Hiking, Climbing, and Graduation

We've been pretty busy these last few weeks and I've completely fallen behind on posting things, so here are some highlights--

We've been trying to get out and hike, bike ride, etc. a few times a week to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and take advantage of this beautiful area that we live in.  Matt had a job offer in Wisconsin, and we were SO close to moving there (like, Matt changed his mind and decided to stay with Qualtrics the day after we decided to move to Wisconsin), and I think that almost-move really made me realize how much of Utah we haven't explored!  So, we have a goal to really live and love it here while we still can.

Matt graduated in April with a BA in Economics, and we are so proud of him!  I had just graduated when Matt and I got married, and he still had three years left!  So we have really been looking forward to this day.  Both of our families were there to celebrate this great accomplishment.

After graduation, we spent the rest of the weekend with Matt's family which included a visit to the new Provo City Center Temple (just blocks from our house!) and some rock climbing.

Adam Turns One

We celebrated Adam's first birthday last month.  I can't believe our little baby is a year old!  We threw a pirate party for him, and it was a blast.  I love to plan/host parties, so this was so fun for me.  Probably won't be having a party for him for a while because I spent quite a bit of money (sorry, Matt!), but it was totally worth it!

My family came down for the party, and Matt's family drove up from Arizona!  Only grandchild privileges... We also had a few neighbors over.  Everyone dressed up and looked so awesome in their costumes!

 Lacey made Adam's cake!  Isn't this incredible!?

March Reads

I know, I'm really falling behind on the blog posting.  March was just a crazy month.  I still have Adam's birthday party and a few other things that I'll hopefully get around to... In the meantime, here are the books I read/listened to in March.

The Nightingale
by Kristen Hannah
Guys, I'm still dreaming of this book.  I can easily say that this book made the "Top 5 Best Books I've Ever Read" list.  I listened to the audio book which I highly recommend.  The reader does great accents for the different French and German characters.  The book is about two sisters in France during World War II when Germany occupies France.  As it goes back and forth between their stories, you learn how the war effects them differently and how they decide to react to the circumstances that they are faced with and how their decisions shape their destinies.  I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!  I wanted to start it all over again the second it stopped.  I listened to the last little bit in the car while we were driving to Arizona and Matt was sleeping.  He woke up and after giving him the run down, he intently listened to the rest of it with me and he loved it as well.  We talked for the rest of the drive about the book!  So inspirational, heart wrenching, and just so beautiful.  Now, I do have to be honest, it took me a while to get into it.  I actually started it, got bored, and then restarted it a few weeks later.  Just push through the beginning.  I promise you will love it.

The House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
As part of my "2016 New Me" resolution to go out of my comfort zone and try new things, I started a book club.  I decided I only wanted it to be a few people (8 was the magic number) that could commit to reading the book and coming each month.  Each person would get a month to choose the book and host the discussion, with four months to do something else (for example, in April we will each pick a classic novel to read).  Anyway, the first book chosen for the book club was The House of the Scorpion.  I would have never picked this to read on my own, but it was really interesting, and I'm glad that I read it.  Matt is a clone in the futuristic "Opium"-- the area of land between what was once the US and Mexico.  The book goes through the different stages of Matt's life and how he copes with the knowledge of his "birth" and purpose of his life.  This was a great book club choice because of all the great discussion topics-- power and pride, wealth, moral ethics, etc.  There is a sequel, but I don't think I'll read it.  We decided this would be a good book for a teenage boy because the main character is the same age and there isn't a lot of details/descriptions.  It's pretty straightforward.

Me Before You
by JoJo Moyes
It wasn't until I saw the trailer for the movie that I finally decided to read this book.  And then I watched the trailer twice a day until the book was finally available (I think I was number 15 on the hold list).  So, I went into this book thinking it was going to be this romantic, super emotional, lovey-chick flickly type book.... and it wasn't.  For that reason, I didn't really enjoy the book.  It just wasn't what I was expecting.  Looking back, I can see that the trailer picked out the more romantic elements of the book to catch all the viewers out there like me.  So, if you are looking for a cute lovey book, this probably isn't the one for you.  However, this book was interesting because it gave me new perspective on a lifestyle that I've never thought much about-- Will is a quadriplegic with no hope of recovery, and Louisa takes a job as his caregiver.  The two teach each other so much about life and what it truly means to live.  I thought there were some really beautiful and touching insights.  Warning:  this is a sad book, so just be aware of that.  Again, I'm not sure if I want to read the sequel.  But I am still excited to see the movie.

