Girls Night!

Friday night a bunch of us left our children in the fine care of their dear daddies and headed up to our friend, Kariann's, cabin for a girls night. I had such a fantastic time. Kariann's cabin is absolutely darling and it was so cozy and fun. We all traveled up there together in Kariann's suburban...we stopped at a cute resort town for a delicious Thai dinner...and even had a famous person sighting. Mark Fuhrman of O.J. Simpson fame was there at the bar.

Here we are after our delicious dinner: Kariann, Andrea, Christianne, Jodi, Carolyn, Valynn and me.

The area where her cabin is located is gorgeous. There was still ALOT of snow and there were about a million stars in the sky. We talked and snacked until the wee hours of the morning. I am so lucky to know all these incredible women!! They are the best!!

Andrea

Carolyn

Our fabulous hostess...Kariann

The next morning Rebecca arrived and everyone went skiing...except for me...bummer. Tyler and the kids came and picked me up and we continued on to my mom's house. I felt like I used to when I was 12 and my dad was ALWAYS the first dad to come pick up after a slumber party. The fun was just getting started. It sounded like they had a fun day of skiing though.

I ended up having a fantastic time at my mom's house. We were able to take some more things to her storage unit for her, take a load to the dump, and get groceries. My mom is definitely on the mend and was even feeling up to doing a little bit of thrift store shopping...summer will soon be here and so will another Sisters Creed sale. We didn't really find much but it was fun to be out sleuthing with her again.

And excitement of all excitement...I am finally learning to sew. (This has been on my list of goals/New Years resolutions for a long, long time). I brought my sewing machine up to get my mom's help (I have been stuck for about 10 years just trying to thread the darn thing). My mom quickly pronounced the sewing machine a piece of crap and upgraded me to one of her old cast-offs. It it awesome. I have no clue how to use it (did I mention I got a "D" in Home Ec) but it is now threaded and I can sew in a straight line. Reilly and I were sewing like crazy on scraps. Reilly is so excited about sewings and even requested a sewing basket and supplies for Christmas last year so this will be something fun we can learn how to do together.

Look what Reilly made in Activity Days:

How cute is that!! I was totally jealous and want one for myself...so that is my goal...to make one. My mom ordered the pattern online and I can't wait to get started. This website has the cutest things that I think would be so darling for Sisters Creed. My friend, Jessica, has volunteered to be my sewing mentor here in town...poor girl...she may regret it.

Thanks Kariann for being so loving and generous and sharing your beautiful cabin with all of us. I had a blast!!

Yesterday was my sister Stacey's 33rd birthday!! I hope it was FABULOUS!! A b-day post is on the way. I am kicking myself for not snagging pictures while I was at Mom's!!

The Cheese Stands Alone



Reilly participated in her first Science Fair last night. She did a great job!! Her science project was "Which Cheese will mold first? A soft, semi-soft, or a hard cheese". She had three different kinds of cheese: soft (Chevre), semi-soft (Havarti), and hard (Parmesan). It was a truly revolting experiment. I don't know that I will ever be able to look at cheese the same way again. I do know that I will NEVER eat Chevre...gag. That said...she did a fantastic job!!

One Perfect Day

When was the last time you had a perfect day? For the last 6 weeks they have been nonexistent around here. Replace the "perfect" with "glum" and you get the idea. But just when I am about to write my glum, drear and, let's not forget, depressing post...full of self-pity and ennui...I have a perfect day. Interesting how that works.

Jordin, Aaron, and Jaylah arrived on Wednesday night. We had a big family dinner at our house. Should have been fun right? Uh no...a family brawl ensued. As I am all for "keeping it real" things got ugly...beyond ugly...pretty much the ugliest I have ever seen it get and hope to never see again. Luckily while it was a bad storm it was also a brief one and what could've ended all family fun for pretty much forever...got worked out...and things got better than they have ever been. Hallelujah. Cue the angel choir.

Aahh...the calm before the brawl. Be glad the camera was forgotten.

The next to arrive were Kirk, Jayme, and Kaiden. They drove directly up to my mom's house. Kirk was there to pick up his dog, Diesel (a mastiff) and my mom's dog, Griffin (a Newfoundland). Jordi and her family and Kirk and his family all spent the night there and worked all the next day helping my mom move a bunch of stuff and get organized.


