Hello June

 It's hard to believe that it's already June and school is now out for the summer.  That means I officially have a 2nd grader and her summer is just as busy as the school year.  In fact, this week may just be her busiest.  VBS already started last night and will continue every night this week.  On Tuesday, she starts swim lessons for the city swim team.  This is her first year for this activity and we're all looking forward to this.  She's not a strong swimmer, so I'm anxious to see how much she improves this year since these lessons are Tuesday-Friday every week.  However, the first swim meet is actually next week already, so I'm curious to see how this all works.  To top off this week, this weekend is her dance recital.  Of course, this is one of my favorite weekends of the year, but it does consume the whole weekend.  I can't wait.  Before I get carried away further, let's recap.

May Update

May was an exciting month with normal activities.  Our community officially dropped the mask mandate and with school ending, we hardly have to wear them at all now.  As a  family, we gathered with the extended family for the first time in over a year, when we threw a big party for my grandpa's 90th birthday.  It was planned as an outside event, but it ended up being a little chilly that day so we ended up moving it to an open pole barn.

We also obliged my grandma with having the girls crown her Virgin Mary for a little May Day ceremony.

LittleCJC had a little excitement when her earring fell through the bottom of her earlobe.

Thankfully, she said it didn't hurt and she doesn't really seem too concerned about this.  I don't know if it will ever be prepared or if she will always have this split, but I love that she doesn't care.

The girls have loved playing with the hose lately, which all started with Patrick trying to wash his car.

We've also reintroduced the girls to shaved ice and they love it.

Of course, no May recap could be complete without a first vs. last day of school comparison.

My little girls grew up so much this year.

Hello Holiday World

We plan on spending a lot of time at our local amusement park this summer.  We've already been several times through May and we are loving it.  We hadn't been in several years and I hadn't realized just how much this place has grown over those years.  We've already been 4 times and every time we find new rides and shows that we haven't done before and we still haven't done everything yet.

This girl rocked all the big kid roller coasters on her first visit.

She was a little unsure about this Liberty Launch the first time, but of course, she loved it.

The water park here is huge with 3 water coasters.

Grandma got a season pass this year too, so she's able to join in on the fun.

This is their newest water coaster, and it was so cold the first time we rode, in case you couldn't guess from my face.

On our last trip, we saw two shows, and LittleCJC chose to sit in the front row for both of them.  She also wanted her picture with the performers afterwards.

As usual, LittleCGC has to do everything big sis does.

In case you couldn't tell, we're loving it.

Hello Books

May was not a strong reading month for me.  My best read was Legendborn by Tracy Deonn.  Staying with the fantasy theme, I also started the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.  In fact, I read the first three of the series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, and A Court of Wings and Fury.  There's still one more in this series, but I unfortunately am still waiting to get my hands on it.  In complete contrast, I also read None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different from Us (and Why that's a Good Thing) by Jen Wilken.  I also read one more from the Virgin River series, Harvest Moon.  I felt like I was in a reading slump so I branched out to YouTube for some new title suggestions.  I ended up putting a hold on several titles from the library, but the only new title I got in the month of May was a new to me genre, a graphic novel.  Someone listed it as one of their favorite series so I checked it out.  It was a very short book called The Tea Dragon Society.  Personally, it didn't really do anything for me.  I'm not sure if it's the story itself or simply the style.  There was one other graphic novel series that appeared on a few of the booktubers lists that I was looking at that night, so I might give it one more try.  We'll see.

I know this is more of a May update post than a hello June post, but it's got to be better than nothing right?

Happy June, everyone!

Hello Monday

 Well, at this point, maybe it should be Hello April.  It's been a bit since I've written one of these, and so much has happened since then.  We took our spring break vacation to Disney and Universal.  We had so much fun, so you'll have to be sure to check back for a trip report.  This past weekend, we visited the in-laws and celebrated Easter both there and at home.

Hello Monday

This week, the chaos continues.  LittleCJC has extended rehearsals before her first dance competition this weekend. On Sunday, we have one last Easter celebration with my side of the family.

