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I know I haven't been here in forever and you are all tired of the earthquake post (especially Kate ;) )

So I am posting a quicky to get things moving again (maybe)

I ordered some books from Barnes and Noble and I needed a filler to get up to the dollar amount for free shipping. I ended up ordering the new They Might Be Giants album for kids Here Come the 123's It came with a bonus DVD and it is fabulous!!! The kids LOVE it and want to watch it all the time. Ady and Tayden have all the songs memorized and Ady sings it all day long! Dave and I love it too. The songs are so fun and clever and the videos are funny. We are big TMBG fans, but fan or no fan this is a great kids album. If you are going to get the album definitely look for the bonus pack with the DVD. The DVD is the best part!

Some books I have been reading (and loving)

Spookie series by Angie Sage (I read them first and then Dave read them to Kyler. He loved them.)

Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. Our library does not have the 4th book, but I wanted to read it so badly that I just ordered it (from Barnes and Noble - thats what I was ordering when I threw in TMBG 123's) The 4th book, Queste, is the best so far. (Does anyone know if she is writing more books in this series?) They are in the Juvinile Fiction section, but they are great for adults too. I actually like them a bit better than the Harry Potter books because her style stays consistent throughout the series. (and age appropriate)

Ever, by Gail Carson Levine - I just love this author, but I would not recommend this book unless you are a fan. I loved the book, but there are a lot of theological issues. Its not for everyone, but is well written and enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of Fantasy books or mythology. Most of the other books by Levine are fairy tale. If you like Fairy tales you should check out some of her other books, especially Ella Enchanted, Fairest, and The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Cat's Eye Corner, by Terry Griggs is a very cleverly written book with a 10 year old boy as the main character. He is a very smart boy and the book is so well written. There are lots of clever plays on words and puns. It is very good. I am about to start the next book in the series.

What are you all reading? Please share :)

Shaking and shaking and shaking!

This morning I was in the middle of a muddled, strange dream when suddenly I am awake and the whole house is rumbling. At first I wasn't sure if I was awake or not. I looked around and everything is shaking and I am a bit bewildered. It just sounded like a long, low rumble and the house is shaking. I thought it was later than it was (it was only about 5:40) because Dave wasn't in bed anymore, so I got up to find him. Ady had started to stir a bit too, so I tucked her back in and she went back to sleep. I looked out the windows and everything seemed peaceful and normal outside. My only conclusion is that it was an earthquake. But it was so weird. After I got up, Dave heard me and he said "I have to think that was an earthquake." He had gone in to the boys bed to sleep, because over the night ours had been filled up by children and he ran out of room. At first he thought I was in there shaking the metal bunk bed he was in as a joke, then he realized it was more than just the bed shaking.

I went downstairs to check the news and usgs.gov and Dave tried to get Kyler back to sleep (unsuccessfully). On the news they were just bewildered as well. The news anchors were saying the same things we were. "We just experienced what must have been an earthquake." USGS didnt have anything posted yet, so I went back to the news and Dave and Kyler came downstairs and finally official reports started coming that it was, in fact, an earthquake and it was a magnitude 5.4. I went on to USGS again and they have it recorded now. I noticed a place to record your own experience with the quake, so I figured I would since no one else from our area had. After I filled out a little survey about it, the site said that what I had experienced was level IV effects, compared to people closer to the epicenter who experienced level V, VI, or even VII. Since our house is really old and we were on the second floor, it might have felt more dramatic to us. I will be interested to see if others from our zip code report in and what it says for them. You can look at statistics from the earthquake listed by zipcode here. Its pretty amazing how far away the effects were felt.

When Tayden woke up we asked him if he felt it and he hadn't, but he had lots of questions about it. After the boys left for school Ady woke up and I asked her about it and she asked me if it was lots of "shaking and shaking and shaking?!?" So I guess she did feel something.

I know most of you had similar experiences this morning, so this is not "news", but I wanted to make sure I captured our family's memory of it here. It sure was exciting and something we won't forget. I am glad it was minor and no one was hurt. It does make you think, though, when something like this happens.

Cuckoo Can't Find You

Tayden check out a book from the library a while ago called Kangaroo and Cricket by  Lorianne Siomades.  We really enjoyed this book and I loved the illustrations, so the next time we went to the library I looked for more books by Lorianne Siomades and found Cuckoo Can't Find You.  We checked this out and read it and we loved it so much that we read it over and over and over.  Ady LOVES this book and the boys think it is fun too.  I really enjoy all of the books we have read so far by this author.  The illustrations are very fun and I wanted to pass along this recommendation to all of you so you can enjoy it too.

(If you click on the link it will take you to amazon.com and you can see more about this book.)

I LOVE Utah!!!!!

I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but I am so excited about this that I will post it now before the excitement wears off. I promise I will catch up eventually!! Everyone has probably given up on reading this blog by now!

A few days ago I received a check in the mail from my student loan provider, Nelnet, who I have been steadily paying for several years now. Also, my payments to them had been automatically deducted every month on the 4th, and this month no payment was deducted. I knew I was getting close to being paid off, but not that close. So I went online to check out my balance and my loan information doesnt even exist anymore. I called and they said the originator of the loan had written it off, but that he was surprised they had written so much off, usually its like the last $50 or so. He gave the number of the originator of the loan, UHEAA (Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority), so I called them and they said that they have been writing off the remainder of loans once they get below $600 and I should be receiving a letter about it soon. She said that I am lucky to have UHEAA as the originator because UHEAA gives back to the lender anything not spent on overhead at the end of the year (or some such thing) and then they write off loans that are in good standing and are nearly paid off.  So I am free and clear. No more student loan repayment for me!!! Yay for being in good standing, YAY for Utah and UHEAA!!

HAPPY DANCE!!!! $600 less that we are indebted to anyone! That much closer to our goal of being debt free (except for the house of course) I am so incredibly excited about this, I can hardly contain myself. :)