Saturday was the only day that all of us (all five siblings, our families, and my mom) were able to be together...but what a day it was!! We spent all day at the lake and spent the night. What do people do at the lake during the winter when the lake is completely frozen over? Well...go for dog sled rides, have relay races across the frozen lake, play a highly competitive game, go ghostbusting, have a quadruple birthday party, eat lots of food and GO SWIMMING!!


It started off so innocently...the day was beautiful...the lake was frozen...we went for a walk with the dogs. My Uncle John got out some old runner sleds for the kids and a brilliant idea was hatched. Let's attach the dogs to the sleds with their leashes and go for a ride. A wild ride that is!!

Mrs. Beasley, Griffin, Kirk and Jayme

Big old Griffin...the ardent suitor of one tantalizing Mrs. Beasley

Aaron about to go for a wild ride with Diesel. This was a huge step for our Kansas City Boy!! Aaron.. you sure aren't in Kansas anymore. And he wasn't even going to step out onto the ice. We are so proud.



Aaron, Diesel, Tyler and my uncle John. The house behind them was my great-grandparents house/resort called Echo Beach.

Here's Reilly going for a ride!!

Here we are standing out in the middle of the lake.

Reilly and Kameron

Kirk, Griffin, Diesel and Tyler

I then went inside to change into some snow boots and to get Ailey. When I looked out the window I saw that Tyler, Aaron, Kirk, my uncle John, and John had gotten out the ice cutting tools and had drilled a hole into the ice. I then happened to glance out and saw that Kirk had his boot and sock off and was dipping his foot into the newly drilled hole...and then Aaron did. Not a good sign.


Remember last St. Patrick's Day record breaking polar plunge? Apparently Kirk and Tyler had to beat their own record. If you'll remember it is a badge of honor in our family to be the last one out of the lake and the first one in. It wasn't enough that last year there was still ice floating on the lake...this year they had to drill a hole into the ice to take their polar plunge. Fools!!

The old swimmin' hole

Fool number one...my husband. Do admire his ensemble. Nothing says sexy like Sorrell boots, ratty old swim suit, and a vest!!



Fool number two...my brother Kirk... looking even dorkier in my Grandpa's old swim trunks. Check out his little bird legs!!

The mockers: Jordin, me, Kelley and Jayme

Dane and Ailey checking out the action

In goes fool #1

In goes fool #2

I have to add that fool #2 not only went in once...he went in twice...and ran around on the ice in his bare feet just to out do fool #1. How did Jayme and I get so darn lucky??

For your viewing pleasure:



Jayme's screaming in this clip is hilarious. For the record Jayme and I would've taken a dip too but only for cold hard cash.




For more fun...check out this montage. Do note my near death experience due to crazy Griffin and Kirk.

Jordi and Aaron

Kelley channeling her inner Napoleon Dynamite. She was actually trying to race people across the lake in those boots...also once belonging to my Grandpa...size 13's no less.

The sisters...in the middle of the lake. Jordi, Kris, Stac, Jayme, and Kelley

After that we had a quadruple birthday bash for John, Tyler, Dane and Kaiden.

The birthday boys

Cute Kaiden

After the party we took my Grandma back to her assisted living place and put the kids to bed...they were everywhere...all over the floors...in every bed. Sleeping space is limited in the house. We all usually sleep in the cabin in the summer but as there is no heat in the cabin we were all crammed together for an eventful night.


Our game of choice was Loaded Questions. Why does this always degenerate to answers of poop? Maybe it is the degenerates I always play with...ha ha. This is a post in and of itself. To be continued.


About 2 am the idea occurred to us to go "Ghost Busting " in Lilac Lodge (the cabin) which all of us grandchildren KNOW to be haunted. We've got the proof baby!! There is nothing more hilarious than grown-ups in their 20's and 30's creeping around the dark cabin taking pictures and running for their lives...while the rest of us were cowering in fear. We (by this I mean me and my siblings) were too afraid to go to bed, outside, or to the bathroom for that matter. Those muggles (I'm stealing Lucy's word for the in-laws) are brave!! Again.a post unto itself. To be continued...as soon as Kirk emails me the terrifying ghostly pictures.


