My day so far in pictures...

School Supplies

Still dark when I leave the house

Supplies for the day

College spirit day

Happy Wednesday!

Books I read in July

I haven't counted yet, but I may have averaged a book a day in July.  Due to a combination of reading fluff and reading while waiting for people in the car, I read a lot...I did other things, too, though--I should take a picture of how clean my refrigerator is, it may never be this clean again (at least not until next summer....).  I also was driven (no pun intended?) to finish the Stephanie Plum series...just so I'm ready when the new book comes out in November.  Of course I'm #179 on the list at the library, so maybe I'll just buy it for myself for Christmas. In other news, I'm number 54 for Jan Karon's new book, also due out in October. AND there is a new Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowlings) book in October as well.  Not to mention the Psalm 23 book that was supposed to come out in early July....Maybe I'll use some sick days and read...hmm...

1.  Hot Six (Janet Evanovich)--All of these are from the same series--I've fallen in love with the main characters--they are funny.  Not very smart sometimes, and the plot is sometimes silly, but good summer reading.  I'm looking forward to her next book, coming out in November, so I can read it over Thanksgiving Break.
2.  Four Seasons in Rome (Anthony Doerr)-Recommended by a book club member, about the writer's "study abroad" in Rome the year his twins turned one.  Good story about parenthood and adapting to a different culture.
3.  The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel (Rebecca F. Pittman) Fun, fun, fun read...but a little dumb...perfect before my trip to Estes Park.
4.  Seven Up (Janet Evanovich)
5.  Hard Eight (Janet Evanovich)
6.  Visions of Sugar Plums (Janet Evanovich)
7.  Candy Bomber:  The Story of the Berlin Airlift's Chocolate Pilot (Michael O Tunnell) Nice short read about a true story.  I intended to read the longer version and ended up  with the young readers edition, which was fine, it was a nice book.
8.  A Life Intercepted (Charles Martin)  Another awesome book by Charles Martin.  I actually had no idea how it was going to end--I love that about his books.  The premise of the story is that the night he is drafted by the NFL, a young football player is accused of a crime and goes to jail for twelve years.  His wife never visits and basically disappears.  The day he gets out, he goes to his hometown and discovers the next great quarterback.  Loved it...didn't want it to end. Probably will make my top ten this year!
9.  To the Nines (Janet Evanovich)
10.  Ten Big Ones (Janet Evanovich)
11. Eleven on Top (Janet Evanovich)
12.  Twelve Sharp (Janet Evanovich)
13.  Plum Lovin (Janet Evanovich)
14.  Lean Mean Thirteen (Janet Evanovich)
15.  Fearless Fourteen (Janet Evanovich)
16.  Bossy Pants (Tina Fey)-I don't always agree with her politics, but Tina Fey is hilarious.  I listened to her read it herself...so even more hilarious.  Might also make my top 10.
17.  Plum Spooky (Janet Evanovich)
18. Finger Lickin Fifteen (Janet Evanovich)
19.  Sizzlin Sixteen (Janet Evanovich)
20. Smokin' Seventeen (Janet Evanovich)
21.  Explosive Eighteen (Janet Evanovich)
22.  Notorious Nineteen (Janet Evanovich)
23.  Takedown Twenty (Janet Evanovich)
24. Top Secret Twenty-One (Janet Evanovich)
25. In the Unlikely Event (Judy Bloom)-Based on a true story about Judy Bloom's childhood, this is about a three month time period in the 50's when three planes crashed in a small town.  It was unbelievable that it was based on truth and well written in classic Judy Bloom style.
26.  Elizabeth is Missing (Emma Healey)- I can't decide if I liked this book or not.  It is about a woman with dementia.  It is kind of written from her point of view, but that's not always totally clear, so half the time I thought that all the people around her were jerks.  There is also a 50 year old mystery, which isn't clear until almost the end, that it really is a mystery. I didn't want to put it down, but it was disturbing.
27.  A Soft Place to Land (Susan Rebecca White)--About sisters whose parents die in a plane crash.  It is a "Chic Lit" kind of book--no real mystery or conflict...just two sister's lives.  It was good-nice summer read.

So "only" 27...not quite one a day...

Cherry Frozen Yogurt--Yum!

We're always trying to find new ice cream recipes.  Last weekend we didn't have any cream or any pasteurized egg product...so we improvised, with a little help from All Recipes...Cherry Frozen Yogurt!   Here is our version:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
1 T lemon juice
3 C Vanilla yogurt
1 can cherry pie filling

Mash the cream cheese and lemon juice, add the yogurt about a cup at a time, until smooth and creamy.  Mix in the cherries, freeze in ice cream freezer.

Yummy!

Happy 14th Birthday to the Girl!

We celebrated early last weekend, with a slumber party at a Residence Inn (pool + kitchenette + bedroom with door for mom + complimentary continental breakfast= win win!) and I'm sure we'll celebrate more tonight.  Happy Birthday!  (Egads, next year you'll have a driver's permit...hmmm...I better start looking at classic cars for you...)

