Summer of 2019- Memories & Reading

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Hello there!
I haven't been consistently posting. This blog was started during a week we had off due to a polar vortex in Detroit. The schools were closed for the whole week due to Arctic temperatures and hazardous conditions. I also was really immersed into figuring out my son's hair at that time, so this blog was started out of a lot of free time.

Not that I haven't had free time lately. In fact, I've had plenty of it. I am a teacher so I have been off for the summer. This blog is nice because it's always here when I want or need to share something. This summer? It's been an incredible one. Perhaps you can get ideas of what to do with your child. If not in this area, maybe you can check out relevant offerings wherever you live. Thanks for reading! I am going to enjoy these last five days of summer for the year of 2019!

Lots of love,
Jessica

  • My summer began after school on June 15th. 
  • June 19- July 2, Jairus and I were in San Diego, CA visiting my parents and sibling. 


  • After we came back, we went to Storybook Gardens; an adorable theme park for little ones in London, Ontario, Canada. 


  • On July 13th my co-worker got married, and we attended her wedding. 

  • On July 15th I took my husband and son to Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary in Athens, MI. This is still one of my favorite memories of the summer. My husband got to hold a medium-sized alligator and go in the pond of two alligators named Godzilla and Medusa. 


  • July 16th was the Detroit Kite Festival. My husband got hooked on building a very complex kite and spent a lot of time trying to get it to fly. The owner of the kite let Tray keep it so now we have a huge kite we can try to fly again when the winds are favorable. It was Jairus's first time flying a kite.


  • July 24-26th we took another trip to Canada. First we went to Niagara Falls and then we stayed in Toronto. We fell in love with Toronto. While there we visited the zoo, park, and walked a good amount downtown and the surrounding areas. We want to come back. 


  • August 1st was my four-year wedding anniversary. I recreated a wedding photo by wearing a white dress and we sat in the same spot as our wedding day. It was all I wanted to do, but we also got some vegan food and recreated another photo from our wedding day by sharing a latte. 



  • August 2nd we went to Brenda's Butterfly Habitat in Westland, MI. They were already closed (I was mistaken about the hours), but a staff member was kind enough to let us in for a few minutes. It was all we needed because it was precious to see Jairus interact with the butterflies


  • August 4th Tray rapped at a church service in Ypsilanti, MI. We hung out with friends and got food and drinks. 


  • August 5th we met Tray's cousin's new baby boy. Jairus was so gentle. It was beautiful to see him actually caring about another baby. He found a blanket, put it on him, and said "night night." 



  • August 6th Cold Truth ice cream served delicious vegan ice cream on the sidewalk. I went back in line a second time after getting my debit card, and though I had to wait in line again with a wiggly toddler on my hip, the man in front of me paid for the next two ice creams in line. Ours was free. What a sweet blessing in disguise. I pray for God's blessing on this man too.

  • August 9th we went to the Belle Isle Conservancy. It was my husband's first time though he's lived in Michigan almost his whole life! He enjoyed it. He's a fan of palm trees, and Jairus liked cactus plants.


  • August 10th we went to a Sunflower Festival but it was really more of exploring the garden it was hosted it. At night, we attended my high school friend's amazing wedding. We enjoyed the Arabic music and dancing! 


We have done lots more, but the things that are nearby our home and are places we regularly go didn't get mentioned here. Trust me, there was a lot more fun had at our house with friends, other friends' houses, nearby parks, splash pads, playgrounds, and especially coffeeshops and other cool places that are gems here in the city of Detroit. 


Books that I finished recently:

It took me about a year to finish this. It's really helped me think through my phone usage/limits.

I love this book!!!! I finished it in about three weeks when my normal trend is to bite in a book over a year or more (just being honest). This reset my love for reading, and I've been reading non-stop since this book reminded me I can finish books. It really was just that amazing. I don't give excuses for why I don't read anymore. I also am on summer break so that's easy to say haha. This book has helped my parenting choices so much!

Almost done reading this book. This book is short, but so so intellectually challenging and stimulating. His use of vocabulary will have you checking a dictionary a few times. The way he handles this topic- geez it's really helped me think differently about race, racism, and how society used to be before race was as an invented thing and how it is now. It's not a simple approach at all. He really addresses the complexities of identity and social constructions. Super dense, but this is a great book.
My Bible! I am rereading the New Testament for the third time I think. This summer, I am a few chapters away from finishing the book of Luke. 

Let the memories and reading continue! 💙

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