We finally went to bed at around 5 am. We had a great time! It's hard to believe how choked up I got just seeing my brother, sisters, all our spouses, kids, and my mom sitting around the dinner table together. That is what life is all about. I love you guys!!

Kristin and Jordi's Day O' Fun

My sister Jordi is in town...along with Aaron and baby Jaylah. We decided to take Ailey and Jaylah to the mall to Kiddie Kandids to have their pictures taken. I used to get my pictures taken as a kid at the Kiddie Kandids kiosk at University Mall in Provo. How time flies. Anyway...these were Jaylah's first pictures and she did fantastic. She smiled and posed and was an absolute doll. Ailey...um...not so much.

Ailey has always been my most difficult child to have professional pictures taken. I have more pouty/crying baby pictures than you can imagine...ones that I've paid good money for!! She refuses to smile and just sits there either crying or with a stony face. The stuffed animals, crazy sounds and big feather duster thing have no effect on her. She just looks at you like "you've got to be kidding me". Bribery doesn't do much either. The trilling (maybe that's where Kelley learned her baby soothing skills) and clicking photographer freaked her out. Just trying to get a few workable pictures had me, Jordi, Aaron and eventually my mom acting like loons just to get her to crack a grin. FINALLY she decided she wanted to smile and but then she would only do a big cheesy grimace...a typical 3 year old fake smile...teeth tightly clenched. After what felt like hours...we finally got two workable pictures and I called it quits. Luckily these two pictures turned out pretty cute.

Ailey Eva doing her best Nancy Olsen pose. Remember Nellie and Nancy Olsen from Little House On The Prairie? Those would be my pet names for Reilly and Ailey when they are disagreeable...Nellie and Nancy...they don't care for it but sometimes it is oh so fitting!!

Ailey was excited that she got to wear her Easter dress early. Pretty much the only thing that excited her about her little photo shoot. That and the sled from the Christmas Scene that she was demanding to sit in for her pictures...another Nancy moment. Sometimes 7 weeks old sounds so nice. They just smile and coo.

Look at cute Jaylah...so compliant...so willing to smile and charm. Must be nice!!

Then Jordi and I decided to jump in the photo booth for a little photo shoot of our own. Hmm...how many people does it take to figure the photo booth out...apparently it is four!! We "McC" girls aren't known for our technical skills.

Book Reviews #26 and #27

So far 2008 is proving to be a GREAT year for reading. I have read some good books so far. Don't even get me started on the book I am currently reading...Suite Francaise...it is EXCELLENT!!

On Lucy's recommendation I read March by Geraldine Brooks. It did not disappoint. I loved it. How could I not being such a fan of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. I loved being back in the lives of the March family again. The book tells the story of Mr. March (a shadowy minor character in Little Women) who is the protaganist of this novel. It tell the story of Mr. March while he was away from his "little women" being a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War.

From Publishers Weekly:

Brooks novel imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. An idealistic Concord cleric, March becomes a Union chaplain and later finds himself assigned to be a teacher on a cotton plantation that employs freed slaves, or "contraband." His narrative begins with cheerful letters home, but March gradually reveals to the reader what he does not to his family: the cruelty and racism of Northern and Southern soldiers, the violence and suffering he is powerless to prevent and his reunion with Grace, a beautiful, educated slave whom he met years earlier as a Connecticut peddler to the plantations. In between, we learn of March's earlier life: his whirlwind courtship of quick-tempered Marmee, his friendship with Emerson and Thoreau and the surprising cause of his family's genteel poverty. When a Confederate attack on the contraband farm lands March in a Washington hospital, sick with fever and guilt, the first-person narrative switches to Marmee, who describes a different version of the years past and an agonized reaction to the truth she uncovers about her husband's life...Through the shattered dreamer March, the passion and rage of Marmee and a host of achingly human minor characters, Brooks's affecting, beautifully written novel drives home the intimate horrors and ironies of the Civil War and the difficulty of living honestly with the knowledge of human suffering.




