September 30
Mr Mom Survives!~
Trudged on through Friday. Got Autumn and Friends to school, came home, got breakfast and lunches for Austin and Jaylin, got them off to school at 8:40, got into work by 9:15. After a good six hours in Seattle, drove home (didnt take the bus because there werent any later ones after 8:30) and stopped by Gai’s bakery. Picked up a bunch of donuts to pass out to all of the families that had helped with watching the kids after school until I could get back from work. First stopped at the Burt’s, who are a family I home teach. Their kids seemed thrilled to get the donuts. Had a chat with Sis Burt to see how things were going, then headed down to pick up Jaylin and Austin at the Walkers. Passed them some donuts. (Kids thrilled again) Grabbed A & J and headed home. Autumn had a sleep-over planned with her friend, Abby Dial. She ended up riding the bus home with her to her house. Autumn did such a great job with calling me and telling me where she was at after getting done with school. She is very responsible for an 11 year old. Whipped up some grilled cheese for dinner and then we watched Free Willey 2. Which AK and J quite enjoyed. Austin of course wanted to pull out the air popper, so we got that going too. It was nice to have a night without cub scouts, soccer or a school meeting. It is so strange not having LeAnn around. I dont quite know what to do with myself. I know I am comforted just having her there as I had trouble going to sleep. One night, I was even up until 2:00. Unheard of for this old fart in his late 30’s. ;) As I was talking with AK about missing LeAnn, he said, “Dad, You’re doing good – So far, the house hasnt caught on fire!”
The next morning, while enjoying the greatness of a Saturday morning, Jaylin came in around 6:45. I guess she is not up-to-speed on my Saturday morning rule—Dont come into our room, just go straight downstairs and watch TV.But she is pretty cute, so I let it slide. She had brought in her little pink purse which she has stuffed with various nick-knacks. I started to tease and tickle her. To that she backed away a few steps and held out her purse. Then in a funny, mock threatening voice she said, “Dad! I have a purse, and I’m not afraid to use it!” My kids are whizzes with the one-liners.
Saturday was a big soccer game day. Jaylin had one at 2:30 and Austin had a tournament with games at 3:30 and 6:30. Luckily, my sister Ashley came down to help shuffle the kids around to the games. We all went together to Jaylins game. Jaylin is very quick and good at tracking down the ball. She just missed a couple of shots, but did a great job overall. I left with Austin and Autumn at 3:00 to get him to his game, where Ashley would come meet us later. Austins team played a team from Fife (first time they have played games against kids from other leagues), and got down 1 zip pretty quick. Then I could tell Austin’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ was kicking in. He scored a quick goal and then another about 5 minutes later to go up 3-1. That was the final score. After that, we drove through Taco Bell/Pizza Hut and got some dinner. Then we drove down to the beach on Dash Point to eat. Jaylin loved playing around in the sand while Autumn and Austin ran around on the driftwood and played tag. We stayed there for about 45 minutes before heading back for his second game. This game they played a team from Puyallup and beat them pretty handily. Austin got a hat-trick this game and they won 6-1. Since we wouldnt be going to play in the Sunday game, Austin got his participation medal after that game. This is our third year with this team, so they know that Austin has decided not to play in the games on Sunday to honor our religion. Not all of the parents are too excited about that because Austin is our main offensive weapon. Then we had a cool experience where the father of one of the other boys came up to me after the game. His name is Tom and he said he wanted to thank us for setting a good example for them. He said because of our example, that he decided to not have his son play in the games on Sunday either. He told us that they were Catholic and were trying to be better at not being too active on Sundays. He said he couldnt remember what religion we were, but that we were a great example of keeping the Sabbath day holy. I told him that we were Mormons, and that is something we believe strongly in. (I wanted to start singing, “Me, Im a Mormon” primary song…. ;)) It was a great thing for Austin to see the positive impact he had on someone else through setting that good example.
The next morning, while enjoying the greatness of a Saturday morning, Jaylin came in around 6:45. I guess she is not up-to-speed on my Saturday morning rule—Dont come into our room, just go straight downstairs and watch TV.But she is pretty cute, so I let it slide. She had brought in her little pink purse which she has stuffed with various nick-knacks. I started to tease and tickle her. To that she backed away a few steps and held out her purse. Then in a funny, mock threatening voice she said, “Dad! I have a purse, and I’m not afraid to use it!” My kids are whizzes with the one-liners.
