Books I Read in 2013

And it's time for my annual post of the Book I read in the last year. I made it through 61 books total, 4 more than last year. Which I think isn't too bad because I have been in school since September and only found the time to read 9 since then.

Looking back at my list, I read through a lot of Christian books and a bunch by LDS authors. I find that I don't have time to read through smutty books like I used to. I read a lot of series and found some awesome new authors.

My favorite book of the year.... The Book of Mormon

I was able sneak in 3 reads of this one again this year. I learned some wonderful new insights from my Institute class I took this last semester (and developed a love and respect for Isaiah, even though I still don't understand a lot of what he is saying). I'm looking forward to my next semester of Book of Mormon 2.

My favorite series of the year... The Great and Terrible Series by Chris Stewart

I devoured this series! Written by an LDS author giving a view of Premortal life and the end of days. It gave me quite a few things to think about (and increased my desire to get my food storage acquired.) 

Favorite new (to me) author of the year... Sarah Jio

I was looking for a specific book on the shelf at the library and this one just popped out to me. I tore through it and quickly got her other 2 novels available at my library. Checking her website, I see there are two more that I need to request. 

Here is the list of all the books:

*City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

*The Book of Mormon (again, again)

*Allegiant by Veronica Roth

*A Distant Music by B.J. Hoff

*City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

*The Rapture by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

*The Book of Mormon (again)

*The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

*The Kitchen House by Kathleen Frisson

*Insurgent by Veronica Roth

*Divergent by Veronica Roth

*The Regime by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

*Ascend by Amanda Hocking

*Torn by Amanda Hocking

*Switched by Amanda Hocking

*Love in the Balancce by Regina Jennings

*Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth

*The Rising by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

*Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

*Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings

*The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

*Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

*Call the Nurse by Mary MacLeod

*The Time Between by Karen White

*Parenthood by Proxy by Laura Schlessinger

*Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

*Left Behind by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins

*Porter Rockwell by John Rockwell & Jerry Borrowman

*Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

*A Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans

*When did I get like this by Amy Wilson

*Clear as the Moon by Chris Stewart

*From the End of Heaven by Chris Stewart

*Fury & Light by Chris Stewart

*The Second Sun by Chris Stewart

*Where Angels Fall by Chris Stewart

*The Brothers by Chris Stewart

*Rebekah by Orson Scott Card

*Sarah by Orson Scott Card

*The Book of Mormon

*Mrs. Mike by Benedict & Nancy Freedman

*All in Good Time by Tara Kuczykowski & Mandi Ehman

*Rachel and Leah by Orson Scott Card

*The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court by Bob Woodward

*Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

*Fair Warning by Hannah Alexander

*Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

*While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
*Grave Risk by Hannah Alexander
*Last Resort by Hannah Alexander

*The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman

*The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens

*Safe Haven by Hannah Alexander

*The Wedding Dress by Virginia Ellis

*Dinner for Busy Moms by Jeanne Muchnick

*Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

*A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer

*Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

*Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer

*To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander

*Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

2013 in Review...

So, I didn't post too many blogs this last year...time just kinda slipped past me. I pledge to do better this upcoming year. To catch you all up with things, here is 2013 in review.

The kids played in the snow...yep, we live in Idaho...it gets cold here. 

In February Kim had her birthday and turned 14.

In March Steven had his birthday and turned 33. (Sorry no pic.)

In April Evan had his birthday and turned 3.

We took pictures to send to my mom for her family tree...

some of them were crazy...

Owen

Evan

Logan 

Kim

We cut hair over and over again...about every 3 weeks. Times that by 4 heads of hair...over and over again.

In June Logan had his 7th birthday (sorry no pics.)

We went to the park and I made Kim do the hard work. 

We went to the park and played in the water...and by we, I mean the boys.

We snuggled on the couch and watched movies. 

We had water balloon fights...it took Bryant and I forever to fill those up, about 5 minutes for them to be gone.

We went camping and hiking. 

My boys and their Richardson cousins taking a break during the hike. 

In August I had my birthday and turned 29 (again).

Owen had his birthday and turned 5. 

Then, the next day...

First day of Kindergarten. (Possibly the greatest gift to me...well aside from the fact that I have to make 3 trips back and forth to Galileo....so I'm looking forward to next school year when I only need to go twice.)

Logan's first day of 2nd grade. Playing during recess. 

About two weeks after the kids started school, so did I. Online.

