My 8 Year Old Son’s Favorite Book Series

I am fortunate that my son Caden enjoys reading but it can be tricky sometimes finding the right books for your kid. Which is why I am always excited when I come across a book series that we both truly enjoy.

These book series are mom approved and don’t have much bathroom humor in them. I am looking at you Captain Underpants.

Without anymore chitchat, that will be at the end of the post, here is what my 8 year old says are his favorite book series.

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Each book contains ten mysteries, and not only does Encyclopedia have a chance to solve them, but the reader is given all the clues as well. Caden read a few of these to me and they were challenging. Not going to lie, there was a few that I couldn’t figure out right away. I think he is currently on book 5 in this series and still enjoying them.

The Secret of The Hidden Scrolls by M.J Thomas

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series follows siblings Peter and Mary and their dog, Hank, as they discover ancient scrolls that transport them back to key moments in biblical history. In the first adventure in the series, Peter and Mary find themselves witnesses to the creation of the world just as God is speaking it into existence. Can they unlock the mystery of the scrolls before they get trapped in history forever?

This series was started by a Dad who was looking for books that his nine year old son could read that would teach him about the bible in a fun way. He couldn’t find any so he decided to write his own series. The books are well done and Caden talks about what he has learned with our family. There are 9 books total in this series and I am so thankful to have discovered these books.

Mac B. Kid Spy by Mac Barnett (Illustrated by Mike Lowery)

The precious Crown Jewels have been stolen, and there’s only one person who can help the Queen of England: her newest secret agent, Mac B. Mac travels around the globe in search of the stolen treasure…but will he find it in time?

These books are like gold in our house. The other kids circle around Caden so he can read them aloud to them. They love the illustrations so much, which are done by Mike Lowery who illustrates and write the Gingerbread Man Loose Series that our family loves too.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncellos Library by Chris Grabenstein

When Kyle Keeley learns that the world’s world’s most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town’s new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, Kyle is determined to be there! But the tricky part isn’t getting into the library—it’s getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must catch every clue and solve every puzzle to find the hidden escape route!

This book was a little longer for Caden but he did great with it and enjoyed it so much. It reminded me slightly of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. If your child likes puzzles and a good adventure check out this 5 book series.

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett

This book. We are currently reading this aloud during the day and it is so funny. I look forward to reading it just as much as the kids. It is by the same author as the Mac B. Kid Spy Series.

Miles Murphy is known for one thing and one thing only: pranking.
He’s the best prankster his school has ever seen. So when he’s forced to move to boring Yawnee Valley (also known for one thing and one thing only: cows), he assumes he’ll be the best prankster at his new school too. There’s one problem. The school already has a prankster—and he’s good. Really good.

We read it and I think I know what is going to happen and it always leaves me so surprised and laughing out loud with the kids. I would read this book even if I didn’t have kids.

I love hearing about new to me books that my kids might enjoy. If you have any please feel free to share in the comment section below.

Last week was a blur in our house. Between home schooling, a dentist appointment for me to get a crown put on, Josh’s work schedule, and watching the presidential inauguration it went by so fast.

I am feeling so hopeful for our country and Wednesday was just such a good day. We busted out our projector and watched the firework show on the wall in our bedroom. It was great.

Also all the Bernie Sanders meme’s are just making me smile so much. This one is my favorite currently.

I hope you are having a great day and thank you so much for stopping by the blog :).

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Using Our America The Beautiful Pass In The Tonto National Forest

Last week we ordered our America the Beautiful Pass from the Tonto National Forest. Right now because of COVID you can’t buy your pass in person but you can order over the phone. I spoke with Kyle who was super helpful from the Mesa Ranger District. I ordered our pass and he had it in the mail to us that day and it arrived the next morning.

If you are unfamiliar with the America The Beautiful Pass it is a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands pass that allows the public to access some fee areas without additional charge. This is a very cost effective way to see multiple sites across the United States.

We purchased our pass mainly for use in the Tonto National Forest when we go paddle boarding. In hindsight we should have bought a yearly pass over the summer because we spent $8 on a day pass each time we went to the river and lake. Had we bought one at that time it would have well over already paid for itself.

Tonto National Forest only allows you to use this pass at the picnicking areas. So if you are a hiker this might not be the best pass for you but for our family’s needs it works perfectly.

We made a trip to the lake last week to have a picnic after our pass arrived and spent two hours eating and playing. It was so relaxing and I can’t wait to explore more areas on land and paddle board this year with my family in the Tonto National Forest and hopefully around Arizona.

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My Husband’s Experience Getting The First Dose Of The COVID-19 Vaccine

I am so grateful that Josh was able to get priority access to the vaccine. It has been a little over 24 hours since his first dose and I wanted to share what the process was like for him to prescreen, book, and get the vaccine. A little background in case you are new here. We live in Maricopa County, Arizona and Josh is a firefighter.

