Goats and Ponies!

One of my moms groups had their annual potluck picnic party yesterday complete with petting zoo and pony rides for the kids!
It was lots of fun! Shayla loves animals. She kept trying to kiss the goats which was a little too much love for me (: Had to purell those lips!

Newest nephew!

Yay! I am so excited that our newest nephew/cousin was born today at 12:21 am! Dax Taylor Hulihan (son of my brother Tommy and wife Christine - CONGRATS!!!) arrived at 12:21 am - 9lbs 8ozs and 21" long! He was 10 days early and oh so big! I cannot wait to meet him and for him and my upcoming baby boy to hang out (: I'm next...

Baby Dax

Dax with big sister Kalea

One heck of a 1st Bday Party!

So Shayla's youngest cousin Stella turned one yesterday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY STELLA! I also just realized that her oldest (correction: GIRL cousin) cousin has the same birthday as Stella! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA (Anna turned 9 years old!!) I cannot believe I already have a nine year old niece! They grow up soo fast! The oldest boy cousin is Bryan (11 years old!) Woo-hoo!

Stella's party was a lot of fun with the kids riding their bikes and scooters everywhere and loading up on licorice and m&ms. The highlight of the party was the zip line set up by one of Stellas uncles in the park next to their house! Most of the kids gave it a shot with Shayla leading the pack! So here are pics from the party and Shaylas first zipline experience:

Shayla and Stella (the only pic with both of them looking at the camera together although not smiling)

The birthday girl waiting for her cupcake!

Happy Birthday to Stella...

Shayla ready to enjoy her cupcake too!

Shayla's ride on the zipline

Wish I had a picture of her face - but she loved it and kept asking to go again!

Silly Sunday!

Hope you are all having a great day! Shay wanted to say hi!

Best (and worse) reads of 2009!

So I started this blog entry in December but since I was doing my Christmas Countdown blog, it did not make it on my blog yet. But it is a good January blog to recap 2009 reads! Anyway, one of my new year goals is to read 10 pages of a hard copy book a day. Although I am really good with finishing audiobooks, I am not very good with finishing hard copies, so I figured if I can read at least 10 pages a day - that x 30 days a month = one 300 page book a month (or more for a longer book)! Plus one audiobook a month and I can start whittling down my list of books I really want to read!! Okay, so I have been able to keep up pretty well with reading at least 1 book a month through the joys of audio listening – I use www.audible .com and listen on my ipod in the car, on walks with Shayla, around the house doing chores, etc – and I have had a few request for sharing some of the good books I have read recently. Additionally, I would like to share with you the bad books I have read and hope that you do not bother with them! I track my reads on goodreads.com and try to write a small review with most of them. So I have transferred my list to my blog! Does not include all my reads just my favorites and least favorites. Anyway, would also love to hear your favorite (and not so favorite) reads of 2009 too!!!

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2009:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shaffer, Mary Ann

Short Description: January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island--boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

My Thoughts: This was a very enjoyable read! Loved the storyline! Laughed and cried and loved the ending too! Very fun! I did not even know that Guernsey was a real place, so I did some research on that and it is and there are amazing stories there during the war! Really enjoyed learning something new!!!

People of the Book
Brooks, Geraldine

Short Description: In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding--an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair--she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation.

Fictionalization of the factual story of a sacred Jewish book which was saved by a Muslim curator of the library in Sarejevo during the recent Balkans war. Author creates fictional characters to fill in the known facts about the book and its travels.

My Thoughts: Also learned something new about this Jewish text and the story behind it. This story was really well done with great characters and a neat plot. I enjoyed each aspect of the story and the way it went back and forth from the history of the book to the present day and the cute twist at the end.

The Thorn Birds
McCullough, Colleen

Short Description: Now, 25 years after it first took the world by storm, Colleen McCullough's sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback returns to enthrall a new generation. As powerful, moving, and unforgettable as when it originally appeared, it remains a monumental literary achievement –– a landmark novel to be read . . . and read again!

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book (I did the audiobook and loved the reader's voice as well) - just a great story and intriguing characters and storyline. There were a few holes in character development at the end (probably when she realized how long the book was or something) but overall very enjoyable! I was sad that it ended and wanted the story to go on and on!

ENJOYABLE READS TOO but not at top!

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
Mortenson, Greg

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard. Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools--especially for girls--that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

My Thoughts: Inspirational read!

Serena: A Novel
Rash, Ron

Short Description:

The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning. Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed.

My Thoughts: This book was interesting. I enjoyed the character development and the background story. The characters were all well done and the writing was very clear and descriptive. I would recommend it but it was not a 4 or 5 star book for me. Although some readers found the ending predictable, it surprised me. I was hoping for a different ending, but not bad...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, #1)
Larsson, Stieg

A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue. It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, Henrik, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

And it’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired by Henrik to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, an astonishing corruption at the highest echelon of Swedish industrialism—and a surprising connection between themselves.

My Thoughts: Definitely a great murder mystery type book but a bit graphic at times about violence towards women in Sweden.

World of Pies: A Novel
Stolz, Karen

In this remarkable debut work from author Karen Stolz, readers follow the arc of a girls life as she grows to womanhood. From crushes to surprise baby sisters to nail polish to a devastating death, Roxanne is our guide through a life that has moments of tenderness, poignancy, sorrow, and great humour, as well as some wonderful baking memories. A sumptuous novelthough like the best pie, tart in all the right places.

My Thoughts: A cute light easy fast summer beach read. Cute story with recipes at end of book - happy ending (:

The Alchemist
Coelho, Paulo

My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky."Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams

My Thoughts: I really liked this "fable"! Very insightful and fun to listen to (audio book). It makes you really think about the path you are on in life and if you are following your heart. Very easy read too!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Wroblewski, David

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm and into Edgar's mother's affections.

Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward.

My Thoughts: I got this book for Christmas and started it then. It is set in rural Wisconsin and is about dogs so is fun for me as a dog lover who was born in Wisconsin...BUT now that I am done I wish I hadn't read it!!! Although the writing is good and it starts out to be an interesting story, it is very drawn out and there are lots of parts that never tie in to the whole story and the ending is the worse! I am sorry but I do not get all the hype about it as the book never has closure and has weird parts that never come full circle! Don’t waste your time!

The Road
McCarthy, Cormac

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food-and each other. The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

My Thoughts: Okay, so the writing is very beautiful/haunting, but all in all it was way too depressing for me and not enough story for a book. It does makes you think and appreciate what you have (food storage, family, life!), but there are SOOO many other good books worth reading that I would not recommend this as one to add to your list.

Victorville time...

This past weekend Shayla and I went up to Victorville to see my parents and to attend a wedding of a girl I used to babysit for (yes I know that makes me sound so old!) We had so much fun and Shayla loves spending time with her grandparents so much! We also got to spend a little bit of time with Tommy and his family.

Grandpa with Kalea and Shayla

The kids did not want to walk home from the park - Tommy and Grandpa on duty!

Shayla with her new obsession - scissors and cutting paper! She wanted to "cut" all weekend long with her new alligator scissors from grandma.

Shayla with my parents dog Cookie