 Our attempt at family pictures...do you know how hard it is to get 6 people looking at the camera all at once!?!

From family photos...Owen going down the slide. 

Logan with a skeleton.

Evan climbing while Kim makes sure he doesn't fall off and die. 

Our crazy little family. 

All in all, it was a great year for our family. Just very, very busy.

Lots of love and here's to hoping I can make time to blog more often. 

BKA Christmas Gift Exchange 2013

Tonight I finally nailed mom and dad down on pulling names for the gift exchange. We decided to add Kevin, since we keep hearing rumors that "something" will happen by December 31st. Hopefully we did not err in that decision. :)

Adults ($20 limit)

Dad --> Tiffany

Mom --> Crystal

Steven --> Nicole

Tiffany --> Dad

Matt --> Brian

Melissa --> Kevin

Brian --> Matt

Nicole --> Sharon

Kevin --> Preston

Crystal --> Melissa

Sharon --> Steven

Preston --> Mom

Kids ($10 limit)

Kim --> Hailey

Logan --> John

Hailey --> Evan

Katelyn --> Kim

Owen --> Kylie

Landon --> Owen

John --> Logan

Evan --> Landon

Kylie --> Katelyn

So everyone start getting your wish lists ready! (And yes, I realize this is the 2nd post of the year...I'm busy! But I'll work on correctly that shortly, once I have all my homework done.)

Books I read in 2012

Assuming I can count correctly, I read 57 books during 2012 in their entirety. There were a few I just couldn't battle my way through or put down in utter disgust. Those I didn't feel warranted my attention.

Back by popular demand.....some of my favorites.

 My favorite book of 2012 (it also ranked #1 last year. And honestly, I don't see a contender to take this top spot anytime soon):

I managed to sneak in a 3rd reading of The Book of Mormon in 2012 by starting it all over again immediately after I finished in Mid-November. I learn more and more each time I read it. 

My favorite book series of 2012:

Ok, so that I just a picture of the 1st book in The Walk series. It is followed by Miles to Go. Then comes The Road to Grace. My SIL (thanks, Neelie) recommended this series and I couldn't have loved it more. The premise of taking off and walking sounds really good sometimes. It also has a great spiritual undertone which caused me to experience many "Aha" moments while reading. I'm not sure I'll survive waiting for book #4 to come out this upcoming spring...

My favorite new author:

Tamera Alexander. I've devoured all but one of her books that are currently in print. (And I'd have that one done also but I'm in the "hold" Que the library) Most of her stories are set in Old West-y Colorado. The people have flaws and learn to deal with them. There is always a sweet love story intertwined  but without all the yucky "R" rated parts. Love her writing style!

Not all of these books would be considered suitable for teens (or even some of you adults). Contact me to see if I'd suggest it for your reading pleasure. 

*The Book of Mormon (again, again)
*All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
*The Road to Grace by Richard Paul Evans
*Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans
*America's Cheapest Family gets you Right on the Money by Steve Economides
*Hideaway by Hannah Alexander
*Reached by Ally Condie
*The House That Cleans Itself by Mindy Starns Clark
*The Book of Mormon (again)
*The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander
*The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
*Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
*Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
*The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
*Survial Mom by Lisa Bedford
*The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy
*Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
*Remembered by Tamera Alexander
*Revealed by Tamera Alexander
*Rekindled by Tamera Alexander
*A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander
*The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
*From A Distance by Tamera Alexander
*Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander
*The Wedding Kiss by Hannah Alexander
*Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
*The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer
*Crossed by Ally Condie
*Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber
*Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent
*The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
*Beyond This Moment by Tamera Alexander
*The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
*Matched by Ally Condie
*The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*Till Death do us Part by Robi Ludwig
*The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie
*Breaking the Code by Karen Fisher-Alaniz
*The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
*Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
*Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
*Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
*The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
*Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
*The Book of Mormon
*The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
*A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
*Perfect by Judith McNaught
*A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
*Growing Up by Brad Wilcox
*Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
*Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
*Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
*Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
*James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
*Washington Square by Henry James
*Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks

Explanations

You are probably wondering why my blogging has been slacking in recent months. Honestly it's been a wide variety of reasons...

...I am really crappy about taking pictures and somehow feel that I need to include pictures in a post or it's not worth posting.

...Over the summer, we were just so go go go and when I'd get a free minute to post I decided I'd rather do something else.

...Since school has started, we've been just as busy and I've been just as lazy.

