2013 Book Log

Sadly, I did not finish my 100 book challenge in 2012.  I lacked only 12 books, so that’s not too bad.  HERE is my 2012 list.  I failed miserably at my Bible reading challenge—that will have to improve.  This year, I still have high goals, but I’m putting less pressure on myself to get everything exactly right.  So, here is my reading goal for 2013 and an explanation of how I’m setting up my running book log.

Rules for My 2013 Book Challenge:

1.  Read 100 books.

2.  Books must be chapter books (or at least long books, such as a collection of poetry).  Children’s picture books do not count.

3.  No repeats from 2012.

4.  Books may be from any genre of literature.

5.  Books of the Bible will be counted separately, but my goal is to read several at least!

 

How I’m going to set up this list:

1.  First will be a running list of books I read throughout the year, in the order read.

2.  Following the main list will be a section to divide the books I read into categories.  While I’m not forcing myself to read a certain number of books from each category like I did in 2012, I still want to see what type of books I am reading.  I tend to be a children’s fiction reader, so I like to challenge myself to read from other genres as well.  My goal is 100 books, but at least this way I can keep track of what type of books I’m reading.

3.  At the end, I will keep a separate list (not counted toward my 100) of books of the Bible I’ve finished.

Hopefully I will do better this year!

 

Book Log

1. A Bride for Tom (Ruth Ann Nordin)
2. The Big Blue Soldier (Grace Livingston Hill)
3. Little One, Maid of Israel (Bill Harvey)
4. Beside the Sea with Jeremy James (David Henry Wilson)
5. The Tombs of Anak (Frank Peretti)
6. Key to the Treasure (Peggy Parish)
7. The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat (Laura Lee Hope)
8. The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey (Frank Peretti)
9. Kensuke's Kingdom (Michael Morpurgo)
10. Red Sails to Capri (Ann Weil)
11. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Judith Kerr)
12. The Enchanted Wood (Enid Blyton)
13. The Magic Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
14. The Folk of the Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
15. Li Lun, Lad of Courage (Carolyn Treffinger)
16. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater)
17. The Dancing Bear (Michael Morpurgo)
18. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (Vicki Myron, Bret Witter)
19. A Hearth in Candlewood (Delia Parr)
20. The Obsession of Victoria Gracen (Grace Livingston Hill)
21. Justin Morgan Had a Horse (Marguerite Henry)
22. Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling)
23. The Windy Hill (Cornelia Meigs)
24. The Circle Maker (Mark Batterson)
25. The Wool-Pack (Cynthia Harnett)
26. In the Days of Alfred the Great (Eva March Tappan)
27. The Apple and the Arrow: The Legend of William Tell (Mary and Conrad Buff)
28. Along Came Galileo (Jeanne Bendick)
29. In Honor Bound (Deanna Julie Dodson)
30. William Booth: Soup, Soap, and Salvation (Janet & Geoff Benge)
31. War Horse (Michael Morpurgo)
32. Escape from Shangri-La (Michael Morpurgo)
33. Alone on a Wide Wide Sea (Michael Morpurgo)
34. The Black Moth (Georgette Heyer)
35. Emil and the Detectives (Erich Kästner)
36. Point Blanc (Anthony Horowitz)
37. Grandmother Oma (Ilse Kleberger)
38. Fun for the Secret Seven (Enid Blyton)
39. Exit Betty (Grace Livingston Hill)
40. John Paul Jones (Iris Vinton)
41. A Girl of the Limberlost (Gene Stratton-Porter)
42. The Adventures of Reddy Fox (Thornton W. Burgess)
43. When God Turned His Head (Cygnet Brown)
44. Envious Casca (Georgette Heyer)
45. Soul Print (Mark Batterson)
46. Spy Stories for Boys (Hamlyn Publishing)
47. More Wishing-Chair Stories (Enid Blyton)
48. Horrible Histories: Vile Victorians (Terry Deary)
49. When Science Fails (John Hudson Tiner)
50. The Midwife's Here! (Linda Fairley)
51. The Carved Cupboard (Amy Le Feuvre)
52. Just David (Eleanor H. Porter)
53. The Children of the Top Floor (Nina Rhoades)
54. The Adventures of Peter Cottontail (Thornton W. Burgess)
55. The 5 Love Languages of Children (Gary D. Chapman and Ross Campbell)
56. Skeleton Key (Anthony Horowitz)
57. The Substitute Guest (Grace Livingston Hill)
58. The White Flower (Grace Livingston Hill)
59. In the Way (Grace Livingston Hill)
60. Women Living Well (Courtney Joseph)
61. Aunt Crete's Emancipation (Grace Livingston Hill)
62. According to the Pattern (Grace Livingston Hill)
63. Casper the Commuting Cat (Susan Finden)

