Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

How's your weekend looking? We've got a good one to look forward to, I think. Roxie's cousin, Monica, will be spending the night with us tomorrow night (a late birthday outing), and we'll be heading to one of our favorite places in the world on Saturday. That's right... the Mall! One of Monica's "birthday surprises" is a makeover at the Clinique Counter at Belk's, so that's going to be fun. We also like to eat at Edgar's Bakery behind the mall. It's going to be cold, so we'll order soup or chili in one of their bread bowls. I don't know about you, but any kind of plate or bowl that is edible makes it twice as nice. Now if you'll serve my ice tea in a coconut and give me a pretzel spoon, I'll be a happy camper. When you can eat what you would normally have to wash up, that's a good lunch.

While we're doing the makeover thing, Mike, Austin, Josh and a couple of friends will be cheering for Auburn. I think we'll all be together for dinner Saturday night, and Sunday looks free and easy... just church. Or a "spontaneously" planned football game down at the lot! Can you say "relaxing?"

Before we get into today's book titles, I wanted to share a little story about Austin and his friend when they were younger (seven or eight). They were really into The Hardy Boy books. They read every one they could get their hands on. Mysteries were THE thing.

One day, his friend's mom and I decided to pick them up from school around 1:00 and take them on a Mystery Trip. We had Josh, Roxie and the friend's two brothers with us also, so we decided the Mystery Trip should be the BMX Track at Oak Mountain. It was something my guys had never done before, and we wanted to go before school let out in case it got crowded.

We packed the bikes in Mike's truck (I traded cars with him that day), and I hid behind a church while she went into the school to check out the unsuspecting boys. From our vantage point, we could see them, but they couldn't see us.

I let them pull out and waited a few seconds before I began to follow. My friend explained to them they were going on a Mystery Trip. The questions soon began. "Where's Miss Belinda?" "Why did you check us out?" "How far are we going?" "Is it going to be dangerous?" Without giving the destination away, my friend answered the questions as best she could.

On the highway, Austin looked back and spotted me. "Hey, isn't that my Dad's truck?" (He had a very distinctive truck.) Not realizing I had been spotted, I didn't fall back, but knowing I was following them still did not give them the necessary clues to solve the mystery.

Right before we arrived at the BMX Track, Austin's friend said, "I hope this isn't just some kind of 'ho ax' (said as two words)."

My friend said she kept saying the words, "Ho ax. Ho ax," trying to figure out what her son was talking about. "I think he means 'hoax,'" Austin finally said. When you read mystery novels set in the 1950s, you tend to start talking that way. Needless to say, when Austin told me he needed some new dungarees, I knew it was time to get some different reading material.

Our Mystery Trip was a huge success. The boys were thrilled, and although they figured out I was following them, it wasn't until we almost reached the destination that they figured out exactly where we were going. I hope it's something they'll never forget. I hope it's something they'll try with their own kids one day. I hope no one ever pulls a better "ho ax" on them than we did that day.

Books

Speaking of mysteries, when I was a pre-teen, those were my favorite kinds of books. I read every Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden book ever written.

Today's pick is the Trixie Belden series. There are over 15 different books, and they were out of print for a very long time. They started returning to bookshelves about two years ago, and I was thrilled. Now these are not "with-it," 2008 kinds of books. They are probably set in the 50s, and the characters are 14 to 17-year old teenagers. However, they are very age appropriate for the ten to 12 year-old crowd (and a little older). Roxie loves them and insists on reading them in chronological order. (You don't have to read them this way. Each mystery stands on its own. She's just like her mom and likes to do things in order if possible.) She chuckles every time she reads the phrases "Gleeps" and "Jeepers." (Personally, I had never heard the term "Gleeps" before I read these books years ago, but Roxie is convinced I used to say it all the time when I was a kid. No, I didn't! I was a big enough nerd without walking around exclaiming "Gleeps" all the time!)

These books come in hardback and you can find them or order them from Books-A-Million. They are affordable to collect ($6.99 each). They are also available at public libraries now. The author's name is Kathryn Kenny. Again, they are a blast from the past, but so enjoyable.

The mysteries are just scary enough... no blood, no guts, but plenty of suspense for your pre-teen. And they're different from the Nancy Drew series. Nancy is so sophisticated (and older), and Trixie just kind of stumbles onto things here and there... kind of like a "real" person might do (in pre-teen "imaginary land"). They would make a great Christmas gift, too.

I'm taking the weekend off, as usual. (From blogging... not living!) I'll be back on Monday with a party your little girl will enjoy. It doesn't even have to be a birthday party. When I did it with Roxie and her friends several years ago, we just did it one day after school. It was fun, easy and memorable. I'll also give you two little boy variations of the same party that I tried with my guys.

Have a great weekend, and have some fun with your family and friends!