7QT: Books and Beaches and Burrata

Happy Friday y'all!  It's a gorgeous sunny 60 degree morning here in New England and I have the day off from work, so I'm a happy camper!  Actually, I'm never a happy camper because camping is terrible :)  Let's look back on the week, shall we?

1)

Speaking of happy campers, Phil is one because he is devouring this book right now and buying copies for family and friends he thinks would be interested.  

Teaching theology in this changing "woke" world where people easily get cancelled and called haters for defending the faith has made this year very hard for him.  This book has given him hope and makes a lot of sense.  He highly recommends it!

2)

Speaking of recommending...Growing up, my brother used to read me a saint story each night, and it really helped deepen my faith and paved a good path for me in my life.  When I saw that Rosie's sister wrote a Saints Around the World book, I knew my kids would love hearing about these less common saints.  

The book is beautifully illustrated and I'm trying to wait until Brendan's birthday in August to give it to him, but it's burning a hole in my secret present stash ;)

3)

Speaking of books, I have been looking for book lists to keep my kids reading this summer, especially now that the libraries are open again, yay!  I found these lists at Good Books for Catholic Kids that I printed and thought you might want to do the same.  My mom used to pay me $10 to read 100 books a summer (she owned an ice cream shop and was trying to keep me busy) and all that reading really paid off in my future studies.  We try to encourage bookworms at Casa Martin as well, and those lists will be helpful, with rewards for completing them.

4)

Speaking of bookworms, three kids are already finished with school (the 12th grader, 8th grader, and preschooler) and the rest are finishing up the (weirdest) school year next week.  Summer can't come fast enough!  We already had our first beach trip last weekend with the kiddos who weren't working:

5)

Speaking of Brendan (just play along) he has been so cute and funny lately.  Four is my favorite age *put that on my tombstone*.  Here's two examples from this week:

Me: Andrew won for Junior Class Treasurer today!  You should congratulate him!

Brendan: What even is a Treasurer?  Someone who looks for treasure?  Andrew is a pirate now?

~~~~~~~~~

Brendan: When JP is a dad then you and Dad will be grandparents like Gammy and Grandpa!

Me: Yes, and then Gammy and Grandpa will be Great-Grandparents.

Brendan: But they're already great grandparents!  So they will be great great-grandparents!

6)

Speaking of cleaning up, oh we weren't? Well, we cleaned and purged and organized all of the seven kids' clothes over the rainy Memorial day weekend and it took forever, but we gave away lots of clothes to those in need and now opening any drawer upstairs feels so peaceful.  Cleaning makes me feel like I can breathe easier - aaahhh.

7)

Speaking of aaahhh, this Grilled Veggie and Burrata Sandwich needs to be part of your summer rotation, especially if you grow zucchini or peppers.  So messy but so delicious!

Have a happy, sunny, grilling, summer weekend everybody!