Book Talk

Thanks to my sister, who sent me home from MN with a pile of books, I've done some summer reading. I love reading - it's such a great escape for me, and when I'm really into a good book, it helps me step away from my work laptop at night!

I actually picked up The Wives of Los Alamos on a recent trip to HPB because it was staring at me from an end-cap and honestly, it looked short and manageable. After I got used to the style in which it was written, I ended up loving this book (everything was phrased as "we", with very little reference to particular people, but it worked for the story being told). Anyway, it's the story of the families - but mostly the wives - whose lives were uprooted when their husbands were commissioned for a secret project in New Mexico during WWII. They were strangers in a strange land, and they were kept very much in the dark about the work their scientist husbands were doing, though wondering whether they were accomplices to something terrible. In the meantime, they tried to build as normal a life as possible for their young families, hoping that their many sacrifices would be worth it some day. 

 

My sister loaned me The Marriage Plot. I ended up really enjoying this book, even though I struggled with it in the beginning because it's written in long sections rather than chapters. I was trying to explain to Steve that I prefer frequent, natural stopping points. Anyway, it primarily centers around three students graduating from college in the early 1980's who struggle to come to terms with what's real after spending years studying the philosophical, especially when it comes to love and marriage. It's about coming to terms, especially for Madeleine, with the idea that maybe the love they've read about in the classics isn't sustainable in the new-age climate of the 80's.

The Woman in Cabin 10 was a total page-turning thriller. I couldn't put it down. Lo is a travel journalist with an invite to join a select group on the maiden voyage of a luxury yacht. She witnesses something terrible, but as she's also dealing with issues of a personal nature, it's unclear whether she saw what she says she saw, or if she somehow imagined and embellished it. Her desire to get to the bottom of the mystery puts her at serious risk of becoming another potential victim. There are so many twists, and I found myself a couple times feeling like I was playing a grown-up game of Clue - trying to piece together the evidence stacked against the various characters. Definitely keeps you guessing!

"The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives."

-Roald Dahl, Matilda

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Our summer has consisted of more than Boston! One Saturday in June, we went to the DFW Cyclone Family Picnic. Always a fun time! This year inflatable Cy was there.

 We enjoyed nice weather, lake views, and hanging out with Jake, Joel, and Marchie. They all played for the Cyclones and signed with the Cowboys, so they were in town for workouts.

Later that evening, the girls enjoyed a night swim. When we went inside, we noticed the house felt a little ... warm. Our AC had died. In June. So hot.

  

The next day, a guy came to the house and determined we just needed a part, but he couldn't get it until Monday. So we spent all of Sunday finding places to hangout in the air conditioning, which included an extended stop at Half Price Books. Sunday night was super hot, but by Monday night we were sleeping comfortably again.

 A couple of weeks later, Emma lost her first tooth! It was a good thing because the permanent tooth had already started coming in. She was super excited!

 

On July 1st, the girls and I headed to MN. I stayed for a couple of days, and then returned to TX for my trip with Steve. The girls stayed on at Grandma Camp. Everyone loves red car rides ...

 ... and boat days!

 Of course there was baking with Auntie.

 My parents and the girls headed to Lake Ida for a few days and the girls participated in the 4th of July parade. I love the freedom of just running around and playing the girls can experience at the lake - so different than their normal busy suburban life.

 Ice cream in downtown Alexandria.

 The girls also spent lots of time slip-n-sliding at Auntie and Adam's.  I took a few turns myself this past weekend (not pictured, thankfully).

 One day my mom sent this picture when she and my sister were out and about with the girls. Emma was having a moment.

 This past weekend, I went back up to MN to bring Emma home. I love this picture, and plan to use it often to remind these two that they do love each other.

 Saturday evening we celebrated Todd's birthday. Dilly bars ... dilly dilly!

 And although we took a nice photo, this one was the favorite. Fun with my crazy family!  My MN visits this summer were super short (I only had 7 days off ... ahhh!), but still enjoyable.  Emma and I came back to Dallas last night, and Sara is staying up north for another week or so. She was ready for her alone time with the MN crew.

 We will continue to pack in the summer fun ... soon the girls are going to spend time with their Kansas cousins and with Mamas and Papa. The first day of school is less than a month away!

Boston

Steve and I just got back from an amazing 15th anniversary trip to Boston. This is going to be photo overload, and I'm only posting some of them. Such an incredible trip - both the history and the sites as well as the time together.  We arrived mid-afternoon on the 5th, and after checking into our hotel, The Bostonian (two thumbs up!), we hit the pavement. Our hotel was right near shops, pubs, and many important sites.

View from our balcony at The Bostonian - both day and night views were incredible (even though it was super loud ... constant honking and sirens in the city)!

Sam Adams statue in front of Faneuil Hall

 You can see where new bricks have been installed, but many originals remains as well. Not easy to walk on but they sure looked cool!

