It's a Perfect Day.....Tubing, scary or not let's discucss....and book review

"Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spend it with you
Oh, such a perfect day"
~Lou Reed

As I was going through these pictures this part of the Lou Reed song "Perfect Day" popped in my head.


What a fun evening with our friends in this gorgeous mountain setting. Carin called to see if we wanted to tag along to take pics. She had created these fantastic tutu's and wanted to try them out with some gorgeous evening sun, now my G is not a fan of the photo shoots. She would rather eat a bucket of squid than have her pictures taken, BUT when I told her she could see E she perked right up. "Okay," I explained "Now if you choose to go you have to let us take pictures because that is why Carin and E are going. Is that okay?" and G replied with a big smile "If E is there I'll just be happy to be with her so, you can take my picture."





Now saying something and doing something are two different things. Needless to say the two little monkeys wanted to run wild, dance and sing and flee as far away from the photographers as they could go! I think my favorite thing of the whole evening was when E and G were talking as they sat together about how much they hated photographers. "I just hate photographers, let's throw stuff at them." Was E's classic line that had me in stitches. Carin and I felt like the paparazzi chasing after Paris and Nicole outside of The Ivy!

These pictures are definitely titled "When Children Attack". This would be at the point they had decided to throw stuff at us!





They danced and chased dragonflies and even turned the cameras on us for a bit, and played a game where they lived in "Tree Hollow" (which I changed to Turkey Hollow for my own enjoyment) a place where they had to shoo the photographers away from them so that they could live peacefully. So all in all despite the annoyance of having their pictures taken both girls were AWESOME and it couldn't have been more fun!






Yesterday we went boating with some friends (don't laugh Carin!) I wish I had some pictures from this adventure but Bri would not let me lug my camera and new lens on the boat where it could get wet or tossed in the lake, which was probably wise. Some others had cameras though so I hope to raz them for the pictures to post! Anyway as I've mentioned before I did not come from a camping or outdoors type family. My parents are not that way and their parents were not that way either (well, my moms dad was a hunter and outdoors sort of guy but clearly she did not get ANY of that from his side of the family!) I knew the girls would be over the moon to be with their friends and the moms and dads that they love so despite Bri needing to get some work done we headed to the lake for the afternoon through evening and did some boating and had fun.

Eight kids and six adults is an awesome load for a boat and I must say everybody did quite well and really there weren't any major freak outs aside from myself when I braved the open waters for some tandem tubing. First up I hit the two seater tube with Lisa. She made me believe I was brave and that I could do it and because I trust her I knew she would call the whole thing off if my life became in danger!

We were laughing so hard that she let out some of her fantastic snorts that made me laugh even harder. Now because Jeremy was behind the wheel of the boat I knew at some point he was going to have to scare me and of course he did. When we started zipping across those wakes I started to get slightly nervous and at one point I was sure Lisa had flown out the tube and I had taken air and was about 30 feet up headed into the clouds....this would be because I wouldn't open my freaking eyes for fear I would actually see the carnage of myself flying off and slamming into the water. My hands were gripped on those handles so tightly that my hands and forearms and upper arms hurt so bad today I feel like I've been lifting weights!! Now of course nothing happened and Lisa was still beside me and after awhile when I could catch my breath I was ready to cut it off and be hauled in before Jeremy decided to snap me like crack the whip up onto the freeway!

It was actually really fun, aside from the fear factor when we hit the wake. I was so proud of G, she even went in the tube with Lisa and her kids and Lyssie Lou. Now G is even more fearful than I am so for me to do it and show her it was okay, and hide my overwhelming fear was a big deal. And for her to go in there for the two minutes she stayed before asking to be brought back in was HUGE. I was so proud of her! I was totally freaked out about her going out there but everyone told me not to show my fear and I knew that my friends wouldn't put her in danger.

Of course that is another story when I went out with Stacy. She was laughing so hard at my freaking out that I thought she would wet her pants!! Of course her hubby made this ride even scarier although she claims not! I had my eyes shut so tightly as we whipped around! She kept saying "aren't you going to open your eyes?!" Ummmm HELLS NO I'm not opening my eyes. When it started to get so frightening to me I could feel my heart in my throat I screamed at her to make them stop!!! Now her version is that I freaked out the minute he even gave the boat any gas but I'm SURE that there was danger involved and had I had my eyes open I could have had cold hard facts to prove my point!

I would also like to point out that EVERYONE assured me that you couldn't tip those boats no matter what and then the next two groups out, due to crazy boat drivers were flipped like there was no tomorrow! I took my job as flag girl very seriously when the bodies hit the water, G still says her favorite part was when "Stacy flew over Jeremy and hit the water!" and then Jim and Josie flew out next! I won't even go into Brians ride on the tube, except to say that rolling five times on top of the water before you hit the deck is not the way to disembark a tube!!

All in all it was really fun and Stacy made such a fantastic dip to nosh on that even if I would have ended up in traction from being thrown to the rocks from a wayward tube it would have been worth it!





While we were away in the woods I finished my book "Vanishing Acts" By Jodi Picoult. Okay I have to say that Sarah was absolutely right when she told me that Jodi Picoults books just leave you drained. After the fantastic "My Sisters Keeper" I couldn't get into another book because I felt like I needed to go back into Jodi Picoults world again, nothing else lived up to roller coaster I had just been on! And "Vanising Acts" was no different. The topic was very interesting and believable in so many ways. I loved the main characters, the fact that the three of them Delia, Eric and Fitz had grown up together and remained as The Three Musketeers their whole lives. I loved the emotions that Delia went through as she learned the truth of her real exsistance and what had happened to her in her early childhood.

Once they headed to Phoenix I felt like the book was slightly disjointed. I didn't really understand the importance of the Ruth storyline and I felt like it kept getting in the way of what was happening with the other characters. I wanted to shoo Ruth out of my way like a pesky fly! I found that whole part of the book to be filler.

Now the jail parts were CRAZY!!!! At first I found myself rolling my eyes at the intense way it was portrayed and whatnot but then I realized hmmmm this is jail and I know it isn't a picnic! It was so interesting to see the way Delias father got through that time and how he had to become what was around him to survive.

I don't know how I felt about Fitz and his feelings for Delia. I understood them definitely, and I could see why she loved Eric. The descriptions of Eric and his personality were perfect, and the flaw that he carried was also wonderfully written. Especially in light of his mothers own battles with alcohol.

Now the end....the way it all wrapped up? Gotta say I was a little like "WHAT?" I had a feeling we were leading up to Victor playing a part in the whole thing but did he or didn't he? That car ride at the end with Delia and her father left me wondering if I had just been played by the author or if it was a case of you figuring out for yourself from the evidence presented if the right decision was made?

I have often wondered how many of our memories of life are actually our memories and how much are things we have heard so many times it is easy to make them our memories?

Really good read, infuriating at times but hey I kept going to the end so that means it kept me interested.

What book will I read next? I don't know! I'm trying to find one so any suggestions I would love to hear :)