The Mid-Point: Where I'm at With My Reading Goals

Yikes, the year is more than halfway over, but I am definitely not halfway through my reading goals. I'm hoping I can summon up a lot of drive and really organize my reading to get through the rest of them before December 31st (which still sounds like such a long way off, but I know it isn't). Here's where I'm at so far:

1. Read the 2018 Newbery winner (complete)
This is the only goal on this list that is 100% finished, so I'm going to celebrate it. When I made this goal, the ALA youth media awards had not been announced yet, so I didn't know what I would be reading. The book that ended up winning the Newbery medal was one I hadn't even heard of (which wasn't all that surprising considering I didn't really keep up with the bookish buzz the way I had in previous years). The 2018 winner was Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly. I listened to it soon after it won, and, although I really enjoyed it, I was still pretty surprised that it beat out all the other contenders. I can see myself making this same goal for many years down the road though because it's so fun to read the winning book, regardless of what it is.

2. Read A Rambler Steals Home and Zinnia and the Bees (partially complete)
I follow Carter Higgins and Danielle Davis on Instagram, so I was very aware when both of their books were published last year, especially because they were first novels for both of them. I intended to read them last year, but my intentions are never as strong as my goals, so this year it's actually happening. I read Zinnia and the Bees a few months ago, and it wasn't my favorite (I actually think I might have liked it more if I could have listened to it, but currently there isn't an audio edition). I'm in the middle of A Rambler Steals Home right now, and so far, I'm liking it quite a bit more than Zinnia.

3. Read something by Virginia Woolf (not complete)
I have the audio of To the Lighthouse on hold at the library right now. It would be awesome if it came in soon since I'm currently without anything to listen to (something that doesn't happen often), so I could get to it right away.

4. Read three older (pre-1970) young adult novels (partially complete)
So I guess the solution to my dilemma "Find books to recommend to teenagers" is as simple as diving back in time. So far I'm loving this goal. I read And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle (published in 1949), and it was a treat. I've read one other so far, but I read it in July, which is technically the second half of the year, so I'll keep you in suspense. If you have any other older titles to recommend, please share!

5. Read the three books I recommended for book club this year (partially complete)
As a reminder, my book club decides on their schedule for the entire year by having each member bring three recommendations for a certain genre. My genre was nonfiction for the month of September, and the three books I recommended were Dead Wake, Walkable City, and The Four Tendencies. The book club members voted and chose to read The Four Tendencies, but I still wanted to read the other two as well. So far, I've read The Four Tendencies (because my family also chose to read this for our family book club), but I've had Dead Wake checked out  twice from the library already, so does that count for anything?

6. Read a classic I own (not complete)
I've kind of been saving this one for the fall because I'm planning to read Wuthering Heights, and it just seems like it will fit the mood of that season. Tell me if I'm right.

7. Read three books from Honey for a Child's Heart (partially complete)
So far, this is my least favorite goal. That could be because the one book I've read for it so far (Tom's Midnight Garden) I didn't really like. But I'm also just finding it frustrating to choose a book from the book lists (which I wasn't expecting at all; I thought that would be the fun part). I think I'm making it more difficult for myself because I added the stipulation that the book had to be one that wasn't already on my to-read radar. This made sense at the time because the whole point of looking at the book lists in Honey for a Child's Heart was to get new ideas. But I'm having a hard time finding books I don't know about that actually sound good. So maybe I should just use the book lists to remind myself of the good books I've been wanting to read. Sounds like a better plan, right?

8. Read Simplicity Parenting or No-Drama Discipline (not complete)
These are both books I've had on my parenting to-read list for awhile, but I don't really know anything about either of them. I need to read a bunch of reviews of each one so I can decide which book will most benefit my parenting at this time. If you've read either of them, I'd love to hear your opinion/recommendation!

9. Read a book by Clara Parkes (not complete)
Clara Parkes is a knitter who writes memoir-type books about knitting. Her latest book, A Stash of One's Own, is actually a collection of essays written by other knitters, and it's the one I want to read for this goal. Sadly though, the library doesn't have it, but I asked if they would order it, and they did. Now I'm just waiting for it to come in and be processed, which I anticipate taking a fairly long time . . .

10. Read snippets from my favorite books on at least one Sunday each month (partially complete)
This has been such a fun goal. I have loved going back to some of my favorite books and just casually perusing the pages, reading a page here and there, wherever strikes my fancy. I don't feel any pressure to reread the entire thing. I just read as much as I feel like and remember why I loved it in the first place. So far, I've read:

• January: Notes From a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider. 
• February: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi and The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. 
• March: Raising a Reader: A Mother's Tale of Desperation and Delight by Jennie Nash
• April: Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
• May: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• June: ?????