This book was a great read. I loved the background information on Captain March and the beloved Marmee...who is described not just as the uber-mother but as a flesh and blood woman with weaknesses and flaws. March as well is sometimes heroic and sometimes weak and despairing. I thought the writing was intelligent and wonderful. I would highly recommend this book.



My rating: VERY GOOD.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton was our book club selection for this month picked by Andrea. I don't think I would've read this book on my own. Maybe in high school... when I was in my "South Africa/Anti-Apartheid" phase. Amnesty International was constantly in the news. I was a member of the Amnesty Club in high school and spent many an afternoon writing letters to free Nelson Mandela. I was obsessed with Stephen Biko and read books, articles, and watched movies about the slain South African human rights leader. But as the years have passed...Nelson Mandela was released from prison...and I haven't read much or paid much attention to South Africa...unfortunately.

From Amazon.com: Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a fellow minister summoning him to Johannesburg... He is needed there, the letter says, to help his sister, Gertrude, who the letter says has fallen ill. Kumalo undertakes the difficult and expensive journey to the city in the hopes of aiding Gertrude and of finding his son, Absalom, who traveled to Johannesburg from Ndotsheni and never returned.

I liked this book. I loved it's themes of love and the power of forgiveness. I loved it's lyrical and haunting prose. I love that South Africa is a vibrant and living character. But I was, at first, put off a bit by the writing style...while beautiful it is also detached. You don't really get inside the minds and hearts of the characters. It is as if you are observing them through a pane of glass...we never REALLY know the thoughts of Stephen Kumalo...we observe him, his conversations, and his actions. It took awhile for me to get used to that. But by the end of the book I had such a profound love and empathy for the umfundisi Kumalo that he broke my heart.

In the book we see two sides of the same tragic story...the side of the father of the slain white human rights activist and the side of the murderer's father. It pained me to see the umfundisi through Jarvis' eyes...in his shabby faded black clothes and dirty collar. But while a sad book it also leaves the reader feeling hopeful (despite of what I knew continued to happen in the future in South Africa) and Stephen Kumalo remained a figure of hope for the redemption of his beloved country...the inherent truth that love is stronger than fear.

I found this book deeply moving. I would definitely recommend it. I rate it as: GOOD.

(I read these two books back to back. I read Cry first and then March. The juxtaposition of racism and intolerance in two different countries and in two different time periods for the same race was interesting and unbelievably tragic.)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

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For Victoria

I was tagged by Victoria awhile ago. Here it is. Sorry I am such a slacker.

Questions:

10 yrs ago:

We were living in SLC in the James Pointe Apartments right by 2-15. Reilly was 1 1/2 years old and so stinking cute, smart and funny. Tyler was working at Smith Layton Architects downtown. I was taking night classes at the BYU extension. I was having an identity crisis. Ok...so I was a stay at home mom...now what? I was pretty lonely. We weren't overly active in church...this was the time we were trying to figure which direction we wanted our lives to take. Reilly and I spent ALOT of time at the pool, the library and Super Target!!


5 Things on my list of things to do today:

1.) Go grocery shopping. I need to get a watermelon and cut out heart-shaped peices with a cookie cutter for Kameron's Valentines Day Party at school on Thursday.

2.) Go to the Oriental Market to get supplies for my Valentines dinner. Tyler and I go out for our "romantic" dinner the week of his birthday and and then on Valentine's have dinner with the kiddos. This year we are having a HOT and SPICY Thai Dinner. I am making pad thai (2 kinds: vegetarian and chicken), chicken satay my homemade peanut sauce (so good) and the kids have requested jello pretzel salad (not thai but tasty) and raspberry frappe to drink and CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE AND MORE CHOCOLATE. They kids have requested "vegetable-free" meal. Since they are vegetarians and eat more veggies than most kids will in a life time I will
grant this holiday request!! ;)

3.) Mop my disgusting kitchen floor. I loathe doing it. The only thing that saves me is the "aromatherapy" I get from the cleaner I use. Anyone else use Caldrea? I can't say enough good things about these products.

4.) Take Reilly to piano and run to the post office to mail out some valentines...maybe hit the gym if time allows.

