Saturday Exploring: Tifft Nature Preserve, Mississippi Mudds & Niawanda Park

Two weekends ago, our family adventures took us on quite a journey along the costs of Buffalo's many waterways. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and we were after a little summer-like fresh air while we've still got it!

It seems crazy to say this, living as close as we do, but Matt and I had never been to Tifft Nature Preserve before (so naturally, neither had our kids.) I'm not sure how we managed to avoid it so long, considering it's gorgeous, close, and free, so that was our destination for the day.

Aside from a whole lot of red ants that we kept having to detour around, everything was gorgeous and peaceful, and we were so grateful to be outdoors with all of that beauty and sunshine.

can you where's waldo style spot Matt in this one? ;)








We walked and explored until everyone was hungry, and then settled on going to Mississippi Mudds for lunch. I hadn't been there in so many years, but I grew up very nearby. Well, for the first 7 years of my life, anyway. It seems like a different life at this point! And yet it was so familiar being there. We were so focused on getting our lunch that the only thing I managed to get a picture of were my sweet potato fries ;)






When we finished eating, we all got ice cream and walked across the street to sit by the river. We found a picnic table under a shady tree, and watched the boats and jetskis go by while we ate and talked. It was such a comfortable, beautiful afternoon, and a great way to get another dose of summer!

My Boys' Favorite Books Vol. 1

* * This post was originally created and formatted for www.enrychment.com & has been cross-posted.
See the original post, here.

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Matt and I are pretty serious readers, and it is such a hope of mine that our boys will grow up to be as well. We read together, take frequent library trips, shop class book orders, and the boys love their school library as well (where I also love to volunteer!)

The kids usually get pretty attached to a few books here and there (Luke had a pretty solid run with Whiffle Squeak*, and Henry was obsessed with How Many Jelly Beans for months.)

*yes, it seriously is that expensive...it's old and incredibly hard to find. We got wildly lucky the Christmas he was obsessed with it, and found a pretty beat up (but still functional) retired library copy for a reasonable price.

The kids have each been pretty crazy about a few titles lately, so I thought it would be fun to not only share them, but to post often about our favorite kids books. They are all at different reading levels, but not worlds apart - so we should have options for each type of reader, as well as family favorites.

I LOVE children's literature and YA, so I'm excited about sharing it with you! I like reading these as much as the kids do!!

Here's what they're digging right now.



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Lukas' Pick
I think just reading the title of this one can probably give it away...haha. Boys and potty humor - it never gets old. This keeps his attention both because of the silly humor, and the adventure in the story line. He has to read at least 20 minutes a night for school, and sometimes he keeps going well after his 20 minutes because he wants to know what happens next! Find it HERE.







Henry's Pick
All three of my boys would put this book at the top of their list, but Henry is the one who is most entertained by silly words, and he most often asks to read this one again and again. (And again.) It is full of nonsense and fun, and we are all big fans! (And we also love it that Ryan from The Office wrote this one!) Find it HERE.







Jakob's Pick
Jake is really crazy about animals, and he has an especially close relationship with our dog, Galli. The brown dog on the cover is exactly what drew him to this book in the first place! He is so crazy about following Eli through his story that he's already memorized this book. My favorite parts? Jake says "Eline" instead of "Eli" (Where's my Eline book?)..it's hard to correct those little slip ups! And also, the very last page teaches a lesson in unconditional love, and simple and silly as it is...it even chokes me up sometimes! Find it HERE.

Happy Reading!



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