Book Club: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

So this book was announced in the middle of Aug. and I didn't get it read, so I moved it to September's book too. And yes, I read it.

OK, so did anyone end up reading it????


As far as reading books goes, I mostly look for one that is going to entertain me. I'm not looking for knowledge on new subjects, or how well a book is technically written, I just want to be entertained and to get some relaxing time at night. With that said, here's what I thought about the book.

I liked the book in the entertainment category. This one actually had me pondering the situation. How would I feel if I were Nora??? Would I want to know that I had a child out there? I felt that the answer for me would be yes. However, with Nora, I kept going back and forth. I wanted her to know, but I didn't want her to feel the anger she would at her husband. And then as time went on and on, I kind of felt like she could be spared more hurt if she didn't know. I knew that if she did find out that Phoebe was alive, she would never really have a motherly relationship with her. When her then ex-husband died suddenly (SHOCKER), I knew that I wanted her to know. I was glad that she found out. I was surprised that she still moved to France. I don't think I could have done that.
Also, I was kind of upset that the relationship between Paul and his Dad never really did fix itself.
And wasn't it a little weird that he went back to his home as a child and met a teenage pregnant girl??? I was glad that they were friends so he wasn't alone. (When I say he, I'm referring to the "Memory Keeper." For some reason I can't remember his name at the moment.)

Well, those are my thoughts on the book. How did you like it??

P.S. There are times that I read for knowledge, this book just isn't one of those times. :)


Also, let's vote on Oct. book of the month.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. The Da Vinci Code
3. The Host
4. Twilight

Hello Anitbiotics. Goodbye Sickness!

Three of the four of us have been to the Dr. in the past 24 hours. Nate and I both have strep throat, Kyah has an ear infection, and an infection in her nose. And she had ear wax so clogged up in her ear that the dr. could not see past it. She had to get it out which wasn't too fun. And her Dr. didn't even test her for strep because she was getting an antibiotic anyway and it was one that would kill strep. I think she may have it too. Needless to say, it has been rough since Sunday, however, today was MUCH more manageable. A lot of the flu symptoms have passed for me making it easy to function with a sore throat, well easy compared to the last three days. I told the dr. I was so glad that I had strep throat because now I could get some pills and could get better. He thought that was pretty funny because most people are upset by the news. I'm so happy for antibiotics!!! I can't wait until they take full effect and I can eat food again!! I want a big burger in the worst way! Utnil then, Jamba Juice and I are best friends.

And little Gager. What a trooper!! He has been able to withstand all the germs. I keep praying that he can stay healthy! Nate and I have until tomorrow and then we won't be contagious anymore. Go Gage Go!!!

Vote 4 Rocky

Rocky has been nominated as one of the best 100 football players in the history of Eastern Washington University. Right now on their website, there is a place where you can vote for who you think is the best per position. Rocky, being the humble dude that he is, didn't even mention any of this to us. My Dad got a letter in the mail telling him which game Rocky would be honored at this year. My Dad called me and told me to go online and vote. Since Rocky won't tell anyone about it, I WILL! I'm a proud sister!

Here is the link. You just click on the offensive lineman spot and highlight his name. It's super obvious when you get to the page. Oh, this voting will determine which rank he will have among the 100 players. CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ROCKY. Thanks!

I am a Marathoner! X 2

Surprise! I ran the Pocatello Marathon last Saturday. My 2nd marathon. I had run Kylee's 20 mile run with her, but other than that, really hadn't trained. AT ALL. But, Kylee really didn't want to run it by herself. I didn't blame her. The Pocatello Marathon is a very small race. 187 marathon runners to be exact. And she was going to run it very slow and knew she would be towards the back, probably all by herself running through the mountains. I knew this and really didn't want her to be all alone. Friday morning came, the day before the marathon, and I still wasn't planning on running. Then my friend Kelly called me and asked me why I wasn't running and I said because I hadn't trained. She kindly told me that I did run 20 mile with her and then I would be able to make it, AND, when would I have a chance to run a marathon with my sister again. I knew she was right. I hung up, called Kylee, and told her I was in. A couple hours later all my running gear and the kids were packed up and we headed to Pocatello.

We got to Pocatello, got registered went out to dinner, visited, and went to bed. Gage ended up getting a fever and was up probably every 20 minutes that night. He was quickly quieted by a little tickling of the back. It made for a very long and sleepless night for me. All night long I was thinking that I wasn't going to run. Gage wasn't feeling well and needed his Momma. Plus, I didn't want to ruin my mom's trip by having her deal with a cranky child. When it was finally time to get up, I called my mom and told her I wasn't sure if I was running and that I didn't want to ruin her trip. She told me she would be just fine and so would Gage as soon as he go around his cousins. I asked Gage, who was acting much better, if he wanted me to stay with him because I didn't have to run the race. He told me that he wanted me to run the race and that Aunt Mimi could help him. There it was, I got my running stuff on and off we went.