Saturday was a big soccer game day. Jaylin had one at 2:30 and Austin had a tournament with games at 3:30 and 6:30. Luckily, my sister Ashley came down to help shuffle the kids around to the games. We all went together to Jaylins game. Jaylin is very quick and good at tracking down the ball. She just missed a couple of shots, but did a great job overall. I left with Austin and Autumn at 3:00 to get him to his game, where Ashley would come meet us later. Austins team played a team from Fife (first time they have played games against kids from other leagues), and got down 1 zip pretty quick. Then I could tell Austin’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ was kicking in. He scored a quick goal and then another about 5 minutes later to go up 3-1. That was the final score. After that, we drove through Taco Bell/Pizza Hut and got some dinner. Then we drove down to the beach on Dash Point to eat. Jaylin loved playing around in the sand while Autumn and Austin ran around on the driftwood and played tag. We stayed there for about 45 minutes before heading back for his second game. This game they played a team from Puyallup and beat them pretty handily. Austin got a hat-trick this game and they won 6-1. Since we wouldnt be going to play in the Sunday game, Austin got his participation medal after that game. This is our third year with this team, so they know that Austin has decided not to play in the games on Sunday to honor our religion. Not all of the parents are too excited about that because Austin is our main offensive weapon. Then we had a cool experience where the father of one of the other boys came up to me after the game. His name is Tom and he said he wanted to thank us for setting a good example for them. He said because of our example, that he decided to not have his son play in the games on Sunday either. He told us that they were Catholic and were trying to be better at not being too active on Sundays. He said he couldnt remember what religion we were, but that we were a great example of keeping the Sabbath day holy. I told him that we were Mormons, and that is something we believe strongly in. (I wanted to start singing, “Me, Im a Mormon” primary song…. ;)) It was a great thing for Austin to see the positive impact he had on someone else through setting that good example.
September 26
Mr Mom Day 2
Thursday, 9/25: Dont worry, LeAnn. The house doesnt look like the pic above…. YET.! ;)
One nice thing about this job is I was able to sleep in. I usually head out to work at 5:55, so not having to leave the house until 7:30 was nice. I got up at 6:45 and got ready. Autumn was up at about the same time. Then Jaylin and Austin woke up too, so I parked them in my bed to watch cartoons. When I got downstairs, Autumn had emptied the dishwasher and packed her lunch and was ready to go. She is such a thoughtful, helpful girl. At 7:30 I took Autumn and two girls from our neighborhood to their Middle School. (LeAnn drives the carpool on Thursdays and Fridays) That was pretty uneventful and I got back at about 7:45. Then it was back to get Austin and Jaylin ready. Austin had started some Eggos in the toaster, and even made some for Jaylin. What a nice brother he is. Then I helped them get their lunches ready as they ate. They had turned on the TV and were watching it from the kitchen counter. After about five minutes I asked them if mom allowed them to watch TV before school. “Nope.” they both replied sheepishly. So off it went. By the time I realized that another part of LeAnns daily routine for them was to read out of the BOM during breakfast, it was too late and we had to pack up to go. I got them off safely and on time for school at 8:45. Amazing.
I got into work at about 9:30 and prepared for a short day there. I needed to leave at 2:30 to go pick up Austin. (Jaylin was going home with MacKenzie Nichols and her mom would take them to soccer practice at 5:00. ) Originally, I was going to then take Austin to his practice, but it was canceled, so we headed back home. Autumn, Austin and I ended up playing the Xbox 360 game, Castle Crashers for a while before we needed to go and pick up Jaylin from practice. We made the pizza that sister Kastanis gave us yesterday for dinner. At 6:00 I also had a parents meeting at Autumn’s new school, which is right next to where Jaylin practices. When we got there, Kelly Nichols said she could take Jaylin back to her house and leave her there to play while we were at the Parents meeting. I took her up on that offer! It was neat to see Autumn’s new school – TAFA (Technology Access Foundation Association. Each student gets to use their own laptop and they have a cool electronic whiteboard. Im looking forward to the open house next month. When we finished, we went to pick up Jaylin and got home at about 7:30. Austin had stayed home by himself and was playing Guitar Hero (Guess he did that for the whole hour and a half that we were gone.) BTW- I was a stern parent and made both Autumn and Austin finish their homework before we played the xbox game after school. We gave LeAnn a call to say hello. It seems like she is having a nice time in Arizona. Everyone went to bed without too much trouble.
