Reads of 2012

A friend from high school did something pretty cool on Facebook.  She listed all of the books that she read this past year.  I track my books on GoodReads.com, but I thought this was a pretty cool idea.  I have listed a couple of books that I read before 2012, but I did reread them this year.  The list is not in chronological order (not that it matters) because I didn't anticipate doing this.  I do think this will become an annual blog post, though.  :)  Here is my list...

1.  The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
2.  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
3. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
4. The Noticer: Sometimes, All a Person Needs is a Little Perspective by Andy Andrews
5. Jacob's Daughter by Samantha Jillian Bayarr
6. The World As We Know It by Joseph Monninger
7. The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
10. Summer of Light by W. Dale Cramer
11. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
12. The Selection by Kiera Cass
13. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness At the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
14. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
15. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
16. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
17. The Firm by John Grisham
18. One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf
19. One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury
20. Beyond Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury
21. The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
22. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
23. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
24. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
25. Divergent by Veronica Roth
26. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
27. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
28. The Out of Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping With Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Books I started, but could not bring myself to finish:
1. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment by Julie Powell
3. Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel
4. My Life in France by Julia Child
Obviously, I would not recommend these books.

My absolute favorites for the year...
1. The Millenium Trilogy - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (technically not from this year, but I did finish reading it on December 31, 2011.), The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
2. The Selection
3. Shadow and Bone
4. Divergent/Insurgent
5. The Hunger Games

Happy Reading!  To quote a funny pin on Pinterest --> I like big books, and I cannot lie!
- becky

Pensacola Visit - Random Pics with Family

Kids' Table

After this meal, the kids somehow moved themselves into the dining room and the adults were stuck out here.

Relaxing Fun

WHAT?!  Jenny is reading?  For fun?  No.Way.

Snuggle!

Wanted: Isaiah

Offense: Stealing iPhones to play the apps

WARNING: Do NOT sit to Mom's left.  She does not give you any opportunity for penalty cards.

Discovering Pinterest

Next post: BEACH

- becky

Mall of a Marriott

Here are a few random Atlanta pictures. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis, which Isaiah calls the Mall of a Marriott - HA!

Check out the view inside there! We were on the 41st floor. The elevators with glass took a little getting used to!

Next stop - Pensacola, FL

- Becky

The Vault

Maybe you already know this, but individuals with Autism sometimes fixate on things.  These things might be ordinary items, like needing to carry around the same toy.  Sometimes what an Autist (cool word - I just saw it online!) fixates on might seem unusual to the rest of us, but it can bring him/her comfort, familiarity, or a sensory release.  Our sweet little Autist, Isaiah, likes to push the buttons on Coke machines.

Tim and I have been saying for a long time that one of these days Isaiah is going to get lucky.  And did he ever.  This kid hit the jackpot!

After we left the aquarium,we let Isaiah push buttons on the Coke machines that were outside, in between the aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola.  Guess.What.Happened.  The machine started whistling, hooting, and hollering.  And out popped.....a Coke in a can coozie and a football!  That's right.  A football!  (The next day, we saw the coozie ($5!) and the football ($12!) in the gift shop.  Score!!!

The winning machine!  People who were standing around at the time thought it was pretty cool.  They kept hanging around trying to get something for free, too.  HA!

The World of Coca-Cola

There it is!  The entrance to the vault!  What is that secret recipe?!?!

Yeah, it's in there.  They lied.  They didn't show it to us.  Sigh.

Coke machines have been around for a long time!

4D movie time!

Time for the taste test!  My personal favorite was the Pineapple Crush.  Too bad I would have to go all the way to South America to get it...

Not too bad...

Oh my!  Did you just hear my burp?!

Blech.

That's too spicy! (That's how Mallory describes Sprite.  LOL)

Next stop - Misc. Atlanta pics

- becky

It's a suh-hark!

Our first especially fun activity on vacation was a visit to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  We have been to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago several times, and we always enjoy that.  We were pretty excited to check out something new.  Boy, were we impressed!  It was HUGE!  It was arranged in such a smart way, too.  There was a large open area in the center of the building, with different featured areas branching out like bicycle spokes.  

Camera batteries are all charged and ready to go!

Mommy = Chicken; Daddy = Brave.

You could touch a shark and a sting ray!  

3D movie! Isaiah and Mallory especially enjoyed this movie, with the big-not-so-scary shark named Smiley.

This girl is intense.

Daddy, let me show you the fish.  It's RIGHT THERE!

Nice purse.  What a good Daddy.

Yes, I was sitting on the floor, hanging with Isaiah. So much to see - even up above your heads!

Yikes!

OK.  These whale sharks were MASSIVE.  I've never seen several 10 feet long sharks in one tank before.

We're going to Florida next to swim in the Gulf of Mexico?!  Really?!

Next Stop - World of Coca-Cola (and probably some pictures of our super cool hotel)

- becky