Baptism is the Gate

Aaron recently celebrated his eighth birthday. We've been anticipating this birthday for a long time because it's a big one. In our church, we believe eight is when you reach the age of accountability (in other words, the ability to make good choices and take responsibility for your own actions) and are therefore ready to make the sacred covenants associated with the ordinance of baptism.

We've spent the last year, but especially the last six months, helping Aaron prepare for this important decision. We wanted to make sure he understood the eternal importance of the promises he'd be making. We've had many family home evening lessons on the subject, as well as some heart to heart chats (which, if you know Aaron, you can probably guess these were mostly one-sided), and Aaron has been more consistent lately with his personal prayers and scripture study.

Yesterday was the big day, and it came with mixed emotions from me. Of course I was so happy and so proud of him, but I also found myself feeling more hesitant than I was expecting, almost like I wasn't ready to let him take this leap. I guess I'm a little bit fearful of the increasingly significant decisions he'll be confronted with, the temptations he'll face, and yes, the mistakes he'll make. The stakes feel higher all of a sudden. His daily life is going to consist of more than just deciding which cereal to eat for breakfast.


But I keep thinking of the scripture in 2 Nephi 31 that says: "For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life." What a beautiful, absolutely perfect analogy. Baptism is the gate, the first step on that path of everlasting joy. Mistakes? Yes, they'll come. It's part of the learning process. But there's repentance, and his claim on the Savior's atonement will never run dry. He can repent again and again and again (and most likely, he will). But now he'll also have the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide and direct and protect him. There's absolutely no need for me to be fearful because he's in better hands than he's ever been before.

If you had seen him yesterday at his baptism, you wouldn't have been able to tell how he was feeling. Aaron keeps his emotions locked up tight. He's calm and stoic, and he rarely smiles in a new situation. (He's the complete opposite of Max who, during the special musical number with all the children, was up on the stand doing crazy things with his eyes and making us all giggle irreverently.) But I know he was excited. And I know he was glad to have the support of so many family members. And I know he understood, at least on a small scale, the significance of his decision. It was more than just being immersed in the water by his dad. It was symbolic of the sacred covenants he was making with his Heavenly Father.

I took some pictures of him a few weeks before his baptism. I ended up only using one of them for the invitations we sent out, so I hope you'll indulge me if I put a few more of them up here.

 

 

Reading Goals 2016: The Halfway Point

Even though I seem to be behind on everything these days (including this post), I'm still slowly plugging away at my reading goals. Here's a brief report on where I'm at and what I still need to do:

1. Read a book I put on my to-read list in 2011 (not complete)
The problem with delaying this post by a month is that it doesn't take into account a lot of books I've now read. Case in point: I could have sworn I finished this goal, but when I looked back through my books from the first half of the year, not a single one had been hanging out on my to-read list since 2011. Then I remembered: I did complete it, but not until July, and I'm nothing if not stringent about deadlines. So you'll just have to wait until the end of the year report to find out what it is.

2. Read a female author I've been meaning to read (not complete)
Nope, not yet, but I still have big plans for this one. I really think it needs to be a Susanna Kearsley novel, so any recommendations for favorites of hers? Or I'm also still up for more favorite female authors to add to the list!

3. Read a male author I've been meaning to read (complete)
I've wanted to read something by Wallace Stegner for years, and when my friend, Jen, volunteered to read Crossing to Safety with me, I jumped on it. Stegner's writing was poignant, tangible, and just so gorgeous, and it will easily be one of my favorite novels in 2016. Now I need to make a new goal: Read everything by Wallace Stegner.

4. Read (don't listen) to something by Jane Austen or Charles Dickens (not complete)
It is for this goal alone that I'm worried about my numbers goal for the second half of the year. I've decided to read Sense and Sensibility, but I am not a fast reader, particularly when it comes to the classics, and since I have to physically read this book in order for it to count, it's going to consume a big chunk of time that could be spent flying through other books. Do I care more about this goal or my numbers goal? Time alone will tell.

5. Read six books with Aaron (partially complete)
I've been doing pretty well with this one. So far we've read:

Truce by Jim Murphy (February 2016)
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein (March 2016)
One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale (May 2016)
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier (June 2016)

This has seriously been such a fun goal to complete. I love sharing books with my kids.