September 25
Seattle Mariners == :(
Sad state of affairs for the Mariners today…
With a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners becomes the first $100 million payroll team to lose 100 game
Mariners lose 100th game
With a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners becomes the first $100 million payroll team to lose 100 game
Mr. Mom is in the house!
Well, in the house more than usual. LeAnn left to Arizona yesterday to see her cousin get married. She flew down with her mom, and is meeting up with her sisters Leslee and Lisa. She tells me it is 106 degrees down there. Makes me happier with our 61 degrees here. :)
With that, my solo parent stint began after work yesterday. I left at 3:30 to go pick up Jaylin and Austin from the Kastanis’ house as Yvonne had taken them home. (LeAnn had set up a schedule with friends to help with the kids until I get back from work) I got there at 4:15 and Yvonne had kindly bought us a pizza for dinner. Nothing like a clueless man at home alone with the kids to invoke feelings of sympathy. :) From there, I was turned into the Young Women’s president. (LeAnns current calling) She had asked me to go down and pick up a bouquet of flowers for Brittany Nichols who was having a birthday. I had Jaylin pick them out. (She was quite excited about that) Then we drove to the Nichols where we dropped those off along with Jaylin’s soccer stuff for tomorrow since Kelly Nichols would be picking up Jaylin from school, taking her back home to play for a bit and then taking them to soccer practice.
After getting back, I found LeAnn had set the crock pot up and already had a nice chicken ‘n dumplings dinner going for us when we got home. Such a thoughtful wife! (Now we can save the pizza for later!) Autumn had ridden the bus home from school so she had already gotten back before us. After dinner, Austin had a pack meeting at the church. Autumn wasnt feeling too hot, so she ended up staying home. It was a combined pack meeting with the Boy Scouts, so it was cool to see them all together. Although it was quite rambunctious in the gym with that many boys and families. Austin received a cool “Leave no Trace” award to put on his uniform. We got back without any injuries and everyone went to bed without too much trouble.
We survived the first half-day. Stay tuned for Thursdays update.
With that, my solo parent stint began after work yesterday. I left at 3:30 to go pick up Jaylin and Austin from the Kastanis’ house as Yvonne had taken them home. (LeAnn had set up a schedule with friends to help with the kids until I get back from work) I got there at 4:15 and Yvonne had kindly bought us a pizza for dinner. Nothing like a clueless man at home alone with the kids to invoke feelings of sympathy. :) From there, I was turned into the Young Women’s president. (LeAnns current calling) She had asked me to go down and pick up a bouquet of flowers for Brittany Nichols who was having a birthday. I had Jaylin pick them out. (She was quite excited about that) Then we drove to the Nichols where we dropped those off along with Jaylin’s soccer stuff for tomorrow since Kelly Nichols would be picking up Jaylin from school, taking her back home to play for a bit and then taking them to soccer practice.
After getting back, I found LeAnn had set the crock pot up and already had a nice chicken ‘n dumplings dinner going for us when we got home. Such a thoughtful wife! (Now we can save the pizza for later!) Autumn had ridden the bus home from school so she had already gotten back before us. After dinner, Austin had a pack meeting at the church. Autumn wasnt feeling too hot, so she ended up staying home. It was a combined pack meeting with the Boy Scouts, so it was cool to see them all together. Although it was quite rambunctious in the gym with that many boys and families. Austin received a cool “Leave no Trace” award to put on his uniform. We got back without any injuries and everyone went to bed without too much trouble.
We survived the first half-day. Stay tuned for Thursdays update.
September 18
Beach Boys Concert
LeAnn and I got tickets for the Beach Boys concert in Seattle on 9/16. Yes, they are still alive and kicking! A friend at work mentioned how he had gone to see them in concert in Seattle about 20 years ago. :) LeAnn drove up and picked me up from work at 5:30. We went out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the International district called Koharu. The food was ‘amari oishikunai’ (not so tasty) this time and will likely be the last time I go there. I ordered the sukiyaki, which is usually one of my favorites, but the meat was pretty low quality. We finished there about 6:30 and then walked down to Safeco field (The Mariners baseball stadium) where the concert was to be held. We were on the 300 level, and stopped to watch the sunset go down over the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. It was a beautiful night.
