April 2023 Reading Log

06 Saturday May 2023

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And so the slide begins….a few days late, but here’s my April Reading Log!

A Year at the French Farmhouse, by Gillian Harvey: Two Mugs

I liked this book for the obvious theme of the book: moving abroad to France! I met someone one who talked about spending a couple months in the South of France and ever since there, it’s been something I’d love to experience myself with Jeff. I loved that part of the story, but there were other story lines that I felt a bit annoyed by. There was a romance story line that was filled with OBVIOUS red flags (aka side characters saying “don’t”), and I really hate when those red flags are blatantly ignored by the main character. There was a separate story line regarding the main characters marriage and I just couldn’t wrap my finger around it – it felt like the author just needed the husband out of the way for above reference romance story line, but it felt forced. But for a free Amazon Prime read, I can’t complain!

Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life, by Sutton Foster. Two Mugs

I adored picturing an actor sitting in their changing room (is that what they’re called?) and working on their latest crochet project! I loved the moments of candor and reality, but do sometimes wonder if the connections celebrities make in their memoirs are real or just made to fit the book (where you really thinking about that life event and how making this blanket relates to said life event, or were you just making a blanket?) I’m currently listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama and both women talk about the pressures of IVF and how much of that pressure, stress, and the physical demands rest on the woman. I know that seems obvious because duh, women make babies, but all the stress of attending the appointments, the shots, etc. etc. etc., the men don’t have to be there for all of that, not to mention the failure of those treatments is a lot of pressure to take on. Again, I love when the books I just happen to be reading/listening to at the same time are relatable to each other. Overall, it wasn’t a mind-shattering book, but it was entertaining. I also have watched most seasons of Younger, so it was great to get little peeks into that show.

I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy. Two Mugs

Another book that I liked but didn’t love. I’m learning to not be shocked by this with books that are hugely popular and I expect to love. Man did Jennette go through some shit. This book definitely made me so thankful for my childhood and my mom. Sometimes I wish my childhood had more of this or more of that, but I’m really thankful for all the things it didn’t have: a terrible mom, childhood trauma, expectations put on me at an early age, a parent with mental illness, parents that didn’t get a long, etc. I put on such pressures on myself on the childhood I want my kids to remember, but honestly, maybe the quiet and not-so-memorable childhoods are also great for raising well-adjusted adults.

I did really enjoy Jennette’s sense of humor, and really recognized my own writing style in hers. As someone with vague hopes of writing something someday, it was encouraging to see my writing style in print.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention that Jennette talks a lot about her eating disorders, and as insightful as this book was to someone suffering through that (and I enjoy a book that provides me that insight), I’m not sure I needed to read how many times she binged after eating.

My favorite quote: “Fuck being a good sport, I’d rather be playing charades with Tom Hanks.” Amen to that.

Demon Copperfield, by Barbara Kingsolver. Three Mugs

This book had been on my TBR for a while, and it finally became available through Libby (see below for more on Libby). I will say that at 560 pages, I felt the length of this book, especially reading on my Kindle where you can see your completion percentage still hovering around 30% (that’s it?!!! Still???). BUT, it’s such an important book to read. This book reminded me so much of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: they discuss real topics that we’d rather not talk about, and that can be really difficult to read.

Demon Copperfield is a fictional first-person account of our foster care system and the opioid crisis in the Appalachian region. It was pretty mind blowing to read about how the opioid crisis started, spread, and completely decimated an entire generation in some towns/regions. The foster care system part is completely heartbreaking, and how there are adults that take advantage of that system is completely repulsive.

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, by Annie Lyons. Two Mugs

Right from the start, this book seemed very similar to A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman (who just happens to be my favorite author). I mean, Eudora is in her eighties (I think), has a cat, is considering suicide (although the assisted type), and has a pregnant neighbor that is an important character. C’mon! This book also reminded me a little of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared. But now that I think through it, I’m not sure why: Eudora’s flashbacks are just flashbacks to her life, and the 100-year-old-man has flashbacks that relate to important historical events, so, not sure why I made that connection, but there you are!

Regardless of the lack of originality in the plot, it was still a nice read and lighthearted enough compared to Demon Copperfield. The theme running throughout the book is mainly about assisted suicide and whether someone at that age should have the right to decide when it’s time.

Libby! I link all my book recommendations to Amazon (really hoping that those fifty cent commission’s will snowball someday so I can just stay home and read and write book reviews for a living), but I realized very soon after I increased my reading time, that I couldn’t afford to buy every book I wanted to read. I’ve been using the Libby app for a while now and love it. Here’s a little reel I posted recently on how to use it.

What are you reading lately?

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40th Birthday: Cabin Getaway

30 Thursday Mar 2023

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If you follow Jeff (@jarmstrongphoto) or I on Instagram (@amhb83), you were flooded with pictures and videos from this cabin weekend in February – but it really was THAT gorgeous.

We went after a light snow and before the giant blizzards hit our local mountains, so we got to experience just a light snow on the ground that gave everything a slightly ethereal look.

Jeff surprised me by booking this AMAZING cabin in Idyllwild, CA. They have a total of three separate listings for that property – I’d love to check out this reader/writer paradise for a smaller trip in the future.

To say Jeff and I had been looking forward to this weekend getaway was an understatement. Josh has a stomach bug a week before, Jeff was about to take off for two weeks to visit family in Germany, and there were all the standard parenting things that just seemed a bit heightened.

So when Jonny started puking all over our dinning room table the night before we were supposed to leave, we were….upset? Worried? Disappointed? So disappointed. So many thoughts were going through out heads in those split seconds when Jonny started throwing up: can we still go? Is it that bad? Is it that virus or just something he ate? We can’t get our money back. We spent a lot of money on that cabin. We really need this. Poor buddy. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Well, it wasn’t shit, but it was pretty damn close.

The night was rough, but we made it through, and in the morning Jonny seemed to be at 100%, and thankfully our moms were still willing to watch the boys (God bless them!). So…we took off like bats out of hell. We joked about it, but there was also very much a degree of seriousness when we said “we just have to be far enough so when they call saying he’s sick again…we can’t turn back.” Ha! Are we terrible parents? I don’t think so. We just really, really needed a break.

And let me tell you, it was a marvelous break. Aside from driving on the 91…that jiggly part just feels like torture (if you know, you know) (yes, I prefer to spell it out…because I’M FORTY).