6. Read a book about the Olympics or an Olympic athlete Read a book in preparation for Europe (partially complete)
For the first time ever in my reading goals history, I changed a goal mid-year. Actually, it was much earlier than mid-year, but no one but me knew about it until now. Why did I do it, and, perhaps the more important question, why do I feel okay about it? Way back in January or February, I started making a list of possible Olympic books. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right places, but I was having a difficult time finding any that actually piqued my interest (there was a Jesse Owens one and an Eric Liddell one, but without glowing reviews, I was pretty sure they weren't going to be the fast-paced narrative non-fiction that I love). But even without being too excited about it, it still would have been a goal I would have completed (I do love the Olympics, after all), but meanwhile, Mike and I were getting ready for our Europe trip, and I really wanted to do some reading for that to make it more meaningful. I could tell it was actually turning into its own goal and with them both happening around the same time (the trip in July, and the Olympics in August), I knew I was going to have to choose one or the other, and the trip won out. So there you have it. I've been reading The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel. I listened to about half of it before our trip, and I'm working on finishing it now that we're home.

7. Read another book by Louisa May Alcott (not complete)
This goal has not been my top priority yet, but Alcott's better in the fall anyway, right? Still haven't decided which book of hers I want to read . . .

8. Read five Newbery related books (partially complete)
This goal is supposed to be a mixed bag of past and potential winners. So far I haven't read anything current (although I have my eye on Wolf Hollow, The Wild Robot, and Pax), but I have read a few Newbery books from the past: Caddie Woodlawn (which won the medal in 1936), Rascal (which won an honor in 1964), and Heart of a Samurai (which won an honor in 2011).

9. Read a verse novel or poetry collection (not complete)
Even though I have some long books that still need to be finished for several of the above goals, this will be a fast and easy goal to complete, and I'm looking forward to it because I love poetry.

10. Reread Edenbrooke and The Happiness Project (partially complete)
I reread The Happiness Project at the beginning of the year (even though I've loved Gretchen Rubin's later books, too, there's just something about the innocence of her first happiness book before she became "the happiness expert"--I loved it). I've been saving Edenbrooke because I want to have something to look forward to in the fall.

So how am I doing? Out of the twenty books I need to read in order to complete these goals, I've read nine-and-a-half. So that's basically like I'm right on track, although, like I said, I am a little nervous about some of the ones I've left for the second half of the year.

Any suggestions for books I should read in order to complete the rest of my goals? I'm up for recommendations!

Europe Top Ten, Part Two

We spent the second part of our trip in Frankfurt, Germany (and surrounding areas). Mike's parents are currently living there on a church assignment, and so we were able to stay with them, which was absolutely wonderful. It was just so nice to be able to sleep in the same bed for more than one night in a row, relax in the backyard, and eat food that we (or I should probably say, they) cooked ourselves. It was perfect having the week in Germany sandwiched between our other travels. It let us recuperate after France and the Netherlands and gear up for Norway. As an added bonus, we were joined for this phase of the trip by Mike's cousin and her husband and baby, so we even had traveling buddies to go on adventures with. Here are ten of the things we enjoyed the most:

1. Rhine River Cruise

This 90-minute tour took us down a picturesque strip of the Rhine where the vineyards crawled up the hills on both sides, the little villages on the shore beckoned to us, and we were never out of sight of a castle. The weather was lovely and didn't get too hot until the very end. We went with Rachel, Micah, and Benji, and we kept saying to each other, "Isn't this amazing?! Here we are, just hanging out on the Rhine River together!" Definitely something we'll always remember.

2. Burg Eltz

Although we saw dozens of castles from the road (and river), we ended up touring just one, and it was a good one. Burg Eltz dates back to the 12th century and felt totally legit with cannonballs in the courtyard, towers and buttresses, and hanging baskets in the kitchen (the only place inaccessible by rats). Plus, we had the most awesome tour guide who sounded like he was straight out of Dungeons and Dragons.