It turned out that the concert was hosted by Seattle Children’s Hospital, so there were a number of volunteers/employees that were giving speeches before the concert began. That was supposed to have finished at 7:30, but a number of them were a bit long-winded, so the concert didnt start until 7:50. There was a wide range of people there – from 5 –90 years old. The Beach Boys have appealed to many generations. Two of the main group that I am familiar with are still there- Mike Love and cousin Brian Wilson. They still have that swagger even though they are in their 60’s. It was great fun to hear their banter and see the crowd get into it. They had everyone waving their cell phones in time to the music just like people used to do with lighters. Of course, they made fun of their age a number of times. Once, after a couple of songs, Mike Love said “We are going to take and intermission now.” paused for a few seconds, then said “we need to go backstage to take a nap!” That brought a good chuckle from the crowd. Overall they sounded good, and had a few younger helpers sing some of their old classics. We heard ‘Surfin USA’, California Girls," "Kokomo, and many others that everyone knows well and would sing along to. It was a fun night to spend with LeAnn.
It turned out that the concert was hosted by Seattle Children’s Hospital, so there were a number of volunteers/employees that were giving speeches before the concert began. That was supposed to have finished at 7:30, but a number of them were a bit long-winded, so the concert didnt start until 7:50. There was a wide range of people there – from 5 –90 years old. The Beach Boys have appealed to many generations. Two of the main group that I am familiar with are still there- Mike Love and cousin Brian Wilson. They still have that swagger even though they are in their 60’s. It was great fun to hear their banter and see the crowd get into it. They had everyone waving their cell phones in time to the music just like people used to do with lighters. Of course, they made fun of their age a number of times. Once, after a couple of songs, Mike Love said “We are going to take and intermission now.” paused for a few seconds, then said “we need to go backstage to take a nap!” That brought a good chuckle from the crowd. Overall they sounded good, and had a few younger helpers sing some of their old classics. We heard ‘Surfin USA’, California Girls," "Kokomo, and many others that everyone knows well and would sing along to. It was a fun night to spend with LeAnn.
September 16
Ward Camp Out
Last Friday, September 12, we went camping down near Olympia, WA at a church owned site called Nisqually as you head into the Cascade mountain range. As it is only about 30 miles from our house, we figured it would be a nice, quick trip down. We were wrong. It took at least an hour to get there. We ended up taking two cars since Austin had an early soccer game the next morning. We also decided to bring Flash the dog with us. He seemed quite excited about the whole experience. However, right as we drove into the property, we saw a large sign that said "No Pets Allowed!" Well, there was no way we were driving back through that mess, so he got to stay. We drove around a bit and found a nice camping spot. We pulled out our gear for cooking dinner. For my birthday, the family got me a camp stove that has a grill and a burner on it. We set that up and started cooking some hamburgers. They tasted great. Later that night, the kids started running around with their friends and LeAnn had brought a bunch of colorful glow necklaces that she started passing out to all the kids as it started to get darker. We then went to the firebowl where people told jokes, stories and the bishop and Cory Smith pulled out their guitars and started singing some funny songs. Austin, Autumn and I did the following skit that Austin had learned from Cub camp. (Autumn was the doctor, Austin and I were campers) -- Austin and I walk around a bit and finally decide on a good place to sit down and camp. As soon as I sit down, I yelp in surprise-- "Something just bit me right in the bottom! Yikes it is a rattlesnake! Austin, go get help" (Im writhing and rolling on the ground in pain) Austin runs over to Autumn-- "Are you a doctor?!!" "Yes." She replies. "My dad just got bit by a rattlesnake! What should I do?" Autumn says: "You will have to suck the venom out!" Austin gets a look of disdain on his face, and then returns to where I am still writhing in pain. "What did the doctor say?" I gasp... Austin looks at me sadly, then down at where I am grabbing my bottom where I was bit. He responds, "The doctor says you are going to die."