The cabin

Anywho – the cabin was great, so here are some of Jeff’s amazing pictures of it:

Places we went to

We went to Idyllwild Brewpub for dinner on Friday. My stomach was feeling super queasy from a spending parts of the last three weeks with two kids puking..,and I couldn’t tell if I was starving or about to puke. I was super nervous and wondering if I’d make it to the bathroom if I got sick, so we ended up packing all our food to go and leaving half-drunken beers behind (the inhumanity! My only regret from this weekend). A huge shout out here to my amazing husband: he was so kind and patient and urged us to home where I’d feel more comfortable. So my view is a bit biased, but I couldn’t even look at the sandwich, and ate exactly 0% of it. But even Jeff, who actually ate his, said it sucked. SO, I would go here for drinks, but skip the food. They have a great patio that I can just imagine would be beautiful for day drinking during the summer.

Saturday we explored the downtown area a little bit. Jeff had scoped out a cute little bookstore that I was super excited to check out, so we hit that first. And let me just tell you, Speakeasy Books is ADORABLE. The owner curates all of the books and she has an amazing selection of all genres. It was so nice to leisurely look around! We bought a few books and even got a free tote bag (which I LOVE).

We had lunch at The Sunflower, which was recommended by our cabin hosts, and it was a great little lunch spot. We ate our sandwiches on the back patio and they were delicious!

Right across from The Sunflower is Idyllwild Gardens, which I highly recommend taking a stroll through. They have several unique and adorable set ups, including a little indoor greenhouse with seating to relax and take a moment.

We heard a bit of hype about Alpaca Coffee & Tea House so I really wanted to try it out. We stopped by on our way out of town, but it was PACKED. So we’re saving that for the next trip.

The non-professional photos…

Recording the first episode of a podcase that might never be published, ha!
Great little welcome gifts
I have these crazy ideas about writing a couple books…got some work done here which was pretty amazing
Up in the trees!

Do you have a favorite getaway location? Jeff definitely knows me well, because a mountain getaway was perfect for me!

Some Instagram links for an inside view of the cabin:

Arriving/outside

Full inside tour

Relaxing sounds of the creek

March 2023 Reading Log

27 Monday Mar 2023

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Ladies and gents: THREE MONTHS IN A ROW!! I know it’s not very becoming (and certainly not being very humble), but I’m VERY proud of myself. I’m skipping the photos on this one for the sake of publishing on time…and here’s my new rating system:

Ok, let’s go.

Spare by Prince Harry: two mugs.

I think there’s been a lot of negativity around this book but I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a crazy page turner-but it kept me engaged. I haven’t followed any details of their family saga so I was truly curious to listen to his side of everything and what has happened. I LOVED hearing how him and Megan met and how their story evolved. One of the great things about listening to memoirs read by the author is the validity they add to their words through their EMPHASIS. You could HEAR how much he loves Megan, which I just gobbled up. It was interesting to have insight into such an unrelatable lifestyle. Overall though, it was a little sad to hear about a family that is so disconnected from each other, and their lives are so controlled by forces….outside of their control.

The Guncle: three mugs.

Gay uncle Pat has temporary custody of his young niece and nephew after their mother loses her battle to cancer and their dad has to enter rehab. GUP has been alone for a long time dealing with some of his own issues, so hilarity ensues when he throws kids in the mix. I LOVED this book. It was humorous but also had lots of heartfelt moments.

The Island of Sea Women: one mug

I’ve seen this book pop up a lot recently so I was looking forward to reading this. I got some excited messages when I posted on Instagram that I started this book, so maybe my expectations were too high, haha. I felt like this book never really got into its story. It kept referring to something that happened but I feel like it just spoke around it a lot. I had a hard time following the different characters but I think that was also partially due to hearing it on Audible and not being able to differentiate the names as easily as with a physical book. I think White Chrysanthemum was a much better historical fiction book about this historical time period and also briefly talked about haenyos (but trigger warnings for rape and trauma and lots of dark shit that is depressing to know humans are capable of).

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt: one mug

Memoir by anonymous writer on how they came about tweeting as a fictional character that gained large following. Iiiiiiiiiiii was not a huge fan of this one either. The memoir is interspersed with some of the tweets that had been published, which I found occasionally humorous and lots of times just went above my head. Most of them made me feel pretty dumb, which hey, could be possible, ha! The author also wrote a lot about how unliked and lonely they were in real life but how much their character was loved on Twitter and how they created such a community among their followers. It felt like a lot of patting their back, which I guess…maybe…is what memoirs are about….?

The School for Good Mothers: two mugs

The main character has a pretty serious lapse in judgement as a mother, and becomes part of a trial group for a dystopian future of child protective services and parental rights. I thought this book was SO interesting. It seemed to drag at times but I still was intrigued enough to figure out what happened. SIDENOTE: I’m weird and a lot of times I like to read the last page so I know how a book ends. I haven’t done it in a while, especially with kindle books and definitely never on Audible, but I had to revert to it for this book. I know it’s frowned upon by many, but hear me out. I can’t stand scary movies – I am my mothers child and the anxiety is just not worth it for me. This book was creating some of that anxiety, and I just needed to now how it ended to get through it. I wasn’t a fan of the ending, but it did help me emotionally get through the rest of the book.

Currently reading: A Year at the French Farmhouse

Currently listening to: The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

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Anniversary Shenanigans: years 11, 12, and 13

06 Monday Mar 2023

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I did a post previously with some of older anniversary adventures, so here are some updated adventures.

2020

I mean, this year doesn’t really count, right? Our anniversary is in September, so things were not as awful as they were in early 2020, but it was still hard to find things to do locally. We tried to walk around at a local outdoor mall, but there were SO many people and we weren’t quite ready for it, so we ran away.

We decided to go to Irvine Regional Park, thinking it’s a nice, big open space, and we can just hang out and enjoy each others company. But, bees had other plans, so we ran away from there as well.

We ended up having a beer at Chapman Crafted brewery and some food truck snacks and calling it a day. Although not glamorous, we got to spend time together sans kids and honestly, that’s the main point of our getaways. Not that we don’t love our kids, but we rarely get to focus on each other in between the mundane tasks of keeping the kids alive. So, just being able to joke around with each other without interruptions was pretty great.

2021

Oh man, I want to go back to this anniversary get-away every year. After 2020, we decided to splurge on our Air BnB and found this gem in Carpinteria and holy cow, it was amazing (and maybe a little haunted?). The house was AMAZING, as was the location. We noticed right away that this house was incredibly unique. Even my untrained eye could tell, but Jeff, as a wood-worker and general MacGuiver, could really tell by the way the house was built that this was a passion-project house, not a contractor job.