3. Rothenburg (i.e., the Christmas village)

Rothenburg is this classic German village with darling half timbered houses, overflowing flower boxes, and an iconic wall that encloses the village. It was just my mother-in-law, Mike, and me for this particular adventure, and after driving for two hours, we arrived in Rothenburg, but it wasn't at all what we expected. In fact, it didn't look the least bit touristy (we couldn't even find a village square), and my mother-in-law, who had been there before, didn't see anything that looked familiar. Turns out, we'd gone to the wrong Rothenburg. The one we wanted was actually Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Not easily deterred, we drove three more hours to the real Rothenburg, and the fact that I'm including it on the list of favorites shows that it was worth all those hours in the car (although I think Mike's mom, who had white knuckles from Mike's driving on the autobahn, would disagree).

4. The best ice cream I've ever eaten in my life

While in (the real) Rothenburg, we got ice cream (not an unusual occurrence--I made it my business to try out the ice cream pretty much everywhere). Because of the high quantity of ice cream we ate on this trip, I'm sure you will realize the magnitude of claiming this as the best ice cream of my life, but it was. I was expecting it to be soft serve, but it wasn't just soft, and it wasn't just creamy. The only word I can think to describe it with is silky. We had something that came close in Norway, but it was vanilla, and the Rothenburg cone was lemon, so it got the edge. (If you're ever in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, check it out--that's a photo of it up there.)

5. Feeling at home in Frankfurt

One of the great things about this trip was just spending time with Mike's parents: shopping at the nearby grocery store, going on their favorite walks (my mother-in-law: the cemetery; my father-in-law: the park overlooking Frankfurt (pictured above)), meeting their friends, playing games at their house, and chatting over a homemade dinner. Now when they write about the things they're doing, we can picture it because we've been there. I was sad to leave.

6. Frankfurt market

It had the same charm as Pike's Place in Seattle but was smaller and cleaner and didn't have any fish throwing going on (which makes it sound nothing like Pike's Place, but Mike and I both agreed it reminded us of it). We wish we'd made the time to go back later in the week and do more exploring (and more buying).

7. Window boxes

Every house, every hotel, every little shop in big cities and small villages has window boxes, literally overflowing with gorgeous flowers. You would have thought I'd have gotten used to it by the end of our trip, but I still found myself snapping all the pictures all the time because they just made me so happy. I'm ready to hop on the window box train . . . anyone else with me?

8. Stuttgart Library

I really only had one thing on my Germany bucket list: visit the Stuttgart Library. I'll probably save most of the details (and pictures) for its own post (because where else can you devote an entire post to a library than on a book blog?), but just know this: It was incredible.

9. Cute alleyways

I'm sure dark, scary alleyways do exist in Germany (but that's not the kind of thing I generally seek out when I'm traveling), but every one that I saw looked like this: clean and bright with a cobblestone path and adorable doors and (of course) more window boxes.

10. Spending time with Rachel and Micah (and little Benji)

During our first year of marriage, Mike and I were fortunate enough to be in the same ward as Mike's cousin, Rachel, and her husband, Micah. During that time, they became some of our dearest friends. And the great thing about being related to your friends is it's easier to stay in close contact even when you live thousands of miles away from each other. Earlier this year, Rachel called us and asked, "Hey, do you guys want to go on a trip together this summer?" And we said, "Well, we're going to Germany, but if you want to come with us, we would love it." And what do you know? They did! It was so much fun talking to each other for hours, playing games in the evenings, and going on adventures together (and their one-year-old baby was a total traveling champ). I'm so glad our memories from Germany will always have Rachel and Micah in them.

Stay tuned because our top ten from Norway is still to come!

2016 Reading: First Half

I made a goal to read 70 books this year. At the end of June, I had only finished 34 (and that was with a lot of shorter books worked into the mix), so I'm not feeling overly confident about the second half of the year. I think the fact that I'm posting this a month late also shows that I'm just behind on everything right now, which is not something I enjoy. Looking on the bright side though, I read many good books during the first six months of the year, including three that I'm pretty sure will make it onto my favorites list at the end of the year. Here's a recap (book titles are linked to full reviews):

1. Lulu and the Hamster in the Night by Hilary McKay, 5/10
I kicked off 2016 by being a Round 2 judge for the Cybils Early Chapter books category. This was the first title I read, and even though I'm not going to rush out and read the rest of the series, I have no problem recommending it to an eight-year-old.

2. Dory and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon, 8/10
This one, on the other hand, I liked well enough to then check out the first one in the series. And if Abby Hanlon writes any more books about Dory, I will read them. (Update: Dory Dory Black Sheep comes out on September 20th!)