Everyone got quite a kick out of it. We also were able to pass on "The Star Lake Guppy" (Star Lake is the name of our ward) which is one of those "Tommy Trout" singing fish. This is awarded each year to the best act during the firebowl. I won it last year after telling the story about my getting arrested and thrown in jail. This year, Lindsey Clark won it based on a rendition she did of Napoleon Dynamite's famous dance. Our kids were sad to see it go.
We slept reasonably well that night (likely because I had a new air mattress). Flash did just fine sleeping in the tent with us. The next morning, at about 7:00, I left with Austin and we went out fishing on the Nisqually river. We parked near about forty other cars and found the river to be packed with fishermen. It sounded like there were Chinook and Steelhead salmon running. I have never seen that many fishermen it one place. We had to walk for a ways before we found enough room to cast ourselves. Austin did well with his casting, but didnt get any bites. There was a guy across the river from us who had caught a HUGE salmon. It must have been at least 10 pounds. It reeled it in and his friend pulled out a big net. As they finally netted it, the fish flipped off the hook and landed in the bottom of the net. (still over the river though) It was so heavy that it just ripped a hole right through the net. I almost had to cover Austin's ears for the string of profanity that came flying out of the guys mouth. After that, we had to take off again and drove through Jack in the Box for a breakfast sandwich. Austin was thrilled to find a sandwich that had TWO patties of sausage in it!
We drove back toward home and got to his soccer game at about 9:20 a.m. He had a great game and scored another hat trick and got one assist. He made a beautiful shot with his left foot on a cross from the right corner flag. His skills are really increasing.
LeAnn and the girls got back around noon and then we went to Jaylin's game at 2:00. She did a great job as well and scored one goal. She is very tenacious as well and constantly is going after the ball. Such fun to watch these kids play and have a good time.
Everyone got quite a kick out of it. We also were able to pass on "The Star Lake Guppy" (Star Lake is the name of our ward) which is one of those "Tommy Trout" singing fish. This is awarded each year to the best act during the firebowl. I won it last year after telling the story about my getting arrested and thrown in jail. This year, Lindsey Clark won it based on a rendition she did of Napoleon Dynamite's famous dance. Our kids were sad to see it go.
We slept reasonably well that night (likely because I had a new air mattress). Flash did just fine sleeping in the tent with us. The next morning, at about 7:00, I left with Austin and we went out fishing on the Nisqually river. We parked near about forty other cars and found the river to be packed with fishermen. It sounded like there were Chinook and Steelhead salmon running. I have never seen that many fishermen it one place. We had to walk for a ways before we found enough room to cast ourselves. Austin did well with his casting, but didnt get any bites. There was a guy across the river from us who had caught a HUGE salmon. It must have been at least 10 pounds. It reeled it in and his friend pulled out a big net. As they finally netted it, the fish flipped off the hook and landed in the bottom of the net. (still over the river though) It was so heavy that it just ripped a hole right through the net. I almost had to cover Austin's ears for the string of profanity that came flying out of the guys mouth. After that, we had to take off again and drove through Jack in the Box for a breakfast sandwich. Austin was thrilled to find a sandwich that had TWO patties of sausage in it!
We drove back toward home and got to his soccer game at about 9:20 a.m. He had a great game and scored another hat trick and got one assist. He made a beautiful shot with his left foot on a cross from the right corner flag. His skills are really increasing.
LeAnn and the girls got back around noon and then we went to Jaylin's game at 2:00. She did a great job as well and scored one goal. She is very tenacious as well and constantly is going after the ball. Such fun to watch these kids play and have a good time.
September 15
Big Read Top 100
Swiping this topic from cousin Stacy Hellewell...
Here is the drill:
The National Endowment for the Arts has an initiative you may have heard of called the Big Read. According to the Web site, its purpose is to "restore reading to the center of American culture." They estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. For fun, let's see how many of the top 100 books we've actually read.
How well did you do?
Have you read more than 6?
Here's what you do:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) [Bracket] the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list on your own blog.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nine-Teen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Phillip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ?
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milner
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meany
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth?
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple, Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine de St. Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
Here is the drill:
The National Endowment for the Arts has an initiative you may have heard of called the Big Read. According to the Web site, its purpose is to "restore reading to the center of American culture." They estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. For fun, let's see how many of the top 100 books we've actually read.