We were so intrigued by this that I decided to message the hosts and see if they’d be willing to join us for an early evening happy hour. I didn’t tell Jeff I was doing this because I knew his immediate reaction would be to tell me not to do it. I figured if they responded with “um, no thank you, weirdo,” I just wouldn’t tell Jeff and that was that. But they said yes, and it was such a lovely conversation with this couple, that it was one of our highlights (including Jeff’s). We found out that the two aging mules on the property had been used by them when their children were little to literally pack up the mules with all of their camping gear so they could hike out to campsites. So cool! Moral of the story: it doesn’t hurt to ask!

We spent most of our time hanging out at the house, but we loved these places:

Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve – We arrived in Carpinteria a slightly before our check-in time, so we checked this area out. Took some pictures along the bluffs and walked a little of the trail.

Lucky Llama Coffee House – This was a great little coffee house. I also ordered a yogurt parfait and we discovered honey is a magic ingredient. This has actually become a family favorite snack for everyone but Jake (because he’s super picky about EVERYTHING).

A couple other places to check out if you go to Lucky Llama:

  • Wardholme Torrey Pine – It’s right across from Lucky Llama and it’s 134 years old! It’s definitely a quick photo-op, but worth it if you’re already there. Jeff had a cool picture of me here, but then he dropped his phone in Havasu last Summer and all those pictures are gone….gah! Here’s some interesting info on it from the World Wide Web:

IT STARTED AS A SEEDLING in 1888, planted by local Carpinteria resident Judge Thomas Ward as part of a contest to see who could grow the largest Torrey pine tree. The Wardholme Torrey Pine now stands a proud 126 feet tall, with a 130 feet branch spread and a more than 20-foot circumference, making it the largest known example of its kind.

The Torrey pine is a rare tree, only found in San Diego County and certain parts of the southern California coast. In 1968 the towering Wardholme tree was designated as the First Official Landmark of Carpinteria, a quaint beachside community located a few miles south of Santa Barbara. The celebrity tree later marked its 100th birthday in 1988 with a local celebration. 

AtlasObscura.com
  • Heritage Goods and Supply – If I remember correctly, this was in the same building and just next to Lucky Llama. It’s a great little shop! Not cheap, but ethically made items rarely are. They have household items and cute items for everyone in the family if you need to bring something home (or if you want to buy yourself a cool t-shirt as a memento of your trip!).

Rincon Brewery – We had dinner here and it was great. We sat on the patio and enjoyed a good beer while people watching. It was funny because Jeff was looking at the building and said “this building looks like an old bank from the 70s,” and sure enough, we looked around inside and they still have a giant safe door!

Visiting UCSB – It had been a while since I’d visited my college stomping grounds, probably at least 10 years. It was great to walk around campus, my old dorm, walk past buildings I vividly remembered taking classes in. But I wasn’t ready for how strange it would be to walk around Isla Vista. I had originally thought we’d grab lunch at Freebirds, but I felt SO uncomfortable walking around all those BABIES. Obviously the reality was that it made realize how much OLDER I was, and it was not a feeling I was comfortable with. So we did a pee and coffee stop at Starbucks (where I had applied but never been hired, despite my years of experience as a Starbucks barista, whatever, no hard feelings), and high tailed it outta there. We ended up grabbing sandwiches at a new fancy deli in an area that I did NOT recognize. But so it goes…

My one and only apartment at UCSB
Freshman dorm!

We walked State Street for a bit and it was eerie how many places were closed or empty. I hope many of those places have recovered at this point.

Then I had a surprise in store for Jeff:

Float Luxury Spa – I had made a reservation for a couples massage here. They have a cool waiting area and had set up an outdoor area since COVID regulations were still pretty strict. It was still pretty sweet!

One final note about this anniversary that was pretty funny, is that I was totally off on the math and kept thinking it was our 13th anniversary when in fact it was our 12th. We were married on September 12th, so this should have been our golden anniversary which we totally wasted by lying to anyone that asked and telling them we were celebrating 13 years….I don’t think I realized it until the Facebook memory popped on on Facebook with “12 years ago…” ha!

2022

This year, our anniversary was sandwiched between our trip to Portland to visit family, and camping in Bishop with Jeff’s parents. SO, we had a day out instead of a weekend away. My cousin came to stay with the boys and they had an entire nerf defense castle set up in our living room, ha!

We hit the beach, did some ax throwing for the first time, grabbed a coffee at Tierra Mia, and rounded out our evening with book shopping sans children at Barnes & Noble (heavenly, but realized later I’m pretty sure I’d already read the book I bough, doh!) and drinks and dinner at Habana (equally heavenly). We sat next to the giant palms/ferns and it was so magical as it started raining. I loved having a Cuba Libre with Guatemalan rum while listening and watching the rain.

I’m still not sure if the girl in the background was intentional or not, ha!

Oh I should also say I had planned a day trip to Catalina Island, but there was a possible storm brewing and we were already a little weary of the boat ride out. Maybe another time!

Up Next?!

I’m not exactly sure what we’ll do this year. We’re doing a pretty big family trip to Guatemala for Spring break that is going to take a big chunk of money. I’d love to do a trip a bit further away with Jeff, something like Tennessee, New Orleans, Austin…so many cities I want to explore! But flights and longer trips cost more money, so who knows.

Do you have any favorite anniversary destinations?

February 2023 Reading Log

28 Tuesday Feb 2023

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Ohh two months in row, look at me! As I explained in my last post, January was a bit of a fluke on how many books I read because of Christmas break and having COVID (again) and being stuck in bed for a couple days.

This month wasn’t as prolific on the reading log, but it’s quality, not quantity, right? And I’m pretty happy with (most) of the books I read this month. So here we go.

Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah. I really enjoyed this book from the historical fiction perspective. The setting of the book is divided between present day, and the siege of Leningrad in the 1940s. I found the beginning a bit slow, but I was hooked once it started flashing back to Leningrad. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I really dislike when a character is self-sabotaging to an obvious degree that you just want to yell “JUST TALK TO YOUR HUSBAND.” This book has one of those characters that was difficult for me to get past, but like I said, I really enjoyed the historical fiction part. I love learning about history through “fictional” stories. A dear friend told me that The Nightingale is their favorite book by Kristin Hannah, so I’ve definitely added that to my reading list. I’ve also read The Four Winds by this author, and again loved the historical perspective it gave into the Dustbowl era.

The Making of Her, by Bernadette Jiwa. This book also spans two different time periods, but I’m not sure I’d call it historical fiction. It does give great insight into a time when women getting pregnant before marriage meant personal ruin, which makes me so thankful for the strides we’ve made. I really enjoyed this book, and it was interesting that this and Winter Garden both have mothers that lived with extreme guilt, to the point of ruining their relationships with their children.