3. My Pet Human by Yasmine Surovec, 2/10
Creative premise, disappointing execution.

4. Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner, 2/10
I'm always on the lookout for excellent historical fiction for the 7-10 year-old set. This one, unfortunately, is not going on the list.

5. The Lake House by Kate Morton, 8/10
I still like The Secret Keeper more, but I'd be lying if I didn't say this one pulled me in and didn't let me go until the end.

6. Big Bad Detective Agency by Bruce Hale, 4/10
It was fine, but I was very much aware that I was reading kids' lit.

7. The Case of the Snack Snatcher by Liam O'Donnell, 3/10
This one felt too much like it was trying to feature a special needs character, and so the mystery itself fell flat for me.

8. Clover's Luck by Kallie George, 7/10
I was pleasantly surprised by this one and would recommend it to elementary-aged kids.

9. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, 10/10
A re-read for me. I enjoyed every bit of it. I am more comfortable with who I am and my own hopes and dreams because of this book.

10. My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke, 6/10 (audio)
I love Dick Van Dyke, but I lost interest during the second half of this book.

11. Ragweed by Avi, 9/10 (readaloud)
Aaron read this first and then begged for me to read it aloud. If that's not a glowing endorsement, I don't know what is. (Also, if you like fun accents, this is the perfect readaloud for you.)

12. The Children Act by Ian McEwan, 5/10 (audio)
This makes for a great book club discussion, but let that be your warning: you'll want someone to discuss it with.

13. Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy, 7/10
I have not read very many books about the Great War, so even though this one was targeted towards a younger audience, I learned a lot from it.

14. Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt, 2/10 (audio)
Ugh. I know several friends who love this book, but I think the audio version might have ruined it for me.

15. Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon, 8/10
I read this myself and then had to share it with my kids because Dory was just too delightful to keep to myself.

16. Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol, 7/10 (readaloud)
My brother loved these books as a kid, so I read one aloud so my kids would get hooked, too. We loved solving the mysteries together.

17. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, 8/10 (readaloud)
So good. Caddie has some serious spunk but also a tender heart.

18. Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein, 5/10
I would have liked this book a lot more if the library had actually been a cool library and not some technological showcase.

19. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson, 9/10
I didn't think I could love a graphic novel about roller derby, but I did. Really top notch.

20. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson, 7/10
The loose morals in this book (published in 1938) were shocking, but Miss Pettigrew herself was a model of decorum.

21. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, 10/10 (audio)
I loved everything about this book: the multi-layered characters, the rich language, the quiet story. Five stars all the way.

22. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, 2/10 (audio)
Book club certainly helped me appreciate this book more, but I still didn't like it.

23. Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary, 10/10 (readaloud)
Ramona is the comfort food of books for me.

24. One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale, 8/10
I've been recommending this graphic novel series to anyone who has kids who love historical fiction.

25. Rascal by Sterling North, 6/10 (readaloud)
We loved parts of this book, but some of it was slow and tedious.

26. The Invisible Girls by Sarah Thebarge, 7/10
This memoir about how befriending a refugee family helped heal Sarah Thebarge after the trauma of breast cancer was inspiring and touching.

27. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, 7/10
There were a lot of hard things in this WWII novel, and at times I found it erring towards the dramatic, but I liked it.

28. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, 8/10 (readaloud)
This one has so many great adventures, and my kids were absolutely enthralled.

29. Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, 7/10
The main character is quite a bit older than what is common for most middle grade novels, but it works in this one.

30. By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman, 9/10 (readaloud)
What an absolutely delightful adventure story.

31. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, 8/10 (audio)
There were things about the book I didn't love, but Ove made up for almost all of them.

32. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier, 10/10
I read this book, and then Aaron read it, and then the whole family listened to it on audio. And just like that, it has become one of our very favorites.

33. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, 8/10 (audio)
Another re-read. It was fun to read the story while knowing what the twist was going to be. I was just as impressed as the first time I read it.

34. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, 10/10
Oh wow. So heartbreaking, but what a powerful memoir.

Our recent trip helped me close some of the gap, but without any more ten-hour plane rides in my immediate future, I think it's going to be difficult to maintain my lead.