The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
I saw this book mentioned on a blog and thought I would give it a try.  And I loved it!  It was just so much fun!  It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite books called Flipped, which is also just super enjoyable.  The Wednesday Wars is technically a children's book-- middle school age, but it was a nice break from the other books I've been reading.  Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader on Long Island during the late '60s, and it's basically the story of all the crazy things that happen that year, historically and personally for Holling.  The book had me literally laughing out loud.  The author is really clever in his writing tying in Shakespeare plays and recurring themes.  I'm definitely not doing this book justice, but just trust me: You will enjoy this book!  I definitely recommend the audio book because the reader does such a good job.

The Lifeboat
by Charlotte Rogan
This book was not at all what I expected.  I was hoping for some epic survival story and this book, honestly, was boring.  I listened to the audio book and just keep waiting for the story to start... and then it was over!  This is the story of a group of 40 people on a lifeboat after their ship sinks.  The main character is retelling her account while she is on trial for murder.  I know, it sounds awesome, but like I said, it was just boring.  I don't recommend it.

And that was March!  I'm glad I got ahead because April is half way over and I've only read one book!

A weekend in Snowflake

Matt's mom directs the high school musical in Snowflake every spring.  Now, I'm not a huge live performance fan-- honestly, I would rather see a movie.  However, the musicals that I've been able to attend these last few years in Snowflake have really been entertaining!  We missed Cinderella last year because I was 38 weeks pregnant, but we saw Hello Dolly!, Anything Goes, and this year we saw Little Abner.  The sets are really well done, the singing is fun, and the acting is actually pretty good.  And it's been so fun to watch Matt's siblings all participate.  His whole family puts so much work into the plays each year, and it's a treat for us to go down and watch.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures from the play, but here are a bunch of other pictures from our weekend.

Adam is over the age where he slept peacefully in the car during long road trips, unfortunately.  And when Adam isn't happy in the car, ain't nobody happy in the car.  Luckily, there are all kinds of fun gas stations/rest stops on the drive down to Arizona.  It makes the trip take longer, but it's nice for us to have a chance to stretch our legs and explore.

 

Matt's brothers just bought this old sandrail and are working to restore it.  We got it running and took it for a spin!

 Adam loved riding around on the quad!

 We don't mess around.

And I can't end this post without mentioning how awesome it was to see Judy after her mission to Mexico!!  We're so happy to have you home!

February Reads

One book ahead for my yearly reading goal!

Austenland
by Shannon Hale

A few weeks ago, Delicious Reads posted this article on their blog about clean romances, and I dove right in.  I love romance novels, but it's hard to find ones that aren't well,... that don't make me blush and feel like I'm reading something that I should hide from Matt.  SO, I was really excited about this list and started with Austenland.  Jane is a 30-something-year-old single woman who is secretly obsessed with finding her own Mr. Darcy.  When her great-aunt finds out and later passes away, she leaves Jane tickets to experience "Austenland"-- basically a theme park for Regency-obsessed woman that guarantees a regal romance with a fine gentleman.  And I mean, this place is the real deal-- no electronics, the actors all speak, dress, and act in time-period manner.  Jane has a hard time realizing when she is acting and when she is being herself.  Are all of the others acting all the time as well?  Things get confusing when she starts to have feelings for one of the gentleman.  Could this be her Mr. Darcy or is it all just a game?  This book definitely won't change your life, but it's a feel-good 200 page read.  And there is a movie!  Has anyone seen it?

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2), Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)
by Marissa Meyer

Ok, to say that I'm obsessed with this serious would be an understatement.  I cannot say enough good things.  These book are so clever-- I mean, not quite Harry Potter clever, but definitely up there.  The stories weave together so seamlessly and I love the characters and the plot and just everything about them.  I've been listening to all of them on audio book, and like I said before, I really, really love the reader.  She does such a great job with the accents and different characters.  I don't want to give too much of the plot away for those who haven't read the first one, and I have to be honest, it sounds silly if I try to explain it.  I was telling my mom about them today and she looked at me like, "These sound weird... Why are you reading them?"  So, you'll just have to take my word for it and go and read them.  I promise you won't regret it... even if you're up reading into the early hours of the morning!

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5)
by Marissa Meyer

This is the backstory of the evil Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles.  I have to admit, I didn't really like this book.  It was just... evil.  I don't know-- I didn't like the relationship between Levana and her sister.  And Levana is seriously psycho and possessive and the book just kind of gave me the creeps.  I felt that this book gave me a better understanding of Levana a person, but it isn't necessary to the plot of the other books.