Apparently, I completely spaced it in June and forgot to read a book. Luckily, I read from two books in February, so I'll count that. I'm looking forward to continuing this goal for the second half of the year and revisiting more of my favorite books. 

Excluding Goal #10, I have only read five of the sixteen books I need to complete these goals. In other words, I'm in trouble. Or at least I need to up my focus for the last half (now down to just five months) of 2018.

How are your reading goals coming along? What has been your most challenging read? Most enjoyable?

The Book Blab Episode 18: Books for Book Club Plus Two Perfect Summer Reads

When Suzanne and I last chatted, we talked about everything you need to know to start a book club . . . except for the books you might actually want to read at said book club! That's what today's episode is for. Consider this a part two (in fact, you might want to watch part one first if you missed it). It's chock-full of book recommendations (although we did try to show some restraint), and it was fun to get to the heart of what makes a book a great choice for a book club discussion (spoiler: it's not always your favorite book). As always, we'd love to hear YOUR thoughts. What have been some of your favorite books to discuss with your book club?

0:24 - Summer update
1:35 - Today's topic: What makes a good book club book?
2:25 - Tips for choosing books for book club:

• 2:47 - Favorite books don't always make for a good discussion
• 3:55 - Choose a book that generates opposite opinions or strong feelings
• 6:35 - Some ambiguity in the plot/ending encourages discussion
• 8:15 - This is a simple indicator for knowing if a book will be good for book club
• 9:58 - Take the length of the book into consideration
• 12:45 - Be careful of choosing a bestseller 
• 15:30 - Check if your library has book club sets
• 16:12 - Identify the unique tastes and interests and commitment levels of your book club
• 17:22 - Nonfiction is generally a safe choice

18:50 - A few of our favorite book club books

28:17 - Two recommendations for summer reading

• 29:03 - Suzanne's recommendation 
• 31:20 - Amy's recommendation

32:32 - Conclusion

Books and links talked about during the show:

The Book Blab Episode 17: Book Clubs (Part One)
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
The Children Act by Ian McEwan (Amy's review)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (Suzanne's review)
Educated by Tara Westover (Suzanne's review)
America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy by Judith L. Pearson (Amy's review)
 The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (Amy's review // Suzanne's review)
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin (Suzanne's review)
Bomb: the Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin (Amy's review // Suzanne's review)
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (Amy's review // Suzanne's review)
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (Suzanne's review)
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (Amy's review)
Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Suzanne's review)
Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubraker Bradley (Amy's review)
The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows (Suzanne's review)
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls (Amy's review)

Now it's your turn: Share your favorite book club reads, and tell us what we should talk about next time on The Book Blab!

Summer Goals for Kids: 2018 Edition

Although it pains me to say it, we are two-thirds of the way through our summer break. We had a big road trip and three family reunions over the past four weeks, but now things are quieting down for the rest of the summer, which means we're focusing on our summer goals with renewed determination.

This is our fifth year making summer goals (see past years here), and it is one of my very favorite parts of summer. Interestingly though (and this is probably because I recently read The Four Tendencies), I've been a little more aware of my kids' responses this year, and it definitely varies. While I don't have anyone who flat out refuses to participate, some of my kids definitely seem to enjoy the process of setting and achieving goals more than others.

For example, one of Bradley's goals was to complete a second grade math workbook. I thought it would keep him busy all summer, but he immediately attacked it with a vengeance and finished it before the end of the first week. Aaron is also very dedicated and looks over his list every day and chooses something to work on and check off. On the other hand, Maxwell and Clark require a little more reminding/encouraging. Goals may or may not be a part of their love language in the same way they are mine. 

I wanted to share our goals before any more of the summer slips away. As a reminder, we try to have a good variety of goals that are a mix between practical, educational, and fun. (I go into more detail about how and why in this first post about summer goals). Even though school starts on August 20, I usually give my kids until Labor Day to finish up their goals, and I think they're well on their way to having them completed before then.

Aaron, age 9 (almost 10)

• Practical
• Learn to mow the lawn (He has been waiting his whole life for this)
• Bake cookies (He can do it from scratch, completely by himself; my life will never be the same.)
• Make salad
• Sweep and mop the kitchen floor
• Educational
• Master five cards from Geo Safari History (yes, we're using an old vintage Geo Safari and Math Safari that I borrowed from my mom. They're so great for learning quick facts. Let's hear it for old school!)
• Master Math Safari fractions, decimals, and percents 
• Learn European capitols
• Six units in piano books
• Memorize The Living Christ (this is a carry over from last summer when we memorized the first half or so)
• Listen to history/science podcasts (our two favorites for this are The Past and the Curious and Brains On)
• Fun
• Three science experiments with Dad (Mike hasn't done any yet, so I guess this could end up being more educational, but knowing him, I'm guessing it will be more fun) 
• Play tennis with Dad
• Write a story
• Family book club (coming this weekend!)
• Three family hikes
• Insect kit (Just a little note about this one: I ordered an Insect Lore praying mantis kit. We have been so excited to see a hundred little praying mantises hatch, but even though the kit said it could take up to twelve weeks, I'm pretty sure ours has already failed. I'm pretty bummed about this since it was supposed to be one of the coolest parts of our summer, but I guess there's always next year to try again.)

