All the Grandkids...Our Best Effort

Penny Sparks (Bryan and Emily's), Tanner (my brother), and Ivan and Lincoln

One thing my mom really wanted over the vacation was to get a picture with all the grandkids in it. Of course we couldn't just do it the easy way, when they were all there on Christmas day, no one thought about it then. The day after Christmas was our last shot because my step brother Bryan just got a job in San Diego and he will be moving his family there shortly. Since it's "so far" for Tanya and Nelson to drive from Roy to come out two days in a row to my mom's (you can't see, but I'm rolling my eyes. They live maybe three miles from my mom's house if you take the scenic route. As opposed to Bryan and Emily and Aaron and I who drive from Provo every time we come to visit which is about 90 miles, but whatever, I'm not bitter.) even though it would have been way easier for them to come there for the picture, we all loaded up and went to their house in Roy. All the kids, (well, mine at least, because we woke Lincoln up early from a nap, and Ivan was ready to go down for one) were cranky. And then we when got there, Graham was eating so we couldn't take the picture right away. We decided to do some other shots instead. The one above of Tanner and Penny and Lincoln and Ivan is probably my favorite. It turned out really cute. All the kids love Tanner because he is go good with all of them, and always plays with them.

This picture is really cute, I was sad it came out blurry. Lincoln and Ivan got the cute jackets they are wearing for Christmas and I thought it would be cute to have a picture of them together. Oh well. We also did shots of the families.

Of course we couldn't get our boys to smile for the life of them. Even bribing Lincoln with M&Ms failed.

Graham finally finshed eating to we could try some cousin shots. Isn't he cute? He's a little over a month old.

Well we could not get the kids to hold still or smile all by themselves, so we threw Grandma and Papa in there, but this is the best we got on our camera. Maybe someone else got better. I hope so for my mom's sake. We even tried putting Grandma and Grandpa Sparks (Kerry's parents) in the mix, but I saw how that was going to go, so I took a video instaed. The video is pretty funny though. I just wanted to capture the moment of what it's like to get lots of little kids to cooperate for a picture.

Christmas Day 2009

My cute brothers, Kyle, Jackson, and Tanner, up "early" on Christmas morning.

I'll start off by saying that this is probably going to be a pretty long post. But hey, Christmas only comes once a year, and my kids are only going to be little at Christmas for so long. So I'm making the most of this blog entry and including lots of pictures and lots of video.

Lincoln let us all sleep until a very reasonable hour this morning, 7:30am. By then Aaron was back from taking Kelly to the airport, and the rest of us felt like we'd gotten to sleep longer than we expected (well, I don't really know what Kyle, Juice, and Tanner expected, but they didn't complain about it so we were happy). Lincoln and I went into each of the uncles' rooms and Lincoln jumped on them to wake them up and then wished them a "Merwee Chwissmis". Then we went upstairs and waited for everyone to gather. Ivan was still sleeping and so we decided that he would be better left alone. We did not wake him up. Once everyone was gathered, we went into the living room and did Christmas socks. Lincoln got to go first because he was the youngest. Here's Lincoln getting into his sock...

My favorite part is when he finds his Christmas tree DoodlePro. He pulls it out and says, "A triangle!" And I say, "That's a Christmas tree." And Linc says, with the exact same excitement, "A Chwissmis Twee!" And I (realizing that it was good that he noticed it was a triangle) say, "which is in the shape of a triangle, you're right." And then Linc says, "Anna dwaw. (I want to draw)"

Lincoln and his "he-tah-ter (helicopter)" that he found in his stocking

Lincoln's very favorite stocking stuffer, and probably his very favorite thing overall really, was this helicopter sucker. It's a sucker on the bottom when you twist the cap off, and then on top is a helicopter, and if you push a button the blades spin around and light up. He actually cried when we took it away from him so that he could focus to open up some of his other presents. He even took it with him to nap.



I thought the video of Aaron getting into his sock was funny. At the end when I talk about being able to pull toy cars from under the washing machine, my mom says something in the background that you can't really hear. She says, "Or a notebook that someone drops down the lint tray." That was a joke because right after Ivan was born and she was staying with us, she was doing some laundry, and took out the lint screen to clean it. We had a small spiral notebook sitting on the dryer for some reason, and she bumped it and it fell in the lint tray and all the way down into the back of the dryer. Aaron had to pull the dryer out and take the back off to get it out. It was pretty funny. So we were joking that the magnetic stick would have come in handy then.

