Maddie's New Favorite Book

On more than one occasion I have caught these two enjoying crib time together. Maddie thinks it's absolutely wonderful when Dad plays inside her crib with her. As do I. She has a new favorite book. Where the Wild Things Are. It's the cutest thing to watch her "read" it. She knows the jist of every page and has memorized quite a few lines. My favorite is when she says, "I eat you up!" in her most growly voice. My hopes are high that this little one will be a bookworm, and I envision a bookshelf filled with well worn books for her to enjoy.

Romance

I can see myself becoming one of those women who lounge around all day reading romance novels. I took on the task of sampling romance for the month of July, and accomplished that task in less than a week. I even went and got another romance novel for July since I had so much time left in the month, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name or author of the book, but it doesn't matter because I didn't like it much.
I'll be honest, I was a little scared to read romance; I didn't want to feel like I was reading super trashy stuff. But I found this website called All About Romance which gives a rating system for romance novels. The first book I read was "warm" on their charts and the second book was "subtle". Their system isn't too accurate because I felt like the second book was more "detailed" than the first one I read. So if you're interested in reading a romance, but a little nervous, you can try their rating system. I'd stick with "kisses" if you don't want any of that stuff in your book, because it will be in the rest. After reading a "subtle" book, I can't imagine what a "burning" novel is like.
On to the book, Almost Heaven, I really liked it. It had a Pride and Prejudice feel to it and was set in the same time period and location. The main character is a beautiful girl who had many suitors, but after a run in with one man, lost all respect and prospects in society. I found myself reading until 2 am some nights, and that rarely happens with me. It's by no means an intelligent read, and does have a few scenes that made me giggle and roll my eyes, but it's a fun fast read. I will definitely be turning to romance when I want to be quickly entertained in the future.

Vegas

We have come to the conclusion that Vegas is not the place for a Lewis vacation; at least not at this point in our lives (being poor and having a two year old). I think we got off to a bad start. Our very first stop as we pulled into town was going to the M&M store on the strip. Trying to navigate that place with a stroller is beyond frustrating, as was most places we went. When we made our way back to the car our tire was completely flat. Thank goodness Casey was so fast in changing it because it was sooo hot in that parking garage. We ended up having to buy a new tire, which was not in our budget for the trip. I got to meet up with one of my best friends, Jodie, and her two kids, so that was a definite bonus. Friday was the wedding so I was occupied from 9 am till about 7 pm with wedding stuff. Tasha and Derek had the wedding at Mandalay Bay, and it was so nice. I was a bridesmaid and Maddie was a flower girl. We ended up walking down the aisle together because, as anyone who knows Maddie knows, she is quite shy and quite attached to her mother. I led her to Casey then walked to my spot up front. Five seconds later she begins her wail; this is just as Tasha is supposed to be entering, so Maddie runs to me and the only way I get her to stop is to tell her, "Tasha is coming!" in my most excited voice. This gets her to stop because she knows that Tasha is wearing a beautiful dress, and if there's one thing Maddie enjoys, it's a beautiful dress.
Casey and I did get a night out, thanks to my mom for taking Maddie. We had huge plans of staying out super late and riding the rides at the Stratosphere, but when it came down to it, we're just old and cheap. We ate dinner, gambled away $20, watched the Volcano at Mirage then headed home at midnight. I would say the highlights for me were: the wedding (of course), seeing Jodie and fam, the creme brule at dinner, my cute scarf I bought at H&M and watching the volcano in Casey's arms.

June- Horror

I'm a bit behind on my post; as it's mid July and I've already finished my July book as well. But for the month of June my genre was horror and I chose The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Although this book didn't keep me awake at night with fear of ghosts or killers, it was enjoyable. It's the story of a doctor who assembles a small group of people to stay at a house known to be haunted. He chooses people who have had past supernatural experiences to help his experiment. We are focused mainly on one girl and the affect the house on her. I think there could have been more to this book; maybe more detail or explanation to the happenings and the cause of the house's distress. There are two movies made from this book and I'd love to see both of them.
I've already read my July book, which was the genre romance. I'm going to start another romance to see if I can finish by the end of the month. Happy reading!

There Doesn't Seem to be Anyone Around

As I was driving back from a long journey to Phoenix, somewhat irked by the fact that I was making an hour journey to deliver diapers, I scanned my twelve preset radio stations, and backtracked immediately after passing an unpassable tune. Bohemian Rhapsody. Anyone who's anyone knows it by heart, and my inner diva was let loose. My passenger Raheem was startled by the fluctuating volumes coming from my mouth and was doing the cute-dog-head-tilt on a loop. I then scanned my stations again, and to my ultimate enjoyment, Beastie Boys! I think I was on a bit of a high because my body just had to move to the beats; it was Beastie Boys after all. I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've let loose in the car. I guess continuosly listening to the Wiggles or Princess Storybook has completely overtaken my music listening experience in the car. It was nice to be alone.

And then my mind began to wander to other times I've enjoyed the feeling of being all alone. In high school I used to take my bike out for late night cruises. I'd make a loop from my house, around to Auto Center, then cruise down Main Street. I loved being alone, cruising down the middle of the road without a car or person in sight, in the middle of the night.

Then I remembered a time in Flagstaff when I was going to school. Again, it was late at night, I went for a jog (not safe, I know) and it started to snow. No wind, no noise, just gently falling snowflakes in the night. I stopped my jog and began to stroll enjoying all I could of the moment.

I thought it funny that these moments have always stuck with me, but I hope I never forget them. They were times when I had clear thoughts and was able to understand that life is wonderful and I was so grateful for my time here to enjoy it.

A Good Day

Loading up on parade candy...



Dancing by Aunt Teena...


Sparkler spinning...


First time watching fireworks...


Celebrating Grandpa's birthday...


All make for a fabulous Fourth of July. Happy Independence Day to all!

Our Summer Checklist

I was inspired by another blog, which I can't find at the moment, to create a summer checklist. I tried to keep our checklist reasonable in hopes that we can accomplish everything on the list. I'll be honest; I think I'm the most excited to see Toy Story in the family. I wonder how long it will take to get to the dollar theaters???

What's on your to do list this summer