Maxwell, age 8

• Practical
• Make macaroni from a box
• Clean bathroom toilet and floor
• Educational
• Six units in piano books
• Master five cards from Geo Safari Animals
• Master Math Safari Division
• 3rd grade geography workbook (He's been doing this one)
• Write a story (You might notice that this same goal is in Aaron's fun category)
• Memorize The Living Christ
• Listen to history/science podcasts
• Fun
• Gut a fish with Dad
• Run a mile and improve time
• Three science experiments with Dad
• Family book club
• Three family hikes
• Insect kit

Bradley, age 6.5

• Practical
• Wash breakfast dishes/utensils
• Follow a recipe
• Educational
• 2nd grade math workbook (He did this one)
• Six units in piano books
• Read six nonfiction books (He has read a lot of these books)
• Listen to history/science podcasts
• Work in writing book (We're actually using the same book Max used last year; as in, the very same book; Max didn't end up doing much out of it.)
• Memorize The Living Christ
• Fun
• Three science projects with Dad
• Practice throwing and catching a frisbee
• Family book club
• Art Fraud Detective (Aaron and Max did this same book two summers ago and loved it)
• Three family hikes
• Insect kit

Clark, age 4

• Practical
• Make toast
• Wipe the kitchen table
• Memorize address
• Educational
• Ten lessons in reading book (I've been using my favorite, How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons) 
• Learn 15 sight words
• Count to thirty
• Recognize numbers zero through twenty
• Learn 15 states
• Fun
• Pump a swing
• Ride a two-wheel scooter
• Put together 100-piece puzzle
• Insect kit

As we've done in the past, if the boys are making good progress on their goals, then we have a little family reward each month. In June, Mike took the boys to an air show. For July, we're going to see Newsies at Hale Center Theater. And we haven't decided on a reward for August yet.

What do you do in the summer? Goals? A summer bucket list? Camps? Tell me in the comments!

A Little of This and That in June

June was idyllic summer: warm days, long evenings, structured mornings, lazy afternoons. I would take June over and over again.  We spent our time . . .

Going . . . to the zoo. Early in the month, we had a cool morning that was not great for the pool but was perfect for the zoo. Our zoo recently opened up a new red panda exhibit, which we were very excited to finally get to see.

Fasting . . . from social media for seven days. On June 3rd, the prophet of my church, President Russell M. Nelson, gave a devotional with his wife to all the youth. In his address, he issued five challenges: 1. Take a week-long break from social media, 2. Make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord for three weeks, 3. Do a thorough life assessment, 4. Pray daily for all of God's children to receive the blessings of the Gospel, 5. Be a light to the world. The first two challenges were more focused and tangible while the last three are more ongoing and constant. Even though I am long past being a teenager, I knew that accepting those five challenges would bless my life. I stayed off social media (Instagram, blogs, Youtube, Facebook, etc.) for seven days. The results were both expected and surprising. I found that I legitimately missed certain people. I also felt greatly unburdened. I realized that I'm not usually negatively influenced by what other people post, meaning I don't look at other people's perfect lives and feel sad or depressed that my life is not as perfect. However, I realized that my emotions are very tied up in the way other people react to my posts, and when a post or a picture or a caption doesn't get the kind of engagement I was hoping for, I feel disappointed and depressed. Interesting, huh? When I got back on social media, those old feelings started to flare up, and I realized I'd been blissfully free of them for the entire week. Sorry, I probably should have saved all of this for its own post, but needless to say, this is something I'm still trying to find a happy balance with.

Eating . . . doughnuts. We have made it a tradition to celebrate National Doughnut Day on the first Friday in June. Mike was in charge of buying doughnuts from our very favorite doughnut place, Banbury Cross. He came home with two dozen, which I thought was excessive for six people, and he thought was totally justified.

Scorching . . . microwave popcorn. I accidentally put it in for a minute too long, which doesn't sound like it should be that destructive, but it was. The inside of the microwave was completely discolored and every time we used it, it smelled like burnt popcorn. After trying all the Googled tricks to restore it to its original condition, we called it a loss and bought a new microwave, which Mike was only too happy to do. We'd had that microwave since we got married, and we had long outgrown its teeny tiny size. So overall, we're calling it a win.

