2018 Reading Challenge

This year I completed another goal I set for myself of reading 40 books.  I surpassed this and read/listened to 87.  Now a great deal of my list was children's chapter books- we listened to a lot of Bevery Cleary audiobooks will driving to fun locations this summer. 

My goal for 2019 is to read 50 books.  I'm thinking about looking at some different suggested reading lists or challenge lists, but I've always got a full shelf of books to be read.

If you have recommendations, I'd love to hear them and if you read any of the books on my list and want to discuss, I'm all for it.  I'm definitely missing my book club here in Illinois.  

My 2018 List: 

Christmas Cake Murder- Joanne Fluke

The Read-Aloud Family- Sarah Mackenzie

This is how it Always is- Laurie Frankel

Remember God-Annie Downs

Mr. Popper’s Penguins- Richard Atwater

The Life we Bury- Allen Eskens

Love and other words- Christina Lauren

The 13th Gift- Joanne Smith

Becoming- Michelle Obama

His Needs, Her Needs- Willard Harley

The World According to Humphrey- Betty Birney

The One and Only Ivan- Katherina Applegate

Listen, Love, Repeat- Karen Ehman

James and the Giant Peach- Roald Dahl

The Boxcar Children- Gertrude Warner

Cookies and Crutches- Judy Delton

Educated- Tara Westover

Eat Cake, Be Brave- Melissa Radke

The Lost Letter- Jillian Cantor

Crimes Against a Book Clib- Kathy Cooperman

Scrappy Little Nobody- Anna Kendrick

George- Alex Gind

The Light Between Oceans- ML Stedman

Mistletoe Match- Lindzee Armstrong

Someday, Someday Maybe- Lauren Graham

The Trumpet of the Swam- EB White

The Magic of Motherhood- Ashlee Gadd

Muggie Maggie- Beverly Cleary

Socks- Beverly Cleary

Daring Greatly- Brene Brown

Feeding the Dragon- Sharon Washington

Mitch and Amy- Beverly Cleary

The Residents: Inside the Private World of the White House- Kate Brower

A Night Divided- Jennifer Nielson

Freckle Juice- Judy Blume

The Wife Between Us-Greer Hendricks

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman

An Elephant in the Garden-Michale Morpurgo

Emily’s Runaay Imagination- Beverly Cleary

The Choice- Nicholas Sparks

Otis Spofford- Beverly Cleary

Ellen Tebbits- Beverly Cleary

Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro

Love Does- Bob Goff

Little Fires Everywhere- Celeste Ng

Ribsy- Beverly Cleary

Henry and the Clubhouse- Beverly Cleary

Henry and the Paper Route- Henry and Ribsy- Beverly Cleary

Hentry and Beezus- Beverly Cleary

Henry and Ribsy- Beverly Cleary

Nine Women, One Dress- Jane Rosen

Henry Huggins- Beverly Cleary

Girl Wash Your Face- Rachel Hollid

The Particular Saddness of Lemon Cake- Aimee Bender

The People we Hate at the Wedding- Grant Ginder

Breathing Room- Leeana Tankersley

The Great Alone- Kristin Hannah

The Woman in Cabin 10- Ruth Ware

One Thousand Gifts- Ann Voskamp

Fairest of All-Serena Valentino

Wonder- RJ Palacio

The Midwife- Jennifer Worth

This is Me- Chrissy Metz

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Cosiety- Mary Ann Shaffer

Balanced and Barefoot- Angela Hanscom

Me After You- Jojo Moyes

Ramona the Pest- Beverly Cleary

The Hate U Give- Angie Thomas

Raspberry Danish Murder- Joanne Fluke

Murder on the Orient Express- Agatah Christie

The Glass Kitchen- Linda Francis Less

The Tattooist of Auschwitz- Heather Morris

Banana Cream Pie Murder- Joanne Fluke

Hunger- Roxane Gay

Christmas Caramel Murder- Joanne Fluke

The Best Advice I ever got on Marriage- Jim Daly

Lilac Girls- Martha Hall Kelly

Wedding Cake Murder- Joanne Fluke

Double Fudge Brownie Murder- Joanne Fluke

The Secret Garden- Francis Burnett

Blackberry Pie Murder-  Joanne Fluke

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without me- Mindy Kahling

Talking as Fast as I can- Lauren Graham

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder- Joanne Fluke

Tuck Everlasting- Natalie Babbitt

Cinnamon Roll Murder- Joanne Fluke

Tennessee Trip: Day 7

I couldn't believe that I forgot to end the last post about our amazing sighting!  As we were headed to bed at our AirBnb, we were a little warm and opened some windows in our second floor room.  Mason and I were joking about hopefully a bear wouldn't climb a tree and break in.  Mason didn't seem to believe me that there were probably bears lurking around.   After a few minutes laying in bed one of the outside lights turned on.  I told him to go check it out, telling him it was probably a bear.  He was skeptical, but it turns out IT WAS A BLACK BEAR!  It was pretty large and was just walking up the road right next to our car.  It was too dark to take a picture, but it was definitely very cool.  The next morning Mason could tell a little ways past our house where the bear had turned into some of the brush and matted it down.

