Thursday, January 31, 2008

"Jamie's Blogger Book Club" anyone???

So, I had this really great idea today. I thought, What if I started a little blogger book club?! I read a ton of books, and post MY opinion, but I want to know what others think as well. This is what I was thinking: The first of every month I'll post a new book to read, and on the last day of the month we can all comment on my blog about what we all thought! Yeah? It's worth a shot....Let's just see if it works. Leave your name so I know you're interested and get an idea if this is even worth the effort. I just had another idea....instead of me just picking the book for the month, I would love input on what would be a good one! Ok, so, the first book for " Jamie's Blogger Book Club" is The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory. I was advised to read this book by my good friend Rachel Waite, and I've just barely started it, so I thought it would be perfect for the first "Book Club" book. It can be found at any book store, or by clicking here you can order it. This book is soon to be a movie, so don't be weirded out by the cover! This whole book club idea isnt just for people of the blogging world! My blog is open to any comments by anyone, so if you're just dropping by and dont have a blog, or if you dont even know me, please feel free to join in on the fun! :-) I only have one request....ok, two requests.....Leave your comments and tell me if you're in, and tell me a book we should all read! So, to make it official, for the month of February the book is "The Other Boleyn Girl" By Philippa Gregory, and we'll all do the review on March 1st!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Gracie and Brooklyn's 4th Birthday Party!

Gracie and Brooklyn (Who are Lily's cousins) had a joint party on Wednesday at Chuck E Cheese! There were a lot of friends and family there to celebrate, and help eat all the pizza and cake...(Which, might I add, was really really good!) Lily enjoyed playing on all the little rides, and kept sneaking off by herself to get back to them! So, we just wanted to pay a little tribute to the Birthday Girls, and post a few cute pics of the party! Happy Birthday!!


Sunday, January 13, 2008

Sledding Extravaganza!

We went up to Mt. Charleston on Saturday for some sledding! We went with Aaron and Terra and their kids for a fun-filled snow day. For those of you who aren't familiar with Vegas, yes, we get snow in the mountains here! We found a perfect hill and spent a few hours playing in the snow. The kids loved it, and Lily especially couldn't get enough! She just kept saying "AGAIN!" I personally think she liked eating the snow more, as you can see from the pics. She also couldn't kept on her little gloves, which resulted in Jake sacrificing his for her.....we had to admit....it was pretty cute! :-) It was so much fun, we may go again soon! Come with us!
















Friday, January 11, 2008

Book Review #18:The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


I was given a recommendation to read this book. BOO HISS!!! It sucked! I think the problem was that they said that they loved Eclipse, but loved The Book Thief more. This comparison was the worst in history! It's like comparing chocolate to steak! They're not even comparable! If some one recommended a book and compared it to Eclipse, wouldn't you naturally think that it would contain a little bit of fantasy, something like Vampires, magic or something to that effect? It's honestly more like The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns, but like a million times worse! It takes place in Nazi Germany and it tells a story of a little German girl and her life and hardships during the holocaust. I appreciate history related books. I can handle a tragedy. But this ended so horribly and sad that it made me feel worse for reading it. There wasn't anything to it really. It has won awards, and got really good reviews, but I think its more about the Author's writing style than the story itself. I didn't feel any connection to the characters, and I felt like I was out of the loop, like an inside joke that I didn't get. It was choppy, and depressing. It also seemed to be that it would make a better movie than a book, and I don't think I've ever thought that in my life about a book! I think they would get the point across better and the emotional aspect of it would be more dramatic. Truthfully, it seemed like a screenplay! I would not recommend it! My rating....D-

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Book Review #17: The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray


I finished this book last thursday, but need some time to let it sink it, to determine how I felt about it. This is the third and last one in the Great and Terrible Beauty series. I have been waiting for it to come out for a few months now, and could hardly wait! It wasn't a disappointment in the fact that the Author didn't give it her all, but that it wasn't how I wanted it to end, per say! I'm kinda sad that the tale is over! I want it to go on! Ok, but besides how I wanted it to end, it really was a good book. Very descriptive and a major page turner! I felt that I had to read it in an english accent in my head to do it justice. :-) (It takes place in the late 1800's.) I highly recommend this series! It is so much fun! My rating......A!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Christmas '07 and New Years '08!

I've decided to post some pics of our pretty uneventful Holiday this year! :-) Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were sad because Lily was sick and whiney and didnt want to sit on Santa's lap, so we tried Mrs. Claus and that didnt work either, and then Christmas morning she wasnt at all interested in her presents because of her fever, vomiting and such! You can tell from the pics it was a blast....! For New Years though, we went with some family and friends down to the Rio to watch Robby Madison break the world record on his dirt bike. He was succesful with a 322 foot jump. We then headed near the strip to get a good view of the fireworks! I feel the need to note that all the new years pic are taken with the iphone. I'm that good of a photographer. haha!













Book Review #16: Secrets of a Lady by Tracy Grant


This was the second book I read in Cancun! :-) It took me a little bit to really get into it, but once I did it was hard to put down! Its a little wordy and there are a lot of unnecessary conversations between the two main characters that I felt could have been left out, but other than it was good! It's a murder/mystery, and feels like you're on a scavenger hunt! My rating.....B+

Book Review #15: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen


What a fun book! It's short and sweet, and very charming. I pretty much started and finished it on my way to Cancun. It reminds me of " Practical Magic", but I liked it better. It's easy to read, and imagining it all is the best part! I recommend it for a nice, light read! My rating....A