Teaching . . . my sister how to knit. This might just be my favorite thing from all of June. With my sister's recent graduation, she suddenly has more free time than she's had in the last seven years. So one weekend, she came over, and I taught her the basic knit and purl stitches; then we went out and bought yarn for her first project--a hat. Once she was in a good rhythm with that, we watched Sense and Sensibility while knitting. It was so much fun that we repeated the knitting day three weeks later, right down to watching another adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. I can see this becoming a tradition (although we're going to run out of Sense and Sensibilities . . . ).

Finishing . . . off another soccer season. And for Aaron, this will probably be his last. He has played with the same coaches and group of boys for three years, but at the end of this year, they decided to move to a competitive league. Neither Mike or me or Aaron was willing to take on that kind of commitment, and Aaron wasn't really interested in switching to a team of strangers, so we're going to move onto something else.

Baking . . . chocolate chip cookies. That is to say, Aaron baked chocolate chip cookies. All by himself. From start to finish. Completely from scratch and without any help from me. We're all pretty pleased with this development.

Agonizing . . . over paint colors. Since the day we moved into our home more than four years ago, we have known that we wanted to paint the exterior. We thought the time had finally come last fall, but the cold weather came on fast and thwarted our plans. So this spring, we started over and went about getting estimates and comparing paint colors. But guys, it is hard, soooooo hard, to settle on a paint color when 1) you're not sure what you want, 2) you doubt your own taste, 3) even little decisions tend to cripple you, and 4) you can't afford to second guess your decision (like, you literally can't afford it). So thank you to all of our family and friends and neighbors who weighed in with their opinions because in the end, all that agony led to . . .

Admiring . . . our "new" house. Because really, there's nothing like a fresh coat of paint to breathe new life into an old, ugly house. (And if anyone needs a painter, we can highly recommend ours.)

Before (I cheated a little because I found a photo from two years ago when we still had the old roof)

After

Vowing . . . not to take our kids to the movies ever again. We took the three older boys to see Incredibles 2, and Maxwell and Bradley couldn't handle it. It was just too scary for them, and they begged Mike and me to take them home. We didn't because the rest of us were loving it, but this is at least the third time they have pleaded for us to take them home in the middle of a movie (the other times were with Moana and Coco). I think we've finally learned our lesson. The big screen is just too big. (Side story: see that big tub of popcorn? It was upside down and all over the floor two minutes after this photo was taken.)

Bringing . . . basil back to life. I have a black thumb. I really do. All my plants seem to come to a swift and fast end. Such was the case with a basil plant I purchased recently. I needed basil for a recipe, but then hoped I could keep it alive and enjoy basil all summer. In just a few days, it was drooping and looking stressed, but I went ahead and re-potted it, which only seemed to make matters worse. But I persevered, even when it looked like the most pathetic spindly little thing. And guess what? It survived! And it is getting nice and bushy, and I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Learning . . . new skills. Aaron has wanted to mow the lawn for several years, and Mike decided he was finally tall enough to try it this summer. I hope Aaron enjoys mowing as much when he's sixteen as he does when he's (almost) ten.

Overflowing . . . the toilet. Not our best moment in June, for sure, and maybe a little too much information for all of you. One morning, Clark found me, and said, "Mom, something very bad happened in the bathroom." I was worried he had broken the soap dispenser again and made a big soap mess (which has happened before). If only. I was horrified with what I found. I'll spare you the details, but it was bad. Clark sat on the edge of the bathtub and kept saying, "It's all my fault. It's all my fault." I think he was pretty traumatized, but it will all be worth it if he remembers not to use exorbitant amounts of toilet paper ever again.

Going . . . on a little family hike. We didn't realize how little when we started out, but it ended up being less than half a mile to get to a waterfall after which the only way to go forward was with ropes straight up the cliff face. No thanks. But it was short enough that none of my kids complained, so I think it was perfect for us.

Celebrating . . . Father's Day. The boys made some things for Mike, and we gave him treats and a new game. In the evening, my family came over and we celebrated with my dad. I'm very blessed to have these two good men in my life.

Rekindling . . . our love of The Great British Baking Show. A new season is up on PBS. Have you watched any of it yet?

Hanging . . . out at the pool. We spent a lot of time at the pool in June. Clark and Bradley took swimming lessons; Max and Aaron did swim team. Clark cracked the swimming code and became an independent swimmer. Bradley learned how to do a back flip off the diving board. We were even joined by a few family members on a few occasions.

Knitting . . . a shawl for my Aunt Sheri, which I gifted to her a couple of weeks later, but not before I took some photos in it. I loved planning it; I loved knitting it; I loved finishing it; I loved wearing it; I loved giving it away. The whole process brought me joy.

Spending . . . time together at a family reunion. It's the season of family reunions over here (we have three this summer), and the first one took place with my family at the end of June at Lava Hot Springs. I sometimes complain about going to so many reunions, but the truth is, I really do love it. I only got to go to one family reunion during my entire childhood, so I'm so glad my kids are having a very different experience. This is the stuff of memories.