Aaron getting into his stocking

Here I am getting into my sock. This is about all the decent footage/photos of me. I looked like a scary beast on Christmas morning, and even though I did find some time in the afternoon to shower and do my hair, I stayed in my jammies all day long. :)


After everyone got a peek at their stocking stuffers, it was time for presents! The pic on the left is Ivan's stack, and the pick on the right is Lincoln's. I'd say they made out like little bandits. It was actually kind of nice that Ivan decided to sleep late, because we got to focus our attention all on Lincoln, and then he was content to play with his stuff when Ivan woke up and then we could focus all our attention on Ivan. I think my very favorite part of Christmas is watching everyone unwrap their gifts. Especially gifts that you put a lot of time, or thought into. I really wish we could have been in two places at once this year. We made almost all of the gifts we sent to Aaron's family, and it would have been so fun to watch them open them.

Lincoln opening his and Ivan's box full of hand puppets

Ok, Aaron, I'll admit I went a little overboard with the puppets. But really, I couldn't help it. I just think that the kids will get hours and hours of fun out of making up puppet shows. It's something I would have LOVED as a kid. So ya. Costco since about Sept. has had the cutest little hand puppets, they come four in a box, and they are well made out of nice fabric and they just looked like so much fun. So, I (at different times between Sept and Christmas) ended up with four boxes of puppets for the kids. But I think they'll get good use out of them, Lincoln already asks to play "puppet show", so I'm not worried.

Lincoln opening his Little People firestation from G&G Swan

Lincoln opening his basketball hoop

Aaron opening his router bit set from Mom and Kerry, and sporting some lovely tinsel

Lincoln playing with his Mag Neatos, which are magnetic blocks

Ivan finally woke up to celebrate his first Christmas around 9:00am and joined us to "open" his presents. He got a lot of help from Lincoln. In this video he's opening his little cars from Grandma and Grandpa Swan. They were a huge hit with both boys.

Ivan in his new BYU hat

My mom made these cute litte fleece snow hats for all the grandkids. I definitely have to learn how to make them for next year. Ivan looks so cute in his. So does Lincoln, but he wouldn't hold still and leave it on long enough for me to take his picture.

Mom and Kerry went in with us to get Ivan this cool bead maze box. I was a little worried that he wouldn't like it right away, that it would be one of those presents that he'd have to grow into, but he loved it. He pulled himself right up to it and started pushing the beads along the wires. I'm glad.


I don't know what it was, but Ivan was being really photogenic this morning. It seems like every picture we took of him was too cute not to post on here. :) Here he is after opening his nesting and stacking balls.

This present is kind of silly, but it's one of my favorites that Ivan got, probably because he likes it so much. It's a stuffed lion that's the exct same size as Ivan. He loves it and laughs his head off whenever you hold it in front of him. It was actually supposed to be a stocking stuffer, but it didn't fit in his sock.

Aaron sacked out on the couch shortly after breakfast. Guess it was a lot for him getting up so early to go to the airport and then all the Christmas excitement. He got a three hour nap, which was probably his best Christmas present. :)

Christmas Eve 2009

Our family in our Christmas jammies in front of the Christmas tree

The feast! Ham, Au Gratin Potatoes, salad, rolls, mmmhhhh

Christmas Eve was great this year. It was very similar to how I remember it being as a kid. It was the first Christmas Eve in a few years that all my brothers and I were there together. Mom and Kerry made a wonderful sit down feast for all of us to enjoy. We had ham, homemade rolls, Au Gratin potatoes, salad, punch, I think the only item we might have been missing was the jell-o salad. :)

After dinner we had the traditional Christmas Eve Program. Several years ago, Mom and Kerry decided to turn this over to the kids. So now, every year one of the kids is in charge of the whole sha-bang. The only requirement being that the Christmas Story gets read at some point. This year was actually supposed to be Tanya and Nelson's turn, but due to a family scheduling conflict (it was their turn to be with Nelson's family) they got skipped and we found ourselves in charge. I meant to plan something great, grand, and wonderful, but I ran out of time. We did manage to make a "name that tune" game on the computer that played 5 seconds clips of random Christmas songs, and everyone had to guess the title and artist. That turned out pretty fun I think. Tanya won (she and Nelson and Graham dropped by after things were winding down at the Strongs), and Mom got a close second.

By then our kids were getting pretty crabby and ready for bed. Aaron read the Christmas story out of the Book of Mormon and the Bible, and while he read Lincoln helped me put up the right characters at the right time from our Little People Nativity set. Linc thought that was great fun, and when it was over he kissed each one and said good-bye. "*kiss* bye Baby Jesus. *kiss* bye Mary..."etc. Then he wanted to set them all up again and re-put them away again. I'm glad we got the Little People Nativity this year. It's been fun to watch Lincoln play with it all season. He knows the names of all the pieces, and knows how to set them up in their right places. It's cute and it's been a fun way to teach him about the Christmas Story.

