and now for my final TRICK: 07/01/2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Georgetown Loop Railroad

Everett has been getting more and more excited about trains every day. While my dad was in town, we decided to take him for his first train ride.

We drove out I-70 to Silver Plume and found the coolest old timey steam train ever.

The kids were jumping out of their skin with excitement and I could hardly hold Ev back from jumping over the gates to get to the train.

The ride was about an hour and meanders through the woods, over rivers, by waterfalls, and over a very tall bridge.

The kids both spent much of the ride with their heads hanging out the windows enjoying everything.

We had to keep a tight hold on Ev, he kept hanging out the window too far!

Everett was totally wiped out bu the end and was falling asleep, but still had to be hanging out the window.

It was so much fun and I totally recommend it for anyone looking for some touristy activity while in Denver!

Here are all of the pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/2011_7_6?authkey=Gv1sRgCKe526v76MnKiwE

Thursday, July 7, 2011

4th of July

We spent the first part of the weekend camping with Ty, Nichole, Emily, and Troy, but made it home to pick up Grandpa from the airport and see the fireworks!

We were about 50/50 wondering if we would actually make it to dark and the fireworks.

But we went to the Arvada town fireworks at a big city park, it just took a bit of effort to get there.

The kids spent the first hour playing on the great playground.

Holden was on her "soap box" yelling to the world, "Hey people! The fireworks are here, the fireworks are here!"

Then we had lots of snacks and tickling till dark. Luckily, the surrounding neighborhoods had decent fireworks of their own to wet our appetites and hold us over to the big show.

Ev spent most of the show sitting on my back.

I can't believe how good these munchkins did! They held up for the whole thing. We bolted about 5 minutes before the end and watched the finale while walking to our car. We beat the traffic and got the kids to bed by 10:30!

(too bad they woke up at 6 the next morning!)

Father's day Camping Trip...A SUCCESS!!!!

Our first successful camping trip in three years....and thank goodness because I was almost ready to give up. This was super nice and sleeping was far from perfect with little Ev monster, but it was doable!

We spent lots of time on searches for bugs,

got to do some small hikes,

had some funny face contests,

some screaming contests,

had Jiffy Pop for the first time ever,

took care of important business,

and had an all around good time!

Here is the link to bunches of photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/2011_6_20?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPm_fbvmfmp0wE

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.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Georgetown Loop Railroad

Thursday, July 7, 2011

4th of July

Father's day Camping Trip...A SUCCESS!!!!

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