Technically, Casper was finished about 45 minutes after midnight on New Year's Eve, so I read most of it in 2013 and finished it in 2014. I'm counting it on my 2013 list, and that is my last one for the year.

Children's Fiction
Little One, Maid of Israel (Bill Harvey)
Beside the Sea with Jeremy James (David Henry Wilson)
The Tombs of Anak (Frank Peretti)
Key to the Treasure (Peggy Parish)
The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat (Laura Lee Hope)
The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey (Frank Peretti)
Kensuke's Kingdom (Michael Morpurgo)
Red Sails to Capril (Ann Weil)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Judith Kerr)
The Enchanted Wood (Enid Blyton)
The Magic Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
The Folk of the Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
Li Lun, Lad of Courage (Carolyn Treffinger)
Mr. Popper's Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater)
The Dancing Bear (Michael Morpurgo)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse (Marguerite Henry)
Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling)
The Windy Hill (Cornelia Meigs)
The Wool-Pack (Cynthia Harnett)
The Apple and the Arrow: The Legend of William Tell (Mary and Conrad Buff)
War Horse (Michael Morpurgo)
Escape from Shangri-La (Michael Morpurgo)
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea (Michael Morpurgo)
Emil and the Detectives (Erich Kästner)
Grandmother Oma (Ilse Kleberger)
Fun for the Secret Seven (Enid Blyton)
The Adventures of Reddy Fox (Thornton W. Burgess)
More Wishing-Chair Stories (Enid Blyton)
Just David (Eleanor H. Porter)
The Children of the Top Floor (Nina Rhoades)
The Adventures of Peter Cottontail (Thornton W. Burgess)

Teen/Young Adult
Point Blanc (Anthony Horowitz)
A Girl of the Limberlost (Gene Stratton-Porter)
Spy Stories for Boys (Hamlyn Publishing)
Skeleton Key (Anthony Horowitz)

Romance
A Bride for Tom (Ruth Ann Nordin)
The Big Blue Soldier (Grace Livingston Hill)
A Hearth in Candlewood (Delia Parr)
In Honor Bound (Deanna Julie Dodson)
The Black Moth (Georgette Heyer)
Exit Betty (Grace Livingston Hill)
The Substitute Guest (Grace Livingston Hill)
The White Flower (Grace Livingston Hill)
In the Way (Grace Livingston Hill)
According to the Pattern (Grace Livingston Hill)

Historical Fiction
The Obsession of Victoria Gracen (Grace Livingston Hill)
When God Turned His Head (Cygnet Brown)
The Carved Cupboard (Amy Le Feuvre)
Aunt Crete's Emancipation (Grace Livingston Hill)

Mystery
Envious Casca (Georgette Heyer)

Biography
In the Days of Alfred the Great (Eva March Tappan)
Along Came Galileo (Jeanne Bendick)
William Booth: Soup, Soap, and Salvation (Janet & Geoff Benge)
John Paul Jones (Iris Vinton)

Nonfiction
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (Vicki Myron, Bret Witter)
Horrible Histories: Vile Victorians (Terry Deary)
The Midwife's Here! (Linda Fairley)
Casper the Commuting Cat (Susan Finden)

Christian Nonfiction
The Circle Maker (Mark Batterson)
Soul Print (Mark Batterson)
When Science Fails (John Hudson Tiner)
The 5 Love Languages of Children (Gary D. Chapman and Ross Campbell)
Women Living Well (Courtney Joseph)

Books of the Bible read:
Philippians
Acts
Proverbs

NOTE (January 1, 2013 1:09 a.m.): Obviously, I finished VERY far from my 100 goal, but as 63 is still WAY more books than I used to read per year, I'm still proud to have reached 63. I'm ready to challenge myself again, so 2014, let's READ!