After we read the Christmas Story, my family has a tradtion where a few weeks before Christmas every year my mom and Kerry give each family $50 and they get to spend it one someone in need. Then on Christmas Eve we report what we've each done. I love this tradition, because it's about something bigger than you and bigger than presents. I think it's a good reminder of Christ. I also love to hear how each family spends their $50 dollars so differently, but all the ways are so great, and really are helpful to someone.

After that, we all opened our jammies. Aaron got me a yellow bathrobe with slippers to match. I got Aaron a nice pair of slippers, and Lincoln and Ivan both got a warm pair pf blanket sleepers.

Then it was time for the children to go to bed. They are still both too young to really understand what happens on Christmas morning, so if we're lucky we might get to sleep in one more year. :) Well, except Aaron, who is taking Kelly to the airport at o'dark-thirty so that he can spend Christmas in WA with the family there. Good thing he's going too, because he's delivering all of our Christmas presents!

My mom's pretty tree with all the piles of presents underneath. When you have 7 kids plus some spouses and grandchildren that makes for a lot of presents!

Hogan Family Christmas Party

This year my mom was in charge of the Hogan family Christmas party. That's the party on her side of the family. We had an amazing turn out, and a lot of fun. My mom made Cafe Rio Chicken and Pork with homemade salsa and tomateo dressing. Delicious. And a big hit. Then we played some funny games. We split up into teams. Each team got a pair of panty hoes and a hand full of balloons. The object was to blow up the balloons and stuff them in the panty hoes and be the first one to put your "reindeer antlers" on your head. Above is my sister-in-law, Emily Sparks, sporting her antlers.

Another game we played was the candy bar game. Everyone gets in a circle and starts out with a candy bar. There are lots of dice going around the circle. When they come to you if you roll a 3 or a 6 you get to take someone else's candy bar. At the end of 3 minutes (or however long) you get to keep all the candy you've collected. It's gets pretty violent. But it's fun.

I think everyone had a good time. I also think eveyone was glad when it was over. It was a lot of people for one house. We might have to start having the Hogan Family Party in a church or something, because there really are a lot of us when we all show up. :)

Layton Lights

Tonight my mom had the great idea that we should go down to Layton and drive through the lights. So Aaron, Lincoln, Ivan, Mom, Kerry, Tanner, and I loaded up into our van and headed out to Layton. Whoever is in charge has done a really outstanding job. They have lights of almost any animal you can think of, and a lot that you probably never would think of. It's really cool, and Lincoln got a really big kick out of it. His favorite part was the lighted tunnel that we had to drive through to get in to the park. The whole way home he kept saying, "Go frew tunnel again, Mom." It was pretty cute. If the line hadn't been so incredibly long to get in, we might have considered going through one more time. There was lots to see, and I'm sure we didn't get it all the first time around.

An Early Christmas Present

Except this wasn't a Christmas present, but it felt like one. I've been telling Aaron for the past while, that we need to do something about the boys' carseats, because it was getting really difficult to put both of them in the car. The straps on both of their seats were really tight, and were pulled out all of the way. So I felt like I was shoving them in and squeezing them to death every time we went anywhere in the car. They hated it too, and both of them would cry (typical for Ivan, not typical for Lincoln) whenever we'd put them in their seats. The day finally came when Aaron and I started researching car seats, picked one out, ordered it online and had it shipped to my mom's house.

It wasn't supposed to come for two more days, but it came today!!! I was so excited!! We bought a bigger car seat for Lincoln and then we'll just move Ivan into the one Lincoln was in. The one we bought Lincoln is a Graco Nautilus. It will hold him in the 5 point harness until he's 65 pounds! His current one is only like 40, I think. Then, after he weighs too much for the 5 point harness, it converts. So we'll just take the harness out and use the car's seat belt. THEN...when he gets too big for that, the back comes off, and it's just a backless booster that you use with the car's seat belt, until he's 100 pounds. Sweet. Complete with adjustable headrest and cup holder. Done and done. We'll never have to buy another seat for Lincoln again.

We've only had it a few hours, and I already love not having to smash my boys into their seats. They love it too. Maybe for the first time in history we all got snapped into the car and no one cried. Yay. The important thing is that Lincoln likes it. He's way impressed with the cup holder. And as for Ivan...

he was very content with the box it came in.

It's Party Time

Aaron survived finals, and we finally got ourselves packed, the car loaded and on our way to Hooper to spend the week with my family. Traffic was terrible, so pretty much we only had time to drop the boys off at my mom's house and head to Tindy and Tami's Christmas party. Tindy and Tami are two of my very good friends from high school. I haven't seen either of them in forever. They teamed up this year and decided to throw a friends Christmas party. It was a hit. I hope they do it every year.