Season of the Spirit, by Fern Michaels. This was one of those books that I finished but I was kicking and screaming while I did. I mentioned in my January reading log that I grabbed this book at the library because I wasn’t ready to let go of the Hallmark books. But I really should have been. I felt like this book was terribly written and super cheesy. Which, I know…holiday romance novels are supposed to be, buuuuuuuut this took it to a whole new level. I think this author has somehow managed to just churn out hundreds of books that somehow sell, so maybe this author is more quantity over quality.

Love & Other Words, by Christina Lauren. I’ve read two books already by this author (In a Holidaze and The Unhoneymooners) and unlike Season of the Spirit, they’re the right amount of romance and rom com. This book was another great, light, sometimes steamy read. I also really enjoyed that the two main characters were avid readers, and that many of their interactions as children/teenagers involved a library and reading. Not to mention, a vacation cabin house, which is a real-life dream of mine. Yep, right up my alley!

The Lost Ticket, by Freya Sampson. Another sweet and easy read. I loved following along with this unlikely trio of characters as they try to find one man’s long lost love. Also, I’m really starting to enjoy books set in England – I really want to find a little romance book that takes place in England and involves castles, ha! Any recommendations?!

Currently reading:

Spare, by Prince Harry. I’m listening to this on Audible and it’s narrated by Prince Harry. I think Audible is the way to go for memoirs that are narrated by the author. They provide nuances in how they read the text that I think would be missed otherwise. I can’t say I’ve followed the royal drama too much aside for general strokes, but listening to this is mostly sad. I think as sad as watching The Crown and seeing how isolating their lives are. It’s an interesting listen and if I had to pick a side, I’m on Harry’s side.

The Guncle, by Steven Rowley. I was on the waiting list for a while on Libby for this one, and so far I’m really enjoying it!

Next up:

The Reading List, by Sara Nisha Adams. I started this a while back, but it’s a book I own so it’s on hold while I get through some library rentals that have a time limit.

The Stories We Tell, by Joanna Gaines

The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner. I joined a new book swap group on Facebook recently and picked this one up from that group. Looks interesting!

Also: I’m doing my first book giveaway on Instagram if you’d like to throw your name in!

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How do you read so much?!

05 Sunday Feb 2023

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I’ve had a few questions like that from my January reading recap, so I wanted to flush out a few things.

Probably the main thing is that I had the whole first week of January off from work, AND I had COVID – so, you know, lots of free time. I had three days in bed where I could read to my hearts desire, which is not common with three little kids. So that kickstarted my reading for the month at a pretty high speed. I’m not sure the upcoming months will be as bountiful.

Also – with Jonny turning three this past November, we’re really entering unchartered territory in our family where all the kids are starting to be a little more independent and not needing us as much. This has been the stage where we’ve been pregnant or had a baby and started all over again, so it’s the first time we’re not starting over again when the older child reaches this stage. It’s allowing a little time for me to explore what I want to do with my free time. And reading is usually my go-to.

I’ve also mentioned this before, but I’ve made a conscious effort to turn social media scrolling time into reading time. I’ve been posting more on my Instagram account lately (trying out that influencer role to see if I can become rich overnight and buy that cabin in the mountains…it’s slow progress so far), so I can’t say I’ve been super great about this part, but I do still occasionally turn to my Kindle app to read instead of scrolling through Facebook.

I’m on this Facebook group called Friends and Fiction which I love to follow for book recommendations. And I’ve added A LOT of books to my To Be Read list from this group. But at the end/beginning of every month, a lot of people post the books they’ve read for the month, and mostly they’re the high achievers of the group: lots of retired folks who have a lot of free time to read. And I think that’s GREAT, but it’s hard for everyone else not to feel like they’re not reading enough.

My point is: I don’t want my posts to make others feel that way. I share because I like writing on my blog and this is a topic that I can write about easily, I like spreading the word about books I like and those I didn’t, and I like to refer back to my posts for books I’ve read. Two years ago, I read maybe a book a month, and that made me REALLY happy and accomplished. I’m stoked to be able to get through more books now, but everyone is on their own reading journey. Read to your heart’s content and according to the stage in your life!

Where are you on your reading journey? Do you wish you had more time to read? Are you thankful for the time you have now to read?

January 2023 Reading Log

30 Monday Jan 2023

Posted by in book review, books, reading, Uncategorized

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Well folks, looks like I’ve turned a new leaf (pun 1,000% intended), and I’ve gone from one book post a year to a goal of sharing a monthly round up of what I’ve been reading. I make no promises. This might be the only monthly post I do, but it’s good to have goals, right?!

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

I think this was my first official read of 2023 and it DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT! I was on the wait list forever and I devoured this book in just a couple days. The story was beautiful and the points of view were so great.

Let It Snow, by Beth Moran

Another great little Hallmark-ish romance read. As someone who has a weird obsession about creating family traditions with my little family, I loved reading about all the holiday traditions in this book and how important they were to the characters. I have some new holiday goals for next year, ha!

The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave

Eh. That’s the best I got on this one. Which I think comes back to me not being big on mysteries or thrillers, because this book is insanely popular and will soon be a movie starring Jennifer Garner, so what do I know…I guess I just know it wasn’t for me.

Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout

This was another big miss for me. I did like the “post-pan” relatability of what we all went through during the heights of COVID, but it just wasn’t an exciting book for me. I also didn’t enjoy the style of the first person writing (she would repeat things like “which I understood” over and over again). But again, 4.5 stars with 10,000 reviews on Amazon, ha!!

Book Lovers, by Emily Henry

This is about when I realized I think I’m really into romantic comedies, and…I think I’m OK with it. I think these books are the perfect recovery from some heavier reads. I really enjoyed this one – it had a unique small town charm and I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters. Definitely some steamy scenes!

Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus

This was another book with a really long wait time on Libby, but another one I thought was worth the hype and the wait. This was the 2022 Barnes and Noble Book of the Year, and I can see/read why. As a woman, I can’t imagine putting up with or going through the shit women had to go through in a not-so-long-ago past. I enjoyed the time-period-ness of this book, and the insight into the struggles of professional women in the 1960s. The main character kicked ass and took names. I also just realized this one also had a unique point of view from an animal, like Remarkably Bright Creatures.