Link to 13th Birthday Post
Link to 12th Birthday Post

A knitting frenzy

A couple years ago, The Girl received several knitting looms.  We've used it a bit, and I used to knit some with needles.  Recently, my sister in law mentioned she was cleaning out her yarn stash, which made The Girl and I decide to look in our stash.  We found some lovely yarns, and with the help of the looms, we created some lovely items--pictured for your enjoyment.

A beanie for Mr IM and a hat for me, clearly already stolen.  I need to make uglier hats so they don't disappear as quickly.

The Boy's ninja mask....and my hat again...

A hat for Alice the Cat.  Clearly she loves it.  Note the ear holes and chin strap.  This was made primarily by The Girl, I helped with the ear holes.

And my greatest accomplishment of the day--a ninja mask for Skipper the Tree Kangaroo (who, you may remember, has brothers who are aardvarks and tigers and may or may not be married to a cat).  It was tricky to deal with his nose...



It will probably be a while before we have another knitting spurt--but that was fun!

Estes Park

In the middle of July my brother, J, his wife, M, and my nephew, M, along with my parents, came to Colorado and rented a house just outside of Estes Park for a few days.  We were able to visit them for a couple days and have a lot of fun with them.  We were able to do several short walks/hikes, as well as a drive along Trail Ridge Road.  Some of our favorite easy walks were Lily and Bear Lakes and Wild Basin (the falls) and Coyote Crossing.  Here is our photo log, in no particular order, apparently I jumbled them somehow in the process.

 My nephew talking to a rabbit during a rest stop on one of our hikes.

 The Boy, mountain climber.

 Actually not Lily Lake...on the Bear Lake hike.

 Uncle J gave origami lessons to all--here we see a flower and a throwing star--frogs were another popular creature.  We also used this table to play a lot of card games and plot our next adventure.

Best little retro mini golf course in Estes Park.  My brother and sister in law both won free games by scoring a hole in one on the 19th hole.  I really like the alligator. It is called Tiny Town, ironically, the same name (but a different facility) as a tourist trap southwest of Denver.

The view from the balcony.  We sat out here a few times, enjoying the view and the cool breezes.

After another round of mini golf, at another center, Mr IM and the kids did a round of go-carts.  The Boy is too short to go alone, but The Girl got her own car.  She almost lapped her dad--she was pretty excited.

The lake, just down the road from the rental.  We walked down almost every night we were there and looked at native plants, skipped rocks, and looked for wildlife.  One night on the way back we found part of an elk spine, which was either really cool or icky, depending on your point of view.

See our friend?  She surprised Uncle J and The Boy the first evening we were there--bounding out of the grass and across their path.  The last night of our stay we watched her from the balcony for about twenty minutes as she grazed her way across the meadow.

Here are Mr. IM and my brother, trying to figure out how to cook the pizzas.  For future reference, you can't put four pizza in the oven at once.  They were yummy though.

Selfie!

Some more wildlife, from our Trail Ridge Road drive.  Don't worry, I zoomed...other people were that close though...yowsers.

More wildlife--he, he!  This little guy was a show off--we joked he was saying "I'm ready for my close-up"

The Boy, resting.  The Girl was stalking us like an African Cat.  She announced she couldn't walk another step, then followed us at a distance when we told her she could just sit on a bench a wait.

Dinner our last night at the lovely restaurant within walking distance of our rental. Check out that view!

And the food was yummy, too!  The ,Boy is showing off his "wild game burger", while my "wild game meatloaf with garlic potatoes and sweet and sour green beans".

Thanks, family, for the fantastic trip!  We had a great time and are looking forward to next summer's adventure in Alaska!

Family History Post of the Day

Today would have been my Grandfather's 102nd birthday.  I'm amazed when I realize he died over 20 years ago--seems like just yesterday he was feeding the dog under the table.

For many years my Grandparents worked on Mackinac Island and I always think it is sweet that almost every year a friend or relative visits Mackinac around this time of year and shares pictures that make me smile.

 (Obviously) these photos are from decades before I was imagined, but they are two of my favorites.

Grandpa lived with us for semi-extended time periods twice in my life, well, really three, if you count 1978, when he and Grandma were snowed in with us for weeks.  After my Grandmother passed away, he lived with us for a few months.  My grandmother had purchased and wrapped Christmas gifts already, but wanting to make sure that I received the "one gift I wanted" (a Barbie) he bought one as well--I loved those twin Barbies!

Later, after I graduated from college, I moved home to teach at the local high school.  My move home coincided with Grandpa moving in and my brother's friend, R, moving in as well (his parent had moved out of district and it was their senior year).  One of my favorite memories from that year was when R came home to find Grandpa vacuuming and hissed to my brother, "They're making him do housework?!!!"

I remember Grandpa laughing a lot.  He could play a mean jazz piano and taught my brother and I to fish in a lily encrusted lake.  He also pretended to be horrified that we had an inside dog, but more than once was found "resting his meat on his knee" to cool off and was "surprised" when it "disappeared".

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!