First we had a potatoe bar dinner. Then we did white elephant gifts. The gift I chose to give was a beta fish and some fish food. Aaron gave a box of donuts. Then we played Christmas Pictionary. The girls dominated. That's ok though because the boys clobbered us in the next game. Everyone got a paper sack with some sort of food item in it (some of the examples: laffy taffy, dumb dumb suckers, fireballs, lemon heads, pixie stix, caramel, etc.) and we lined up in a line, and the first person in line had to eat and swallow everything in their bag before the next person could open their bag. It was a race to the end of the line. Like I said the boys dominated, and most of the girls wanted to puke by the end. :) But it was still fun. The picture is of Aaron eating a candy necklace for his turn.

The last activity of the night, I thought was the most fun. We got in teams, each couple was a team, and had a ginger bread house building contest. Tindy and Tami had LOTS of candy and frosting for us to use, and I thought every one did a really good job of being creative. All the houses came out really different. We voted for our favorites. Aaron and I ended up winning, but I'm not sure we really deserved to, there were a lot of cool houses. But we got a sweet prize basket with a movie and some candy and a soda, so I'm not going to complain ;)

After the party we stayed and helped clean up, and had a blast talking and catching up with everyone. Thanks Tindy and Tami for a wonderful Christmas party!!

Here's another look at our house....listen to the awesome noise it makes when it gets squished, just like in a movie.

Christmas Cookies and Candies

I finally got all my candy made whoo-hoo! This year I did ginger bread cookies, peanutbutter cups, oreo truffles, and fudge. It took me about a week to find little bits of time here and there to get it all made. But I think everything turned out really well. I was happy.

Tonight we put it all on plates and delivered it to family and friends and our home/visiting teaching families. I love taking candy around, and I hope people love getting it as much as I love giving it. Also, I was very happy to have it all out of my fridge. :) A few people have asked for recipes so here ya go.

Ginger Bread Boys

1/3 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2/3 cup sour milk
6 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs

Combine spices with flour and add sugar to shortening. Add molasses, eggs, milk. Mix all together until thick. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick cut out with cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, store covered to keep soft.

Million Dollar Fudge

4 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 can evaporated milk

boil on stove for 5 minutes, don't let spoon leave bottom of pan, and stir continuously.

have ready in a large bowl:

12 oz pkg semi sweet chocolate chips (I usually use milk chocolate instead)
1 pound of baking chocolate
1 pint marshmellow cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Pour hot mixture over chocolate/marshmellows. Beat until mixed. Pour into pans to let cool. Refridgerate. Makes 5 pounds.

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)
        -22 cookies with cream centers included
        -10 cookies with cream centers discarded
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
about 12 oz chocolate bark or candy coating

Finely crush the cookies in ziploc bag with a rolling pin. In blender put about 1/2-1 inch milk, then dump the crushed oreos in and blend it up until smooth. Pour into large bowl.Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely. Use a cookie scoop to scoop 1 inch balls onto a cookie sheet. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a half hour to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. Refrigerate and enjoy! (This recipe adapted from bakerella.com)

Makeup Boy

Lincoln strikes again. This time in my make up bag. *sigh* I was putting Ivan down for a nap this afternoon, and it took a little longer than usual. When I came out, Lincoln was standing on a chair at the kitchen sink saying, "I wash it off Mom, I wash it off." So I went and looked at his face and he had mascera all over his eye and his hand. I'm pretty impressed though, because he knew the mascera went on eyes, and when he was finished, he'd screwed the lid back on, put the tube back in my make up bag and zipped my make up bag shut. And he must've figured out somewhere along the way that he wasn't supposed to be playing in it, because he was attempting to wash it off. I didn't get mad at him, just made him pose for pictures. :)

Oh How I Love Macey's

Yesterday I did a hate post, so I decided that today I should do a love post. I love Macey's grocery store. Whoever came up with the idea definitely had their thinking cap on. What I love about Macey's is the fact that they pretty much count on their main staple of shoppers to be mothers with one or more young children, and they embrace it!! All we have to do is drive by and Lincoln starts yelling excitedly that he wants to "dribe da tar", in otherwords, he wants one of the carts that has a little truck on the front that he can drive. Best invetions ever, and although I do like the design of the Home Depot (we go there a lot) car carts better, the ones at Macey's work their magic and entertain Lincoln every time. Leaving me only one child to deal with while I try to focus on shopping, and soon he'll be old enough to drive with Lincoln. Then, at the check out, or any time you pass an employee really, you have the option of asking for a package of Smartees, which they willingly give with a smile on their faces, and your child is even more content to be at the grocery store than he already was. It's a beautiful thing. Also, (we always wait until the end but you could probably do it any time) after we've checked out, and are on our way to the car, we stop at the balloon counter and grab a free balloon for the ride home. Really, it's a beautiful experience, if such is possible in a grocery store with small children.