Hello New Obsession

Last week, I started a new Beachbody workout, 80 Day Obsession.  So far, I'm loving it.  I was real hesitant to start this one, because the workouts are longer, so much equipment is needed, and there is no music playing.  I really thought that would be weird and I thought it would make the long workouts seem even longer, but instead it doesn't bother me and I'm always amazed at how quickly the workout passes.  I have been so sore this past week, but in a good way.  I'm curious to see how this week goes, but excited to keep going.  7 days down, 73 more to go.

Hello Movies

So, I can already tell this yearly project is going to be a struggle.  Obviously, I didn't watch movies on vacation, but the week leading up to it was almost a complete waste too.  I've discovered that I struggle more when other people are home.  For example, if LittleCJC is home from school or if Patrick is working from home I don't always take the time to watch whatever I'm suppose to be watching.  I guess I'll just keep trying my best to always play this catch-up game I seem to have going on lately.

Hello Books

As for books, I'm still working my way through Six of Crows, even though it's already due at the library.  Hopefully, I can finish it today, or else I'm going to feel too guilty and return it without finishing.  I guess that means I'm not loving it, but it isn't bad, so I'm not sure why  it's taking me so long to get through this one.  

Even with vacation, I was able to finish a few books on the car ride there and back.  First, was An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon.  These books are enjoyable while I'm in the story, but they don't really stick with me anymore.  The cast has gotten so big and so many storylines are going on, and some are definitely more enjoyable than others.  Next, I read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.  I think I expected too much from this one.  There were some interesting and really enjoyable parts of the story, but overall, it moved slowly and I just didn't love it.  I then devoured The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory.  This was a fun sweet story and I loved it.  The final book I read since my last post was The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory.  I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  Ironically, it reminded me of the Outlander series but without the time travel.  I think the similarities lie in the fact of all the battles taking place in the story and of course the historic aspect.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Hello Monday

 Update

I know I missed last week's Monday post, so sorry if this one is longer than normal.  We did get the snow everyone predicted, and the girls loved playing in it.  As I predicted, LittleCJC was out of school all week.  In fact, between the ice storm the week before and the snow, she was out of school for a total of 8 days.  Let's just say we were all ready to get back to normal schedules last week, even if it seemed like we were playing catch-up all week.

We went straight from snow and ice to spring.  It warmed up last week, and we were able to get out of the house again.  We started our weekend off with some donuts.  The dinning area was open and no one was there, so we ended up eating inside which is something we haven't done in a really long time.

We then spent the afternoon at the zoo with Grandma and SL3.  The kids had a blast.

Hello Monday

This week should be back to normal.  I don't have anything extra on my calendar, but we do have some exciting events coming up so my goal is to just stay on top of everything and prepare for our upcoming events....including a vacation!

Hello Movies

Here's this week's lineup.

Musical Monday - West Side Story

Tune Tuesday - In the Heights

Wayback Wednesday - Lawrence of Arabia

Throwback Thursday - Honey I Shrunk the Kids

Friday First - Mame

Seasonal Saturday - Say Anything

Disney Dinner - Alice in Wonderland

Hello Books

This month was a great reading month for me both in quantity and quality, especially since my last post.  I finished The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister.  A five star read with themes of survival, friendship, loyalty, gender thoughts and secrets.  I then read another five star emotional book about survival not on ice, but instead from inside the dust bowl and poverty, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.  I discovered this author back in college and she still remains one of my favorites.  The next book I read was Home Before Dark by Riley Sager.  I am still thinking about this book.  I usually say I don't like thrillers, but I loved this book.  So many plot twist, I was lost until the very end and then I wanted to immediately reread this book.  I obviously didn't, but I may in the future.  I do definitely see me reading more from Riley Sager in the future.  I then started and completed the paradise triliogy by Elin Hilderbrand: Winter in Paradise, What Happens in Paradise, and Troubles in Paradise.  I think of the three the first was the best, but they were all enjoyable.  I also finally finished Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse.  Not the best book in comparison of the others read the last two weeks, but another solid 4 star read.  The last book I read this week was The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz.  This was not what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it.  Part romance, part mystery, and a lot of messed up family drama and history.