How well did you do?
Have you read more than 6?
Here's what you do:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) [Bracket] the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list on your own blog.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nine-Teen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Phillip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ?
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milner
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meany
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth?
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple, Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine de St. Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
September 09
Reminiscence - Long Distance Running
1981-1988
After about six years of playing soccer as a youth, I found that I had quite a propensity for long distance running. My stamina was good, and I was able to push myself through the tough spots without too much trouble. In fifth grade, on our sports day, we had a 'Mile Run' competition. It was four laps around Brookwood elementary. I remember Richie Schrier was the fastest kid in the school and always won the sprint races, but on this day I passed him a couple of laps in. I ended up winning the award for "Fastest Boy in the Mile Run". I was quite pleased with that accomplishment. I never really trained for anything like that as the majority of my 'running' training came from running around on the soccer fields.
In Junior High, when I attended Eastmont Middle School, I would always perform well in the laps that we took around the play fields and come in in the top five. We had a school wide 5K run (This was in 7th grade), and I was running with a couple of my friends, not taking it too seriously. About halfway through, they started dragging, so I decided to pick it up and see how high I could place. I ended up passing a bunch of people and taking 7th place in the whole school. I wonder what would have happened if I had really tried! Based on that performance, the gym teacher asked me to join the track and field team. I trained for the 5K with them for a while and then we went to a track meet against the other Junior Highs in the region. I remember the event was a bit more difficult than I anticipated. Competing against athletes that have trained specifically for those events was a bit more challenging than running against random people at my school. I did well enough the first three miles, but then bonked with about a 1/2 mile left. I was really gasping as I closed in on the finish line. There was a guy from my ward, Bryan Barnheisel, who was up just ahead of me and was slowing down. I tried to speed up to pass him, but he turned it on and beat me to the finish line by a second or two. I think I came in in the top 10 for 7th grade.
In High School, when I was a senior, our Stake had a Stake Olympics. I decided to compete in the 5K there as well. I remember going at a pretty good pace, and being in the front of the pack for most of the way. There was one kid who was a junior, who was on the Olympus High Track team and was a ways in front of everyone. I wasnt sure that I would be able to catch him, but started running stronger as we came into the High School track to complete the race. Just as I came into that area, I saw that he was maybe a half track length in front of me! I started to pick it up a bit as it seemed that he was just jogging toward the finish line. I started to make up some ground when he noticed me coming and then sped up to the finish line. Once again, I realized that I was closer to the front than I initially thought, and wished that I had pushed hard through the whole race. Again, coming in second in the whole Stake was not too shabby for not having had any formal long distance training.
After about six years of playing soccer as a youth, I found that I had quite a propensity for long distance running. My stamina was good, and I was able to push myself through the tough spots without too much trouble. In fifth grade, on our sports day, we had a 'Mile Run' competition. It was four laps around Brookwood elementary. I remember Richie Schrier was the fastest kid in the school and always won the sprint races, but on this day I passed him a couple of laps in. I ended up winning the award for "Fastest Boy in the Mile Run". I was quite pleased with that accomplishment. I never really trained for anything like that as the majority of my 'running' training came from running around on the soccer fields.
In Junior High, when I attended Eastmont Middle School, I would always perform well in the laps that we took around the play fields and come in in the top five. We had a school wide 5K run (This was in 7th grade), and I was running with a couple of my friends, not taking it too seriously. About halfway through, they started dragging, so I decided to pick it up and see how high I could place. I ended up passing a bunch of people and taking 7th place in the whole school. I wonder what would have happened if I had really tried! Based on that performance, the gym teacher asked me to join the track and field team. I trained for the 5K with them for a while and then we went to a track meet against the other Junior Highs in the region. I remember the event was a bit more difficult than I anticipated. Competing against athletes that have trained specifically for those events was a bit more challenging than running against random people at my school. I did well enough the first three miles, but then bonked with about a 1/2 mile left. I was really gasping as I closed in on the finish line. There was a guy from my ward, Bryan Barnheisel, who was up just ahead of me and was slowing down. I tried to speed up to pass him, but he turned it on and beat me to the finish line by a second or two. I think I came in in the top 10 for 7th grade.