The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan

Oh man, this might be where I lose all credibility, because this was apparently one of Obama’s Best Books of 2022 and…I was not a fan, ha! I think it was an interesting exploration of social media and technology, but there were so many characters and so many story and time lines to follow that it was confusing. Of all the characters, there wasn’t any one that I became vested in. I really just kept reading because I wanted to see if and how the story lines intersected.

Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult

I’ve read several books by Jodi Picoult, but this was not one of my favorites. I LOVED Small Great Things and thought it did a great job of addressing some really difficult topics. I think Mad Honey tried to do the same thing, but the legal drama in this book was too much for this short-lived lawyer. I’m realizing now that Small Great Things also had some legal drama, but I don’t remember the legal proceedings being a focal point of the story (but it’s been a while since I read it). I had to turn this one in to the library before I finished it, and I wasn’t upset like I thought I would be once I started it.

The Unhoneymooners, by Christina Lauren

See? Are you sensing a pattern, a-la-Criminal-Minds? Another romantic comedy and I was fully there for it. This one had some laugh out loud moments for me, and again some very steamy ones (which I’m not complaining about). I actually liked this one so much that I used my Kindle gift card to buy another book by Christina Lauren, so Love and Other Words is in my TBR short list.

Currently reading:

The Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah. I really enjoyed The Four Winds by this author, and although I’m only a few pages in, I think it’s the kind of story I’m going to like. Aside from romantic comedies which we now know I like, I really enjoy reading books that revolve around family history. This book already has me pretty invested in the characters.

Next up:

Love and Other Words, by Christina Lauren

The Reading List, by Sara Nisha Adams

The Stories We Tell, by Joanna Gaines

Spirit of the Season, by Fern Michaels (what can I say…it’s hard to let the Hallmark Christmas specials go…hoping I can read this one before it’s due back at the library and it gets REALLY weird to be reading Christmas stories in July…)

The Making of Her, by Bernadette Jiwa

What has been your favorite read lately?

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Our Family Vacation to: Zion and Bryce

22 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by in adventure, adventures, camping, photography, trailers, travel, Uncategorized

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This summer we decided to explore a little out of our comfort zone and head to Utah! (Did I continuously make the joke: “I LOVE YOU-TAH!”? Yes, yes I did).

Here’s a quick over view:

LOCATIONMEALSTHINGS WE DID
Lake Mead
Lake Mead RV Village
Boulder Beach		Dinner: pulled pork sandwiches
I fixed this recipe a couple days before
we left so we just had to warm it up		Hoover Dam
Walked to the water (not
recommended)
Tried not to die from the heat
and night wind storm
Zion
Zion River RV Resort		Breakfast: cereal, bagels
Lunch: expensive food at park – pack ahead
next time!
Dinner: carnitas tacos – made at home, froze,
defrosted a couple days before using. Had pre-
chopped onions and cilantro ready to go!
BLTs: brought everything pre-sliced		The Riverside Walk
The Narrows hike
Lower Emerald Pool trail
Pool and rock mining at
RV resort
Bryce
Ruby’s Inn RV Park		Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: pre-made and packed sandwiches, chips, fruit
(we brought a small cooler to fit in our backpack)
Dinner: BBQ chicken with fried potatoes (onion pre-sliced)
Spaghetti and meatballs – had made at home and brought frozen		Sunset Point
Mossy Cave trail
Wall Street
Self driven tour throughout park
Las Vegas
Excalibur Hotel		I don’t want to talk about itWalked the strip

Preparations: this is a shameless plug for my Google packing template: I use it every time we go on a trip and it’s a life and stress-saver.

LAKE MEAD

After a day delay and two trips to urgent care for antibiotics, we hit the road on Sunday towards Lake Meade. This was definitely my least favorite part of the trip; at least we got it out of way at the beginning! We stayed at Lake Meade RV Village Boulder Beach. Check in staff was super friendly, but it was just HOT and dry and HOT and not very pretty. I will say that they were great about not charging us for the last minute cancellation of our Saturday night reservation (and also so glad we didn’t end up staying here for two nights). Daily rate for full hook ups with lake view, including taxes, was $67.80. Jeff got some good shots of what’s left of the lake, but you really couldn’t stay outside for more than a few minutes at a time. Grateful for full hook ups! I would highly recommend getting a spot with a lake view – it was the only redeeming quality of being there for a day.

All photos by Jeff Armstrong Photography

We even decided not to pull out both sides of the trailer to try to help keep things cool in a smaller space, and instead pulled down the mattress to the middle of the trailer, which is where Josh, Jon and I slept. I use the word “slept,” but really I was up all night freaking out that the wind was going to flip the trailer over. It was INSANE and scary. I was laying there picturing how I would hold on to the kids and which way I’d try to lean to avoid hitting….I don’t even know. It was not fun.

Monday morning we went to Hoover Dam and took the Power Plant Tour (lots of “dam” jokes from all of us). I would have preferred the Dam Tour, but all members of your party have to be over 8 years of age. The Power Plant tour was still pretty cool. It did save us some money though: at the time we took our tour in June of 2022, the Power Plant Tour was $15 per person and the Dam Tour (gets me every time) was $30 per person. Kids three and under are free, and there are reduced rates for kids ages 4-16 ($12 per kid for the Power Plant Tour). Both tours start with a brief presentation about the making of the dam in a cool theater (which was really interesting), and then the tours break off.

The Power Plant Tour is thirty minutes long and includes a platform overlooking a working area of the dam and a section of the power plant. The Dam Tour is an hour long and based on the description the only additional thing from the Power Plant Tour is “a stop in an original inspection tunnel inside the dam.” Which I’m sure makes up the extra thirty minutes! Our tour took us on an elevator that seemed to descend down the dam at hyper speed and into a cavernous area of the dam. It was pretty cool, but even as someone that is not generally claustrophobic, I couldn’t help but think how far we were from the surface if something happened. On the cool side: water dripping along the walls! Oh wait, maybe NOT a good sign? I dunno…

Oh quick heads up: no weapons allowed! You have to go through a checkpoint to get to the parking area for the dam where they stop every vehicle and make sure there are no weapons…so you know…leave those at home.

Josh was obstinate about wanting to go to the water, so even though about five different people warned us, we headed down. The water level is so low that it’s quite a walk (in the heat) from the parking area (which used to be part of the lake at one point), to the water’s edge. It’s kinda creepy to be walking on crusted dry dirt with seashells all around…and the water’s edge is super muddy. One family that was walking back said two of their kids had their shoes stuck in the mud and needed help getting their feet and sandals out. As I wrote in our trailer journal: 10 out of 10 do not recommend. BUT, Josh was satisfied, so we were free to head back, pack sandwiches, and hit the road for greener pastures.

