What Rachel is Reading

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans

In the space of 6 weeks, Alan Christoffersen literally loses everything. He wants to end his life, but instead, he decides to walk. To Key West, Florida. The furthest place in the continential USA from where he stands. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share, will save his life.

I love Richard Paul Evans books. They are easy reads, and usually very inspiring. This one was no different. Al's situation had me in tears at several points and I really felt for him. I have never felt the kind of loss and tragedy and betrayal that he had, but I felt like I was right next to him on his journey. The tinest little part of me even wanted to tie on some hiking boots and head for Florida myself. Best of all, The Walk isn't finished. The rest of the trip will be continued in April 2011! (I love sequels!)

Sleeping on the Trampoline

Jeremy has been promising Aidan to sleep outside on the trampoline all summer. So a few weeks ago, they hauled all the blankets outside to campout. No, Lydia wasn't sleeping with them. Neither was I. Us girls had our own little indoor sleep out in our nice, soft, comfy, warm beds.All hunkered down. However, about midnight, the winds and the rains came and 3 wet, cranky, cold boys came running in. Aidan was really disapointed, but the next weekend, they tried it again, and this time, the weather cooperated. And I had pictures of that, but I can't find them anywhere. Jeremy is such a good daddy!

The Mischief Makers

They found the food coloring. Three baths later, they were closer to their original color. However, the jammies were not to be saved. I am just thankful that they took it outside to experiment with. These 2 are not to be trifled with. I swear, they play off each other!

Scoop Jam 2010!

So, last year we went to this Ice Cream Festival, and we had so much fun that we had to go again this year. Luckily, free tickets made that even better! All you can eat ice cream! Heaven! This year it was bigger and better. Good music, lots of vendors and lots of ICE CREAM!! This was the first thing we saw when we came into the festival. A giant, inflatable Santa Claus. Aidan had to get a picture with it. Wyatt wasn't quite feeling it this year. In his defense, it was naptime and it was pretty hot. Still, he enjoyed the ice cream!

Aidan loved it! He had so much fun. I don't even know how much ice cream he ate. It was a lot.

Lydia also had a really good time. Ice cream is one of her favorite foods. And since we just found out that she doesn't have a milk allergy, we let her go for it! She seems to like chocolate the best. Just like her Mommy.

Liddy was also digging the bouncy houses. She likes adventure and trying new things.

They had a mock shoot out and show. It was really fun. Aidan had never seen anything like it before and he was glued to it like a TV. This was my best picture. The poor actors looked so hot with all their costumes. I felt bad for them. And we had to get a picture with a huge rubber duck! It was another fun day. I am so glad that they do this every year. It is so much fun.

What Rachel is Reading

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (aunt and niece team)

I was told by several people that I need to read this book. Finally, I picked it up at the library and I am sure glad that I did.

This book is entirely composed of letters and notes, either the sender or reciever being Juliet Ashton. Juliet is an author looking for her next book and she finds it on the island of Guernsey. Set in Post World War 2, we discover what the fine people of Guernsey did to survive the invasion of German soldiers. Juliet falls in love with the people, and decides to visit, and they welcome her with open arms and hearts.

I love Guernsey. I fell in love with every single charater. They were all so well developed and well written! At first, when I discovered that the whole story was letters, I was reluctant. I thought that it would get really boring to read letter after letter, but it wasn't! It was fun! It was so neat to see the relationship that were already established (between Juliet and her best friends Sidney and Sophie) and the relationships that were being built (between Juliet and the people of Guernsey). Letters are so personal, and it was fun to see the banter between everybody. This book was so funny! Not only was it a great historical fiction (I have read little about post World War 2 in Europe, because the topic is depressing, but I learned quite a bit) but it also had a great little love story in it, along with a bit of intrigue.
This book will be going on my bookshelf. One I have to own and will reread over and over.

Bed Head

My kids have the best hair when they wake up!

Lyrical Lydia #2

She actually said a word! My screensaver on my computer is bubbles, and when it turned on yesterday, she ran to it and yelled, "BUBBLES!" I was so happy, I clapped my hands and hugged her. Aidan got excited and did the same. And not to be outdone, Wyatt followed after. Now, every time she says "bubbles," she expects a ticker tape parade.

