Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

From Publishers Weekly: "In her charming debut novel, Simonson tells the tale of Major Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very embodiment of duty and pride. As the novel opens, the major is mourning the loss of his younger brother, Bertie, and attempting to get his hands on Bertie's antique Churchill shotgun—part of a set that the boys' father split between them, but which Bertie's widow doesn't want to hand over. While the major is eager to reunite the pair for tradition's sake, his son, Roger, has plans to sell the heirloom set to a collector for a tidy sum. As he frets over the guns, the major's friendship with Jasmina Ali—the Pakistani widow of the local food shop owner—takes a turn unexpected by the major (but not by readers). The author's dense, descriptive prose wraps around the reader like a comforting cloak, eventually taking on true page-turner urgency as Simonson nudges the major and Jasmina further along and dangles possibilities about the fate of the major's beloved firearms. This is a vastly enjoyable traipse through the English countryside and the long-held traditions of the British aristocracy."

Amazon and I are getting to be quite the friends, it's where I get some of my best book suggestions. This book showed up on the list of "people who bought...also bought this book" so I decided to give it a try. I was looking for something light and easy and this worked perfectly. It was a little wordy in parts, and I had a little difficulty relating to any of the characters, but the story was fun and it was worth the read.

A few of my favorite quotes:
*"You are a wise man, Major, and I will consider your advice with great care and humility, but I must ask you, do you really understand what it means to be in love with an unsuitable woman?" "My dear boy, said the Major, is there really any other kind?"
*"The world is full of small ignorances, we must do our best to ignore them and thereby keep them small."

I gave it a solid B, leaning towards a B+

Third Time Is Not The Charm

Yesterday Aislinn and I set out on a ride around West Mountain. All was going great until she noticed that her front tire felt a little flat. We stopped to check and sure enough, flat. Ais was like a pro and had the tire changed within a few minutes - luckily it was the front. We got moving again and made it 8 miles before - flat. Seriously? This time we both went over the tire and the rim until Ais found a little tiny sticker. We decided that must have been the problem and felt safe to venture all the way around the mountain. We conquered the steep hills, I almost went off the road on a sharp curve, we were chased by two yappy dogs, and put in another 20 miles of riding when - flat. This time we were out of tubes and air cartridges and 15 miles from home. Good thing for a white knight, Tim drove out to rescue us. It was a beautiful day, perfect for riding, guess we just weren't meant to ride too long, I'm sure our legs and booties were grateful for the rest.

The Help

Have you read The Help? Seen the movie? If not, run fast and do both. Go ahead...I'll wait.
When the book first came out my friend Jen told me to put it on the top of my "to read" list. I paid the price for the hard back copy - proof I really wanted to read it - and was immediately hooked. I flew through the book and was super excited when I heard they were making a movie. Last weekend we went and the movie did not disappoint, just like the book it made me cry a little and laugh a lot. Even my dad was affected, he claims he was just hot and sweaty, but I think those were some tears. I know there are some criticisms, some people want the race relations to be more realistic, they don't like a white woman telling a black story, etc., but ignore the critics and embrace The Help. I could give you the synopsis and highlights, but just know that the characters are completely endearing and you will leave either the book or the movie feeling great - what more could you want.
A

I know there are some criticisms of the book, people want the race issues to be more real, etc.

Ride the Rapids

Tim and I got the chance to go on a last minute river rafting trip with my inlaws. It was super quick, but I'm so glad we made the time to go. We drove to Vernal after work on Tuesday night, arrived in time to check in to our hotel and fall asleep. After a quick early morning run, we met up with the group to be bussed out to the river. Along the way they stopped to see some petroglyphs. It was interesting because the Freemont indians left so little in terms of artifacts that they do not have great interpretations or explanations what the drawings are trying to portray. Sad, because it took a lot of work and obviously it was of high importance to the people. These were some of my favorite.

Then we were off to the river, the weather was pretty much perfect and it felt great to get on the water. We were in a boat with my inlaws, their friends, and Tim's brother Mike.