What have you been reading lately?

Europe Top Ten, Part One

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Mike and I are currently in Europe. We flew into Amsterdam on Tuesday, spent Wednesday in Haarlem and Rotterdam, Thursday and Friday in Belgium and Paris, and Saturday in Normandy. Now we're in Germany, and I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit more and not trying to cram as much as we can into every single day.

I know I briefly mentioned this trip in a previous post, but I don't think I really went into detail about how it came about. Our two previous big trips (Chile in 2008 and Australia in 2014) came about because we had family living there. Last summer, Mike's parents moved to Frankfurt, Germany, and we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see another part of the world, so we started planning almost immediately.

This trip has proven to be quite a bit more complex logistically than either of the other two. First of all, since it's Europe, we knew we wanted to see several other countries besides just Germany, but it was so hard to narrow it down. What ended up really helping us decide was finding out that my in-laws would be in the Netherlands and France for an assignment in the middle of July and Mike's sister and husband were planning on going to Norway at the end of July. That left Germany for the middle, and voila, our itinerary was planned.

Okay, not really. But at least we'd decided where we wanted to go while we were there. Mike worked on all the logistics in Europe (transportation, hotels, sightseeing, etc.), and I focused on what to do with our kids while we were gone. Oh my goodness, that was stressful. At first I thought my parents were going to be able to watch them for the entire duration of the trip (that would have been so easy!), but you might remember, my parents are moving soon, and I didn't really think I could say, "I'm really happy you're moving to Utah and all, but could you wait until after I've had my fun in Europe?"

No one else was in a position to be able to take four rambunctious boys for the entire two weeks, so we started dividing up the trip: a few days here, a few days there, first with one aunt and uncle, then with another, etc. I have to say, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this army of family and friends who volunteered to help with our kids. We know they are in good hands, and we know this trip would not have been possible without so many.

Since we're now about a third of the way into our trip, I wanted to share a few of the highlights so far:

1. The 10-hour plane ride to Amsterdam

You think I'm joking, but I'm not. I haven't been on a plane without kids for so long. It was so incredibly relaxing to read my book, watch a movie, eat dinner, chat with Mike, and sleep (ha! not really) without having to worry about keeping my kids happy and quiet and comfortable. So luxurious.

2. Corrie ten Boom's home

If I had to list the five books that have made the most profound impact on my life, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom would surely be among them. Our first morning in Europe, we took a bus to Haarlem and found Corrie ten Boom's house. While we waited in the alley for the tour to start, I almost expected to see Corrie herself step out of the house and pedal away on her bike over the cobblestone streets. And then I glanced up at the window and saw the triangular Alpina watch sign that was used as an all-clear signal, and I got chills. It was so amazing to see the home of one of my heroes.

3. The Mormon Tabernacle Concert in Rotterdam

I know, we're from Salt Lake--we can listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir anytime, but there was something special about hearing them in a new city among people who'd never heard them before. It kind of made me realize how awesome they really are.

4. Boat tour of Bruges, Belgium (i.e., Venice of the North)

Bruges is this charming little town with a canal that runs all the way through it. Our guide was an Englishman who could have been straight out of a Roald Dahl novel: snarky, with a wry sense of humor and just the right amount of quirk. Seriously, I wish I could have recorded the entire thing. (And talk about gorgeous--I want to live in that city!)

5. Notre Dame Cathedral

I think this has been the biggest surprise of the trip so far. I actually was going to be fine if we ended up having to skip the cathedral. But then we got there, and I was like, Oh my goodness! This place is amazing! Why is no one getting credit for these statues and reliefs and this architecture?!?! How did they build something like this in the 12th century? It was a perfect example of why a picture never ever ever does justice to the real thing. (But here's a picture anyway.)

6. Climbing the stairs up the Eiffel Tower
 

We decided to go the route of climbing the stairs to the second level and then taking the elevator the rest of the way. I'm glad we chose to do it this way for four reasons: 1. There was no line for tickets to the stairs, 2. It was a little bit cheaper to climb and then ride instead of ride and then ride again, 3. It gave us such a sense of accomplishment (it was a lot of stairs!!), and 4. I loved the inside view of the Eiffel Tower.

