California Dreamin'

this past weekend we went to cali to get away from 107 degrees here at home and we accomplished it. i have to say it was even a bit chilly there. the weather was cool and cloudy and i loved it. we stayed at the hyatt on huntington beach and if you have never been to this hotel you should go. it is beautiful and right on the beach. we went with a couple of friends and the kids played on the beach the majority of the trip. it was very chilly and the kids complained a bit, but then we would run up to the hotel and jump in the hot tub and all was well.

we love traveling and i have to say it is getting easier and easier as the kids get older. the baby was the only one who was kind of a pain in the butt on the beach. not because he didn't like it, in fact he loved it, but the sand is incredibly annoying when you have a baby. but for some reason he was rubbing his face in it, and if i cleaned him off he would drop down to the ground and rub his face and head in it all over again. go figure. he loved it.

just for future reference. if anybody is planning a trip somewhere and thinks, "man it would be fun if another family came with us to hang out with" then call us, we are pretty much up for a trip any time, and we love going with other families. The kids have so much fun playing with other kids and lets face it, if the kids are having fun, then we're having fun. so let us know. here are some more pics of the trip.

To all of you readers out there

As you may have noticed I have changed a few things around here. Just needed a little revamping. I added some new sections on my sidebar. Books I have read, books I am reading and books I want to read. I put this here to spark some on going conversation. I love to read, but I often find myself not sure what to read. This year hasn't been so bad since I have a bookclub to tell me what to read, but in years past I was never quite sure what books were good, tasteful, entertaining, and well worth the time spent reading it. So, what I want from you is your input. Have you read any of these books? What is your opinion on these books? What are you reading that you just can't put down? I want to know.
Since I am asking so much from you, I will be the first to start. I will give a quick rating on a few of the books I have recently read and maybe inspire a few of you non-readers to dive in.

The Twilight Series - I feel it is almost pointless for me to comment on these books since pretty much every mormon woman has read them recently, and if she hasn't she is being pestered by all of her friends and family to get to it. A great, easy, fun, quick way to lose yourself for a few days. That's right, I said a few days. Even though the page total of this series is roughly 1800 pages, it seems most people can get through it in about a week. You do forget that you have a husband, children, friends, or for that matter any responsibility at all while reading these. That's part of the beauty of them. I give this series 4 stars!!

The Thirteenth Tale - Very interesting. I don't quite know how to critique this book. I really enjoyed reading it, it is very eerie and very fascinating, you really want to know what happens to these characters, but I don't think I would read it again. I would definitely recommend reading it just for the sheer weirdness of it. I give this book 3 stars.

The Eyre Affair - Extremely clever. It's a story set in the future but the year is 1985 (try to figure that one out). Very cleverly written and if you love Jane Eyre you should probably read it, but I don't think I would run out and buy all of his books. I give this book 2 and a half stars.

The Book Thief - Loved it. It is set during the Holocaust, so it definitely isn't going to cheer you up, but it is incredibly moving and a beautiful story. The most interesting thing about this book is that it is told from the point of view of death. That's right, the good old grim reaper is telling the story and it makes for the most intriguing point of view I have ever read from a book. I definitely give this book 4 stars.

Help me Utah friends!

I am in need of some information. We are planning on spending the month of July and part of August in Utah, we have a house in Alpine we will be staying at to escape the Vegas heat. Hwever, I need some things to do with my kids. Play groups, swim lessons, youth basketball teams, fun activities for the kids, gymnastics, dance, pools, anything. I would love to enroll them in classes and things so we kind of have a schedule and I don't wake up everyday thinking, "what are we going to do today?" So if anybody has any info please pass it on. I would love to see all of you and get together with you all as well, so let me know what you are up to this summer too. Thanks, see all of you soon, Kristy