Books

The other day I heard myself telling someone how I feel as though I need to step it up, in giving my kids the opportunity to gain a LOVE for reading, not just because I love to read but because I am married to an English Professor. I have been pondering a lot about how I can set a better example for my kids. I have decided to set a goal that I have been wanting to set for a while. So here goes nothing...

(Sidenote: I love having pictures to go along with my posts and to tell you the truth the picture that would go perfect with this post is going to have to be left to your imagination. My camera battery needs to be charged, with a lost charger, hoping to find soon. I have seemed to misplace my little camera, so I am left to shooting slide film... yes I know the last person you knew that shot slide film was your Dad and it was all on his mission, but that is a post for another time...)

So on to your imagination:
Picture a nice 3' x 6' bookcase filled with one of the widest varieties of books you could think of. They range from Cookbooks to John D Fitzgerald to Cormac McCarthy mixed in the middle of our free church books from our Deseret Book days.
I have decided to pick one of the 6 shelves and read all the books on that shelf. (really let's be honest I have read maybe 1/3 of the books in the whole bookcase and I think that is a little pathetic!)
I have chosen the middle shelf on the left side. As I decided this was going to be the shelf that would soon take up a lot of my free time over the next year I was sitting on the couch. The closer I got to the shelf I had a few thoughts that went something like this:
The Silmarillion (seriously how many of the average person has ever even heard of this book?) well, Jon really liked it. I could give it a try, wait no I want to be able to say I have read ALL the books on that shelf. I am going to HAVE to read that book...
Sweet. I remember sitting on my floor leaning up against my bed laughing hysterically while reading Shel Silverstiens book A light in the Attic. Awesome, I can read that one in a day.
Bleakhouse.... That book sure looks like it has a ton of pages....
I would hate to bore you with all of my reactions to each book that I realized was on the shelf and I started wondering how I could fit SO many books on one shelf. After a few minutes I decided I would have to make this goal possible. After a few needed switcheroos I was ready to start and accept my goal. The end result: 31 books.
I will list the titles and their Authors. If their is anyone out there that would like to join me in my quest I would love to start a "Pick a book off Kanien's book shelf" book club. There is a pretty wide variety of books, except it just happened to be the shelf that has all my Jane Austin.... Here are the titles and you can choose if you are up to the let's read all the books I SHOULD have read in high school challenge.

A light in the Attic ~ Shel Silverstein
Anne of green Gables ~ L.M. Montgomery
Black Beauty~ Anna Sewell
Peter Pan ~ James M Barrie
Heidi ~ Jolianna Spyri
Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott
A Child's book of Stories
A Room with a view ~ E.M. Forster
The Hobbit ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Austin:
Pride and Prejudice
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
Emma
Mansfield Park
Sense and Sensibility
Middlemarch ~ George Elliot
Where the Heart Leads ~ Stansfield
When Hearts Meet ~ Stansfield
Letters ~ Sister Hinckley
The Great Brain ~ John D. Fitzgerald
Dreams of Trespass ~ Fatima Mernissi
A Heart Like His ~ Virginia Pearce
The Giver ~ Lois Lowery
Silas Marner ~ George Elliot
Howls Moving Castle ~ Diana Wynne Jones
Castle in the Air ~ Diana Wynne Jones
The Secret Garden ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Jungle Books ~ Rudyard Kipling
Winnie the Pooh ~ A. A. Milne
Treasure Island ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
The Classic Fairy Tales

First Book: Anne of green Gables. (Side note: I have never finished this book. I don't even know if I have ever even gotten to the half way point. I LOVE all the other books in the series, I just have always skipped the first one to get on to the "better" ones. I hope I find I am completely wrong and I fall in love with this one as much as the rest.)
Wish me Luck!

Claire Walking

This post is mainly for grandparents. Claire has been taking steps for a couple of months, but she's just started to stand up on her own and continue walking after she falls.

Mom's at Young Women's tonight....

She said I had to give the girls a bath. She didn't say we couldn't watch a movie, though. He he he....Ponyo, here we come!

A few things I will miss

As you all know from Jon's Post (almost ready to post, I just couldn't wait) we are heading to...

As I was looking at some of our pictures today I started to think about ALL the things I am going to miss when we leave. Here are a few of the things I will miss most.

THE CABIN....

in the summer &

The Winter.

The mountains! We really live in an amazing place. I love all the beauty that surrounds us and I am really going to miss seeing the mountains everyday.

Utah Football Games. We will always bleed RED. The only saving grace is we have this to look forward to this fall...

Of course our families. I would have to say that Jon and I would do just about anything our families asked us to do. We sure do LOVE you guys and it is going to be so hard to be without you. Thank you for being our Best Friends and please come and see us whenever you want.

We have made so many wonderful friends and I hate to admit how bad I am going to miss them as well. I feel like a little girl who is going to cry because my parents are making me move away from my friends. It sure is going to be really hard. I want to thank all of you who have been so nice to our family. We sure love you guys!

Last but not least... since we have a couple months before we head out I am starting to make a list of "must sees" before we leave. For example call me crazy, but I have never been to Arches or Zions (I know a little pathetic) but I would love your input on fun places we need to go before we head out to the mid-west. So keep your suggestions coming and I will try to not think about how we will be leaving so soon. Love you all and have a fabulous afternoon!

2 Reasons why having kids is soo worth it

Reason 1.
When you are so sick you can't get out of bed, they tell your sweetheart that they have to go and get you these and make this:

Reason 2

How could that smile not make you happy?