The Busy Life

I knew starting out that this year was going to be a bit busy, but after marking out our afterschool schedule with our kids it seems a bit overwhelming. One bad half-hour will throw everything out of balance. Our white board is covered with times, events, and arrows linking what everyone will be doing. It looks pretty scary. I saw this youtube video on a friend's blog about rushing through life with our kids. It really hit home. I have a goal to be mentally present when I'm with my kids. The video only strengthens my convictions. Let's hope for the best!

Tyson's First Day (Tim's picture to be posted later)

Another Book Review

I promise there is more to my life than just reading and talking about books, but it is what I truly enjoy.

I just finished reading Middlemarch by George Eliot. What a book! It felt so different from the Austen books I have been reading this summer. I adore the time period where manners mattered and a person's word meant everything. Sometimes I truly believe we need have a bit more propriety in our day to day life. However, I would surely hate to have had to be a wife and practically incapable of managing of my own affairs.

I appreciated the character of Dorothea. I'm not positive that I like her-just appreciate her. Dorothea is the picture of unselfish kindness. I also liked the fact that she wasn't afraid to stick with her own ideas, no matter what anyone else thought. She wasn't easily swayed.

One refreshing difference I felt about Eliot's novel was the fact that she wrote about situations that seemed could truly happen. Upper, middle and lower classes were all represented and the characters dealt with struggles which fit their spheres. It wasn't a fantasy world (that's why I read Austen) but it seemed to be normal people pushing through. The normality helped me appreciate the ending so much more.

I can't say it is a real favorite, but in my opinion, it is still one novel worth reading once in your lifetime. With that being said, I'll probably be reading it twice because it's on the list of books for one of my classes this fall semester!

This is how I spent my Saturday

It was another awesome day at the beach. Volleyball is a given, but we also walked to the island at low tide where Zac found some rocks to jump off. The water felt suprisingly welcome! I read my book while laying out in the warm sun, got a brilliant sunburn, and tried to take some pictures of the GVC boys in action.

Tim and Tyson always have their own games to play.
Here's a quick video of one of the plays.

p.s. We were at Good Harbour Beach

Funny

All t-shirts tend to be too big to manage when you are this skinny...

Luckily I was able to detach the boy from the railing and we had a nice, cool hour visiting the National Heritage Museum in Lexington.

Rainy Day!

Let it pour! I love the rain!

Just Desserts

Tomorrow is my last Jane Austen class. I had over 100 pages left of Emma to read. It felt a little daunting at first until Tyson decided to match me and he read 105 pages of his own. A couple of hours later we finished and decided to celebrate our accomplishment with banana splits. YUM!

Hold On Jane...

picture from stepheniemeyer.com

Today, during our break in my Jane Austen class, we chatted about having seen the new movie, Eclipse. We bantered back and forth about how exciting it was, whether it was better or worse than the other two movies, and then we got down to business discussing the characters. There is always a good debate between Jacob and Edward. One intriguing point drawn up by my classmate was that she despised Edward because he was cold and controlling, manipulative, and seemed to push the crazy patriarchal position of the mormon author. Being mormon, her comment struck me quite forcibly. Wow! Is that really how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (aka Mormons) are seen? I do know that there are some cold, controlling and very manipulative men around, but I believe they are found in and out of all religions including those who are agnostic.

Most of the mormon men I know are actually pretty respectful and encouraging of women and I, by no means, feel controlled by our "patriarchal" culture. I hope I stand as an example that women have a voice, independence, and even a right to help mold the world around them. I have never felt that my religion has ever even tried to dissuade me from these views.

Perhaps one fascinating fact, relevant to this argument is that Utah (the majority of which was and is Mormon) was the second territory (eventually state) to grant women the right to vote. Follow this gov link to read more. Women are not cowed and taught exactly how to think and act in our religion and it is insulting to have people continue to believe it.

Ok...off the soapbox and back to the ever-enduring, wonderful novels of Jane Austen. Thanks for your patience.