Books Read in October

Delved in and finished up the series. I LOVE Obert Skye. He has this great knack of making me bust out laughing whenever I read his books. Sadly, this series is at an end. Luckily he's going to continue the story of one of the main characters in the series, so I'm really excited to see how he continues.

Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret - 396
Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want - 389
Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra - 389
Leven Thumps and The Ruins of Alder - 356

Dan Brown's latest installment of his great professor, was okay. It gave me a good list of nonfiction to read, and other than that, all I can say is "is Robert Langston just the dumbest man alive or what??" The only time the character ever gets going in the right way is once a really smart woman comes to his aid; I guess I've got to give Dan Brown his due, at least he knows men can't do a thing without a good woman at their side ;) I also find that Dan Brown has this knack of criticizing and being rude; I find that one can criticize without being rude and not take away anything from a story. Oh, well. It wasn't a horrible story, and it definitely made me more curious about the Masons and their history. I will say that Dan Brown has a knack for making me curious and that is to his credit.

Lost Symbol - 509

M. L. Forman is the author of the next book. Now, I read this book mainly because Joe is friends with the author's brother (I should be too, seeing as we are suppose to be in a writing club, but I am so horrible and haven't really gotten involved yet. I really need to get over myself and be more involved!!! Oh well, hopefully I can get my act together.) Anyway, to the book. I LOVED it and can't wait for the next. It's so fun to read a book by someone I sort of know; it makes it all more tangible. I use to want to write when I was young and had so much to write. I could never get past fear to really figure out how to publish, plus, I don't deal with criticism very well. When I write, I put so much of myself into it, it's like someone is standing over my child and abusing them. It's cool to see someone successfully achieve their dreams of writing a story that is not only good but worth publishing. This story is alot like Lord of the Rings without all the sitting around and eating and drinking until they are 100. Sorry, I love Lord of the Rings, but I've always found all the sitting and wandering around really boring. Anyway, this has gotten off topic which I guess is usual for me, especially since I can't concentrate because my kids are driving me completely and utterly FRUITY right now, but the point of this all is, this is a book worth reading!!

Adventurer's Wanted Slathbog's Gold - 382

Mitch Horowitz--this is a nonfiction book. Now, not as many people may be completely and utterly fascinated by the "occult" as I am, now if you don't know what that word really is referring to, find a dictionary. Not to be rude, but I've become irritated with people who assume something just because others have taken a long time to condemn it. Hence the word occult meaning some wacky people who think that drinking poison takes them on a wild ride to the cosmos, when in fact it means "hidden." The book even discusses the development of "Mormonism" because at the time it fit into the category of an occult. Anyway, I am completely obsessed right now with learning about religion--ALL religion!! But most especially, ancient religions and paganism. So this book was great in gathering a massive list of MUST READS for me, and also for some really fascinating facts about how occultism helped to shape our nation's history.

Occult America - 258

New series for me to tackle. Written by Trenton Lee Stewart. This is so far a fun series of the power children have. I love that it's a fun adventure that shows me just how becoming an adult can take things away from us. We can learn so much from children. I'm looking forward to reading the two others that I have in this series.

The Mysterious Benedict Society - 485


Total for October -- 3164
Total for 2009 --32, 694

Well, I've met my goal for the year!!! 30,000 for the year. I guess I can stop now ;) Okay, so that's not likely to happen, so it will be fun to see how many pages I will actually read this year. As, always, if you have a question about a book I've read, I will be happy to answer anything you want to know.

Boo At The Zoo

Today we ventured to the Boo at the Zoo. I had to go alone because Joe had drill, which by the way--totally SUCKS!!!! I will never go alone again. It's just too busy to corral four kids by yourself. However, the kids had a blast.
All decked out. This was the best one, with the most kids looking at me.
The baby elephant made her debut this past week and so we got to see her. Isn't she SOOOOO cute. They named her Zuri, which was the name I had hoped for.
Hyrum the vampire.
Emma, my good witch.
Porter Potter, aka, Harry Potter.
I just thought this was so cute!!!
Dan my little frog, or as he says, he's an "yibbit."

They are all too cute.

Jackson Family Trip

***You are forewarned. . .this is a VERY LONG post!!!
Since the kids had UEA break, we headed to Jackson, WY, so that we could enjoy Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. There's nothing we like more then getting away from it all, and I can tell you, I absolutely fell in love with Jackson. I could have stayed there forever.
Watch Old Faithful blow. Porter was so scared, but I finally got him to sit down and watch it and then it started "raining" on us, and he just thought that was so cool.
Dan eating a sucker and watching TV in the bedroom.
Emma posing on her bed, which she shared with Dan.
Porter and Hyrum going nuts on their bed.

Joe and I slept on the pull out couch in our living area, so that we didn't have to sleep in the same room with the kids. They drive us nuts!!!
This is the cabin was stayed it. It was so nice.
Walking around the geysers. Dan was so mad, he wanted to walk but he was being naughty so I had him on my shoulders for a little while.
Dad trying to get Dan to stop for a picture.
Emma had to get in on this one and Porter wouldn't let me go. In fact, when we were walking and all the steam started coming across the walkway, he wigged out and made me carry him, but once he realized that it wasn't anything to be scared of, he walked through it on the way back, but he sure made sure he had my hand tight.
Hiking in the Grand Tetons. Porter and Dan actually were in the backpacks but at the end we let them walk a bit which they LOVED.
Hyrum hiking.
Emma hiking, she always has to pose.
Porter riding in the backpack with Dad.
And mom sported Danny. We had so much fun. I would stop and let him feel the trees which he loved so much he wanted me to stop for every single one.
Emma and Mom in the museum.
Hyrum and Porter at the Grand Teton Museum.
Emma, Dad, and Dan at the Museum. That first day was really nippy, but at least it was sunny.
The Grand Tetons.

This was just a great trip. It would be so nice to live somewhere like that. I loved it so much, I didn't want to leave.

On a side note, we sure thought this was funny. We were playing the capitals game and Joe asked Hyrum what the capital of Montana was. Hyrum thought about it and declares "I know it's HANNAH!!" I laughed so hard I cried.

Happy Birthday Porter!!!

I meant to post this yesterday. So sorry.

Porter Joseph Merkley
Born 30 September 2005
That was then. . .
This is now (well actually this was taken almost a year ago, but it's such a good show of his little personality). My big boy is 4 years old!!!

He's finally potty trained, completely. He's such a laid back little one. However, he can definitely let his anger be known as in when he pulls his sister's hair because she won't stop bossing him around or hitting his brother when he gets a knock on the head from him as well. Oh and the screaming contests that he and his little brother have been into has made for a wonderful prelude to 4. No, really, he is a great kid and his mom and daddy love him so much. I am so thankful to have had Porter. He was my first mommy's boy and I love that he loves to give his mom snuggles. I love watching him play all his pretend games--he's got quite the imagination on him. He's just a wonderful and sweet addition to our family, and I am so thankful for that.