ZION

We pulled up to our spot at Zion River Resort RV Park and boy was this a doozy to back in to. We knew it was bound to happen, but our communication skills definitely fell through on this site. Aside from the trickiness to get settled it, our spot was great. Again I selected a spot that backed up to the river, which I LOVED. You couldn’t actually see the river because there is a rock wall between the sites and the river, but you could hear it, and that is a beautiful sound to me. RV parks are a little new to us: although they lack the feeling of being in nature, it’s nice to have all the amenities: paved roads for the kids to ride their razors, a pool you can go to and get frustrated that your kids don’t swim, a cool area to mine for gold, a store to buy all the basics and more.

We met some great neighbors from Germany, enjoyed dinner, and tucked in to hopefully get an early start into Zion National Park the next day. Early didn’t end up being super “early,” but we made it there. I kept reading that parking in Zion was pretty difficult, so we parked in Springdale and took the shuttle to the park entrance, where we got to cut the line with our park pass. We bought hiking sticks for the boys in the gift shop which were great! Then we waited in the Disney line inside the park to get the shuttle to the end of the park. I didn’t think we’d actually do the narrows so I didn’t bring extra shoes, but at the last minute I did grab our water socks, which I’m glad I did. (I bought these for the boys and these for Jeff and I). Oh, I’m also very glad we all wore quick dry shorts, so we didn’t have to change shorts after. We made it to the end of the paved Riverside Walk and decided to go for it, at least for a bit (even though it was lunch time). Jon wouldn’t let Jeff carry him so I carried Jonny in the ring sling.

The two minutes Jonny let Jeff carry him

It was so beautiful! There was one deep water part that was rough for Jake, but overall very manageable. We were all getting hot and hungry, so we picked a random spot to turn around. Jake refused to pee in the river (unlike other members of the family) so Jeff rushed ahead of us on the River Walk with Jake to get him to a bathroom. The hike out carrying Jonny and walking with a tired Josh was a bit rough but we made and came up with a new little walking mantra with Josh: slow in the shade, and fast in the sun! I still can’t believe we hiked The Narrows! Or at least a part of it :)

We bought a super expensive lunch in the meadow, which mostly got thrown away, then enjoyed the beauty of the lawn and amazing views. The boys decided they were up for one more adventure so we hiked the Lower Emerald Pool trail. We were all exhausted but it was so beautiful.

We slept in a bit on Wednesday, then headed out. Decided to add a stop on our way to Bryce and took a detour to get to the Coral Sand Dunes per a friend’s recommendation. We thought we were lost because the road was empty and there was NO signal, but it was worth the pitstop. We set out some chairs and our little grill in the parking lot and had hot dogs for lunch.

BRYCE

We stayed at Ruby’s Inn RV Park and got a great premium pull through spot with full hook ups. There are a variety of types of campsites here, and I’m glad we got one with plenty of pine trees around us, and across from a little lake. The pine trees in this area were truly unexpected but so so welcome. We fixed a quick dinner then decided to drive in to the park to see if we could do some star gazing (Bryce is actually popular with astronomers because of how dark it is).

Sunset Point was beautiful, but we decided to check out Mossy Cave for stargazing. We started hiking in at dusk with blankets, water, three kids…then realized it could be a bit dangerous with wildlife at night with three little kids, not to mention hiking out in the dark with sleepy kids, so we star gazed from the back of the truck in the trail parking lot, ha! It was not idea since cars were driving past constantly, but even more than that is the fact that it took so long to get dark, that the boys were pretty much over it. It was still a cool experience and definitely got to see lots of stars and even some satellites.

We got a semi-early start into Bryce on Thursday and decided to again take a shuttle into the park. I had read that parking was difficult in the park, but it seemed to not be an issue. We stopped at the Visitor Center and got junior ranger workbooks for the boys and headed back to Sunset Point, and hiked down Wall Street. It was breathtaking! The switchbacks down were a bit scary but well worth it. I was wearing Jonny again, so Jeff held my backpack at times, after I slipped on my butt once (and only once). I put Jonny down for five minutes once we reached the bottom and of course he fell and skinned his knee pretty good.

We found a good spot here for an early lunch before hiking back up and out (we learned our lesson on Zion and this time came prepared with sandwiches and chips). I was so glad Jeff carried Jon up, I don’t think I could have made it! Our boys rocked the hike too – so amazing! Our shuttle driver was so great, sharing facts and trivia throughout the drive.

We decided to take it easy for the rest of the day, so we headed back to camp, changed, then took the scenic drive to the other interest points in Bryce. We wanted to check out the tunnel but didn’t get to, hopefully next time (or maybe that was at Zion?). Then we headed into Ruby’s Town to get our traditional ice cream. We made dinner back at our site, then walked along the meadow and the lake next to the campsite. We got to see a deer super close!

VEGAS

Jeff and I decided we didn’t’ want to set up the trailer again, especially in Vegas, so we splurged and cancelled our last RV spot and booked a room at Excalibur instead. On the way there, we took the path less traveled again and decided to go through Duck Creek Village (it looked more green on Google maps than the alternate path, and I always prefer green). The views DID NOT disappoint. We even stopped to take a few pictures of the lake.

We parked the truck and trailer in the large vehicle lot and tried to remember to take everything we would need in our backpacks. Our room was basic, and dirty, and dated, but had a great view of the strip. The boys got such a kick out of that. We walked the strip a bit but it was H-O-T. There was a cool water feature we enjoyed, and bought overpriced candy at the Hershey store (which I threw out six months later). Jeff and I grabbed a beer, we saw the water fountain at the Bellagio (the boys were not impressed), and I tried to shield the boys from the naked butts walking around for photo ops. We ate dinner at The Crack Shack which was overpriced chicken that no one ate. We bought Rubio’s at the hotel which again…the boys didn’t eat (they’re picky, I’m not sure why I waste money on them eating out). Back in our room, we watched the lights go on across the strip and the boys were super entertained watching all the helicopters flying by coming in from what I assume are day tours.

CALICO

We did a quick lunch pitstop at Calico Ghost Town on our way home. It was interesting but not something we’d feel the need to do again.

We’re having a hard time deciding on summer travel plans for 2023. Part of me wants to do a city trip, or just stay put in one place for a week rather than packing up every couple days, but we haven’t been able to decide just yet. Any suggestions?

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Literate Lushes and More: May 2022 to December 2022 Reading Adventures

19 Monday Dec 2022

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Ohhhh look at me! Two book recap posts in one year!!

