and now for my final TRICK: PA Summer Visit 2009

Sunday, July 5, 2009

PA Summer Visit 2009

WOW!
We had a fun filled event packed week in Allentown! Yes, I made Ian come too because there is no way I am flying with those two kiddies by myself for quite a while. Ian and I were basically terrified to find out what a 4 hour long plane ride with our two angels would be like. It was better than we had expected, but not easy. Holden loves sleeping in her bed.She will sleep for 12 hours a night and take 3 hour naps. However, not in a bed, she does not sleep...at all. So she was pretty energetic for the plane ride, the ride back to Allentown, and until about 1 am. Everett pretty much ate and slept and made the trip super easy.

We got to spend lots of time with family and eat tons of "bad" food...cheese steakes, hoagies, pizza, and pierogies! YUM Holden has never eaten so badly in her life. Ian and I got to go out to dinner ALONE and spend Saturday night out with a big group of my high school friends. How nice to feel adult and human again!

Surprisingly Holden stayed perfectly healthy throughout the entire trip, a definite first. However, Everett had some issues. Teething, reflux, fever, not sleeping on schedule, and I swear the jarred baby food, had him in fits for most of the trip. Lots of tears and screams, which is such a shame, because he is the smiliest baby I have ever seen.

My mom had a big party at her place. Just the usual 45 closest family members! We also had a big family picnic on my dad's side. Holden got to whack at her first real pinata, and I even let her eat two lollipops!

Everett found a fan club in all of the little girl cousins...and Grandpa!

And what a shock, Holden got to play in the rain-since it rained EVERY day. She did not like being told to come in!

We had a wonderful trip, but as usual I felt like I needed a vacation when I got home. There are so many friends and family to visit and when we are only back twice a year, I don't want to miss out on any fun with anyone. Here is the link to all of our pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/PASummerVisit2009#

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Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

PA Summer Visit 2009

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