Library Booksale!

Disclaimer- some of my pictures are turned. Ignore it and just tilt your head to the side and play along. For some reason my camera turned the pictures because when I loaded them into my photo software I had to turn them. They were all taken the same way so who knows. I had been thinking that it was my Memory Manager software that couldn't save the picture properly because when I load it on here the picture is turned again. So, today I tried to solve the rotation issue in Picasa. Seemed ok. Then when I loaded them up they were still turned. Maybe I'll put my IT guy on this issue. He'll love that. Until then folks...enjoy the variety.

So I went to the local library sale with a friend of mine a few weeks ago. It was very exciting to get there right as the sale was starting for the first weekend and to wait in line for an hour to get my turn. I'm thankful I had a friend to chat with. I felt like I was still in my early 20s waiting for concert tickets to the big "HFStival" held each year at RFK stadium in DC. I think waiting hours in line for day long concert tickets for the likes of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Blondie, The B52s, Beck, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Jimmie's Chicken Shack is probably cooler than waiting outside a library warehouse to get first dibs on children's books and games, but that's how I roll these days kids. What can I say?

We had to wait an hour and watch as customers ahead of us in line came out with bags and boxes full of stuff. I don't know if their stuff was cooler than mine. I don't think so except one lady did come out with at least three bags full of boxes like game boxes. I think they might have been puzzles. The puzzles were red hot that day. I practiced some self control and didn't stalk her loot. She was waiting for her partner in crime so I had to look at her totes full of game size boxes for too long. But things turned out ok. Check out the haul.

Fun games- Bazaar (I was told is a great game- it's helpful to bring a gaming friend to the booksale with you- just a free tip) and a card game version of Labyrinth. We love the board version of Labyrinth so hopefully this will play well too.

We caught up on collecting the Kaya American Girl books- we are only missing one now. Plus, we added a few more for Kit and Josefina.

I did it! I found the last book in the What Your ____ Grader Needs to Know series. I use them for grammar benchmarks among other things. I thought I had them all, but it turns out I was missing 5th grade. Honey for a Child's Heart was an exciting find. It is not the newest edition, but I think I'll manage.

I found this cute American Girl Writing book. R8 has a love/hate thing going with her writing. I thought she might enjoy working through the suggestions in this book. After all, she loves that Math for Girls book I picked up at the same sale in October. The route 66 Molly book will come in handy very soon. We are hosting a Molly themed birthday party this weekend! Details coming in another post.

Love, love, love Cobblestone magazines. I hadn't found any at this sale until this time. Finally. I got an issue on Helen Keller, Quakers, Thomas Jefferson and Pirates. How cool is that? Beyond Five in a Row go along and other cool stuff. Cobblestone devotes each issue to a whole theme each month. Our kids love Cobblestone!

A nearly new copy of The Daring Book for Girls Things to Do- this one will be a gift for our sweet 8 almost 9 year old girl R. I don't know if it's any good, but I couldn't leave without the American Girls Club Handbook.

They have a whole section on instructional/activity books. There are always super finds there. Here we have some young child Science by Janice VanCleave and this great book on pretending with cardboard. I've always wanted this book so for a dollar it is a good risk.

Two awesome AG finds- the plays written for Molly, Samantha, and Kirsten. With 9 girls here on Friday night this might be a fun thing to try. Also, a brand new Samantha Christmas craft kit. It even still has the materials attached. So fun.

We've been playing this non-stop. What a great game! I'm jonesin' for the world version now. They love the computer game and this is even better. When I worked at a toy shop in college Carmen was very popular. University games put out some great games back then. I'm happy to have a few now that I have my own kids.

I'm always on the look out for fun math books- super for the math journal and math boxes. I was able to pick up a few Magic School Bus titles we didn't have. Love the original series.

More from the parent activity section- you just cannot go wrong with these. Ever.

Some experiment books- I've wanted the Usborne title for a long time. The DK book on nature will be fun to try out this summer.

J3 is looking to beef up his George collection. He's a fan. These will be part of his birthday present- um yeah we have three of our four kids' birthdays the first 10 days of June. So, I have birthdays on the brain! I had already purchased some new ones for him so he's gonna squeal.

The Snail's Spell seemed like a good garden title to me- don't tell me if it isn't! And another appearance of Daring Girls.

I snagged the whole My Side of the Mountain series- our kids LOVED this as a read aloud. I remember being read this book when I was in sixth grade.

I'm collecting the Little House extrapolation series- The Rose, Charlotte, Martha, and Caroline Years books about Laura's women relatives. I was able to get two of the Rose years books we didn't have. With all the abridging of the original books, the books with the original text will be hard to come by. They may even go out of print according to one of the authors. Such a shame. Oh and though we own the whole little house series, the book on the left is such a fine copy that I would love to replace all of ours with that edition.

Who can pass up a great instructional book for sewing? Well especially since I was sure it was a match for a book I wanted over at Paper Back Swap. It isn't the same, but there are some great projects waiting to be done.

Lots of pictures, but I couldn't resist sharing my excitement with you all! This sale happens twice a year and I can't wait to spend an hour on the sidewalk on a crisp October morning. Cindy are you in??