Day with the Grandkids

Dani and Travas's kids have been up here for a couple of days.

Dani and Travas went to a Tattoo convention yesterday and his Einstein tattoo took second place.
We took the kids to the Taste of Edmonds yesterday and met Travis and Cassie and girls and Alex's friend, Brittani there. We got there in time to see most of The Coats concert. Our older kids used to go watch this group at Crossroads Mall when they were first starting, the group even came to Dani's college in Utah and she saw them there. They were called The Trenchcoats then but after the shooting at Columbine High School they had to change their name because someone said their website had something to do with the shooters (or something like that.) They are a great acappella group and they still sound really good, probably better than I remember.

Here is a video of Chiana dancing as they sing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snMW2F2x5is

Last night all six grandkids slept over here. Most of us watched the opening Olympics opening ceremony. Here are some pictures of them sleeping on our new leather recliner couches:

Tanner, Chiana, Alex

Josie, Emily, Tiara


1:20 AM and all of the kids are asleep only the camera flash lights up the room.

The kids had a good time today playing inside and outside, it rained off and on but that didn't bother them:

Since this is a long blog anyway so I'm going to put up some pictures of the yard that I took today because so many flowers are out and it is such a pretty time of year.

(click on any of the pictures to see larger pictures.)

To see all of today's pictures and more go to:
http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n431/cballdredge/at%20home%209aug2008/

Here's some more videos of the kids singing Celtic Thunder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRcP_cguIs4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UprXlYD2Ynk

more books this week

I'm taking some books back to the library and decided to write a little about them and other books I have read this week.


"Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts
About eight years ago while homeschooling Adam (sixth grade then) I checked a book out from the Monroe library that had first person female accounts of the Revolutionary War using letters and diaries. (There was a Loyalist in Philadelphia, a teenager also in Pennsylvania, and several supporting the cause.) I really enjoyed this book and haven't been able to find it again. It was probably sold in a friends of the library sale, but I hope not. I was hoping this book by Cokie Roberts was it but it is not. It is a good book though and I recommend it.



"Heroines of the American Revolution - America's Founding Mothers" by Diane Silcox-Garrett illustrated by Art Seiden
This is a good book also, it is a "J" book for elementary age and is well illustrated and written. It includes short profiles of 24 women who helped with the Patriot cause.



"The River Knows" by Amanda Quick
This is Victorian romance book with a small mystery. I enjoy Miss Quick's books if I read the new one each year. Once I read three or four at one time and found that most of the stories were the same -- a poor woman of polite society who has to make it on her own during a time that most women didn't finding the man of her dreams who helps her solve a mystery. Great characters though I always like them. There are sexual scenes included and sometimes archealogy/magic. If I only read the newer ones each year I enjoy them including this one. (No archealogists this time.) Amanda Quick is actually one of the pen names of Jayne Ann Krentz. I also enjoy her other planet/fantasy books written as Jayne Castle.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
This is a really good book, I can see why it won one of the LDS Whitney awards for 2007 -- Best Book by a new author. This is about a girl whose aunt gives her to a dragon and what happens after that. She seems to have set it up for a sequel and I hope she does write one, because it is a good book. I think my grandkids will enjoy reading it too.

"Fold Me a Poem" by Kristine O'Connell George illustrated by Lauren Stringer
This book was by the checkout computers at the library so I checked it out. It is a children's book with poems and origami animals in all of the illustrations. It is very nice. I wish there was a companion book with the patterns for the origami animals instead just a list of reference books that were used.

"Origami Rockets -Spinners, Zoomers, Floaters, and More" by Lew Rozelle
This is a great book. We will try out some of the rockets when the grandkids are here tomorrow for Mike's birthday party.

"Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson
I am just reading this book now. It is really good -- I will buy it. I try to buy all of the books that I really like so the author gets something and I have them for my library. Brandon Sanderson got a 2007 Whitney award also for another book that I will read later.

Books I've read lately

I've decided to talk/blog about the books that I have read lately. It seems that I don't do much with my life but I do read a lot. Although I am basically a mystery buff I read lots of stuff. I'm pursuing several different genres and series right now.

In the last week I've read the middle two Maximum Ride books, "School's Out -- Forever" and "Saving the World", by James Patterson and the seventh book in his Women's Murder Club series, "Seventh Heaven".
Max and her flock are great, I hope they finally get some rest in the last book. "Seventh Heaven" is as good as the rest of the series. Patterson is a great writer, no one makes a book move as fast as he does - maybe it's the short chapters...

I read the second book in the dragon series by Naomi Novik, "Throne of Jade".
I love the dragon, Temeraire, and Laurence. I've been studying more about the Napoleanic wars since reading this series. I loved the trip to China in this book and seeing how the dragons are treated there in contrast to how they are treated in the western world.

I read Jessica Day George's book called "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow".
This is a good retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon/Beauty and the Beast. I'm looking forward to reading her book, "Dragon Slippers" - it just came today.

And just today I read the Whitney Awards LDS 2007 book of the year written by Coke Newell called "On the Road to Heaven".
I can see why it won, I really enjoyed the book and read it most of the night. He is a really good author and has a way with words--I'm afraid that I can't say that about many LDS authors.

I've also started listening to the third Children of the Lamp series book on my Ipod, "Cobra King of Kathmandu".
I wasn't going to finish this series, but find that I am interested in what happens to the Djinn twins, Phillipa and John, so off we go on another adventure. And I just saw on Amazon.com that there is a fourth book...

I am daily reading from "The Book of Mormon Made Easier, Part III" by David Ridges.
I enjoy his insights and notes as I read a chapter each day. For some reason I am not enjoying this third book as much as the last one, it might be because it is the newest edition and has more comments or something.

-cba

The Flu

Travis and Cassie are in Utah, snowboarding and visiting Temple Square while the girls and I are holding down the homefront and we all have the flu!!
I hope they are having a great time while we are coughing and dealing with scratchy throats and freezing. I'm glad that Travis and Cassie have stayed well and are enjoying their trip.
I don't know what the rest of the family is doing this weekend since I have not moved too far from the couch.
Mike and Adam are next door taking care of themselves and checking on us once in a while to be sure we are still all hanging in there.