2012 Book Log

You can read about my 2012 reading challenge HERE and view my 2011 reading list HERE. This is where I will record my books as I finish them. I will keep 2 lists, 1 running list, in the order in which I read them, and 1 list by genre so I can see that I'm completing my goals for each category.

100 Books:

1. Born to Run (Michael Morpurgo)
2. Why the Whales Came (Michael Morpurgo)
3. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Lynne Truss)
4. Arthur: High King of Britain (Michael Morpurgo)
5. Stormy, Misty's Foal (Marguerite Henry)
6. The Story of Dr. Dolittle (Hugh Lofting)
7. Goodnight, Mister Tom (Michelle Magorian)
8. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
9. A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond)
10. Heidi (Johanna Spyri)
11. Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
12. Up a Road Slowly (Irene Hunt)
13. The Grace Effect (Larry Alex Taunton)
14. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
15. The Ballad of Frankie Silver (Sharyn McCrumb)
16. Ann of Ava (Ethel Hubbard)
17. Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
18. Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)
19. C.S. Lewis: A Biography (Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper)
20. The Heavenly Man (Brother Yun with Paul Hattaway)
21. The Haunted Bridge (Carolyn Keene)
22. Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
23. Holes (Louis Sachar)
24. The View from Saturday (E.L. Konigsburg)
25. The Boxcar Children (Gertrude Chandler Warner)
26. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (Rachel Field)
27. Father to Nobody's Children (David E. Fessenden)
28. The Enchanted Barn (Grace Livingston Hill)
29. The Girl from Montana (Grace Livingston Hill)
30. The Mystery of Mary (Grace Livingston Hill)
31. Marcia Schuyler (Grace Livingston Hill)
32. Out of the Storm (Grace Livingston Hill)
33. Lone Point (Grace Livingston Hill)
34. Duskin (Grace Livingston Hill)
35. Shades of Gray (Carolyn Reeder)
36. Because of Stephen (Grace Livingston Hill)
37. The Challengers (Grace Livingston Hill)
38. The Finding of Jasper Holt (Grace Livingston Hill)
39. Outside (A. Norton)
40. Miss Lavinia's Call and Other Stories (Grace Livingston Hill)
41. Mystery Flowers (Grace Livingston Hill)
42. Sound of the Trumpet (Grace Livingston Hill)
43. Cloudy Jewel (Grace Livingston Hill)
44. Adam of the Road (Elizabeth Janet Gray)
45. The Man of the Desert (Grace Livingston Hill)
46. An Elephant in the Garden (Michael Morpurgo)
47. Saving Zasha (Randi Barrow)
48. The Affectionate Adversary (Catherine Palmer)
49. The Courteous Cad (Catherine Palmer)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)
51. Whatever Tomorrow Brings (Lori Wick)
52. As Time Goes By (Lori Wick)
53. Sean Donovan (Lori Wick)
54. Donovan's Daughter (Lori Wick)
55. Jane Austen: The Girl with the Magic Pen (Gill Hornby)
56. Writing Books for Children (Jane Yolen)
57. Toro! Toro! (Michael Morpurgo)
58. Stone Fox (John Reynolds Gardiner)
59. Swiss Holiday (Elizabeth Yates)
60. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (Ellen MacGregor)
61. The Sheep-Pig (Dick King-Smith)
62. Abraham Lincoln (Anne Colver)
63. The Golden Key and Other Stories (George MacDonald)
64. Outnumbered: Chronicles of a Manhattan Conservative (Jedediah Bila)
65. The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
66. The Great Fire (Jim Murphy)
67. Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
68. The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (Harold Courlander and George Herzog)
69. Max: The Dog That Refused to Die (Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne)
70. We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (Arthur Ransome)
71. Torch Red: Color Me Torn (Melody Carlson)
72. Asking for Trouble (London Confidential) (Sandra Byrd)
73. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)
74. Found Treasure (Grace Livingston Hill)
75. The Red Signal (Grace Livingston Hill)
76. Astra (Grace Livingston Hill)
77. Tomorrow About This Time (Grace Livingston Hill)
78. Spice Box (Grace Livingston Hill)
79. Ginger Pye (Eleanor Estes)
80. Flat Stanley (Jeff Brown)
81. The Illustrated Poets: Robert Burns (Daniel Burnstone, ed.)
82. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (Paul Fleischman)
83. Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 4 (Dr. Paul D. Lindstrom and Michael J. McHugh)
84. Favorite Uncle Wiggily Animal Bedtime Stories (Howard Garis)
85. Good Old Secret Seven (Enid Blyton)
86. Hawkeye Collins & Amy Admas in the Case of the Mysterious Dognapper & Other Mysteries (M. Masters)
87. Fodor's Around London with Kids: 68 Great Things to do Together (Jacqueline Brown)
88. Creative Family Times: Practical Activities for Building Character in Your Preschooler (Allen & Connie Hadidlian and Will & Cindy Wilson)