We ate some muffins for breakfast, packed the bag for the day and headed to the Smoky Mountain Park.  My goal for the day was to take the East-West Road, Little-River/Laurel Creek Road to the famous Cades Cove area.  There is an 11 mile, one-way loop drive through Cades Cove and we'd heard this was definitely a place see wildlife.  We saw many turkey, deer, an elk in the distance, and sadly no bears.  The day was pretty foggy, but mostly dry, so that was a plus.  I'd marked off that there was supposed to be a nice trail towards the middle of the hike, but it was 5 miles round trip and some books said that while beautiful, it might be too strenuous for kids, so we tentatively thought that we'd maybe walk a short bit of the trail depending on how timing and things were going for the day.

The road to get to Cades Cove was beautiful.  It was a slower winding road along a little river ;) that provided some great views, although we tried not to stop too much along the way.  Cades Coves was definitely a popular location, and I imagine on a clear, sunny, summer day, the road would take quite a long time to cover.  There were several spots where the cars would be backed up and we'd crawl along and then it would space out.  If we had a longer trip, I'd have spent another day doing the driving tour and getting out to see many of the points of interest/churches/buildings throughout the Cove.  We didn't stop to see many, but could see some from the road, and wanted to save our energy for the potential hike.

We were all ready for a bathroom break and leg-stretch by the time we got to the Abrams Falls Trailhead.  Mason carried the backpack carrier, while I had the water, snacks, and diapers, and we set-off.  Now, knowing my husband for so long, I should have know that we would be completing the entire trail and not turning around at some halfway point.  And you always think you're "so close" when really not so much the case.  Theodore and Woodrow traded off turns with the GoPro on the first half of the hike, so they were pretty distracted by the elevation changes and the distance we were traveling.  The path walked up and down along a river trail and lush forest.  Maximus was carried the majority of the way, but did walk some.

The hike was really pretty, and traveled up and down next to and above a flowing river.  I think I just end up being over exhausted from being out of shape, the duration of the hike, and all the additional energy I need to pour out to keep all the kids going and not drive Mason over the edge with all their talking.  By the time we got to the waterfall we were ready to sit and rest, have a snack, and shoot a few photos.  We didn't stay too long because we knew the uphill trek ahead of us and the time it would take to get back to the car.  When we returned to the car, we freshened up and got back in the car to complete the Cades Cove loop.  There were a few photographers out with their super lens taking photos of a large Elk, but it was a bit far for us to see.  On the Little River Road home we pulled over to snap a few photos of the flowing river and waterfall.

This was a pretty tiring day and we all passed out pretty quickly that night. 

 

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays Family and Friends,

         This year has brought many changes for our family and it has definitely been an adventure.  We left our island home in Guam and PCS’d to our hometown, Chicago, in June and have been soaking up time with extended family, exploring familiar territory with our boys, and seeking lots of time in nature.  Mason and I were lucky to get a couples getaway to dive in Palau in May before all five of us traveled from Guam to Chicago, by way of Japan.  Mason worked in DC for two weeks in the summer and is in Texas and California this month.  In October we took a ten day trip to see family and explore the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, which was wonderful. 

          Mason is doing an Air Force fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory for his job this year.  He left his last position of doing combat planning in Guam.  He left feeling proud of what he accomplished and now he’s lucky to be in an assignment with a completely different [in a good way] tempo and work environment.  He gets to explore the different research areas at the lab and see what issues scientists from the Department of Energy are trying to solve.  Specifically, he’s spending his time learning computer coding and machine learning (the brains behind artificial intelligence).  There’s a lot of math penguins that were booted off the mental iceberg after high school and are now being slowly roped back in.

         Whew! This year has been something.  I wanted to complete 50 dives while we were in Guam, and I surpassed that amount and got to see some incredible things, plus spend amazing time with Mason out on and in the ocean.  We also got lots of family time hiking and relaxing at the beaches.  Since we moved we’ve been seeking nature when we can, whether it’s at the beaches of Lake Michigan, or the surprising number of deer and critters in the forest preserves near our house.  We’ve also had fun doing some of the touristy things.  The boys really enjoy going to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  I’ve been minimally involved with the PTA at the kids school and am a room parent for Woodrow’s class.  My teaching with K12 has really picked up, so I am doing that in my few hours of free time each day when the boys are in school and Max naps.       

         Theodore started first grade this school year and is really excelling in all areas.  He turned seven in September and is just so inquisitive.  He’s our little book worm and frequently has to be told to go to sleep and not stay up all night reading.  He’s still into art and recently is very into Bison.  This year he’s taking swimming lessons, clay class, is a Wolf in Cub Scouts, and part of the Chess Club at school.  He’s really enjoying living close to family! 

           Woodrow brings the spice to the family for sure!  He turned five in August, and has really done well since Kindergarten (half-day) started.  His social interactions with others have improved and he’s getting better at expressing all those feelings he has.  He’s started to read short words, and is going to be a math whiz.  He is into Star Wars, playing games on his ipad, is super sporty, and we think part Ninja.  Woodrow is also taking swimming lessons and is a Lion in Cub Scouts.  He’s enjoying all the fun places to explore in Chicago. 

         Maximus turned two in October and is in to everything.  He’s gotten super talkative lately and has never met a stranger.  He’s super friendly and playful.  Right now he’s into Elmo, trains, and is starting to sit still enough to look at books. Max has been doing a toddlers class and now a little music class which he really likes.   He takes family attendance several times throughout the day and loves to be with his big brothers. 

         We’re super thankful for the experience we’ve been given this year and are enjoying every moment of it.  We’ll be on the move again in summer 2019 but only the Air Force knows where at this point.  I try to keep up with things on out blog, so you can check out our adventures at http://ellenmason.blogspot.com.  The boys also love to receive snail mail and hear from friends. 

Happy Holidays with Love