This week, I plan on reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel, and at least starting Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.  We'll see how the week goes.

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello Monday

 Weekend Update

On Friday, LittleCGC and I ended up going to a toddler time event that LittleCJC's gym hosts.  We had so much fun.  LittleCGC loved bouncing on the trampolines.

From one to another

They even had an inflatable, that she loved too.

We ended up having some visitors this weekend.  Patrick's parents decided to come down Friday evening and spent the night at our house.  We had a really nice visit, and the girls loved reading and playing games with them.

It's always so sad when they leave.  

Saturday evening, we snowed.  I wasn't aware that we were suppose to get snow, so it was a bit of a surprise to me at least.  We didn't get a whole lot, but it was pretty while it lasted and the girls had fun playing in it.  Especially, LittleCJC who was determined that she was going sledding, even though the only hill on our property has a fence at the bottom of it.

Hello Monday

This week is another casual week, other than the weather.  It's suppose to be real cold with the chance of more snow and/or ice.  You never know, but we'll see if we get anything.  I'm just hoping school doesn't decide to close.  This weekend is also Valentine's Day, so we'll see if we end up doing anything special.

Hello Movies

This week, my movies were picked with Valentine's Day in mind, and Mardi Gras.

Musical Monday - The Last 5 Years

Tune Tuesday - Chess

Way Back Wednesday - Casablanca

Throwback Thursday - Sleepless in Seattle

Friday First - When Harry Met Sally

Seasonal Saturday - Sabrina

Disney Dinner - The Princess and the Frog

I'm definitely most excited to finally watch Casablanca.  This classic has been on my watch list for a long time now, so I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Hello Books

Last week was a good week for reading.  I did finish The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu, but it was my least favorite of the week.  My thoughts on this book didn't change much from last week's post.  Not to repeat myself, I'll just say some stories were enjoyable, but not all.  I also finished Trail of Lightning  by Rebecca Roanhorse.  This book I did enjoy.  It's set in the future after the Big Water floods most of the United States.  This story takes place on an Indian reservation that has survived, but monsters are now attacking.  So, naturally, the main character is a monster-slayer.  I know this sounds weird, but I liked it and now I'm excited for the next book in this series.  I also started the folk of the air series by Holly Black, and I devoured the first two books.  The first book The Cruel Prince introduces us to the faerie world and the characters.  In particular, Jude who is a human girl living here with the man who killed her parents.  I don't want to give the story away, but I enjoyed it.  The second book in the series The Wicked King was just as good.  At the beginning, I didn't think I would like this one as much since it was filled with more politics, but then it took off.  This is a fast-paced adventure in the land of the fey.  This author definitely knows how to write an ending that leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next.  Unfortunately, I have to take a break from the series to read some books that I've had on hold for a while at the library.  They never fail to all come available at the same time.

First up, is Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.  I've heard a lot of talk about this book, but I hadn't really paid attention to what the book was about, I just assumed it was a light romance.  I was surprised to find out that it is a light romance, but about two guys.  I hate to admit that this might be my first romance with a same sex couple.  I've read some books that have that storyline before, but I'm not sure if I've read a book where that is the main plot.  I'm not surprised that I'm enjoying the book, because I have no problem with same sex relationships, but I'm happily surprised that I've heard so many good things about this book without even realizing that this was the storyline.  It makes me feel good about my reading community.  Next up from my holds list will be The Guest List  by Lucy Foley.  This is another popular book, that I didn't know anything about when I added it to my list.  It's classified as a thriller, so not my go to genre, but hopefully it's not too dark as it sounds like a who done it book.  The timing seems perfect as Clue is currently LittleCJC's favorite game.  I'm also trying to finish up the lost magic series with the final book, Sapphire Sun by Suzi Davis.  We'll see where else the week takes me and what progress is made.