Little does she know that when she finally says, "Mama," I am throwing her a party ;) !!!!

Fireworks!

Of course, as part of any Independence Day celebration, you must include fireworks. And there are no better fireworks around than the Meleulca Freedom Celebration on the greenbelt. This year, we went with Andrea and Darin (and kids) and Josh and Ellie (and kids). Josh found us a great spot right on the river to enjoy them. Of course, that meant that the kids wanted to be right next to the river the whole time! Wyatt, Ashley, Aidan, Jeremy, Izzy, Josh and George are all in this picture. Next to us, were a couple with 2 cute dogs. Lydia kept walking to them and playing. The dogs would also lick off the frosting on her face. The whole group of us. 6 adults, 9 kids, 3 strollers, several camp chairs and lots of blankets. Around 9:30 it started getting cold and we need to bundle the kids up a bit. Here, Jeremy is fighting Lydia trying to get her socks on. (By the way, I totally made her bow. I am pretty proud of it!)

My sweet little family waiting for the display. This was literally seconds before it started. The kids did well. They weren't scared or anything. Aidan was pretty awed-he thought they were pretty cool. He said his favorite was the finale. Wyatt got bored, but that is okay. Lydia was memserized-and kept oooing and ahhing.

We also did fireworks at home the next day with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt JuJu and Uncle Neil. It was way colder (there is just something wrong about having to wear jackets, long pants and blankets on July 4!) but we still had popcicles and ice cream sandwiches. It was a fantastic weekend full of family and fun. And fireworks. And food (2 BBQ's with wonderful spreads-yum!).

Green Canyon

To continue with our fun Independence weekend, we went swimming at Green Canyon. We love going up to Green Canyon! The pool is warm and has a nice shallow area for the kids to walk in. Plus, it has a hot pool too. We had so much fun! Really, it was a blast. I was surprised how well all the kids did. They were just like little fishes!

Aidan was having so much fun enjoying his "freedom." For the first time, he was really adventurous and even dived off the diving board a few times! We had a couple of boogie boards and he just kicked around on those all by himself. He was sure proud. As were we.

Wyatt was a bit more tentative, mostly just wanting to stay on the stairs and throw things in. But, he loved the hot and cold pools and kept running outside to dip his feet in and laugh. I was surprised how much of a fish Miss Lydia was! She loved being in the water, as long as someone was holding her. She didn't want to be in a float, she just wanted to be held and splash. She was so happy and looked so cute in her little swimsuit! Say Cheese! My silly, floating family.

Green Canyon is also a camping place, and it is beautiful there (I think that we are going to try to camp there sometime this summer). We packed sandwiches and chips and had ourselves a little picnic. Because after 2 hours of swimming, we were hungry!
On our way back, Aidan was asleep before we reached the main road. Since Wyatt and Lydia slept on the way up, they were happy and kept jabbering. I am glad that they understand each other, because we sure can't understand their secret language! We got home late, and we were tired, but we had so much fun together.

Liberty Field

In our city, we have an organization called the Title of Liberty. Every year, around the 4th of July, they host a Flag Walk to the field where they set up hundreds of flags to honor those who fight for our country. The field is open to the public to walk through the fields and some of the flags have biograghies of people who have died in the Iraq/Afganistan War from Idaho. To start our Independence Day weekend, on Thursday we took the kids to the field to see all the flags.

Jeremy and the kids running through the field to the big center flag. Lydia got tired and had to be carried half way down.

They had a lift where you could go up and see the whole field. Jeremy took the boys while I stayed on solid ground with Lydia. The guy in the cowboy hat is one of the organizers of the whole event.

There are a lot of flags. I forgot to ask how many there were. But there are over a hundred.
And I just loved this picture of Lydia.

Of course, no family outing is complete without a treat, so we stopped at Reed's Dairy for ice cream. Yum! It was a fun outing for everyone. I truly am so thankful for those soilders who have fought and lost their lives for our country. I appreciate this time of year to reflect on the many freedoms I enjoy as a citizen of the United States of America.

Ouch!

See Wyatt's finger? No, I did not paint it black. He slammed it in the sliding glass door! I think that he is probably going to lose his nail. But, he is sure proud of it! Wyatt shows everybody his "OW."