Today for the first time, Ivan got his very own balloon.  He loved it!! He laughed at it floating around in the car all the way home. Then when we got home I tied it to a stuffed animal so that it could stay down at his level. Between the two children and the two balloons, we were entertained for at least an hour. Wow. Forget Christmas presents, I'm just going to bring home a bunch of helium balloons and call it good.

My Hatred of Our Water Heater

Our water heater only heats up enough hot water for 1 and 1/2 quick showers. And since neither Aaron nor I typically take quick showers, one or the other of us is left with a cold shower if we both shower in the morning when we get up (which we typically do). Since I am not even close to a morning person, and have an extremely hard time getting my rear out of bed one second earlier than necessary, the person getting the cold shower is usually me. Well, this morning I had had enough. I was in desperate need of hot, or at least warm. I decided to boil water and put it in the bath tub. I did all the pots we owned twice. It only got the tub about 1/4 of the way full. I filled it half way full using the cold tap water for the rest. I had a slightly warmer than luke warm bath :( Blah. I hate our water heater.

Kitchen Help

Today I was feeling really tired by the time Aaron came home from school/work. He volunteered to make us a pancake dinner. Lincoln volunteered to help him. Aaron must have a lot more patience than I do. He helped Lincoln messure out all the ingredients, let Lincoln dump them in the bowl, and even let Lincoln stir. So, pretty much (besides the part that involved the stove) Lincoln made dinner tonight.

Ivan's First Real Haircut

I have trimmed the back of Ivan's hair, on his neckline, twice since he was born, out of necesity to keep him from having a mullet, but I don't count that as a real haircut. Today my mom came down to Provo to hang out with me. Not with Kyle, not with Jackson, but me. She came down on Friday to hang out exclusively with my brothers, because they accused her of only ever coming down to see me. And they wouldn't let her see me on Friday while she was hanging out with them, so since I am the obvious favorite (take that Kyle and Jack) she came back on Monday to play with me. :) ANYWAY, she was kind enough to give my two orphan looking children hair cuts. This was Ivan's first real haircut. He was not a big fan of the clippers. Lincoln has never been afraid of them, but Ivan, oh man. Poor kid. I ended up having to hold him in my arms the whole time, and we both got hair all over us. But, his hair looks so much better now. Lincoln's does too, of course, but it wasn't his first rodeo, so I didn't take a picture of his hair cut.

After haircuts, I put the boys down for their naps and Mom taught me how to make peanutbutter cups. It's been really fun making Christmas candy with my mom the last couple of years. It's probably one of my very favorite parts of the season, making candy with my mom. :)

 

I could not believe how much chocolate these little buggers took! We used up everything I had planned on using for them, what I'd planned on using to make fudge later, all my extra chocolate chips, some random hershey bars I found in the back of my cupboard, and a half a box of white bakers chocolate. This recipe makes a ton on peanutbutter cups. But oh, they turned out so delicious. I'm going to have to hide them from my husband. Peanut butter cups are his favorite, and these are better than the store bought ones.

Peanutbutter Cups
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanutbutter (I like chunky)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup Karo Syrup
1 inch paper candy cups, about 125
lots of chocolate

Soften butter, mix butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and karo syrup together with a mixer until about the same firmness as cookie dough. You may want to put it into the fridge for aminute before rolling it into balls.  Spread paper candy cups onto cookie sheet as close together as you can. Roll peanut butter mixture into little balls and drop one ball into each cup. Melt chocolate. Spoon chocolate over peanut butter balls. Let set. Will set faster if refridgerated.

The Decor

I didn't waste any time getting our Christmas decorations up this year. The day we got back from Arizona, Aaron and I put the tree up, that was on Sunday night. Monday I finished the rest. I like to post our Christmas decorations every year, more for the family history aspect, so that when our kids read these blog books years and years down the road they will be able to see how the decorations have changed over time. Here's our tree. It's the same tree as last year. We decided to put it up on top of my sewing cupboard to keep the kids out of it. It works really well actually, because it also makes the tree tall enough to be seen out the window. So from outside our little tree looks huge. :) As you can see by the presents underneath, I've been on top of my Christmas shopping this year. I'm almost all the way done. Yay for me.

Every year we get the kids a new ornament. We try to pick ones that remind us of them. Lincoln's is the penguin. He got a penguin last year too, but we figured this year he's still just toddling around, so we picked a penguin again. Ivan's is the giraffe. Baby giraffes are huge, baby Ivan is huge. They are both fuzzy. They are both cute. It made sense to us.