And that's it for June! How is your summer going so far?

What I Read in June

It kind of felt like all of my reading was dictated to me for the month of June. Three of the books were for book clubs (not kidding), and the fourth was our readaloud, which, even though I chose it, began to feel like more and more of an obligation as it dragged on for the entire month. Here are a few of my thoughts on each book:

1. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
I was in the mood for a sweet, lighthearted read for summer, and this definitely fit the bill.

It's about Don Tillman, a middle-aged genetics professor who decides it's time for him to get married. But he's tired of going on the usual dates and making the usual small talk. It's so inefficient. So he comes up with a comprehensive questionnaire to screen potential candidates, asking everything from what flavor of ice cream she likes to what she does in her free time. He calls this, "The Wife Project." With the questionnaire, he can immediately see if they'd be a compatible match or not.

But then, he meets Rosie, and she basically fails the entire questionnaire, and yet, upon reflection, he realizes that he would place his time with her among his happiest moments (right after his three visits to the Natural History Museum). Luckily, Rosie is searching for her biological father and so Don agrees to help her with "The Father Project" and doesn't have to worry about their incompatible interests.

The thing that is never explicitly mentioned but is obvious from the beginning is that Don has Asperger's Syndrome, and this makes this search for the perfect wife even more hilarious and endearing because Don tries to go about it all in just the right way, but everything is just a little more awkward than it needs to be.

I honestly could have loved this book if not for two things: the excessive swearing (including the f-word) and the behavior of Don's best friend, Gene, who is married but sleeps around in the name of research and science. I almost put down the book several times because of this content, and, in spite of how much I loved Don, I wouldn't be able to recommend it.

2. The Wolves at the Door: the True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy by Judith L. Pearson
This story could have been so good, so good, in the hands of another author. It is the true story of Virginia Hall who worked as a spy for the SOE and OSS during World War II. Right from the beginning, when she accidentally shoots herself in the leg during a hunting expedition and has to have it amputated, you know that she is an extraordinary lady. But the writing was so dull and dry that it was a struggle for that spunk and fearlessness to come through.

For example, at one point Virginia has to escape from France by way of the Pyrenees into Spain. This would have been an arduous journey under any circumstances, but with an artificial leg to contend with, it was absolutely torturous. And yet, I felt virtually no emotion when I was reading it because the writing was so bland.

This was my book club book for June, and our discussion was as much about how bad the writing was and lamenting about what the story could have been as it was about Virginia and her noble heroics.

Look her up on Wikipedia, but skip this book.

3. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
A few weeks ago, I was flipping through Honey for a Child's Heart, looking for something that sounded interesting for our next readaloud. I wasn't looking because I didn't have any ideas (I always have ideas) but because one of the goals I made at the beginning of the year was to read three books recommended in that resource. The problem was that many of the books that caught my attention did so because I'd already heard of them, and the point of the goal was to discover new-to-me books.

So when I happened upon Tom's Midnight Garden, I jumped on it because it was a completely never-before-heard-of title and it was described as "timeless" and the type of story that "will probably be reaching out to children in 2102 on both sides of the Atlantic." Perfect. I put it on hold that very moment.

Tom has the whole summer to look forward to when his younger brother, Peter, unfortunately contracts a bad case of the measles. Tom is immediately whisked off to his aunt and uncle's flat to avoid any exposure to the disease, and he can't think of any place that would be more boring. But then, on one of his first nights there, the clock wakes him up, and he opens the back door and steps into a beautiful garden that was nothing more than a few trash bins and an old car in the daylight. Night after night, Tom returns to this garden, and slowly he realizes that he isn't just stepping into another place, but another time entirely.

When we were two or three chapters into the story, I enthusiastically posted about it on Instagram. We loved it! It was so fun to discover an old classic. Etc., etc. But with each chapter, my enthusiasm seemed to wane just a bit more. The story unfolded slowly, so slooooowly, and some nights I couldn't even muster up the interest to read a chapter. Consequently, it took us more than a month to read, and maybe we should have abandoned it.

The problem was, it did have its enjoyable moments and we all had a bunch of unanswered questions. So we plowed on. And by the last five chapters or so, it had picked back up again, and we didn't have any trouble finishing. So, was it worth it to keep reading for ten good chapters out of twenty-seven? In this particular case, I'm going to say yes. (But I'm really glad we get to read something else now.)

4. The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
My whole family read this book for our family reunion book club (which was this past weekend). Even though the official discussion took place during the family reunion, we've been informally talking about it for weeks. We couldn't help ourselves.