In High School, when I was a senior, our Stake had a Stake Olympics. I decided to compete in the 5K there as well. I remember going at a pretty good pace, and being in the front of the pack for most of the way. There was one kid who was a junior, who was on the Olympus High Track team and was a ways in front of everyone. I wasnt sure that I would be able to catch him, but started running stronger as we came into the High School track to complete the race. Just as I came into that area, I saw that he was maybe a half track length in front of me! I started to pick it up a bit as it seemed that he was just jogging toward the finish line. I started to make up some ground when he noticed me coming and then sped up to the finish line. Once again, I realized that I was closer to the front than I initially thought, and wished that I had pushed hard through the whole race. Again, coming in second in the whole Stake was not too shabby for not having had any formal long distance training.
September 05
Boku no Tanjoubi
("My Birthday" in Japanese) August 30th marked my thirty-eighth year. LeAnn made breakfast in bed for me-- a great tasting omelette. It was a Saturday, so I got to kick back and relax for a bit. At 10:00 we had scheduled to go to Wild Waves theme park down in Federal Way. It is about 10 minutes from our house. Its not quite as fun as Lagoon in Utah, but has a good variety of rides, plus the water park. We told the kids we wouldnt be swimming that day as the temperature was in the low 60's. They were all still thrilled enough to just go on the rides. We started off on the Wild Thing Roller Coaster that does a loop and a corkscrew. The roller coasters are my favorite, as for some of the other spinning rides, those have made me more and more nauseous as I grow older, so I stay away from those. We are finding that Austin is just as much of a daredevil as his mom. There is no ride that he is scared of. Autumn even got up the gumption to go on a number of rides that she hasnt wanted to go on in the past. Only Jaylin, who measures in at 45" was a couple of inches too short to go on all of the rides yet. So LeAnn and I would split up occasionally to take her on some other rides that she could go on. The only ride that made me sick on this day was one of the new ones that I figured I would give a shot. It is called the "Disko Flashback" and they just put it in this year. Autumn totally loved this one, and rode it at least three times. I hated it, and would have totally puked if I could have. Here's a vid of the ride in action:
The highlight of the day was when LeAnn and Austin went on the "I-5 Dive". They put them in harnesses and then tow them up on a rope 125 feet in the air. Once there, LeAnn pulled the rip-cord and it dropped them in a freefall and then they go flying through the air a few times. Here is yet another video. Very terrifying. Sorry for the shakiness of the camera man-- I couldnt decide whether I should keep trying to watch through the camera viewfinder, or just point the camera in their general direction. There were a couple of girls that went up and then decided to come back down since they were too freaked out.
It was a fantastic day. The kids got a bit worried about me because they thought I wasnt having as much fun as them on my birthday. (I had stopped going on as many rides after that Disko ride made me a bit sick.) I told them not to worry as the greatest joy that I could have on that day was that of seeing them smiling and enjoying themselves on the rides. Their happiness brings me happiness. Just like the fruit of the Tree of Life!
September 04
Big date with JamJam
Miss Jaylin (6 years old) and I had a date last night. She has been saving up her money for quite a while, and finally had enough to buy a Nintendo DS Lite. We have a deal with our kids that when they work toward saving for something that is a bit expensive, that we will pay for half of it. After a good long while Jaylin had saved up $50. She was determined to join the ranks of her older brother and sister and get her own DS so she wouldn't have to keep asking them to borrow theirs. I looked on Craigslist and found one listed for $85 that was in great condition. The only drawback was that it was blue, but she didnt seem too deterred by that. We left home at 7:00 and drove to the South Hill mall in Puyallup, which was near to where we would be picking up the DS. We then went into the mall and found a Gamestop where Jaylin picked out her first game; Chihuahua Nintendogs. We stopped by Claires, where she then got some stick-on earrings and by a candy shop, where she picked out some gummy worms. After that, it was a quick pit-stop to the bathrooms and a pretzel from the food court. We then drove a few minutes to meet the guy with the DS. I inspected it, and it looked to be in good working order, though it did have a few scratches on the outside, the screens were nice and clear. He also had a Hannah Montana game that he brought and sold me for $10. Not a bad deal. Jaylin was quite ecstatic to have her own DS. She was giddy with excitement the whole ride home as she played her Nintendogs game. It was a fun date and great to see her rewarded with something that she had worked so hard for.