7. The most delicious sandwich of my life

Honestly, the food was a bit hit and miss in Paris. Probably because we were touring the city alone without a local guide who could direct us to the right cafes and bakeries and crepe stands. But this sandwich? It was not a miss. Pastrami and sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese pressed between soft and crackly bread. I thought I might pass out from the pure enjoyment of it.

8. Normandy

Before we left on our trip, Mike insisted that I watch The Longest Day (the 1962 movie about the Normandy invasion). Although it should probably be re-titled The Longest Movie, it went a long way in helping me understand the key players and places that made Normandy an ultimately triumphant mission. As we visited the different beaches and saw the cliffs and drove through the little villages, I was so overcome with gratitude for these soldiers, many of them still boys, who turned the tide of the war. I think that's the place that has made the biggest emotional impact on me so far.

9. Hydrangeas

I've seen hydrangea in Utah before, but not like this. Here, the blossoms are the size of my head, and they are lush and thick along every fence and cute little house. I want to stop and take a picture of every single one of them.

10. Sunday

After five full days of traveling, Sunday's respite was both welcome and necessary. I have made it a habit all my life to honor the Sabbath Day, and never is it easier to recognize the wisdom in this commandment than when I'm traveling. It's so nice to be forced to slow down and focus on the most important things.

Although this trip hasn't felt quite as lighthearted as our trip to Australia (we've been seeing some darker, heavier things, and there have also been some tragic world events that have occurred while we've been here), it has still been so amazing. The more I see of the world, the more I realize how much I haven't seen. (For more of our adventures, follow me right here on Instagram.)

The Book Blab Episode 7: Travel Reading Plus Two Books We Loved Reading on Vacation

I prefer face-to-face conversations. Phone calls, facetime, or emails just can't compare to actually sitting down with a friend in the same room and having a good old-fashioned chat. And that's why this episode of The Book Blab was so fun. Suzanne was in Utah with her family for a family reunion and wedding, and she found a free hour when we could sit down in my living room and chat about books. It was THE BEST (and I may have gotten a little hyper about it on the video, so forgive me for that, but sometimes it just can't be helped). We had a great time and will definitely make it happen again if the opportunity presents itself. Enjoy! (Show notes are below the video.)

0:35 - Why Suzanne came to Utah
1:10 - Today's topic: Reading during travel
2:12 - How Suzanne and Amy plan their travel reading
4:09 - How travel converted both Amy and Suzanne to e-readers
5:30 - Suzanne's audiobook catastrophe!
6:45 - Tips for e-books deals
8:50 - Amy and Suzanne's favorite genres for travel
11:40 - Place-sensitive reading (reading books that are related to the place you're traveling to)
13:48 - Travel reading . . . with kids!
17:45 - Suzanne's fun tradition when she's traveling
19:05 - One more tip for traveling light even if you don't have an e-reader
20:30 - Quick poll: In general (not travel specific), do you prefer an e-reader or the hard copy?
22:10 - Two books that remind Amy and Suzanne of trips they went on (and that you'll enjoy whether you go on the same trip or not!)

• 22:50 - Suzanne's recommendation
• 24:45 - Amy's recommendation

27:00 - Conclusion

Links and books mentioned in the show:

Modern Mrs. Darcy's Kindle Deals (5-7 new titles every day, usually ranging between $0.99 and $4.99)
Goodreads Deals (If you have a Goodreads account, you should already be getting handpicked deals in your inbox.)
BookBub (lots of free and really inexpensive e-books)
On Such Stuff: A random, free e-book that Suzanne took a chance on and really liked
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Monuments Men by  Robert M. Edsel
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
On Sunlit Pages: Review of The BFG by Roald Dahl
On Of Books and Blooms: Review of Watership Down by Richard Adams
On Such Stuff: Review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
On Sunlit Pages: Review of Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

I'm interested to know how YOU plan YOUR travel reading? What types of books do you like to bring on vacation? What's a favorite book of yours that is inseparably connected with a trip? And of course, the most burning question of all: do you use an e-reader?

A Little of This and That in June

June has been everything June should be: lazy mornings, late evenings, trips to the pool and library, and plenty of time for reading. I wish June could have been twice as long. We spent our days:

Eating . . . our fill of doughnuts on National Doughnut Day--Banbury Cross doughnuts, no less. We go all out for this holiday.