END OF LIST FOR 2012!

Books by Genre:

Biography
1. Ann of Ava (Ethel Hubbard)
2. C.S. Lewis: A Biography (Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper)
3. The Heavenly Man (Brother Yun with Paul Hattaway)
4. Father to Nobody's Children (David E. Fessenden)
5. Jane Austen: The Girl with the Magic Pen (Gill Hornby)

Adventure
1. Stone Fox (John Reynolds Gardiner)
2. Swiss Holiday (Elizabeth Yates)
3. We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (Arthur Ransome)
4. Why the Whales Came (Michael Morpurgo)
5. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (Ellen MacGregor)

Fantasy
1. The Golden Key and Other Stories (George MacDonald)
2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
3. A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond)
4. Flat Stanley (Jeff Brown)
5. Favorite Uncle Wiggily Animal Bedtime Stories (Howard Garis)

Nonfiction
1. History: The Great Fire (Jim Murphy)
2. Science/Nature: Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 4 (Dr. Paul D. Lindstrom and Michael J. McHugh)
3. Travel/Geography: Fodor's Around London with Kids: 68 Great Things to do Together (Jacqueline Brown)
4. Educational/Teaching: Creative Family Times: Practical Activities for Building Character in Your Preschooler (Allen & Connie Hadidlian and Will & Cindy Wilson)
5. How-to: Writing Books for Children (Jane Yolen)
6. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Lynne Truss)
7. Outnumbered: Chronicles of a Manhattan Conservative (Jedediah Bila)
8.
9.
10.

Mystery
1. The Haunted Bridge (Carolyn Keene)
2. Good Old Secret Seven (Enid Blyton)
3. Hawkeye Collins & Amy Admas in the Case of the Mysterious Dognapper & Other Mysteries (M. Masters)
4.
5.

Other
1. Humor: The Story of Doctor Dolittle (Hugh Lofting)
2. Folktales: Arthur: High King of Britain (Michael Morpurgo)
3. Poetry: The Illustrated Poets: Robert Burns (Daniel Burnstone, ed.)
4. Science Fiction: Outside (A. Norton)
5. Short Stories: Miss Lavinia's Call and Other Stories (Grace Livingston Hill)

Historical Fiction
1. Shades of Gray (Carolyn Reeder)
2. An Elephant in the Garden (Michael Morpurgo)
3. Saving Zasha (Randi Barrow)
4. The Affectionate Adversary (Catherine Palmer)
5. The Courteous Cad (Catherine Palmer)

Realistic Fiction
1. Stormy, Misty's Foal (Marguerite Henry)
2. The Ballad of Frankie Silver (Sharyn McCrumb)
3. Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)
4. The Boxcar Children (Gertrude Chandler Warner)
5. Toro! Toro! (Michael Morpurgo)

Romance
1. The Enchanted Barn (Grace Livingston Hill)
2. The Girl from Montana (Grace Livingston Hill)
3. The Mystery of Mary (Grace Livingston Hill)
4. Marcia Schuyler (Grace Livingston Hill)
5. Out of the Storm (Grace Livingston Hill)

Classic
1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
2. Heidi (Johanna Spyri)
3. Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
4. Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
5. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

Inspirational/Christian
1. The Grace Effect (Larry Alex Taunton)
2.
3.
4.
5.

