Reading....

Well my new obsession seems to be reading. Now that I am not working I have been able to sneak in quite a bit of reading. Both kids absolutely love going to the libary (we have two in town, one small and one big one). Keeping track of what books we have is another story. We do have the "library box" and for the most part the kids are great about keeping the books in the box.

It is a lot of fun to watch the kids pick out books. Bella now knows where "her" books are at. She walks up to the shelves and just literally starts grabbing books! She doesn't open the book and I don't know if she really even looks at the front cover much. With all that said she has picked out some great books. Some that don't even really make it out of the "library box" but others she almost has memorized by the time we have to take them back.

Ethan on the other hand (probably because he is reading his books) takes his time. Granted he is pretty much just checking out The Magic Treehouse books. He is hoping to read the WHOLE SERIES this summer. I haven't actually wrote down and marked off the ones he has read, but it looks like there is 28 books in the Magic Treehouse Series and 14 in the Merlin Missions part of the series. I can't keep them all straight so I will have to consult with the boy to figure out for sure which ones he has read. (By my count I think he has read 14 books total, so 14 out of 42). Some of the books he can read in one sitting, but he still has quite a few not sure if he will make it all the way through them before school starts.)

It is fun to watch. He read for about 2 hours of our drive to vacation and about 3 hours on the way home (It is really only a 3-3.5hr drive). Also if he remembers to bring a book in the car he will start reading as soon as he gets buckled in!

Having a little extra time on my hands I have remembered that I do love reading.

I have been really loving anything by Kristin Hannah.

So far I have read: True Colors, On Mystic Lake, Firefly Lane, and The Things we do for Love. I am a few chapters into Between Sisters and it is seeming to be as good as the others. Firefly Lane and The Things we do for Love have been my favorite two so far. (They were read in the order listed) I cried at the end of Firefly Lane (I know some don't want to feel that way in a book, but as long as it is good I don't care). The Things we do for Love I think should be a must read for all moms, especially those adoptive moms. I truely didn't read the description/summary of the story (and for those of you that check out my links...don't read too much information) I like to read it as it happens and NOT know ahead of time. Lets just say I finished it late at night, holding Bella and tears a flowing =). A must read I think!

(Mom if you are reading I can re-check it out if you want to read it!)

I have only heard good things about Jodi Picoult. Well I guess I shouldn't say it like that either you like her or you don't. I really want to read My Sisters Keeper before I see the movie. Well lets just say so does the rest of my town. There are a ton of hold on this book... I have been tempted to buy it and then just loan out or resell it.... we'll see! She touches on controversial topics, but I have read from a lot of people that have loved her books!

Another good author/book I have heard good things about is Kate Jacobs. (Here is also her own website.) Again lots of holds so sticking with whatever comes back to the library first.

After all this book talk I had better get to bed....busy day tomorrow. A couple hours and a picnic lunch at the riverfront park (playing in the water feature) and then we are making a library run. (I think Ethan has finished all his books and I am going to see what else they have from my list.)

What are you reading?

Back from Vacation....

So we are back from vacation and there is still soo much to do! We had an amazing time as always. Lots of goodies to eat, hot tub and swimming pool, inflatable jump houses, bumper cars, dark light (where your white clothes glow) miniature golfing and of course bike riding! I think our final tally was 68 miles on our bikes. Ethan did amazing and rode his new spiderman bike the whole time.

I have hundreds of pictures to go through, but these 4 caught my eye right away so they got edited first. =)

A few weeks back I noticed a small gap appearing in his somewhat perfect little smile and low and behold there was an adult tooth coming in already behind it. The baby tooth became loose thankfully and while on Vacation it was barely, literally hanging on by a thread. So when dad asked if he could pull it, Ethan said, "OKAY". Here is what we got a semi toothless boy!

There was soo much to do on vacation, but poor Bella had to miss out on the bumper cars. They really jolted you around, but the funny thing is 2 years ago they had let her go on them with me... So needless to say she did lots of pouting when Ethan and one of us was riding.

I think this was Bella's last year on the baby seat on my bike. Her feet just miss reaching the petals on the tag-a-log so there she sat. Almost always with her blanket, even though it was in the 80's or 90's the whole time she had to have it. Worked out okay because for the most part it covered her shoulders and neck from the sun and a burn. This night we took an evening ride near the airport and loved the fact the horses were loose in the field and came right up to the fence. Ethan even got to feed them some "weeds" that were there by the fence. Poor Bella missed the whole thing.

and can't leave out Dad.... Just taking a break while the kids played at the park. It was hot and a long uphill climb to the park.

I have edited a few more pictures but will save them for another day with a few more stories from vacation.

Bellla from 3 to 13

Ahh Miss Bella... It is so funny it seems lately her personality has doubled. I mean she was a character before, but now even more so. Her little attitude and humor and little Bella-isms are really showing.

It seems like lately my postings on here have been far and few inbetween (spending too much time updating FACEBOOK) and then when I do post it seems to be a lot about Ethan so here is one of many new posts about Bella!

I simply LOVE this photo. It is her, it is the expression she gives quite often. She opens her eyes up wide and you can't help but giggle/laugh at her and then she busts up laughing her cute little laugh! I have been meaning to order some photos put onto a canvas. Maybe this will be my first one. (Just need to pick out a favorite of Ethan and have them done at the same time)

You should hear this girl talk on the phone....She carries on real conversations and even calls Todd all the time (aka Dad). Lately though her favorite person to call is MARSH (have no idea where that came from though) and we can't help but laugh every time she says it. All we can ever think of is The Brady Bunch and Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

Oh and if you need a reminder of Marsha Marsha Marsha video clip check this out! (Gotta love YouTube)

The kids have been loving our beautiful weather and being outside. I soo need to get them out there more. This night Bella brought her back pack FULL of Barbies and play food. They had their own little tea party out on the deck! Gotta love their little imaginations. Soon enough it will be her and her friends sitting on the deck talking about BOYS!

Here is to many more nice summer days and better blog updates!