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello Monday

 Weekend Update

Well, what do you know? We had another lazy winter weekend.  Especially on Saturday at least.  On Sunday, we did go to church and then Grandma came over to play some games with us.  LittleCJC has recently learned how to play Clue so she had to play that with Grandma along with some Mario Party on the Nintendo Switch.

Hello Monday

We've made it to another week, and yet again, I have nothing on my calendar other than LittleCJC's normal weekly activities.  I'm starting to wonder if I should change up this normal format as I don't seem to have much to report anymore.  I haven't decided if it's because it's winter or Covid.  Maybe it's both, but either way it seems strange having a post devoted to what's going on each week, when the most I can report on are what movies and books I'm watching and reading.

Hello Movies

Musical Monday - The King and I

Tune Tuesday - Dear Evan Hansen

Wayback Wednesday - An American in Paris

Throwback Thursday - The Mighty Ducks

Friday First - A Star is Born

Seasonal Saturday - Moulin Rouge

Disney Dinner - ?

So, I originally had planned on watching Cinderella on Sunday, but now I might be changing my plans.  As Patrick pointed out to me, Sunday is the Superbowl.  Whether we have people over or not, we most likely are not eating a Cinderella themed dinner.  I could either change my days around or my whole plan and that's what I have yet to figure out.

Hello Books

I guess I didn't read as much last week, because I only finished two books and one of those was finally Silver Dew by Suzi Davis.  I struggled a little with this one, because I like the story idea but the writing bothers me.  She tends to repeat her thoughts so much more than is necessary.  I sometimes feel as though I'm rereading so many parts of the book when it's instead just the writing.  Which honestly annoyed me more than it probably should have done.  The second book I read was The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel.  I really enjoyed this book.  I'm not sure if it's just y book interest of late, but it seems like there are so many stories recently written during the World War II era.  I find these stories filled with emotion and inspiration.  I know the tales are so sad and sometimes hard to read, but the characters of these stories are inspirational in how they continue to fight and survive.

This week, I have started two books already.  I'm listening to The Paper Menagerie and Other Short Stories  by Ken Liu.  I don't normally read short stories so I'm struggling with my thoughts on this book.  Some stories are enjoyable, but others I don't care for at all.  I guess I'll just have to hope the last story in the book is really good so that I'm left with a great feeling when I finish the book.  The other book I've started is Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse.  This is actually the first physical book I've picked up this year and that alone feels great, just holding a book in my hands.  (The other books I've read instead of listening to, were ebooks.)  I'm not too far into it yet, so I can't say much, but I'm interested already, intrigued with where the story will go.

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello Monday

 Weekend Update

This weekend was a perfect lazy winter weekend.  We stayed in Saturday morning, sleeping in and then eventually playing some card games.  After lunch, we were all ready to get out of the house.  The sun was shining brightly deceiving the girls that it was nice outside and so they kept bugging us to go play at a park.  Patrick and I both thought that idea sounded too cold, but we found a happy middle by going to the zoo.  We used to go to our zoo all the time, but our annual passes actually had expired just before everything shut down with the pandemic.  Our zoo has been reopened for a good while now, but we still hadn't been back.  So, for the first time in over a year, we went to the local zoo, renewing our annual passes.

We had a lot of fun.  LittleCGC obviously didn't remember the zoo since she was only 1 the last time we went.  As for LittleCJC, it had been such a long time since we'd been that she also enjoyed it.  She loved being big sis and showing LittleCGC everything.

On Sunday, we went to church, made a quick stop at the store on the way home and enjoyed this week's Disney Dinner, 101 Dalmations.

Hello Monday

We've made it to a new week, and thankfully it looks like another average week with nothing out of the norm on our calendar.  The only extra activity I can think of is that LittleCJC is celebrating kindness week at school.  Each day, they have a different dress theme that they can participate in.  I love that she loves participating in these.