...I also started a new business venture that has been taking a lot of my time to get things up and running....still working on that and a post about it will be coming soon.

Now that I feel like I'm getting back into my groove, I should have some posts coming. Look forward to updates...like Owen's 4th birthday Super Hero party, random cute kiddo pics and the like.

BKA Family Christmas Gift Exchange

Every year my immediate family draws names out of a hat (or perhaps a bowl if we are too lazy to get a hat) to determine who is going to buy a present for who. I think this tradition was started when I was a kid and it was easier/cheaper to have us only buy a present for one sibling. A rather ingenious idea I think. And now with the 6 original kids, plus 3 spouses, plus 8 kids involved it would become super expensive to buy for everyone.

For some reason we also decided to separate the adults from the kids....perhaps some of the adults are afraid to have a 3 year old pick out their present....personally I think it would be fun to mix it all up....maybe I'll vote for that next year.

This is our family's solution....So basically, for those you not in my immediate family, this post will have no redeeming value. Feel free to ignore this post completely. :) Or I guess if you want, you could post a comment about how your family handles a Christmas gift exchange.

..... Buys for ..... 

Adults ($20 limit)

Dad --> Nicole

Mom --> Matt

Steven --> Preston

Tiffany --> Melissa

Matt --> Steven

Melissa --> Sharon

Brian --> Dad

Nicole --> Crystal

Crystal --> Mom

Sharon --> Brian

Preston --> Tiffany

Kids ($10ish)

Kim --> Katelyn

Logan --> John

Hailey --> Owen

Katelyn --> Kim

Owen --> Hailey

Landon--> Evan

John --> Logan

Evan --> Landon

Logan's Star Wars Party

It all started a couple months ago when Steven was at DI and found a cake pan with C3PO. He asked Logan if he wanted to have a Star Wars birthday party. Of course he said yes. So after much consulting of Pinterest, much color printing, lots of cutting and some hot glue gun burned fingers later we were ready to party!

Here is the front of the invite. Just took a pre-made one and added a picture of a lightsaber and Yoda to the front.

You know I couldn't just fill in the spaces pre-printed inside. The invitation sets the tone for the party...so here is what I came up with:

When the guests arrived at the house, they were welcomed with this view:

Here is a close up of the sign. (It will double as room decor for a while.) You know you love my homemade lightsabers. You can't tell, but there is glitter glue in coordinating colors around each lightsaber to give them that "mystical" look...!

Inside we had streamers and this banner I made. It says Logan Skywalker, which is the super clever name I made up and my son thinks I'm awesome. I'm just glad the name Logan is somewhat related to Luke...it works good enough for a 6 year old and his mom. (It will also double as room decor.)

When all the Padawans (Jedis-in-training) arrived we commenced with the training.

First up, Sharpshooter Training Practice...Shooting at Stormtroopers of course. We gave them a nerf gun and they got 6 shots to knock down 2 Stormtroopers.

A couple kids got 1 down, most none. Logan was the only one to knock down both and he only used 4 darts.

Next the Padawans needed to learn from the Jedi Master how to handle a Lightsaber. So we played Pin the Lightsaber on Yoda. Here is Yoda before...

The birthday boy taking his turn...

And Yoda after...Little Mister in the foreground was the winner of this game.

At this point we paused from the training and had the Padawans refuel...on cake and ice cream of course. Oh, don't forget the Yoda Soda! Here is the cake. That was all Steven. Personally the night before the party I was ready to make cupcakes and whip out some toppers for them. Steven insisted that we use the cake pan. I told him if that was the plan it was all up to him. Due to haste, he made the frosting too thin and it "melted" all over the place. At least none of the kids cared and it tasted good.

After refueling, we proceeded with training. Here we are simulating Flight Training as we try and escape the Death Star. (Hot Potato with a ball covered in aluminum foil and Star Wars movie music.)

For our last training exercise we practised using our Lightsabers and the Force to keep balloons from hitting the ground. This was done outside because I'm not a idiot and I knew six 6 year olds with lightsabers in my living room would be crazy!

At last training was complete and the young Padawans were promoted to Jedi status. They were awarded goodie bags and their "badges". Here is our sole female completer modeling her Leia buns...

And my adorable little man modeling the Yoda ears.

After going back inside to open presents, we herded everyone back outside to the park to fight away with their Lightsabers until their parents came to pick them up. Much fun was had by all!