Oh, and of course, our trusty river guide Tony. He has a degree in geology and had so much interesting information about the rock formations, the river, and the original exploration of the river by John Wesley Powell. Seriously, it was like school in a good way, but don't test me, I've forgotten everything already.

After a few hours on the river we stopped at a little beach for lunch. The river crew had brought everything along and set up quite the spread of sandwiches, fruit, chips and cookies. Delish. All that sitting in a boat can make you hungry.

Because we are late in the season, the rapids were all relatively small, just enough to get wet and make you work, but nothing to toss you out. Once we were at calm water, Tim and I took Tony up on the invitation to swim. The water was great and it was fun to cruise with the current. The only problem, getting back in the boat. Let's just say that it wasn't pretty or graceful.

It was a long drive back to Provo that afternoon, but we loved it and can't wait to go back next year for more.

Bring On The Celebrations

In our family we believe in celebrating a birthday as many times as possible. It had been a few weeks, but Sunday we had one last official celebration for Ada and Tim's twinner birthdays. Oh, you noticed that there appear to be two extra kids blowing out the candles? We also believe in letting anyone under the age of 20 help with the candles, no matter whose birthday. Of course my mom used trick candles, so there were plenty of chances.

Ada has been a fashion queen since she could talk. For the past few years I have bought her a new outfit for her birthday and she has ended up wearing it for the first day of school. Apparently she now considers this tradition and was very concerned that I would not come through and she would be left wearing rags on the first day. Ada, how could you doubt me. When I saw the boots they pretty much screamed your name and the outfit followed. I pretty sure that I never rocked the first day of school like Ada does.

Hobble Creek Half Marathon

The day started early, 4:30 a.m., we got ready quickly and then spent a lot of time in the parking lot waiting. Not our best shot, but not bad for a phone shot in the dark.
We got to the top of the canyon with just enough time to make a quick porta potty stop before the gun went off. I've run this half more than ten times and had some of my best, and some of my worst races on that course. Yesterday I started the race with my favorite mantra "Run your race, and enjoy your run", but this time added in "To everything there is a season...A time to listen to your body, and a time to get uncomfortable in order to progress. A time to push your pace, and a time to refrain from pushing. Yesterday was a day to listen to my body, and to refrain from pushing. It was tough, I was antsy and just wanted to run hard, but I knew that if I wanted to stay healthy, I would have to take it easy. So I ran, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, I chatted with other runners, and tried not to focus on my pace. I do my best thinking while running, and my brain was on overdrive.
The night before I had read an article in Runners World by a newbie who was planning to run his first half marathon. He had watched a lot of races and was scared to be that guy that everyone "admires", he said "I've admired so many people from the sidelines...I've clapped for the ones who really looked bad...What if you trip and begin with a bandaged ankle, what if your nipples bleed, what if you vomit, cry and collapse? I've seen people do all these things and I've admired them" As I read the article I laughed, but yesterday morning as I ran slowly, I kept thinking, I don't want people to "admire" me, I just want to run like I'm used to. For a brief moment I started to get discouraged, and then I gained a little perspective: Friday night while picking up our pre-race Olive Garden pasta, I saw four different people who were in wheelchairs, I noticed each with their various struggles and at the time thought that I was grateful to not have that as my challenge in life. During the race I was reminded of the people in wheelchairs and realized how amazing it was that I could run. Fast or slow, I can run, walk, skip, dance, or move any way I want. I had been feeling restricted by my speed, but it struck me what a small restriction that really was. Any bit of pity party I had been having went away, and I really just settled down and enjoyed the rest of the run.

I had an amazing support system at the end, and loved having Tim, family, and friends, there to cheer for me. They love me fast or slow, and often are the ones that get me through a tough race.

The crew:
Adrian, Chrissy, Jarin (Miles), Dad, Tim, Me(Gavin) and Sherlynn

Monkey Business

I've seen a lot of climbing walls, but at the beach where we played at Bear Lake, they had coconut trees to climb. The kids did great. I wish they would have had an adult tree, it looked like fun.

Monkey Miles

Monkey Ada

Monkey B