5.) Go to Book Club!! I absolutely cannot wait and need to replenish my supply of sanity!!

Things I would do if I were suddenly a Billionaire:

I would help my family financially in any way I could, donate lots of time/money to our city's foster care system particulary my favorite "Sally's House", I would donate lots of money to support missionaries on their missions, humanitarian aid, Perpetual Education Fund etc, donate money to Juvenile Diabetes Research and Cancer Research...and on a more hedonistic bent I would book a trip to Europe for my whole family, buy lake front property, buy my old house in Springdell, buy a kick-"A" ski boat AND...set aside money for our retirement and our kids' educations...and oh yeah...I'd invest.

3 of my bad habits:

1.) I swear... much less than last year...unless I am extremely stressed...then cover your ears.

2.) I worry incessantly. I wish I was a rose-colored glasses kind of girl. I am pleasantly surprised if bad things don't happen. I know. I am working on this. Optimism...what a concept.

3.) I get my feelings hurt very easily.

Places I have lived:

Utah: Provo, Orem, Springville, Provo Canyon, SLC, Sandy, Murray and Midvale.

Idaho

Kansas: Kansas City (Overland Park)

Missouri: Kansas City (Jackson County)

Texas: Houston (The Woodlands)

Washington

Jobs I have had:

1.) Worked at an Athletic Club in high school.

2.) Waitress...numerous times.

3.) Data Entry person for TelAmerica.

4.) Worked the Front Desk at the Howard Johnson Hotel for years in college.

5.) Worked for an emergency foster care receiving home for 2 years...life changing experience. I would admit kids (2-12 years old) to our facility who were just removed from homes usually due to crime, violence, abuse, drugs. They could stay at this facility for up to 3 months. It tore me apart emotionally. I had two kids at the time and still worked there when I was pregnant with Ailey. Something has to change in the foster care system. It can still keep me up at night just thinking about it.

Things most people don't know about me:

1.) I am seriously OCD...poor Tyler.

2.) My testimony means so much to me...it was hard won.

3.) I am jealous of the fact that my kids have a wonderful, loving, involved father. I feel the
loss of this in my life every single day.

4.) It bothers me that my relationship with my mother-in-law is so lacking. I want her to love
and adore me. She doesn't and it bothers me. I wish it didn't...but it does.

5.) The smell of toast makes me gag.

I'm Baacckkk!!


Did you miss me? You did? Isn't that special!! ;) I have a gripe...an irritation...a peeve... No, it's beyond that. It is now an abhorrence. I cannot take it a minute longer!! In my official RS Secretarial duties I am forced to make a lot of phone calls...I hate calling people...but what I hate even more is THIS!!

To Whom It May Concern:

I am begging you. I am pleading with you dear sisters of the Relief Society when you answer your telephone could you PLEASE put your sandwiches, chips, cookies...what have you...DOWN!! Or better yet...SWALLOW. Or even better...let voice mail pick up if your mouth is full and you can't tear yourself away from your tasty little morsel. I can't take another minute of your smacking and slurping. It KILLS me. It annoys me. It makes me want to drive to your house and literally smack you. It's revolting and repugnant. And none of the guilty parties read this blog. Hells Bells!!

Love,

Your RS Secretary...aka...The Church Lady.

Ballet Year 8

Ballet Observation Day was last week and I am truly struck by how fast Reilly has grown up!! 8 years already? This year there was a huge difference in her dancing and the level of intensity of her classes. I was amazed. But I could barely take any pictures because:

A.) I'm scared of her teachers.

B.) She moves WAY TOO FAST!!

C.) I had a little "monster" with me.

Part A:

Her classes are INTENSE. Her teachers are INTENSE!! They do not hesitate to yell...and I mean YELL... at your child right in front of you. They DEMAND respect...they DEMAND that your child pays attention...they DEMAND that your child does the moves properly. I get it. They have too. This is the year that decides whether or not they are ready for toe shoes. If they don't do things properly injuries occur. But they are seriously scary. This year Reilly has three different teachers...each one teaching a different day...each one with a different strength. Reilly was excited to have Miss Peggy as her teacher again (she had her when she was little and just loved her). Peggy told me at the last recital that she "couldn't wait to get her hands on Reilly next year". So the year started and Reilly got into the car after the first day with Peggy with a terrified look on her face and said "Miss Peggy has CHANGED!!" I had to laugh...how scary could Miss Peggy be? Um...SCARY!

