2013 Books

• 25 books! I finally broke free of the 23 rut!

    My favorites this year (in no particular order) were Man's Search for Meaning, Maniac Magee, The Princess Bride, Mrs. Mike, Liar and Spy, and Les Miserables. I liked and would recommend them all for different reasons. 

    The rest all pretty much ranged between fine and good too, no really big losers this year I think. Crow Country, Cavendish Home, Divergent and Theodosia were probably the most meh, but  you know, they weren't horrible.

    Happy reading in 2014!

• A Year Down Yonder - Richard Peck
• Divergent - Veronica Roth
• The Rent Collector - Camron Wright
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
• Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl
• Beauty - Robin McKinley
• The Power of Everyday Missionaries - Clay Christiensen
• Smugglers' Island - Avi
• The Willoughbys - Lois Lowry
• Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
• Crow Country - Kate Constable
• The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls - Claire Legrand
• Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli
• The Princess Bride - William Goldman
• Wonder - R.J. Palacio
• Mrs. Mike - Benedict and Nancy Freedman
• A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry
• Freak the Mighty - Rodman Philbrick
• Liar and Spy - Rebecca Stead
• Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos - R.L. LaFevers
• The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman
• Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
• The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
• To The Rescue - Heidi Swinton

Christmas morning in photos

December Catchall

I went with Lydia on a field trip to tour the Mayfield Dairy in Athens. We were disappointed there were no cows, just a packaging facility. Still cool though. And we definitely did not turn our noses up at the free ice cream at the end.

Afton spent some quality time playing with her Fisher Price nativity. She knows the story pretty well, but did take some artistic liberties...like flying camels.

And it has finally been getting cold. We wake up many mornings to the world covered in frost. It looks beautiful as it evaporates in the sunrise.

And then there was Dillsboro

I can't even remember how many years in a row now we've gone to Dillsboro with all the Cruzes, but it's a good tradition.

Sidebar: I'm surprised sometimes at how fiercely our kids love traditions. It was a major decision to break up our usual Fantasy of Trees routine, even though I think it's not actually, technically, really all that exciting for the older kids...they just feel strongly about doing the things we always do.

Anyway, back on topic: Dillsboro. We gathered first at our house and shuffled the cousins up among the vehicles to their liking. Various groupings watched Polar Express, The Grinch, Narnia, and a couple others along the way. We ate at our favorite pizza place (the teens/tweens got their own table, oh man, I can't believe how big they are). Our server complimented us on our well-mannered children after taking orders. Score! Then on to the lights.

We perused the ornament store, browsed the general store, talked to the talking bear, bought some delectable chocolate and candy from the fudge shop, and took not one, but TWO horse-drawn wagon rides. The 20% chance of rain gave us a break, and we spent the evening dry and just chilly enough to feel festive. Couldn't have been a better day trip.

Bonus: for the drive there we decided to go through the GSMNP. We went through some thick fog for a few miles as we winded up the mountain, then came out of it and were treated to this incredible view of what we had just been driving in...