Our family knows so many people who have been impacted by COVID. Some have had minor cold and flu like symptoms or no symptoms at all, others have been put on ventilators, and many are still dealing with lingering symptoms months after being infected. Sadly some of these people have passed away.

I think all of us can agree that there are many differing opinions on getting the vaccine. Over the last few months Josh and I have had these types of discussion between ourselves. Many of these conversations also involved if I should get the vaccine. I had GuillainBarre Syndrome in my 20’s and there has been conflicting information if this vaccine would be contraindicated.

When I found out Josh would be able to schedule a vaccine in December I was so excited. Anything that we could do to protect him, our family, and those in our community I was all on board for. Josh said he would get the vaccine if I wanted him to but wasn’t planning to sign up for it at this time. That left me in a weird spot. I totally wanted him to be vaccinated but also really wanted it to be his choice. I began to drop hints, shared stories of other people we knew who were getting it, and hoped he would just sign up for it on his own.

He didn’t.

PRESCREENING, AZDHS ACCOUNT SETUP, & SCHEDULING

So several weeks ago when the state was in the middle of Phase 1A and only vaccinating healthcare workers I told him I really wanted him to get it. He did the online prescreening and we waited. Then several days before Phase 1A was going to end he got an email confirmation that said he could schedule his vaccine. He was on shift at the time so I did the account setup on AZDHS and booked his appointment.

Again I am grateful and so thankful to all involved that he has been able to be a part of this process. But the website is a little tricky to navigate. I had to try several different browsers, Chrome is what worked, before I could setup his account. Once the account was setup I was able to use Safari to schedule. This entire process to setup the account and schedule took an hour.

GETTING THE COVID-19 VACCINATION IN MARICOPA COUNTY

He got his first shot yesterday. It was also the day that our county moved into Phase 1B. Here is what his experience was like.

He arrived 15 minutes early for his appointment and here was the line in front of him.

For check-in he showed a QR code he received with his appointment confirmation, drivers license and also his employee identification.

The line moved quickly. Everyone stays in their car for the entire process and is masked at all times. There were multiple tents setup in two parking lots. One group of tents at one end of the parking lot which was for administering the vaccine and on the other side of the parking lot was another set of tents for volunteers monitoring for medical issues and to hand out follow up information. There was security monitoring the line and the National Guard was there assisting also.

Several firefighters in his department were assisting with check-in and he was vaccinated by a captain from his department (and coincidentally from his current station assignment). In case you are wondering he was administered the Pfizer vaccine.

He said the flu shot hurt worse and he experienced no stinging or burning when he received the vaccine. After he was vaccinated he drove his car into another line where he waited for 15 minutes. Easy peasy. He was instructed to leave the windows down and honk to alert those working if he had any complications.

In total the entire process took around 30 minutes. Which is fantastic! There was no waiting around in line, everyone was masked and in their own vehicle, and it is great that this part of the process is so streamlined. Now we just wait to get an email to schedule his second dose.

HOW IS HE FEELING AFTER 24 HOURS

Several hours after his shot he said his arm felt slightly bruised. It didn’t hurt or ache but just felt tender depending on how he moved his arm. And it was only localized to that one area. This morning the injection site is slightly more sore but nothing major.

Getting Josh vaccinated was the choice we made for our family. If Josh had been adamant about not getting the vaccine he wouldn’t have been vaccinated yesterday. There is so much misinformation out there about the vaccine even among healthcare workers.

Yesterday I was asking him questions about his experience getting vaccinated as we were eating lunch in our backyard and watching the kids play. He told me when I wrote this post to include that he initially wasn’t ready to get the vaccine when it was first offered to him. Stories like this are important and need to be shared. If you are a healthcare worker and weren’t vaccinated in Phase 1A but would like to do so you still can.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yesterday evening I got a message from my Grandpa asking if I could help him figure out the registration system for getting vaccinated. My grandparents are in their 80’s and we have only seen them handful of times in their driveway in the past 10 months. He had been trying all day to register himself and my Grandma. We had told them if they needed help to call us.

I listened to how he had tried to register I told him he had done everything I would have tried. I saw an option on Josh’s account to register additional family members and told him we could try that. Thirty minutes later I had entered all their information along with insurance I.D’s., scheduled them both for appointments at the same time, and sent them their email confirmations. If you have already made an account on AZDHS and have family members who are having trouble scheduling or even accessing the website you might be able to book an appointment for them.

All in all yesterday was a good day for our family. Josh received his first dose and my Grandparents are now scheduled for theirs. I am feeling hopeful that in several months we will be able to spend more time together. Our plan is to remain masked when we do these visits and stay outdoors but I am looking forward to the kids being able to see their Great Grandparents for an actual visit as opposed to being in the car.

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