Celebrating . . . Maxwell's last day of school. It felt like a long time coming, but it eventually did, and we were all thrilled.

Catching . . . not one, not two, not three, but FOUR fish!!! It was the perfect kick-off to summer.

Kicking . . . off our summer goals. They've been so good for us. I think the summer may prove too short to complete all of them, but we've been working on them very diligently and consistently, and that's the point. (You can read more about them here.)

Introducing . . . Clark to my brother, Steve. Steve just returned home after serving a two-year church mission in Modesto, California. When he left, Clark was still one week away from being born. Now he's an energetic, talkative, mischievous two-year-old. They took to each other almost immediately (as soon as Clark got over the shock of there being two Blaines).

Roasting . . . hotdogs in the canyon. We bought a year pass this summer and have been trying to take advantage of our close proximity. That said, we only went twice this past month, so we could still be doing better.

Spending . . . Father's Day with my dad. We went to Colorado for Steve's homecoming talk, and it happened to be over Father's Day weekend. It was so much fun spending time with him and the rest of my family.

Swimming . . . more times than I can count. We're so lucky to have our little neighborhood pool that is just the right size for my kids and where there are almost always friends to play with. They also took two weeks of swimming lessons, which improved their skills immensely.

Attending . . . my sister's senior piano recital at BYU and having my breath taken away by the Chopin nocturne she played. Gorgeous.

Setting . . . up a drip system for our garden. Okay, not me, but handyman Mike. It's pretty magical to watch the plants grow without doing a thing to help them along.

Feeling . . . sentimental about my little home town. My parents are moving to Utah later this summer (I am completely overjoyed!), but there's always something a little bittersweet about closing one chapter and embarking on another (for me, it's probably more sweet than bitter, but for my mom, it's the other way around).

Creating . . . my own summer reading program for my kids. The one done by the library seems to get lamer each year (this year's didn't even require them to read--can you believe it?!). I wanted one that would actually encourage my kids to read more, so I patterned it after the awesome summer library program my library did when I was a kid. I keep meaning to write an entire post about it, but the summer is getting away from me!

Admiring . . . Bradley's blonde hair. It always darkens in the winter, and then as soon as the summer sun hits it, it brightens right up again. I might be a little partial to it (shhhhh).

Purchasing . . . a high volume of books. I'm blaming it on the summer reading program. In my defense, I have been using ThriftBooks quite a bit (which tends to be a bit hit and miss for me but has great customer service), so I've been able to keep my spending to a fairly reasonable amount.

Disagreeing . . . with Maxwell. Heaven help me, that kid has one fierce and stubborn personality. 



Reading . . . comic books. Lots and lots and lots of comic books. Mike introduced Aaron and Maxwell to Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes, and they're addicted (as in, when we were at the library a couple of days ago, they wanted to check out eighteen of them--I made them cut it down to eight). I've been trying to balance it out with other books, but even I have to admit it's pretty cute to hear them laughing in their beds at night.

Writing . . . two guest posts: one on What Do We Do All Day about nine quiet activities my kids do when I'm reading aloud to them and the other on Tee and Penguin about my reading life and some of my favorite picture books. Feel free to check them out!

Making . . . Mike take a bunch of pictures of me for date night. I wanted a new portrait for the Tee and Penguin guest post. I felt a little silly, but Mike was a good sport about it, and it's been nice to have some updated pictures.

Stressing . . . about our upcoming trip (which I alluded to last month but didn't share any details). Mike and I are going to the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Norway, and at this point, we're just days away from departure. Sometimes I catch myself discussing details of the trip with Mike, like, "There's a library in Stuttgart I really want to see" or "Both Kirsten and Meagan said their favorite spot in Paris was the Saint Chapelle, so we should definitely go there," and all of a sudden I realize, This is happening!!! So on one hand, I'm very excited. How could I not be? But the thought of leaving my kids for a couple of weeks is causing me major anxiety.

Going . . . to Silver Lake. Apparently, it's becoming our new favorite spot. We went at the beginning of the month and caught the aforementioned fish and then later on in the month with Mike's brother and family (and we saw four moose!).

Recording . . . a podcast episode for one of my very favorite podcasts. I'll let you know when it goes live!

For more of our daily activities, follow along on Instagram. What were YOU up to in June?