My brother Jeff was also running the marathon. Kylee, Jeff, and myself met at 5:45 in the lobby of the hotel and got on the bus that would take us to the start. The race started at 6:30am and it was still dark outside. Kylee and I enjoyed the first few miles of the marathon A LOT! It was so beautiful, the weather was crisp, and we were running downhill. We met a father and son combo right around mile three and ended up staying with them until almost mile 17. They were interesting to talk to. The Dad was running his 120 something marathon. (He wasn't sure the number.) And the son was running his first. And he was 10 years old!! I was a little nervous about wildlife while running down the mountain, so it was nice to have a couple more people with us. At our first aid stations, the ladies were wearing bath robes. Too funny. I told them it was Kylee's first marathon and then cheered like crazy. Then, we must have seen one of those ladies four more time driving her truck by us yelling, "go first time marathoner!!"

We saw Jana and the kids in between mile 4 and 5. That was fun! And then we saw them again in between mile 14 and 15 only this time, my mom and my kids were with them! At that point I really really needed that boost from them. They were holding up little signs. I could tell they were proud. We saw them all again at the finish.

Kyah on the right and my little niece(2nd cousin) Kate on the left.

I made it running the whole time until we got to mile 16.91. At that point we were going up a hill and I was done! I had to walk. I felt really bad making Kylee walk, but knew I would pass out otherwise! The weather had heated up a lot, and we chose to not wear our hats. I had hit the wall, and HARD. (But what did I really expect for not training.) I got running again shortly after that but had to use the bathroom at the mile 18 aid station. The people at the aid stations were great! They would start yelling and cheering as soon as they saw you coming! They had everything to offer you too. Ibuprofen, vaseline, water, gatorade, jolly ranchers, gum, band aids. I was amazed.

We got running again, but we couldn't go too far before I would have to walk a little again. I started to get emotional because 1. I wasn't sure how I could make it to the finish line, and 2. I REALLY felt bad for holding Kylee back. She was a CHAMP! She was singing and happy and not even a little bit winded the WHOLE time! I told her to just go ahead without me, that I would finish, it would just take me a little bit longer. I must have told her at least 10 time to go on ahead. She just said, "Not an option. I don't care about my time. We are doing this together." We ran without our iPods and so she talked me through my hard times. We ran/walked the last 8 miles and finally we turned a corner and the man told us we only had a half mile left!!! We held hands and headed for the finish line. You wouldn't even believe how happy I was to see that finish line!!!!!!!!!!!! As we approached, we saw our family waiting for us and Kylee started yelling to all the spectators to "get on up" and cheer for us. Kimm joined us and we all held hands to the finish line!!!
My nephew Josh also ran with us. Cutie pie.

The said our names as we approached. I love that. We hugged after we finished!! WE DID IT! I couldn't even believe it. It was a great experience!!!





The babies and me after the race. Gage has told me countless time since that he wants to run a marathon. I asked him how old he thought he had to be to run one and he said five. I told him maybe we should start with some smaller races first.



The racers. Kimm ran the 5k as did my nephew Josh. Hunter also ran it, but is not pictured here because he was waiting for his award. He got 1st place in his age division with a time of 22 minutes!!! And of course, Jeff, Kylee and I ran the marathon. Jeff beat us by 40 minutes. :)


Some fun signs the fam had.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a new nephew. Jana, my brother Jeff's wife made it through the marathon without having the baby! We didn't know if she would. It was such great timing for her to have him 24 hours later! My mom, grandma, and brother Hunter got to see him before they went back to Washington, and we got to see him too. Yay for Jana finishing her own personal pregnancy marathon!

Dear Mrs. Black Widow

I'm sorry that I had to kill you. However, it was you that trespassed into my home where my babies, my husband, and I live. And I had to assume that if given the chance to harm my babies, you would have. That's why I had to spray you with poison and then smash you to pieces. I realize you probably could have gone into a museum because you were so large, probably the biggest one ever, but you see, that just doesn't matter to me. All that meant to me was that you probably carried enough poison to kill us all. Hopefully, your little Widow friends got the message loud and clear that if they put one little spider leg into my house, or even onto my property, they WILL meet the same fate as you. Hopefully though, all of the spider poison spray we just bought and will be spraying the whole premises with, will be enough to keep all of you far far away.


Sincerely,

Sufficiently Freaked Out Mother of Two


P.S. Maybe these pictures I took of you can go into the museum instead.

Prince Baby

I am one lucky lady to get to be this little guy's aunt. We took a trip to Pocatello Idaho last weekend, and while there, my sister in law Jana had her baby. Good timing! So we got to see him before we left to come home. He is so precious and cute. We all love him! Kyah will not call him anything other than Prince Baby.


He is about 4 hours old in these pictures.