This is our "mantle". The santa and snow man stocking holders are not new, but the garland, flowers, icicles around them are. I think they add a nice touch.

This year I decided that since there are four of us, that is was time to get new stocking holders. So I took the hooks off of our other two, and just used them as decor on the mantle. At Target I found an awesome deal on these nativity stocking holders, and since I don't have a nativity, I couldn't pass them up. I also bought the garland to go around the nativity, and the candle to go behind. We were also one stocking short this year. I had planned on making us all new ones, but I couldn't find the right material. I was kind of thinking that since the stocking holders are the nativity, it probably wouldn't be good to hang cartoony santa/reindeer/snowman/etc. patterned stockings from it. I wanted something a little more formal and reverent. After looking just about everywhere I could think of, I found these stockings at the grocery store of all places, but I think they look really sharp with the whole set up.

I forgot to take a picture of my wreath, but it's my favorite of all the new decorations. We decided that since we weren't buying a Christmas tree this year, that we could get a wreath instead. Yay! Someday when I remember, I'll take a picture of it.

Krystal's Recommended Reads

I thought that since I'll be making a book out of this year's blog posts soon, I ought to include all the books on my recommended list so far. This is a list of all the good books I have read in the last 2 years. I also decided to include a short summary of each book, because when I'm looking for books to read a list of just titles does nothing for me. And no, I did not write them myself, that would have taken forever. I copied and pasted from the Internet :) If you are curious as to what I thought about each book you can read my reviews on goodreads.com.

Krystal's Recommended Reads
(as of December 2009)

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Take an unforgettable journey through the English countryside and into the homes of its inhabitants-- four-legged and otherwise-- with the world's best-loved animal doctor.


For over 25 years-- since All Creatures Great and Small was first published-- readers have delighted to the storytelling genius of James Herriot, the Yorkshire veterinarian whose fascinating vignettes brim with the wonder of life, animal and human.


Whether struggling mightily to position a calf for birthing, or comforting a lonely old man whose beloved dog and only companion has died, Herriot's heartwarming and often hilarious stories of his first years as a country vet perfectly depict the wonderful relationship between man and animal-- and they intimately portray a man whose humor, compassion , and love of life are truly inspiring.

Animal, Miracle, Vegetable by Barbara Kingsolver

Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.


"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.


"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ."


Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.


"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

Anthem by Ayn Rand

Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word--"I."

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van Demille

Is American education preparing the future leaders our nation needs, or merely struggling to teach basic literacy and job skills? Without leadership education, are we settling for an inadequate system that delivers educational, industrial, governmental and societal mediocrity? In A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, Oliver DeMille presents a new educational vision based on proven methods that really work! Teachers, students, parents, educators, legislators, leaders and everyone who cares about America's future must read this compelling book.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

Called a “magnificently crafted story . . . brimming with wisdom” by Howard Frank Mosher in The Washington Post Book World, Crossing to Safety has, since its publication in 1987, established itself as one of the greatest and most cherished American novels of the twentieth century. Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The aristocratic vampire that haunts the Transylvanian countryside has captivated readers' imaginations since it was first published in 1897. Hindle asserts that Dracula depicts an embattled man's struggle to recover his "deepest sense of himself as a man", making it the "ultimate terror myth".

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Spanning the period between the American Civil War and World War I, East of Eden presents two generations of brothers as they battle between good and evil. The first generation consists of the placid Adam Trask and his hot-tempered brother Charles, and the second generation is made up of Adam's sons, the fair-haired, mild-mannered Aron and the dark-haired, quick-tempered Cal. Deeply influenced by the biblical story of Cain and Abel, the novel begins in California's Salinas Valley, where the young narrator was born. He recounts the story of his Irish grandparents, Samuel and Liza Hamilton, who settle in the Salinas Valley, where they meet the members of the Trask family.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do....

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The epic battle between man and monster reaches its greatest pitch in the famous story of Frankenstein. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor himself to the very brink. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship …and horror.

Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore

Nineteenth century Ireland comes vividly to life in what Publishers Weekly calls the "finely wrought tale" of Gracelin O'Malley; her brilliant, crippled brother Sean; and their childhood friend, Morgan McDonagh, the reluctant hero of a revolution.


Marriage to English landlord Bram Donnelly elevates Grace into a world at once fascinating and challenging, but acceptance is slow, and her husband becomes increasingly cruel. When potato blight devastates the countryside, Grace feeds the growing number of starving tenants who turn to the manor, defying her husband and bringing his wrath down upon her head; she compromises - for the sake of their young child - and strikes a twisted bargain that leads, in the end, to Donnelly's murder. As political unrest sweeps across the land, and suspects are rounded up, Grace harbors Irish rebels - her own fanatical brother among them - hiding, as well, the deepest secret of her heart. And as disaster threatens those she loves most, Grace fights to keep them alive, her profound courage affecting everyone around her.