Children’s Award books
1. Goodnight, Mister Tom (Michelle Magorian)--Guardian Children's Fiction Award
2. Up a Road Slowly (Irene Hunt)--Newbery Medal
3. Holes (Louis Sachar)--Newbery Medal
4. The View from Saturday (E.L. Konigsburg)--Newbery Medal
5. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (Rachel Field)--Newbery Medal
6. Adam of the Road (Elizabeth Janet Gray)--Newbery Medal
7. Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)--Newbery Medal
8. The Sheep-Pig (Dick King-Smith)--Guardian Children's Fiction Award
9. Ginger Pye (Eleanor Estes)--Newbery Medal
10.Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (Paul Fleischman)--Newbery Medal

Young Adult novel
1. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
2. Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
3. Mockingjay(Suzanne Collins)
4. Torch Red: Color Me Torn (Melody Carlson)
5. Asking for Trouble (London Confidential) (Sandra Byrd)

My Choice:
1. Born to Run (Michael Morpurgo)
2. Lone Point (Grace Livingston Hill)
3. Duskin (Grace Livingston Hill)
4. Because of Stephen (Grace Livingston Hill)
5. The Challengers (Grace Livingston Hill)
6. The Finding of Jasper Holt (Grace Livingston Hill)
7. Mystery Flowers (Grace Livingston Hill)
8.Sound of the Trumpet (Grace Livingston Hill)
9.Cloudy Jewel (Grace Livingston Hill)
10.The Man of the Desert (Grace Livingston Hill)
11.Whatever Tomorrow Brings (Lori Wick)
12.As Time Goes By (Lori Wick)
13.Sean Donovan (Lori Wick)
14.Donovan's Daughter (Lori Wick)
15.Abraham Lincoln (Anne Colver)
16.The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (Harold Courlander and George Herzog)
17.Max: The Dog That Refused to Die (Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne)
18.Found Treasure (Grace Livingston Hill)
19.The Red Signal (Grace Livingston Hill)
20.Astra (Grace Livingston Hill)
21.Tomorrow About This Time (Grace Livingston Hill)
22.Spice Box (Grace Livingston Hill)
23.
24.
25.

STOP! It's after midnight, January 1, 2013. I did NOT make my goal of 100 books this year, but I sure tried! I only lacked 12, which isn't bad. Actually I finished book #88 about 2 minutes to midnight, whew! I will post my new reading goal for 2013 very soon. In categories, I lacked 3 nonfiction, 2 mystery, 4 inspirational/Christian, and 3 choice. I'll probably start with those this year. Anyway...

New Reading Goal for 2012

2012 Reading Plan

Last year, I challenged myself to read 100 books in a year, including 25 award-winning children's books (no picture books--just chapter). I successfully met that challenge, reading 102 books in 2011. You can see my list HERE.

This year, I'm changing my reading goals a bit, breaking the 100 down a bit into required genres and only 10 award-winning books. Also, I found that while I read 102 books, I sadly neglected the Bible last year. So, I'm adding a Bible-reading goal in addition to the 100 other books. Here's how it will look (I hope):

100 Books: All 100 must be chapter books, rather than picture books. Some books may end up overlapping more than one category, but I will choose which genre requirement that book satisfies, so each book will count only once.

75 books from the following categories:
Biography, 5
Adventure, 5
Fantasy, 5
Nonfiction, 10 (at least 1 history, 1 science/nature, 1 travel/geography, 1 educational/teaching, 1 how-to book)
Mystery, 5
Other, 5 (at least 1 humor, 1 folktale, 1 book of poetry, 1 science fiction, 1 book of short stories)
Historical Fiction, 5
Realistic Fiction, 5
Romance, 5
Classic, 5
Inspirational/Christian (nonfiction), 5
Children’s Award books, 10
Young Adult novel, 5
The remaining 25 are my choice and can be any genre.

