The Story Of Us

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman Synopsis - After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach.Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute. As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of B...

Things have been busy.. summer seems to be getting away from us and I feel we just didn't have enough time. This summer we got bogged down by a lot of things that just had to be done. But we did manage a little getaway.. it had it's fare share of bumps but hey we are living in a crazy world right now and we have got to make do with what we got. We got a VBRO in Luray, Virginia, but before we got there we made a little stop to Assateague Island. We had been there before, many moons ago when D was a little little guy and M had always wanted to go back to explore it better. For those of you don't know Assateague Island is a barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia inhabited by wil d Chincoteague ponies. Last time we took a boat ride around the island this time we rode our bikes through it and it was amazing! We had come mentally prepared to so few to no horses but lady luck was on our side and we saw a pack of horses even before we got on our bikes.  The next coup...

lately things have been busy.. a lot more busy than I like my summers to be and with a lot more morning alarms than I would like. Our first two weeks of July were family filled. My parents left, my in laws arrived (they live with us for parts of the year) and then my sister in law came for a visit with her two kids.. they are very similar aged to ours which meant lots of love, laughter and lots of fights.  The next week and the week ahead are full of classes. D is taking an intense tennis class bright and early every other morning.. hence the need for an alarm. And then both boys are doing their annual summer swim crash course.. but thankfully things will all slow down as the month ends and then we can take a little break.. with no alarms.  How's summer been treating you? Now a question for my crafty friends.. my son attended a paint by arrow class. Paint filled balloons dangled over a canvas and he shot arrows at them.  This is the canvas he created. Now I was thinking t...

These last few posts have been quite D centric.. he's been having all the moments. Things are about to get busy around here so I may disappear for a bit. My parents left and my in laws flew in.. they live with us for half the year. And my sister in law in kids flew in to spend two weeks with us.. so A LOT is going on.. Have a Great Summer! Stay cool.. this heat wave has been intense.  1. What is your favorite color?  Red 2. What is your favorite toy/game?  Minecraft and Roblox 3. What is your favorite fruit?  Raspberries 4. What is your favorite food?  Hot Dog 5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?  Cookie Dough 7. What is your favorite tv show?  Monster House on Netflix 8.Favorite Movie?  Zathura 9. What is your favorite animal?  Gorilla  10. What is your favorite song?  Sucker by Jonas Brothers 11. What is your favorite book?  The Percy Jackson series and The Lost Hero Series 12. What is your favorite city/country?  ...

D turned eleven last week. And we had  a little party.  As per tradition we bought our plain white butter cream chocolate cake from Wegmans and decorated it ourselves. The theme was water tag. It was the perfect sunny day and the kids had a blast We sorta dropped the ball on taking a picture of the cake cutting.. I had to take a screen shot of a video. Each kid went home with a water gun, some water balloons and a couple of snacks. All in all a good day and most definitely D's last organized birthday party. phew.                     Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

This is a big month for D.. not only will he be turning 11 this week but he also graduated elementary school! They held a simple outdoor ceremony. Guests we kept at a minimum but it was special nonetheless.          He received a certificate of graduation from his principal   and a dragon pin (their school mascot) from the vice principal His two teachers. and my parents who live on a whole different continent yet decided to come visit us for a couple weeks. We went out to celebrate that night at The Melting Pot. The kids had never had tried fondue before. I can't believe D is going to be a middle schooler soon.. I am both excited and terrified for him.   D's thoughts on going to graduating elementary school on moving on to middle school: 'I am looking forward to lockers and picking classes. I will miss having recess because there is no recess in middle school. I am scared about forgetting things and the possibility of detention but still exci...

I didn't write a recent reads post last month.. honestly my recent reads haven't been all that great.  The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen Synopsis - Present Day newly divorced, Julia Hamill, buys a house and discovers a skeleton in her front garden. Looking for answers to the ancient mystery dating back to 1830, she soon connects with the family of the previous owners.  In Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College, has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect. To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed th...