I am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson

How do we get women to stop saying, "I'm just a mother"? Or, "I used to be such and such, but now I'm just a mother"? When Jane Clayson Johnson, former network news correspondent and co-host of The Early Show attended a gathering of nearly fifty LDS couples, she was shocked to hear the women in the group describe themselves as "just a mother." She had not expected Latter-day Saint women to have the same undervalued view of moetherhood as the rest of the world. Jane's fascinating personal story and unique insights will inspire women to raise their awareness and perception of this important--and often difficult--role.

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.


The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")


Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon.

Little Britches by Ralph Moody

Ralph Moody was eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there early in the twentieth century. Auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms give authentic color to Little Britches. So do adventures, wonderfully told, that equip Ralph to take his father's place when it becomes necessary.

Love and Logic Magic For Early Childhood by Jim Fay & Charles Fay, Ph.D

Parenting little ones can be exhausting...until you discover Love and Logic. Take the exhaustion out and put the fun into parenting your little one.


If you want help with:
* Potty training
* Temper tantrums
* Bedtime
* Whining
* Time-out
* Hassle-free mornings
* and many other everyday challenges
Then this book is for you!


This book is the tool parents of little ones have been waiting for. America's Parenting Experts® Jim Fay and Charles Fay, Ph.D., help you start your child off on the right foot. The tools in Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood will give you the building blocks you need to create children who grow up to be responsible, successful teens and adults. And as a bonus you will enjoy every stage of your child's life and look forward to sharing a lifetime of joy with them.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.


We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.

Standing for Something by Gordon B. Hinckley

"Virtue is too often neglected, if not scorned or ridiculed as old-fashioned, confining, unenlightened," laments author Gordon Hinckley, a 90-year-old ordained leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Even as he enumerates all of America's social ills (including $482 billion a year spent on gambling, rampant child neglect and abuse, school massacres, a pervasive deterioration of values) Hinckley believes there is a remedy. Chapter by chapter Hinckley presents 10 old-fashioned virtues that will return America to the glory envisioned by its founding fathers. These virtues include Love, Honesty, Morality, Civility, Learning, Forgiveness, Thrift and Industry, Gratitude, Optimism, and Faith.


Hinckley makes a compelling case for every one of these virtues, quoting extensively from the Bible but mostly using convincing personal anecdotes (after all, he is an elder with 90 years worth of stories and wisdom).


In his glowing foreword, Mike Wallace (of 60 Minutes fame) writes that Gordon Hinckley is an "optimistic leader of the Mormon Church who fully deserves the almost universal admiration that he gets." Clearly, Hinkley has struck a resounding chord with the American populace, including dyed-in-the-wool New York cynics such as Wallace. Word of this book is rapidly spreading across America as simple folk clamor to steer their lives and country with a more virtuous compass.

The Absolute Best Play Days by Pamela Waterman

Children Love Theme Days!


The Absolute Best Play Days contains 52 themes and activities for keeping children between ages two and seven happy, safe and creatively occupied for an extended time period. From dinosaurs and bugs to clocks and inventions, this book covers themes kids love. Low-cost, everyday materials plus simple planning make this book invaluable for parents, and it's perfect for baby-sitters, childcare providers, and grandparents too!


Each theme section fosters smart play by including:
--inside and outside activities
--craft ideas, including detailed instructions and diagrams
--book, music and video suggestions
--snack creations
--tips for customizing themes to older children
--special treats to round out the day


If you have children between 2 and 7 or if you care for someone elses children, you will love this book!

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

Few stories offer more warmth, wisdom, or generosity than this tale of two boys, their fathers, their friendship, and the chaotic times in which they live. Though on the surface it explores religious faith--the intellectually committed as well as the passionately observant--the struggles addressed in The Chosen are familiar to families of all faiths and in all nations.


In 1940s Brooklyn, New York, an accident throws Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders together. Despite their differences (Reuven is a Modern Orthodox Jew with an intellectual, Zionist father; Danny is the brilliant son and rightful heir to a Hasidic rebbe), the young men form a deep, if unlikely, friendship. Together they negotiate adolescence, family conflicts, the crisis of faith engendered when Holocaust stories begin to emerge in the U.S., loss, love, and the journey to adulthood. The intellectual and spiritual clashes between fathers, between each son and his own father, and between the two young men, provide a unique backdrop for this exploration of fathers, sons, faith, loyalty, and, ultimately, the power of love. (This is not a conventional children's book, although it will move any wise child age 12 or older, and often appears on summer reading lists for high school students.)