 Site of the Boston Massacre

 OLD. On this little "corner" is The Green Dragon Pub, The Bell in Hand Tavern, and The Union Oyster House, all dating back to the 1600's. Incredible.

 Our first refreshments of the trip came from Bell in Hand.

 We headed to Union Oyster House for dinner on our first night. While waiting for our table, we sat at the bar next to two ladies from England. We laughed about how Boston is so old by our American standards, but not old at all by theirs. We had fun visiting with them. The wait for our table was worth it.

 We sat upstairs at UOH. It was really neat, and the food did not disappoint. We had lobster and oysters.

 Friday morning we got up and planned to walk the Freedom Trail, which starts at Boston Common, a few blocks from our hotel.  A huge market was set up outside our hotel, too. It wasn't there after Friday, so we think maybe it's a monthly deal. But it was huge, and there all day long, and filled with people buying their produce.

The start of the Freedom Trail.

 Of course there were many old cemeteries. Sam Adams, Paul Revere, victims of the Boston Massacre ... among the whose who buried here. While we were browsing the cemetery, it began to downpour on us. As luck would have it, we were able to duck into the Beantown Pub just across the street to wait out the storm.

 Once the heavy rain stopped, we headed back out onto the Freedom Trail. It's marked by a brick path the entire way. I had to get a photo at the site of the first public school!

The Old South Meeting House - where 5,000 men gathered and ultimately launched the Boston Tea Party. It was incredible to be inside these places where the Founding Fathers, and many important people since them, have made decisions that have been critical to American history.

 Paul Revere's House

 In front of the Old North Church, where lanterns were lit in the bell tower to announce that the British were coming.

 Bunker Hill, the final stop on the trail. The whole Freedom Trail is only about 2.5 miles one way. We crossed the Charles River to get from the Old North Church to Bunker Hill. Now the bell tower of the church is blocked by tall trees. 

 That evening we ate in the North End, which is Boston's Little Italy. We had received some recommendations of places to go, but we wandered the street looking at menus. Before we knew it, the owner of one of the places stepped out and asked what we were looking for. Steve had seen what he wanted on the menu, but I had not, so I told him what I was in the mood for. He said, "No problem, we make it. Come in, we make it for you." So in we went to this cute open air place, where we had a delicious Italian meal!

Saturday morning we figured out the subway system and headed up to Cambridge to see Harvard.

The campus was packed with tourists.  We walked through the undergrad and graduate areas, and then headed to the athletic complexes. The football stadium is so cool - and so original. It literally is a concrete structure that could just be a newer Colosseum. 

 Charles River again ... this time in Cambridge and not downtown.

 The campus was beautiful! We also enjoyed walking around Cambridge, visiting the book store, and watching Croatia beat Russia in an old pub.

 Once back in Boston, we hit the original Cheers and sat in the set bar, just around the corner from Norm's spot.

 And we took a picture with all of our best friends.

 Sunday we headed down to the harbor and walked along the green belt to where the Boston Tea Party took place.

 Replica of the BTP ship

 We walked through South Boston, which included the financial district, China Town, the theater district, and the Boston Marathon finish line.

 Steve on the finish line - of course this is also near the site of the bombing.

 We made another swing through the Beantown Pub, where "our table" next to an open window and looking out over the old cemetery was waiting for us!

 Unfortunately, I woke up Monday with a sore throat and fever ... so we slept in, and then hit CVS for some meds. Like in any large downtown, convenience stores drug stores, and Starbucks were usually close by. Steve had to do a couple things for work, so I shopped around in the Quincy Market area right by our hotel.  That afternoon, we hopped back on the subway to visit Fenway.

 Before the game, we went to the Bleacher Bar, which you enter from outside the stadium but is under the bleachers. You could watch batting practice from inside.

 It was a neat place! And also PACKED!

 When in Rome ... had to get my share of Yuenglings while in the northeast!

 We are so used to new, state of the art stadiums, so it was fun to be inside an original. They do a great job of making everything feel very original (and truly, much of it is).

 They wouldn't let us on the green monster since we didn't have tickets there, but we got into the section right next to it while the teams were warming up. Lots of people up here hoping to catch fly balls!

 Fenway Franks! YUM!

 Our seats were literally three rows off the field. So cool (especially once that sun went down in the second inning)!

 The Rangers were in town, but the home team won and we were okay with that. It made for a fun, festive environment! Before the game, they play the Cheers theme song, of course they do the regular 7th inning stretch, and in the 8th inning everyone sings "Sweet Caroline". After the win, everyone sang "Dirty Water". If Fenway isn't on your bucket list, it should be!

 We were both sad to leave Boston today. We'd been looking forward to this trip for months, and it was everything we could have hoped for. We logged many, many miles on foot (it really is a walking city, which we loved), and just tried to soak up everything we saw. We laughed and reminisced a lot. Tomorrow it's back to work, but the memories of this trip are lasting!