Gretchen Rubin first introduced the Four Tendencies in her book, Better than Before. She came up with the framework to better understand why some people are able to form good habits so easily and others really struggle. This book honed in on the four tendencies specifically (Upholder, Obliger, Questioner, Rebel), exploring each one thoroughly (strengths and weaknesses, how it interacts with the other tendencies, what it looks like in different situations, different leanings, etc.).

You can imagine what happens when a family reads this book. Everyone starts identifying everyone else, and no one can say anything without everyone else jumping in and saying, "Questioner, right there!" or "Definitely an Obliger." For example, at the reunion, all the girls went out for pedicures on the last morning. We had an appointment scheduled for 9:30, so we said we would leave at 9:00. But then, as the time approached, we thought if people were ready earlier, we could leave earlier, and then maybe the salon could get us in sooner (we were a little worried about checking out of our VRBO on time). Anyway, we failed to tell my sister the new plan, and at 8:50, we were all in the car waiting for Anna. She finally came and was quite put out because we had said 9:00, and it was not 9:00 yet, and if we were going to change the plans, then she needed to be informed. We all laughed and said, "Typical Upholder" (and I felt some empathy because I'm also an Upholder, so if the situation had been reversed, I would have reacted the same way).

My brother took it a little too far and would label any activity with a tendency: "She's eating peanut M&M's. Isn't that just like an Upholder?" Or, "He fell asleep on the couch. What a Rebel." Or, "She's reading a book. Typical Obliger behavior." He was just saying it to be funny, but Gretchen Rubin was quick to point out that "the Tendency describes only how a person responds to an expectation, not what the person's talents, personality, intelligence, or interests are." I think this is an important distinction to keep in mind. This framework analyzes just one small part of a person's personality, and it's up to you to figure out how it fits with everything as a whole.

I will say that just as a general reading experience, I enjoyed Better Than Before quite a bit more. The Four Tendencies is fairly repetitive, and, while it's interesting and I liked all of the examples, I feel like you could get the gist of the system by reading just the first chapter or listening to Gretchen Rubin's podcast episodes on each Tendency.

In fact, one family member didn't read the entire book but stopped after he thought he had it figured out. Questioner, no doubt.

What did you read last month? Anything I should put on my TBR?

What We're Listening to Right Now #8

I kind of can't believe it, but I think it's been nearly two years since I last shared a roundup of what my family is currently listening to. Maybe some of you don't even remember that this used to be a somewhat regular feature. But I've got some good ones to share with you today, and I hope you'll share your recent favorites in the comments.

1. The Greatest Showman soundtrack
First up, it's the soundtrack that everyone is listening to. In fact, it seems silly to even include it because is there even anyone out there who hasn't heard of it? Nope, no one. But seriously, I couldn't make a list of our current favorites and not include this one because we have listened to it countless times in the last four months. In fact, sometimes we even have it going in two different locations at the same time. We're hard core fans here. Mike and I saw the movie first; then we bought the soundtrack and our kids fell in love with the music; and then after they'd memorized all of the lyrics, they finally saw the movie. They liked it, but in the words of Aaron, "It was different than I was expecting." Having grown up on the musicals of the 40's and 50's, I'm pretty happy that musicals seem to be making a comeback. There's just nothing like getting up and dancing in the middle of a movie because you just can't help yourself.

Favorite song: A Million Dreams (but it's an almost impossible choice)

2. Tour Guide by Cheri Magill*
This is a new-to-me artist, but it turns out she lives just a hop, skip, and a jump down the road from me, which means we could theoretically be best friends, right? And after listening to each one of these songs, which is dedicated to a different aspect of motherhood, I'm convinced that Cheri Magill has been to my house, met my kids, seen the way I mother, and wrote these songs just for me. I mean, one of the lines is even, "If I had a dime for every Lego I've picked up," and if that doesn't describe my situation in this house full of boys, I don't know what does. Some of the songs (like "Crazy") are about the funny or exasperating moments of motherhood, but others (like "Unconditionally") will just make you weep and pull your kids in close and smother them with kisses because you'll just feel so lucky and blessed to be their mom . Cheri Magill's style is light and sweet and very simply adorned, exactly like sun-kissed wildflowers. She actually reminds me a lot of Mindy Gledhill, which you know is high praise from me. I know Mother's Day is eleven months away, but bookmark this one for next year because I can't think of a better soundtrack to celebrate the joys of motherhood with. And in the meantime, just listen to it.

Favorite song: "Tour Guide" (mostly because I already mentioned two of my other favorites above, and the idea of a mom being a tour guide through life is just so clever)

3. Newsies soundtrack
I can't remember what made us decide to show Newsies to our kids, but we did, and they loved it. Well, truthfully, the story went a little over some of their heads, but not the music. The music resonated deep in their souls and made them all want to go out and join a cause. Haha, not really. But it at least makes them attack their chores with a vengeance on Saturday mornings. Aaron, Maxwell, and Bradley loved the music so much that they purchased the soundtrack with their own money and split the cost three ways. Our favorite local theater is putting on Newsies this summer, and so we're taking the three older boys to see it as a reward for working on their summer goals. They're already counting down the days.