Hello Movies

I'm really getting my use out of the library this year with this project.  I will admit that it is a little more frustrating right now with the libraries physically being closed.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful that we can use our library at all.  Let me back up and explain our current situation.  We have 8 branches of our library, and I am the type of person who will travel to any and all of them to get the material that I want.  The way our library is currently running, you place a hold on any item you want and then when your items are ready to be picked up they have a curbside service where you call and they bring them out to you.  So, of course, these movies are usually all over the place.  Mostly, it just seems a little inconsistent.  Some times, I request items and they're almost instantly ready and other times they seem to take two full days.  One time I tried changing my pickup locations based on where I thought the materials were, but I think I just confused the librarians and they changed my location pickup for me.  Another time, I was sure my home library had one or two of the items I requested, but yet they still weren't ready until all my transferred items arrived.  So, who knows, but again, I'm just thankful to get access to the library material during this time so that I can work through this crazy project of mine, even if I have to adjust some of my days of viewing to make it work.  Whew! With all that being said, here's this week's movies.

Musical Monday - Brigadoon

Tune Tuesday - Ragtime

Wayback Wednesday - It Happened One Night

Throwback Thursday - Iron Will

Friday First - Moonstruck

Seasonal Saturday - A Walk to Remember

Disney Dinner - Robin Hood

Hello Books

Well, I still haven't made it through Silver Dew, so I better spend some time reading that this week.  As for my audio books, I did listen to Exit West last week and it wasn't for me.  I also got through The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin.  I was really excited for this one, since this author wrote some of my favorite books of last year, but unfortunately, I didn't get into this one.  It was an interesting concept and many of the ideas/themes in the book are compatible with current themes of our nation, but maybe that's part of why I didn't enjoy it.  I'd rather escape from the craziness going on in our politics and society when reading instead.  I don't know.  Pacing of the story also seemed a bit off.  I'm not really sure, but this one really just didn't do it for me.  As for this week, my hold has come up on The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Hamel so I'll start with that.

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello Monday

Weekend Update

We had a great weekend!  Patrick's parents came in town Friday evening and spent the night playing games with our girls.  We also watched the original The Parent Trap, even though the girls didn't get into it, all us adults enjoyed it.  On Saturday, his parents spent some time at his sister's house while we prepared for dinner, when they were to all come back to our house.  If you missed last week's update, both Patrick and his sister recently had birthdays so we had fun celebrating with everyone.  On Sunday we went to church and the girls were able to play with a friend afterwards.  The rest of the day was spent at home watching football and our Disney dinner, Inside Out.  Of course, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday kids, but here's a picture of the little kids being their crazy selves.

 Hello Monday

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day, so everyone is home.  Plus, we're getting a new furnace installed so it's a little crazy around here.  However, once we get past today, the rest of the week should be a normal schedule and I don't think we have anything planned for next weekend.  I'm sure we'll come up with something though.

Hello Movies

Here's this week's musicals/movies:

Musical Monday - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Tune Tuesday - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

Wayback Wednesday - Little Women

Throwback Thursday - The Cutting Edge

Friday First - An Affair to Remember

Seasonal Saturday - Mr. Popper's Penguins

Disney Dinner - 101 Dalmations

I think I'm most excited for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, because that appeared on many favorite musical lists when I was doing my research.

Hello Books

So last week, I did finish Amber Frost by Suzi Davis like I planned, but I can't say I made any progress in the second book of this series called Silver Dew.  Hopefully, I'll get to that one this week.  I did listen to Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, but I can't say I loved it.  It was a short, easy read (or listen in my case) but I definitely didn't find it humorous like so many reviews stated.  I also listened to The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.  Maybe I was just in a reading funk last week, because I didn't care for this one much either.  It was an interesting idea, but I didn't enjoy the way it played out.  I will say I enjoyed the ending, but the middle left a lot to be desired in my opinion.  This week, I've already started listening to The Huntress by Kate Quinn.  So far, this book is everything I expected it to be.  I will probably also listen to Exit West by Mohsin Hamid this week, since I borrowed it last week from the library but ended up getting The Huntress (which was on hold) before I started reading.  We'll see if I get to anything else.

I guess that's all for now.

Happy Monday everyone!