Book Review: Cutting for Stone

I didn't write about last month's book, which was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I read this book many years ago when it first came out and loved it. As a refresher, I watched the movie and actually liked it although from what I recall of the book, it is a departure for the sake of drama. I think if I had read the book closer to watching the movie I would not have liked the movie so much.

But anyways, this month's selection was Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. When I initially checked for information on the book, I was not going to read it mostly because of its length (~600 pages in paperback). I hardly ever read books that long, not that I never do though. It's just been a while. But I read reviews and they were all very positive, it's on the best seller list, so I ordered it and started reading.

From the beginning, it was captivating. I could not put it down. There are few books that catch my attention like this one. It was an epic novel, spanning some 50 years. It was reminiscent of the Kite Runner but totally different. It is mostly set in Ethiopia and intermingled with the characters' lives are descriptions of the country, its food and culture. I was immersed in it - so much so that when I would put it down at night, I would dream of it. I finished this ~600 page book in about a week! There was only one time when it got slow but then picked up again and whirled to a close. It left me wanting more, and that's exactly what a good piece of fiction should do. I highly recommend reading this book...and I have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it!

Just Another Day?

I'm sure everyone has said this on their birthday...it's just another day. I know I have. And when you get caught up in life, it can seem like just another day.

Today is James' birthday. He is 35 years old. I have celebrated each birthday with him since he turned 18 years old. That's a lot of birthdays! He thinks it's just another day but I disagree. Without this day, he would not be here. Without this day, there would be no us. I would not be who I am today. There would be no Quinn, no Keely. Not even Callie or Rudy. We as a family would not exist. I refuse to think of this as just another day. I refuse to think of a world that does not contain the things I love most about it.

This is most definitely NOT just another day. Happy Birthday my love!

The Property Party

This weekend we went camping again. We only decided to do this on Thursday even though we knew about this event months ago. We were just too tired from the last camping trip, or so we thought. The event was a friend's birthday and the venue is his parents' undeveloped land about 45 minutes away. We decided just to spend the day up there but at the last minute decided to camp there on Saturday night. So again we loaded up the car (it seems just as full whether we are going for one or two nights!) and headed off into the great beyond.

If our last camping trip was considered modernized with the amenities, this was a 180 degree turn to primitive camping. Well, maybe not that crazy. The property is 64 acres way off the beaten path...think free range cattle and only accessible by bumpy dirt roads. We went up about 3 PM Saturday afternoon and got settled. There were about 60 people at this party, some who had stayed since Friday night...most in tents but there were some pop ups and small campers. The weather was gorgeous up there, in the 70s. We played several games of volleyball, drank several beers and the kids ran and played around the property -- which is fenced so there's really nowhere they can go to get into trouble.

The facilities were, uh, the opposite of modern. Over the hill was a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat and a shower curtain type structure around it for some degree of privacy. Since I had just expected a 5 gallon bucket, it was actually above my expectations. Keely had to go to the bathroom within 5 minutes of arrival and it was the first of many trips. She was pleasantly surprised too, and all was well. The night wore on, the sun dropped and it got cold! Again, polar opposite of the last camping trip. We were not quite prepared for the cold. Thank goodness for the warmth of the fire and our sleeping bags rated to 20 degrees. But boy, were my nose and ears cold! We survived the night though :) and it warmed up quickly once the sun rose.

The property owners cooked a huge breakfast for us on Sunday. So that is how James started out his Father's Day. Well that and with a huge headache :( But then he felt better, and I ate enough breakfast for the two of us :) We took a hike with our kids and some of their friends to explore the property then it was time to head home. It was a quick trip but we had fun and I think we will go back again next year. The kids want to spend two nights...but I am not sure that my back agrees, or that I would want to use that potty for any more time!

What Summer Means

Summer means...

--renewing our pool membership, which has some fun new additions this year with a flume slide and splash pad, and hopefully using it many many times.

--a later departure in the mornings since camp doesn't open until 8 AM.

--an extra half hour or so of sleep in the mornings, which allows for the next thing...

--extended bedtimes :)

--no homework!

--no fights over wearing socks and shoes (obviously with Keely).

--no soccer.

--no classes for James (he bikes more and generally gets home earlier).

--camping (already two nights under our belt and one more night this weekend).

I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of right now. Yeah, it's safe to say we are enjoying it!

Spring Soccer Wrap Up

Okay, so the season actually ended a few weeks ago but I kept forgetting to write about it. The kids had a pretty good season of soccer. Both kids continued on with their teams and had all the same kids on them give or take a couple.

Quinn's team chose the name Blue Dragons. They really started clicking this season, at least in most of their games. It seems the work we have been doing on passing and positioning is paying off, they really get it now and sometimes they pass too much instead of just shooting. I continued to help coach, a decision I both love and regret. It's a hard position to be in given that our friends are all parents of other boys on the team. We are pretty fair with playing time and punishments but it's hard, and it always seems someone's feelings get hurt. I don't like to be in the middle but that's just what happened at least once this season, as I was trying to keep friends while staying consistent with the coach. Being an assistant is tough because it's not my team so I just have to try and be helpful where I can. It would be nice to just sit and watch a game....but at the end of the day I am happy to help out. Quinn had a good season. He continues to like playing forward better than other positions but is really just glad to play. He scored a few goals and generally seems to be improving. Most of all he is having fun and really likes soccer.