Favorite song: "Once and For All" (although, as I'm writing this, Clark literally has "Seize the Day" on repeat)

4. Circle Round podcast
I know I've shared at least two other stories podcasts here before (one was the Stories podcast, the other was Sailaway Stories (which is no longer producing new episodes)). But one can never have too many stories (especially on road trips), so this one should definitely be added to your queue. It focuses on folk tales and legends from all around the world. The narration is excellent and the episode always includes some music. It is a professional, high-quality program in every way, and I am happy to put it on when we need a little motivation to go out and run errands.

Favorite episode: "The Hat, the Horn, and the Purse"

5. The Piano Guys
Okay, I'm old. I can still remember when "The Piano Guys" was literally just one piano guy--Jon Schmidt. That was long before Steven Sharp Nelson brought in his cello or they started traveling all over the world and playing their instruments against dramatic backdrops. I bought his first collection of piano solos when I was probably fourteen and memorized "All of Me," mostly because it was the first piece I'd ever played that gave me permission to smash my arm onto the keys. Recently though, probably in the last year or so, my kids have become die-hard fans of the current group. They love to watch all of their YouTube videos, and we own a couple of their albums (and Aaron has requested another one for his birthday). It's just the perfect mix of classic sophistication and upbeat fun.

Favorite song: "Cello Wars" (at least, that is my kids' favorite, but maybe not mine)

6. Summer 2018 Playlist
Last year, we compiled a summer playlist for the first time, and it was one of the highlights of the summer. We burned it onto a couple of CDs, and we listened to it almost constantly for three solid months. Sure, we were a little sick of it by the end, but it was the soundtrack of our summer, and even now, if I hear a song that was on it, it takes me right back to some of our adventures. So of course, we had to do it again this year. Each member of the family got to choose one song, and then I filled in the rest (because I'm the mom, and I can only listen to Imagine Dragons so much). I have to say, I'm pretty much in love with it. It's fun and diverse and just captures where we're at in life right now. Here are the songs that are included on it (and if someone personally selected it, I've put their name in parentheses).

1. "Ride" from Cars 3
2. "Everything Everything" from Born in China
3. "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons (Bradley)
4. "Up and Up" by Cold Play (Mike)
5. "Hot Air Balloon" by Owl City
6. "Seize the Day" from Newsies
7. "Believer" by Imagine Dragons (Maxwell)
8. "Son of Man" from Tarzan (Clark)
9. "Paradise" by Cold Play
10. "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons (Aaron)
11. "Cruisin'" by Colbie Caillat
12. "Better Together" by Jack Johnson
13. "Whole Wide World" by Mindy Gledhill
14. "Someday" by Michael Buble
15. "Sunshine on My Shoulders" by John Denver (Amy)

Favorite song: Well, obviously, they're all favorites because we hand selected each one.

And that's what's playing at our house lately. How about at yours? (Hopefully I won't let another two years go by before I share again!)

*I received a copy of Tour Guide, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Little of This and That in May

May was busy. May is always busy. But it was just the kind of check-off-all-the-boxes and wrap-up-all-the-things busy that I love. Here's just a little peek into our month. We were . . .

Celebrating . . . Mike's grandma's 90th birthday with a big family party. There were lots of aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins. Mike's immediate family (siblings, etc.) rented a big lodge where we all stayed for two nights. So it was like we had a mini-reunion inside the bigger reunion. Mike's grandma is beautiful and gracious with a strong love of family and a sharp memory for all those great-grandkids. She is exactly what I'd like to be at 90 years old.

Protecting . . . against scary bugs. Last month, I shared the realization that having my kids grow up is not all bad, and this month provided another confirmation. One day, there was a wasp in the house, and Bradley fearlessly smashed it with a shoe. A couple days later, there was a spider, and Aaron came to my rescue. And neither of them even flinched. Having literally called up neighbors in the past to come kill little intruders because I was too frightened to do it myself, this is basically a dream come true for me.

Obsessing . . . over my new phone's camera. I'd had my old phone (an iPhone SE) for two years, and it was time to upgrade. The one thing I really wanted was a better camera, so I went with the iPhone 8-plus. I was hesitant to get that one because of its large size, and it definitely took me a full week to get used to holding it. But man, the camera was so worth it. It is just so nice to have a camera with me at all times that takes pictures that I actually like. I don't think I pulled out our actual camera even once the entire month because it was just so much more convenient to use my phone, and the picture quality was so good.