Parent Observation Day is the one day a year parents can sit in on classes and take pictures etc. Well...when I whipped out my camera I thought Miss Peggy was going into convulsions!! She shot me such a disapproving glare and said how cameras are a "distraction" with such menace that I refrained from taking too many pictures...and ZERO pictures of her. She probably would've snatched the camera out of my hands and hurled it at the wall. OH YEAH...no other parents took any pictures. They just sat there with their cameras in their laps. Chickens!!

Look how serious they all are!!

Part B:

Their floor work is really beautiful this year...gorgeous...but Reilly moved way too fast across the floor for me to get any good shots. Her arabesque after she finished her routine across the floor was breathtaking but you'll have to take my word for it!!

Part C:

My "monster":

She looks sweet but she is oh so sour!!

OK...so no one else brought any other small children into the "serious" parent observation day exept for me. Was there a memo? So I sashay on in with both Ailey and Kameron. The horrified WIDE eyes of all the other parents followed us to our seats . Ailey is usually pretty good at sitting quietly (thank you sacrament meeting) um...not this day. She was HORRID with a capital "H". She was loud, obnoxious, running madly around, smearing fingerprints and a few blowfishes onto the pristine mirror. When I would attempt to discipline her she would start screaming (did I mention that you could hear a pin drop in this class) and would run away from me...directly into the dancers...again scary glare from Miss Peggy and phrases like "Girls...I know your "families" are a distraction...IGNORE them!! Pointed hatchet look the at lame mom who takes pictures and brings little kids into the hallowed studio!! It was the longest hour and a half of my life!! AND...Kameron was humming loudly and thumping and banging on things too! Good times.

Finally class is over and Reilly dares to crack a grin at her mother...albeit a small one.

How can it already have been 8 years...

****On another note...I have been tagged by both Victoria and Jayni for two different things and am just finally getting around to it. Jayni tagged me so long ago she has probably forgotten all about it. But here it is...I was tagged for it awhile back from someone else...or at least it was pretty similar. Victoria...I'll do it soon. I promise. ;)

Jayni: Click here. You will no doubt be sorry you asked!! :)

***Miss Peggy is seriously a wonderful person and a fantastic teacher! Reilly is lucky to have her!!***

Happy Birthday Big Boy!!

Today is Tyler's 37th (gulp) Birthday. Last year I wrote a bunch of things about why I love Tyler. Click here. This year I thought it would be fun to give the fruit of his loins an opportunity!! ;)

Reilly:

• He helps me find and download music for my Ipod
  


• I usually like a lot of the same music as he does
  


• He helps me with my schoolwork
  


• He loves to eat black licorice crows
  


• He loves to have his back scratched
  


• He thinks he's really funny but sometimes he's not
  


• He loves Thai food
  


• His favorite thing to do is go boating
  


• He loves to go on scary rides at amusement parks with me
  


• He is a GREAT dad!!


• He likes to spend time with me
  

Kameron:

• He's really funny
  


• We like the same movies
  


• He's really weird!!
  


• I like to watch Smallville and Stargate with him
  


• He likes to play video games with me
  


• When I make funny faces he laughs
  


• He likes to make things for me


• He likes to play Hot Wheels with me


• He likes to go to the Monster Truck Show with me

Ailey:

• Because he's my funny daddy
  


• I love him forever
  


• He tickles me


• His favorite thing is to do is go to work
  


• I make him laugh
  


• He likes to play with me
  


• He loves me all the time
  

Quite a few of you received an email from me that was titled "Olan Mills Awfulness" which truly had me laughing until I nearly peed my pants. I have long since deleted the email but I managed to find it on some random person's blog. Click here Olan Mills .

Imagine my glee when looking through some of Tyler's old pictures I found these beauties:

The Many Faces of Tyler: Amused Tyler...Serious Tyler

THE OLAN MILLS LIBRARY SCENE...CLASSIC!!