Keely's team was the Yellow Bumblebees. They are just too cute, running up and down the field sometimes the wrong way. She had a good season too. The weather always seemed to be bad on Tuesdays, either cold or rainy or windy. The girls are tough though and they never quit. Keely would be out there in just her shirt and shorts and I would be freezing on the sideline, wondering how she wasn't also freezing. This age is so fun, they are not really jealous of playing time -- each willing to leave the game so another girl can get her turn. They do love to score goals, and Keely had a few throughout the season. Her favorite was the one she scored from a throw in (which is not legal but was counted in Kindergarten soccer). I only have pictures from one of Keely's game but it's all good because I don't think I had any of her last season.

Dribbling, or some form of it...
Running after the ball, I think...
Goal kick!
Some girl bonding time....
So that's a wrap on this soccer season. I am glad to have my Tuesdays back. It's always nice to have a little break before we start up again in August...which will be here before we know it!

Wiggly No More

As I predicted, it didn't take long for the wiggly tooth of Keely's to make its exit. She had me wiggle it once each day, sometimes more. And she worked it with her tongue until night before last when it seemed poised to fall out. We were jokingly (sort of) going to tie some floss around it and just give it a sharp tug. It was so loose it probably would have worked easily, but then she got cold feet. Yesterday at camp, she worked up her courage. She put a tissue over it and yanked it out. She says it bled quite a bit but we don't know what that means to a 6 year old. In any event, she ran up to me when I picked her up showing me her new smile. She was so proud of herself for pulling it out, and so excited for the Tooth Fairy to visit. This morning she awoke on her own and ran into my room showing me the $1 bill that was left in place of the tooth. Here's my girl with her new one tooth less smile. And we also have another wiggly one...I suspected it when I was wiggling her other one every day but now that it's out, I can most definitely feel that the one next to the gap is loose.

There's one other totally unrelated thing I wanted to write about. As I was starting this post, I looked back at posts of Quinn to see when his teeth fell out. I had to scroll through all the posts labeled Quinn and as I was doing that, I was overcome with a sense of what I have accomplished these last 2 years with this blog. I couldn't help but read a few of the posts as I was scrolling by and there were things that I didn't even remember happening...some big, some little...the minutia of life as it flies past. I am so grateful that I started writing and recording the big and little things that happen in our life. I may not capture everything, I may be late in writing about some of the events. In the end, those facts don't matter though and we have the record. I am glad that the kids (and James and I) will have these recordings to look back upon in the years to come. In the beginning I started this so our extended family & friends could keep track of what we are up to since most are far, far away from us. But I always knew that I was also writing for us, and that this would be a keepsake. Today, I realized that fact and now I know that when I think of updating the blog as a chore I need to just read back through some of the memories and the main reason for writing will bubble back to the surface. It's nice to have a new-found zest for posting :)

The Valley of the Goblins

This past weekend we ventured to Southern Utah for a two night stay in Goblin Valley State Park. I had heard such good things about this place, i.e. you just have to visit there and so 5 years after moving here we finally made it down there. I booked the campground several months ago because it's always full, especially in the summer. This was true desert camping....no shade, not much shelter, and it was H-O-T HOT.

We arrived on Friday evening and set up camp, made hot dogs and baked beans for dinner. We went down to the Amphitheater to see a program on the geology of the park. It was pretty interesting and the kids enjoyed it. Then we made some s'mores and enjoyed the night sky. We had a good first night, with just a bit of wind.

We woke bright and early Saturday morning to the bright desert sun. It was probably 80 degrees by 8 AM, crazy. We had a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, English muffins, and hash browns. It was a good thing because we had a strenuous day ahead of us. We started out by hiking from the campground to the Valley of the Goblins. This was a curvy 1.5 mile hike. When we got there, the view from the overlook was fantastic. I can't believe that these formations are just 3.5 hour drive from our house and that we are still in Utah! It looks like Mars. I am always amazed by how much this beautiful state has to offer...here we are for 5 years and there is still so much to see and discover. We hiked down into the goblins and explored for the rest of the morning. Then we hiked back to the campground in the blazing sun and we were all exhausted but it was only just early afternoon.

After resting & hydrating a while, we ventured out by car this time to explore an adjacent slot canyon. The hike was a little boring at first but we hung in there and got to the good stuff. It was amazing how the rocks tightened up and we were in the middle of the canyon. I worried a little about a flash flood but there was really no danger as it wasn't raining anywhere in the whole state that day.

We arrived back to the campground and all took cold showers to cool off! This campground was really nice with amenities, nice bathrooms and private showers...even a sink to clean your dishes. For dinner that night we had yummy chicken sandwiches with peppers and onion and a side of pasta. Really a good camp meal, and pretty easy to make. At night, there was another program this time about desert animals and the adaptations that they have made to adjust to life in the desert. The ranger giving the program was quite funny and the kids enjoyed the strange stories about the various animals.

That night was a bit windy at first but after we settled in the tent it was so calm. We all slept soundly, probably because we hiked about 6 miles (no joke!). We broke camp pretty early Sunday morning after a breakfast of oatmeal. We were home by noon and at the pool by 2 PM for some much needed swimming in the cool water.

We enjoyed our trip to Goblin Valley. I think next time I will choose a cooler time to go, say fall or spring. But the heat wasn't too bad and we all enjoyed ourselves. There were just too many pictures to select just a few to post, so I decided on a slideshow (and I am lazy). Enjoy the many many pictures...