I’ve actually been reading quite a bit lately, so let’s start with our Literate Lushes picks.

Literate Lushes

May 2022: Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr. This month was my pick and I picked a book I’d read and posted about before. It was a big hit, and there were some great discussions around the book and the ending.

June 2022: The Girl with the Louding Voice, by Abi Dare. I had a little trouble getting past the grammar at first, but then you get used to it and can hear the protagonist’s voice speaking that way, and it works. It’s heartbreaking, and heartwarming, and insightful. I truly appreciate books like this one that give me insight into something that is completely foreign to me, but I SHOULD be aware of. Human trafficking is beyond comprehension.

July 2022: The Housekeeper, by Natalie Barelli. Like I’ve mentioned before, mystery/thriller is not my favorite genre, but I told myself I’d stop skipping these picks, so I read it, ha! It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t my favorite. I will say that the ending had a pretty good twist at the end that I didn’t expect.

August/September 2022: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. I did skip this one though, haha. I was pretty in to some other books on Kindle or from the library that were on a time crunch, and I had to pick which ones to finish. This one didn’t grab my attention right away so I didn’t get too far in to it. Other Lushes seemed to like it, so maybe I just didn’t give it enough time. I also was listening to it on Audible, and I think the voice was a little boring.

October 2022: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’m actually quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I think I liked the honesty of Evelyn’s character, even if some of her behaviors are not ones I would approve of – she was never ashamed of them. I’m not sure it lives up to the hype, but it was a good read. And most of us wore green to our book discussion for this group, which was fun!

November 2022: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, by Bianca Marais. I forgot to read this one! I’ll have to go back and read it.

Extra Kindle reads:

The Girl in his Shadow, by Audrey Blake. I love historical fiction like this one. This one takes place in London in 1845, and tells of a young woman that’s a gifted surgeon in training, but you know…she’s a woman…so she can’t be one. I really enjoyed this book.

The Surgeon’s Daughter, by Audrey Blake. I enjoyed The Girl in his Shadow so much that I read the sequel. Bit of a spoiler alert for the first book, but this one follows the main character’s journey through medical school at a time when women weren’t allowed to go to medical school. So interesting to read about that time and so thankful we’ve made a lot of progress (although obviously still not perfect).

The Good Left Undone, by Adriana Trigiani. I love me a good family story telling. And this one did not disappoint. It takes place in Italy and Scotland, and I just love exploring foreign countries through books. I think the stories of past and present were woven together really nicely, and one of the final scenes had me crying sad tears, in such a good way.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, by Lori Gottlieb. I borrowed this one through Libby, and it didn’t grab me enough for me to finish it before it was due. I may give it another chance later.

Me Before You, by JoJo Moyes. Books like these feel like guilty pleasures to me, like trash TV, ha! So if I’m being honest, as much as a part of me wants to be hyper critical so that I can look sophisticated in my reading preferences, I did enjoy this book! But, I also can’t bring myself to read the two sequels. I don’t really know why…maybe I should talk to someone about it…(see what I did there?)

The Last Letter from Your Lover, by JoJo Moyes. See above paragraph for my disclaimer, but I also enjoyed this book. It was a little disturbing at times, but I liked the love story woven throughout.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson. Back to historical fiction. Loved it! It’s very similar to A Giver of Stars – they’re both about the packhorse librarians in Kentucky around the 1930s, but this one has a totally separate plot line about the blue-skinned people of Kentucky. At first I thought it was a made up part of the book, then realized it was WAY too crazy to throw in randomly (it’s a historical fiction book, not sci-fi or fantasy..) so I googled it and lo and behold, it was a real thing! Bananas.

We Are Not Like Them, by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza. There’s a new local Facebook bookclub that I joined, and although I have yet to attend a gathering in person, I’m enjoying the book selections so far. I think this book would have been really good for discussion topics. It was great to get perspectives from both sides of the story regarding a police officer killing an unarmed black young man. So much work to be done in this area of social justice.

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles. You guessed it: historical fiction. This one bounces between Montana in 1983 and Paris in 1939. I think what impacted me the most is the regret one can live with because of a bad decision, and how that can impact the trajectory of your life. Woof. Similarly: the positive impact one person can have, and totally change the trajectory of someone else’s life, without even knowing it.

Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys. Oh geez, I’m sensing a pattern and I’m not sure if I should apologize, embrace it, or try to expand my reading horizons. Historical fiction, present, again. I love/hate books like this: fictional, but based on an even that really happened, so you know the stories are true enough for many people that lived through that event. And that’s just devastating. This book follows a group of Prussian refugees as they try to escape the Russian army towards the end of WW2, and is based on the real story of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, which had a much higher death toll than the Titanic. This was a book that I had to skip to the last pages to see how it ended just so I could cope with reading through it.

The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd. Hey, NOT historical fiction! I really liked the fantasy/magic of this book, and the slow unraveling of all of the characters and how they relate to each other. I did thing that the flashbacks were oddly placed sometimes, or cut off for the sake of the story development rather than the flow of the story. But overall I really enjoyed this one.

That Summer, by Jennifer Weiner. Mmmmm, I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this one. Definite trigger warning for sexual assault. I enjoyed reading the story line and seeing how it developed, following the threads, but I didn’t like how the ending was a slap on the wrist (spoiler? Sorry…).

The House of Broken Angels, by Luis Alberto Urrea. I really enjoyed this book, especially coming from a Hispanic culture. There were cultural and language aspects I enjoyed relating to, and also many that I was thankful I couldn’t relate to. My grandmother went to great lengths to raise my aunts and uncles away from gangs and drugs, and I’m so thankful she had the grit and conviction to do that. I quite literally would not be around if she hadn’t: she packed up her children and moved to Arizona, which is where my mom met my dad. But back to the book: it was a great reflection on life and death, and the impacts we make when all is said and done.

In a Holidaze, by Christina Lauren. Another pick from my Facebook book club that I probably wouldn’t have picked on my own. This one leaned a little heavier on the romance, and you know what? I’m here for it! I even got the butterflies on some of the passages! I love my husband tremendously, but there’s nothing quite like those butterflies when you’re first getting to know someone. It was nice to relive that without cheating on Jeff!

