament meetings.

Craig and Zak, summer '98

Craig has always excelled in his art courses. I wish I had taken more art classes. I am just as envious of my Monica's 10th grade Art Medium class now. She gets to play with lots of different art mediums. I am limited to crayons and the occasional, smelly marker in my daily art sessions at the elementary school where I am an aide. It does my heart proud when one of the autistic 1st graders says my picture is, "so cool".















Back to Craig. He has a website displaying his latest masterpieces. His wife, Cindy, is an amazing PR rep and agent for Craig. She deserves a shout-out also!!