April 2019 Book Review

30 April 2019


Where did April go? It seems like I blinked and it was gone. Thankfully, we're having the best weather over here. It's been warm but wonderful to get outside and enjoy the outdoors before it gets too hot.
We're soaking it all in!

I read 3 books in April. One of them took me a long time to get through because it contained lots of charts, data, and research. Those are 3 words that I don't normally associate with but this book was important so I stuck it out. 😂 

First up was The Giver.

This one has been on my booklist for a while now. I actually decided to read it out loud to the girls and we sped through it. It was an eerily interesting read. It was about a flawed utopian society where everything was based on rules and sameness, not free will. Human emotions and experiences were absent, as well as pain. The main character is Jonas, a 12 year old boy who is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory. Spending time with The Giver, he begins to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community.
This book lent to some good discussions with my teens. However, I am not compelled to read the rest of the series any time soon.


I read this one aloud to the girls as well. Fans of Auxier are in for a twist with Sweep.
Unlike Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes or Sophie Quire, Sweep is a story about love and loss. 
It's about a sweet friendship between a girl and her monster that will leave a lasting impression.
Set in Victorian times, 11 year old Nan Sparrow is one of London's best "chimney boys", even though she's a girl. The story addresses issues like child labor, death, and anti-Semitism.
The girls really enjoyed it. I thought it was good, not great.


And here's the book that took me all month to read.
Like I said earlier, this book had tons of charts, data and research (generally not my cup of tea) but I thought all of it was important so I didn't want to skip over anything. Because of that, getting through iGen was a bit choppy for me. The reading wasn't fluid like a story but nonetheless, I finally prevailed. I have so many things I want to say about this book! In fact, if you've spent more than 10 minutes with me this past month, I've probably shared an earful about it. Ha! 😄 
Basically, if you're a parent, an educator, an employer, or you simply want to get a better understanding of this generation, I highly recommend reading this!

Here's an excerpt by Goodreads:  

"IGen'ers are born in the mid 1990's to the mid 2000's and later and they are vastly different from any other generation. They are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone. With social media and texting replacing other activities, iGen spends less time with their friends in person—perhaps why they are experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

But technology is not the only thing that makes iGen distinct from every generation before them; they are also different in how they spend their time, how they behave, and in their attitudes toward religion, sexuality, and politics. They socialize in completely new ways, reject once sacred social taboos, and want different things from their lives and careers. More than previous generations, they are obsessed with safety, focused on tolerance, and have no patience for inequality. iGen is also growing up more slowly than previous generations: eighteen-year-olds look and act like fifteen-year-olds used to. As this new group of young people grows into adulthood, we all need to understand them: Friends and family need to look out for them; businesses must figure out how to recruit them and sell to them; colleges and universities must know how to educate and guide them. And members of iGen also need to understand themselves as they communicate with their elders and explain their views to their older peers. Because where iGen goes, so goes our nation—and the world."

That's 16 books down for the year. Whoop!

Easter Sunday

25 April 2019


Matthew 28:6 says, “He is not here, HE HAS RISEN, just as He said. ”

As a believer in Christ, this means EVERYTHING.
This means that Jesus is Alive and death could not hold Him.
This is the basis and hope of our faith. It means that we too, will one day, be raised to LIFE.
  Hallelujah! I can't think of a better reason to celebrate!

 On big holidays such as Easter, our church meets at Shadow Hills High School.
Zach came to big church with us that morning.


 Morgan also brought his 90 year old aunt to the service.


Faith was sooo sweet. She sat with her and sang the words to the songs in her ear so she could hear them.


We had award winning Christian artist, Jeremy Camp and his wife lead worship for us.


 Happy Easter from our family to yours!


 Love them to pieces!


 These two were cracking each other up.


 After brunch, we let the kids do their egg hunt in the backyard.


 Every year, he remembers that his eggs are the blue ones.
We keep it simple. Each kid has a dozen eggs to find and they know what color is theirs.
It makes finding them much easier that way.


 The hunt is on.








 In a few of his eggs, I always put little trains in them and he looks forward to that every year.




 Mary Jo was quite the artist in her day. 
The girls gave her a picture and asked if she wanted to draw. Looking good!  


 Later, we heated the pool (it was still chilly at 76) so we could have our first swim of the year.








 What a wonderful Easter celebration we had!


San Diego Zoo

14 April 2019

 Last week, we met up with other homeschoolers and went on a field trip to the San Diego Zoo.


 Roar!!!


The Lion and the Lamb. 😄


Zach loved riding on the Skyfari.


 It's been about 6 or 7 years since these two were at the SD Zoo.


We got a great tip to start our trip on the Skyfari since it takes you to the top of the hill.
From there, we walked downhill instead of uphill.


 Grace's favorite animal was the Red Panda.
She remembers doing a report on it in the 4th grade so she was thrilled to see it in person.


 This Panda was having her lunch.





Seal Pup Zach in 2019.


Seal Pups Faith and Grace in 2012.


I felt bad for this polar bear since we were warm and it was only in the low 70's.


 Zach couldn't wait to see the elephants.


 Elephants are his favorite!


 This elephant had a sore on its tail and so we got to watch a zookeeper treat it.


Another trip on the Skyfari!


Love my sweet Grace!


 Making faces at each other.


One of these creatures is wild and free. 😜

The homeschool discount for this field trip was too good to pass up.
And thankfully, with the pro tip of taking the Skyfari, it saved us tons of walking so we were done with the zoo by 3:00 and home for dinner.

We had a lovely weekend in San Diego!

Mission San Luis Rey

11 April 2019


We spent a couple of days in San Diego and made an unexpected stop to visit Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside.


Founded in 1798, Mission San Luis Rey is the largest of the 21 California Missions.
  

 Currently, it's a home for a community of Franciscan Friars and open daily to the public for tours.  


 The girls had fun remembering their 4th grade mission project.
(Our teenagers looking so grown up now!)





 Zach takes a stroll through the magnificent church.




 Zach walked down a path, straight to Jesus. 💗
I love old cemeteries. The history is just astounding and it makes you feel small.
We were surprised to find out that the mission is still a working cemetery.
Anyone can be buried there. 


 After our little detour to the mission, we had some time to kill before we checked in to our hotel so we headed to the beach.


It was a beautiful day by the ocean.


 Can't beat Southern California in springtime. Sunny and 70!

Next up, the San Diego Zoo!

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