You've come a long way baby!!

Happy Birthday and here's to many many more!! We love you lots!!

Book Review #25


Being snowed in has given me lots of reading time...that has been so fun!! FINALLY I have a FANTASTIC book to recommend. This book was an absolute delight!! The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins written in 1860 was one of the first "sensation" novels of it's time. Sensation meaning a dark plot, eerie setting, suspenseful, mysterious thriller. It made for an extremely enjoyable read.

From www.penguinclassics.com:

‘In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop … There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth … stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white.’

The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright’s eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his ‘charming’ friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

One thing that I really liked about this novel was it's unusual narrative structure...different portions of the book have different narrators each with their own distinctive voice. The book is laid out as if presenting a case in court. Each narrator tells the part of the story that they know and when the storyline moves on so does the reader to the next narrator who picks up the story from their perspective. It was so intriguing the way this book was written. The story is told from every angle from and from every perspective. Fascinating. The book is beautifully written. The main characters are interesting and well-developed. I particularly loved Marian and the evil Count Fosco. I was hooked immediately and couldn't put it down.

If I had to pick out a few things that would discourage a would-be reader it would be that it is written in the language of the 1800's, it is over 500 pages long, the author could be accused of being a bit verbose at times but beautiful well-written prose is a gift in this time of drug store schlock, AND you will have a hard time putting it down.

If you love classic literature, dastardly landowners, creepy counts, murder, put upon heroines, mistaken identities, escapees from insane asylums, ghosts, moors, old English manors or books like: Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Rebecca, and Thirteenth Tale etc. You will like this book.

I highly recommend it ! I LOVED IT!!

My Rating: EXCELLENT!

The Mother of All Snow

It feels like we are drowning in snow!! We have been hit by storm after storm and have literally nearly two feet of snow. In our yard the snow is nearly up to the top of the fence. I am absolutely sick and tired of it!! School has been out for a week and it is practically impossible to drive anywhere even with four wheel drive. We had to buy towing ropes for our Suburban just so we could get our Honda in and out of our neighborhood...it just kept getting stuck. Tyler has pulled so many of our neighbors cars out of the snow. It is unbelievable. I have never seen anything like this in the 7 years we have lived here.



Can you see all that freakin' snow? Click on the picture for the full effect. I have serious cabin fever but the kids are having a ball! Tyler has been teaching Reilly to snow board down the hill in our side yard and she is doing great!

Reilly shreddin' it up!!

Our kids NEVER get out for snow days here so this is truly a once in a life time event. They are definitely making the most of it. In Utah we never got snow days as I recall but when I moved to Kansas City in high school we had them all the time. It was one of the few perks of living in KC. If we ever got more than an inch of snow school was out. I remember getting up early in the morning to watch the news to see if school was out...more often than not it was...ahhh...a day of soap operas for Kristin!! When you are a kid a "snow day" is right up there with Christmas!!

There is more snow in the forecast...no sign of it letting up anytime soon...Ugh!! Tyler had to get up on our roof today and shovel snow...there are roofs collapsing due to all the heavy snow. We finally had a stinkin' plow in our neighborhood today (1st one I've seen on our street all year) some good it did...it just created a 3 foot berm that blocked our driveway that we had to tunnel through. After living in Utah for so many years where snow removal is an art form it makes me literally CRAZY to watch the ineptitude of the snow removal process here!! HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF SALT?? I did finally see the first sand on the roads that I have seen in 7 years. FINALLY!! They think if you drizzle on liquid de-icer it will MAGICALLY get rid of a foot of snow!! Idiots!! I am SO CLOSE to writing a letter to the editor!! So while our kids are in heaven...we the parents are in hell. Do I feel better? NO!!

***FYI: My mom's surgery went well (although she did have a bad reaction to the anesthesia...and had a tooth fall out...apparently that is a rare side effect. She was extremely POed about that...and she is now convalescing at Kelley's...Kirk requested that Kelley slide a few quarters under her pillow last night!! Thanks for all the phone calls, emails, and well wishes!!***

GET ME OUT OF FREAKIN' FARGO!!