Memorial Day

Back in February of 2001, I had the greatest history lesson of my life. 2 of my sisters, my sister's boyfriend, (who is now her husband), and I were able to take a trip to France, (with a little stop in England). We all decided that we wanted to drive up to see the D-day beaches. I knew that this location was a part of history, but I never imagined what kind of impact this site would be on my life.

I had heard stories about World War II, I had seen movies that depicted what happened. But nothing will ever compare to seeing that landscape with my own two eyes. So much time had passed, but the land still shows signs of that fight that went on there that day in June of 1944. And seeing the crosses from those American soldiers that lost their lives that day - it was sobering to say the least.

As I have been thinking about those who serve our country this Memorial Day, these are the people that came to my mind first. Maybe it's because of my grandpa's passing a few months ago, knowing that he, also, fought in this war. But there have been so many before, and so many still today, who sacrifice not only their time, but also their lives to ensure that we have our freedom. These people are all my heroes!













(Excuse the poor quality - I had to scan these photos and my scanner isn't the best.)

Weenie Roast!!

SUMMER...

Ok, ok - I know it's not technically summer yet. But I have the summer bug. And I want to do everything that I can that is all about summer. I've already been wearing capris and flip flops just about every day. Blowing bubbles in the back yard. Eating popsicles.




But we hadn't had a weenie roast yet - not until last night!!

I've actually been wanting to eat outside for weeks now. But the weather (or other plans) keep getting in our way. But we had hot dogs. And we had buns. And we weren't going to let anything stop us! (Thank goodness it didn't start raining or anything!)



It was still a little chilly outside, so we had to go back inside and change into something a little warmer. But then we were all good. Josh had the fire going. I had the hot dogs and all the fixings out. Abbi had lots of energy left and spent it running around the yard.



The hardest part was that Josh and I had to take turns keeping an eagle eye on Abbi so that she wouldn't get close to the fire.



The wonderful thing about roasting hot dogs is that it's more about the process than it is about the final result. Now don't get me wrong - I love hot dogs - but the fun of them is sitting and watching them cook in the fire.



And we ended up with the perfect hot dogs - complete with ketchup, mustard, relish and chopped onions. And a diet Coke. A perfect meal!



I thought we had big marshmallows, but I was wrong. Josh just couldn't have a fire without roasting marshmallows, so he tried threading lots of little marshmallows onto his roasting stick. It worked!



Now it feels like summer has officially begun. Now bring on the swimming pools and shaved ice and outdoor movies!

Book #35 - Killing Floor

Killing Floor
Lee Child

Today, if you were to ask me what my favorite genre of book was, I wouldn't be able to answer you. Just look at what I've read so far this year - it's really a mix of just about everything! Classics, chick lit, fantasy, girls that can communicate with the wind - I'll read just about anything. But several years ago, my favorites were by far the murder mystery type books. That was when I was introduced to Lee Child's books. I can't remember how I found them - I think I may have just picked one up one day at the store, but I read several from this "Jack Reacher" series. I even got my brother into them and he read quite a few of them as well. Now it's been so long that I don't even remember which books I read. And today, I think there are 14 books in the series. So I decided to read them again!

I honestly don't think that the ones that I read many years ago I read in order. I don't even remember if I read this first book at all! Because I didn't remember it, but that doesn't mean anything. But regardless, this book was very entertaining. There are some pretty brutal murder scenes in it, so if you don't like that sort of thing, this wouldn't be for you. But if you like the action-type books, this is a good one!

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

{Abbi-a-Day} Days 141-147

Playing in the back yard

Sharing ice cream with momma and dadda at Costco

Watching tv with daddy

No, that is not a hat - it's a pair of ruffled bloomers. Yes, she likes to put them on her head and wear them as a hat!

Cookies!

Playing in the dirt in her pjs

So cute - I was sitting at the table on the laptop, and she went and got Josh's church manual off the shelf and carried it to the corner. She sat there pointing at the picture, saying "Jesus!"

Snow in May

Only in Utah do you wake up on May 24th to this.

I'm so ready for it to just be warm!!

Book #34 - City of Ashes

City of Ashes
Cassandra Clare

This is the second of the Mortal Instruments series. These books are for pure entertainment purposes only. As I said after I read the first book, these really remind me of a mix between Twilight and Harry Potter. Except honestly, these are a bit cheesier. I'm the first to admit that I didn't think that the Twilight books were the most well written books, but once you get into them, you have to keep reading, and in your mind's eye, everything is realistic. (Even though you know that in real life, none of it is true.) But with these books, I find myself stopping every once in awhile and thinking how unrealistic they are.

That being said, this book was still entertaining. And I've already requested the third book in the series. I don't think I'll be suggesting these books to everyone I know, but I guess they are entertaining enough for me to keep wanting to read!

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

{Abbi-a-Day} Days 134-140

Really bad quality, but one of only 4 I took this day! We were at my sister's watching her kids, and Abbi loved playing on the stairs. We don't have stairs at home, so she doesn't know how to get down them, but she sure loves going up them!

Yes, more bubble pictures!

This is her newest thing. She loves to grab your finger then pull you along saying "go, go, go" the whole time.

I don't know why, but she looks so grown up to me in this picture!

Look at me draw, mama!

Book #33 - The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak

I really don't know what to say about this book, except for that it touched me. There are some books that you want to keep reading so that you can get to the end to find out what happens, and there are some books that you want to keep reading because the story is just so beautiful. This is one of the latter. Beautiful and tragic. I don't usually love to read books about WWII or the Holocaust because they are just too real and sad for me. And while this book does have sad parts, it also shows how wonderful people can really be. I was dragged into the life of Liesel Meminger, and I didn't want to leave. The book is long - just over 550 pages, but I wouldn't have minded if it went on even longer.

I do have to say that this is listed as a Teen book, but I'm not sure if I would have appreciated it as a teen. But as an adult, I absolutely loved this book!

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

You Capture - Depth of Field

This week's YOU CAPTURE was an easy one for me. I love using a shallow depth of field in my pictures, so I knew I wanted to participate this week! And all I had to do was venture into my sister's backyard to find plenty of trees still blooming. I love spring!

Abbi's First Popsicle

Warning: Picture Overload!!

One thing I love about having a child is all of the firsts. And you can't think that most of those firsts come in a child's first year of life. I am loving that I'm still experiencing so many firsts with Abbi!

Since the weather is warming up, and since there were some popsicles on sale at the store, we decided it was time for Abbi's first popsicle!


First of all, we knew that she would need to be stripped down. This girl can't usually eat a cracker without making a mess, so I knew she would be sticky all over after a popsicle!



She made me laugh because it was like she knew exactly what to do with it. She grabbed onto the little wooden stick, stuck it into her mouth, and started sucking on it!



I thought for sure she'd try to bite it, but she took her time sucking on it and enjoying every second.









Of course I couldn't keep her still and all she wanted to do was run around the back yard, popsicle in hand.







After dropping the popsicle in the grass, I had to be sneaky and steal the remainder away from her. She wasn't too happy about that! She loved the popsicle!



And now, every time we open the freezer, she yells out "Popsicle!"