Bible Reading Goal: In addition to the 100 books, I plan to study the following books of the Bible in 2012 (study and meditate on 1 chapter per day):
Genesis (50), Ezra (10), Esther (10), Psalms (150), Jeremiah (52), Haggai (2), Zechariah (14), Luke (24), Acts (28), Philippians (4), Revelation (22)

I'm not doing them in that order, however, for reasons of my own. Here's my planned schedule:
Jan. 1-22, Revelation
Jan. 23-March 14, Jeremiah
March 15-16, Haggai
March 17-30, Zechariah
March 31-April 9, Esther
April 10-19, Ezra
April 20-Sep. 16, Psalms
Sep. 17-Oct. 10, Luke
Oct. 11-Nov. 7, Acts
Nov. 8-11, Philippians
Nov. 12-Dec. 31, Genesis

Weeks 19-22 in Photos

I’m several months behind in posting my photos, but here are my photo picks from week 22 (May-June).  I’m no longer posting one photo per day, but only my favorites from each week.  Weeks 19-21 were off-weeks, as I was extremely busy preparing for my parents’ visit, and I really didn’t get out of the house!  I did take pictures, but they were only of school stuff, and none of them are that great for a photography post.

May 7-27 No Photos!

May 28-June 3  Which is YOUR favorite?

#1  Langdale Pikes

 

#2  Blea Tarn Photo Shoot

 

#3  Derwentwater in Black and White

 

#4  Watendlath Flower                               

#5  Ducklings By Old Bridge

#6  Golden Retriever at Bridge

#7  Grasmere Meadows

Week 18 in Photos

April 30—This one was taken by my husband.  I didn’t take any on this day, but he got some nice ones!

May 1 “Ready for a Baptism”

May 2 “Her Horse”

May 3 “Clean Room”

May 4 “Upside-Down Reading”

May 5  NONE

May 6  I have several for this day:

Week 17 in Photos

I’m really slacking.  I think next year I’ll do a weekly posts of my favorite photos from the week, regardless of what day they were taken on.  I have only 5 photos this week, and even then they’re not really my best.  But here you go:

April 23 “Swan Reflection”

April 24 “Easter Finds”

 

April 25—NO PHOTO TAKEN

April 26—NO PHOTO TAKEN

April 27 “Shades”

April 28  “My Little Prince”

April 29—As much as I would love to have taken a photo at the Royal Wedding, we didn’t feel up to insane crowds in London.  So I took a photo of my own little princess (one of them, that is)!

“My Little Princess”

Family Nights 10 & 11

Week 10:  We raced toy cars!  Believe it or not, I was a toy car-loving girl when I was little.  I collected Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Pocket Cars (Tomica).  The Pocket Cars were my favorite.  I still have my collection, and Isaac plays with them when we’re in the US.  My mom used to babysit a boy who was a little younger than me, and he’s the one who taught me the way to have a toy car race.  We each chose 10 cars and raced them one at a time in the entry hall.  We took turns to see who could roll our car the farthest without hitting the wall.  The loser lost his/her car, and the game continued until one person lost all his/her cars, and the other person won.  That’s why I chose Pocket Cars to buy—they rolled more smoothly than Hot Wheels or Matchbox!  Too bad they don’t sell them anymore.  Anyway, we decided to have our family night race on the dining room table, primarily because Greg doesn’t like getting down on the floor (he’s a tall guy).  We chose only 5 cars each to race, and guess who won!  Gabriela!  The youngest in the family!  Anyway, it was a lot of fun (even if Isaac grumped a bit about losing).

P.S.  Never put duct tape on a table.  Greg’s idea, not mine…just for the record.  ; )

  

 

Week 11:  Instead of doing a regular family night, we had Easter egg hunts with the kids.  We would have done that anyway, but we thought it was enough to count as a family night since we did it as a family.  We did Gabriela’s egg hunt separately and allowed Isaac and Moriah to hide hers (under my supervision).  Then Greg and I hid eggs for the older two.  We didn’t dye eggs this year, and we had a shortage of baskets, but they didn’t care.