The Radio Murders: The Collectors

The Radio Murders: The Collectors by Chuck Collins jumps right into the action from page one. Sometimes this is a great storytelling tactic, but I found it unsavory in The Radio Murders. It was a little hard to follow and I felt lost for a bit. I also found this novel to be a little too adult for my taste: lots of vulgarity in language as well as sex scenes. Aside from that, I found the story enjoyable, yet hard to follow with too many indistinct characters. It was a very tangled web of deceit  mystery and action. It was intriguing, mysterious, and action packed. It ends with a cliffhanger, making the reader want to know what happens next. Unfortunately, this reader won't be finding out. It's an okay book, but not for me. 2 Stars. 

I am a book tour host with CM Book Tours: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book for the purpose of review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Bondehagen Wedding

On August 1st, Natalie, one of my best friends, married her sweetheart, Erik Bondehagen. They were married in the Timpanogas Temple and I was lucky enough to be able to attend their ceremony. It was actually a little crazy: the Sunday before the wedding I realized that my temple recommend would expire on July 31st, so I had a rush to get it renewed before Thursday! Then, we're at the temple, and it hadn't been activated yet! Luckily, they were able to confirm that it was a real recommend & let me in. 

Emily watched Ellie during the ceremony & left some cute pictures on my phone. 

Dinner up Provo Canyon.

Me and the beautiful bride. 

Four Months

Little Miss Ellie is now four months and a weekish! At her appointment last week, she weighed in at 13lbs 11oz and measured 25in. We've just put away all her 0-3 mo outfits and now she's in 3-6 mo. She's getting pretty good at entertaining herself and playing with her toys for a few minutes at a time without me or Cass. 

 

She loves her Mickey Mouse rattle best, and she loves sitting and playing in her super seat at Grandma's. We've ordered a similar one for her to have at home and can't wait til it gets here! 

Ellie has everyone wrapped around her little finger (especially her grandparents!) and we just love her so much (even if she's a sucky sleeper!)! She's getting bigger and more fun every day! 

An Elemental Thing

I initially read An Elemental Thing by Eliot Weinberger as assigned reading for a non-fiction class in college. It is in a short-story/prose format, with each piece able to stand on its own. I didn't find the reading to be quite poetry, nor do I ever really find myself liking poetry, but it was more like "Interesting Facts Weinberger Knows (and now you do, too)", which was okay by me. It's a fairly easy, semi-quick read, and I liked learning all the random facts. But at the same time, It wasn't especially meaningful. It isn't necessarily a book I'd recommend, but it's not a book I'd stop anyone from reading, and it's not a waste of time. So, three stars. 

The 4th of July

We spent the 4th of July at my parents house. We got up bright and early to go watch Matthew play the cymbals in the Provo Parade.

We hung out at home during the day, then the cousins came over and we barbecued for dinner. That night Dad and Matt set off some fireworks in the driveway and then we watched more fireworks from the patio.

The Great McCoy Weekend

Two weekends ago was our Great McCoy weekend. Cassidy's Grandpa Harry had his 75th birthday and a lot of family came out to help celebrate. On Saturday, Harry was given the best present of all as he baptized his younger sister. It was really neat to be at the baptism. Everyone was very excited ad a little emotional to see Ann be baptised. 

That night there was a "luau" to celebrate Grandpa Harry's birthday. The Soaki family made us a yummy dinner and then performed for us. 

Sunday we had more festivities. Ann was confirmed in church and we barbecued for dinner. It was a fun weekend! 

Ellie loved being the center of attention! 

Welcome to Crazy Town!

So our lives have been a little crazy lately! The past few weeks have involved many a drive up and down i15. We spent time searching for apartments and interviewing for jobs. On one of our weekends up, the McCoy side of the family had a "Welcome to the Family" Party for Ellie. We were able to get a few cute pictures of Ellie with some cousins. 

 

 

 

 

Then Cassidy got offered a job and we decided to move on up! We're currently living with Cass's dad while he works for Greenify, and then we'll be moving down to Provo for school in the fall. It's been a busy and crazy few weeks!