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

When The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939, America, still recovering from the Great Depression, came face to face with itself in a startling, lyrical way. John Steinbeck gathered the country's recent shames and devastations--the Hoovervilles, the desperate, dirty children, the dissolution of kin, the oppressive labor conditions--in the Joad family. Then he set them down on a westward-running road, local dialect and all, for the world to acknowledge. For this marvel of observation and perception, he won the Pulitzer in 1940.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner."Oh, the poor woman," Corrie cried."Yes. May God forgive her," Betsie replied. And, once again, Corrie realized that it was for the souls of the brutal Nazi guards that her sister prayed.


Here is a book aglow with the glory of God and the courage of a quiet Christian spinster whose life was transformed by it. A story of Christ's message and the courageous woman who listened and lived to pass it along -- with joy and triumph!

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it -- from garden seeds to Scripture -- is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic adventure novel, the storyline of which takes place in the early years of the French Revolution. It is also a precursor of spy novels, as the title character, the Scarlet Pimpernel, works undercover and in disguise to save French aristocrats from the guillotine.


In the novel, Marguerite Blakeney, a French actress, is married to a Sir Percy Blakeney, a seemingly vain and simple man. The French Ambassador to England, Citizen Chauvelin, blackmails Marguerite into giving him information that leads to his discovery of the Scarlet Pimpernel's true identity. Marguerite only realizes once her husband has once again left for France that the man she betrayed, the Scarlet Pimpernel, is in fact none other but Sir Percy.

The Zoo Keeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.


With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her.

These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

In a compelling fiction debut, Nancy E. Turner's unforgettable These Is My Words melds the sweeping adventures and dramatic landscapes of Lonesome Dove with the heartfelt emotional saga of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.


Inspired by the author's original family memoirs, this absorbing story introduces us to the questing, indomitable Sarah Prine, one of the most memorable women ever to survive and prevail in the Arizona Territory of the late 1800s. As a child, a fiery young woman, and finally a caring mother, Sarah forges a life as full and as fascinating as our deepest needs, our most secret hopes and our grandest dreams. She rides Indian-style and shoots with deadly aim, greedily devours a treasure trove of leatherbound books, downs fire, flood, Comanche raids and other mortal perils with the unique courage that forged the character of the American West.


Rich in authentic details of daily life and etched with striking character portraits of very different pioneer families, this action-packed novel is also the story of a powerful, enduring love between Sarah and the dashing cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot. Neither the vast distances traveled nor the harsh and killing terrains could quench the passion between them, and the loss and loneliness both suffer only strengthen their need for each other.


While their love grows, the heartbreak and wonder of the frontier experience unfold in scene after scene: a wagon-train Sunday spent roasting quail on spits as Indians close in to attack; Sarah's silent encounter with an Indian brave, in which he shows her his way of respect; a dreadful discovery by a stream that changes Sarah forever; the hazards of a visit to Phoenix, a town as hot as the devil's frying pan; Sarah's joy in building a real home, sketching out rooms and wraparound porches.


Sarah's incredible story leads us into a vanished world that comes vividly to life again, while her struggles with work and home, love and responsibility resonate with those every woman faces today. These Is My Words is a passionate celebration of a remarkable life, exhilarating and gripping from the first page to the last.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

The Rest of Our Trip

The grandkids

back row: Spencer, Aneya, Audrey, Carter

 front row: Ivan, Jordan, Jeremiah, Bennett, Lincoln

The Birthday Party

Jared, Rob, Aaron, Kelly, Melissa, Bennett, Ryan, Audrey, Spencer

The boy went shooting out in the dessert on Saturday afternoon

The Shooting Party

Melissa, Rob, Kelly, Chuck, Carter, Aaron, Jared, Jordan, and Ryan taking the picture

Grandpa and Uncle Kelly on the swing with Ivan and Lincoln

I went in one night and found Lincoln sleeping like this

Jeremiah, Lincoln, and Ivan in the tub

The Whole Crew

Back Row: Chuck, Debbie, Krystal, Stacey, Bennett, Rob, Jeremiah, Melissa, Ryan, Lisa, Jared, Jordan, Kelly

Front Row: Carter, Ivan, Aaron, Lincoln, Aneya, Audrey, Spencer

We had a wonderful trip! I guess I'd better admit that Arizona is actually quite nice in the winter time. Thank you Stacey and Rob for hosting this little (haha) get-together. We had a blast.

Other items worth noting: On the drive home we almost ran over a flock (?) of wild turkeys. It was the most random thing. And as they were flying out of our way (they don't fly very quickly), Lincoln yells, unprompted from the backseat, "Turkeys everywhere!" It was so funny. We made it home safely in about 10 hours.