Extra book buys

The Winners, by Fredrik Bachman. Oh man, all the feels. For those that know or have read prior book posts, Fredrik Backman is my man. My literary man. I love ALL of his books (literally and seriously, they’re all amazing to me). This is the third (and fiiiiinaaaaal?) installment of the Beartown series, and man, it did not disappoint. I bought a presale book from Barnes and Noble and…IT. WAS. SIGNED. I’m not kidding when I say I got a little teary eyed when I opened it – Jeff is my witness. So, yes, I liked this book. His writing is just so beautiful, about life, and loss, and love. And it’s heartbreaking – I stayed up until 1am one night to finish it, and had to change my shirt because I was crying and wiping the snot off my nose with my pajama shirt. Also, I MIGHT have started a very rough Etsy shop with Beartown items because I couldn’t find any already made (and the author posted on his IG that he has no desire to make any and people can sell stuff…so that made me feel better).

Extra library reads:

The Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak. I loved the premise of this book: parts are told from the perspective of a tree, which seemed pretty weird at first. I think this might be considered historical fiction? I definitely learned about Cypriot and the Greek and Turkish divides within it. This was a beautifully written story.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix Harrow. No historical fiction here! And I loved it. This book was so unique and such a great story, I couldn’t put it down.

(I think I’m missing one or two here…I’ll have to keep better track of library books…)

Currently reading

The Book Woman’s Daughter, by Kim Michele Ridarchson

January 2023 Literate Lushes pick: If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood, by Gregg Olsen

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Let’s Plan a 4th of July Neighborhood Parade!

22 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by in adventure, entertainment, family, ice cream, Motherhood, parenting, Uncategorized

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I know it’s August, but it’s taken me a while to put words to paper (or screen, as you’d have it).

In past years, I’d see friends post pictures of their neighborhood bike parade on 4th of July, and kept wishing our neighborhood did something similar. As happens in life, sometimes YOU have to be the one to make things happen rather than waiting to be invited. SO, this year I told the boys we were organizing our own neighborhood bike parade, and they were all for it!

Quick Pre-Cap:

  1. Plan time, route, and post-parade activity
  2. Create a flyer
  3. Distribute flyer
  4. Check RSVP’s obsessively
  5. Purchase decor items or ice cream
  6. Pre-set up for grand finale
  7. Have fun!

1. Plan time, route, and post-parade activity

I started by figuring out the timing and the parade route. We have an actual parade sponsored by the city every year around 10:00 a.m., so I didn’t want it to conflict with that, and figured most people have BBQ’s later in the evening, so I settled on a 2:00 p.m. meet up time, with a 2:30 p.m. take off time. I thought it would be nice to provide some time for kids to decorate their bikes together and maybe pool resources together for decorations. Figuring out the parade route was tricky: being our inaugural year, I didn’t want to make it too long. The starting point was also tricky: I wanted to make sure we could meet up somewhere safe, where cars driving by wouldn’t be an issue. We have a park near by, but we’d have to cross through a couple intersections and it was generally outside of the range I was hoping to stay within. There’s a cul-de-sac at the top of a hill that I thought could work, but wasn’t sure that having a bunch of kids barreling down a pretty steep street at the get-go was a great idea either. Jeff suggested a green belt area near out house, which was a perfect gathering location.

I also wanted something at the end of the parade so people could hang out for a little bit. Again, being an inaugural year I didn’t want to assume that complete strangers would want to spend the rest of the evening together, so instead of doing a potluck BBQ, I thought ice cream would be a safe alternative.

2. Create a flyer

I did’t want to post on social media, so I went old-school and created half sheet flyers, printed, copied, and cut them in half. The flyer itself had pretty basic information, but I used a QR code to link it to the Google Form that had all the details. The Google Form collected basic information to get a sense of how many people would show up, and also for neighbors to pitch in with decorations and ice cream. It also gave details on the route, in case neighbors wanted to come out and cheer.

So, really, an old school but new school flyer!

3. Distribute flyer

The next step was getting the word out. I knew we could tell our immediate neighbors by word of mouth, but I really wanted this to be a full neighborhood event, including those that don’t live near us and those that we’ve never talked to or seen before. I know the neighborhood app is pretty popular, but I also didn’t want to post something online and have people from beyond our neighborhood. Not because I don’t like to include others (I’m usually a “the more the merrier” type), but because I really wanted this to be an opportunity where we got to meet and interact with the people that live around us.

The whole family helped put the fliers in each mailbox around our neighborhood. Jeff actually attached one of the boys’ lunch bags to a bike, and put the fliers in the lunch box so they could bike around and put the fliers in the mailboxes. I walked around with Josh at one point and had a system where he rode his razor ahead and opened the mailbox for me to walk up and put the flyer in and close the mailbox.

4. Check RSVP’s obsessively

Ok, maybe obsessively isn’t healthy, but I’ll be honest with you – I was excited and nervous to see how this little experiment would go. It was pretty great to get a notification every time someone filled out the Google form. It was nice to see that almost everyone that RSVP’d also signed up to contribute something, so I figured we would have plenty of decorations and ice cream.

5. Purchase decor items and/or ice cream

You really can’t go wrong with the Dollar Tree for these types of decorations. I bought a bunch of random things, including themed ribbon, and they all came in handy. I made sure to take twist ties, scissors, and tape to the meet up.

6. Pre-set up for the grand finale

I wanted to have as much take care of as possible so that when we finished our parade everything was ready to go. We set up our canopy on the driveway for shade, and a couple folding tables to set out the ice cream and decorations. A neighbor brought over some really cool inflatable trays so we could put ice and the ice cream in them, and that worked out really well. I think next year I’ll skip the parade or cut home a little early just so I can set everything out before the melee arrives.

7. Have fun!

It was so great to see the community come together and have a great time! The decorating together before departure worked really well, but I think it could be improved a bit next year. It was a bit much to keep track of where the tape and scissors were, and the decorations were scattered among bags and baskets on the grass (some apparently got placed over dog poop…that was fun). Next year I might set up a table there to set things out, and have multiple sets of scissors and tape.

BUT, I loved seeing the pride each kid took in preparing their bike or razor, and how they got to pick and choose what they wanted to decorate it with. Totally worth it!

Once we took off, these kids TOOK. OFF. Being that it was our first parade, I think they confused “parade” with “race” and really took off pretty fast. We’ve discussed next year having a couple parents at the front to keep the pace, and give it more of a parade feel for the neighbors.

Once the biking was done, it was ice cream time! We had popsicles but also ice cream buckets and every topping imaginable. I was very thankful a couple moms stepped up to be designated ice scream scoopers – I think this will be something we plan for next time, and maybe have one table for ice cream scooping, and another for toppings, just to move the line along a little more quickly. I also just remembered this idea that I first saw on Pinterest about pre-scooping on muffin tins – could work!

I think next year we might go big and throw in a potluck…but for this year, it was great!

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