Recording . . . a new episode of The Book Blab. It had been awhile, and it was great to chat with Suzanne again. (Behind the scenes, I was right in the middle of a head cold at the time, but miraculously, I got a brief reprieve during our discussion, and I didn't have to blow my nose once.)

Taking . . . lots of pictures of flowers. The new camera meant that I could not stop myself from snapping photos of all the beautiful spring flowers. Can you blame me?

Feeling . . . spoiled on Mother's Day. It couldn't quite top the Mother's Day of all Mother's Days from two years ago, but I still felt very loved. And every time I see the snapshot of the eggs benedict Mike made me for breakfast, my mouth waters.

Figuring . . . out how to go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting. These new skills have made Ian so happy. He still prefers scooting on his bum, and he will often sit up if he needs to get somewhere instead of getting down on his stomach. (And he still doesn't know how to crawl on his hands and knees.)

Cheering . . . on Aaron, Maxwell, and Bradley in their school's fun run. They each ran at different times throughout the day, and it was quite the feat for me to get over there for each one. But Bradley ended up winning his age division, so I was glad I made the effort.

Saying . . . more and more words. Ian is becoming a little conversationalist. Most of it is still absolute gibberish, but occasionally he throws in a real word, just to appease us. His favorite word is definitely "hi," said more like "hiiiiyeee!" I love it when he pokes his head around the corner, sees one of us, and enthusiastically says, "Hiiiiiyeee!"

Going . . . to a million (so it seemed) school performances. Most of them were completely impressive: the dance informances for all three grades, the kindergarten program filled with enthusiastic singing, the 4th grade program all about Utah history. The one exception was the band and orchestra concert. Aaron learned how to play the trombone this year, and the beginning band sounded, unsurprisingly, like a bunch of beginners, but it wasn't too bad. The beginning orchestra, however, was pure torture.

Helping . . . out at the 4th grade rendezvous. The rendezvous is a fun day of activities celebrating Utah's heritage since the 4th graders spend the whole year focusing on state history. Mike ran the peach cobbler station with his sister, Sonja.

Showing . . . some of my finished knitted projects to my friend, Joan, who taught me how to knit three years ago. I've given away many of the things I've made, but I packed up the rest and took them to her house for a little show and tell. I don't know why I hadn't done that sooner. It was so much fun.

Playing . . . in the school talent show. Bradley was selected from his class to play a piano solo, and he did played so well (although, I have to admit, I think I was more impressed with the third grader who recited the whole periodic table of the elements from memory in less than a minute).

Saying . . . good-bye to the school year. As we counted down the days, Maxwell told us all to "not remind him." He had the best year out of the three for sure, and he just tends to thrive on the structure and recognition that come with academics in general, so I think he'd go to school year-round if he could. And for all my worries about Bradley's and Aaron's teachers, everything turned out just fine in the end. That said, we are all so excited for this coming year because each one is going to have a rock star of a teacher.

Setting . . . a bunch of summer goals. As has become tradition, we kicked off the summer by writing out all of the things we want to do and accomplish over the next three months. I've written about our summer goals in the past; would you be interested in an update from this year? We also created a summer playlist, which is a tradition we started last year, and we've been listening to it almost nonstop ever since.

Taking . . . Aaron and Maxwell to see the Light of the World exhibit at Thanksgiving Point. Mike and I went for the first time a year ago, and I knew then that I wanted to take each of my kids sometime during the year they were baptized. Well, we missed doing that with Aaron two years ago (the exhibit didn't even exist at the time), so we took both Aaron and Maxwell together. We had the most wonderful time. Mike rented a golf cart, which the boys thought was the most thrilling thing ever, and we cruised around the gardens before parking at the exhibit and walking through. We paused at each statue of the Savior and read the scripture that went along with it. It was just a really special and fun afternoon.

Jumping . . . into the pool. Swimming season is here, and we couldn't be happier. I had a feeling this would be Clark's year to become an independent swimmer, and sure enough, he ditched his floaty within the first week and hasn't looked back. Ian spent most of last summer snoozing instead of sleeping, so he is discovering all of the joys of the pool this year.

Listening . . . to my little sister, Angela, give her senior recital. For the past year and a half, ever since my parents moved to Utah, my sister, Anna, has been giving Angela piano lessons, and I have been giving her organ lessons. Her recital was the culmination of all those lessons, and she played very well.

Waiting . . . for Clark's birthday. Every night, he asked me, "How many more days until my birthday?" We slowly counted down throughout the month until finally, the big day arrived. It's too bad you only get to turn four years old one time in your life because I'm pretty sure it's the most exciting age to have a birthday, and Clark enjoyed every minute of it. (And then, a few nights later, he asked how many days it was until his birthday, and I had to break the bad news to him that was 357.)

Whew! I think that's it. What fun did May bring your way?