Heidi and Jentry's Christmas Mayhem

Jentry and I took a whirlwind vacation to visit our families over the Christams Holidays, these were just a few of the hightlights!

Your a mean one Mr. Grinch!

Ho Ho Ho!

X-Country Skiing on Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful Winter Wonderland! We even encountered a Moose Trail and Mt. Lion Tracks!

Bowling with Jentry's parents.

Christmas Breakfast at Jentry's Grandparents

Opening Presents and Jentry's Brother's house.

Christmas dinner in Coalville with Dad, Julie, Grandpa and Chris

Late Christmas with all the Hewson people

By the End we were ALL exauhsted! But we had a Great Time! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mockingjay

IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK AND HAVEN'T READ IT YET

STOP READING NOW!

This is my review of Mockingjay, the final book in the popular HUNGER GAMES series.

I liked this book, but it wasn't my favorite ever and this is why:

My biggest complaint is the lack of development and growth Katniss experiences. She doesn’t seem to have grown at all from the first book to the third. I guess I just expected her to be like Luke Skywalker going from naive farm boy to master Jedi, leader of the rebel cause. But Katniss just never seems to be able to figure herself out and decide who she is. She should have been able to see the rebellion was more important than her own selfish quest for revenge. She should have been able to feel more compassion for Peeta when he got all messed up in the Capitol. She should have been able to see it wasn’t Gale’s fault Prim died in the bombing. What upset me the most in the end was that she voted FOR the Hunger Games and then said it was for Prim. Prim never would have wanted that. It was pure selfishness on Katniss’ part.

However I am really glad she shot Coin in the end . Katniss was right, she was just as bad as Snow. Which brings me to my next complaint. District 13. At the end of Catching Fire when I found out there really was a district 13 I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. I imagined District 13 to be a bustling nest of zealous, passionate rebel activity. But no, District 13 was the worst possible rebel base ever. There were so calculated and reserved. Even Betee had more zeal than the citizens of District 13. I can see why they needed Katniss so badly to be the mockingjay. A rock could have been more inspiring than ANYONE in District 13. Then on top of that they let all the other Districts do all the work. I wish more of the story would have taken place in District 11. In Catching Fire when the Victory district 11 and the old man whistles rues tune and the rest of the crowd gestures to Katniss, it gave me goosbumps. District 11 seemed to capture the fire of the rebellion.

Now I have to give my two cents about Collin’s love triangle. I hate love triangles and have to say I couldn’t have cared less about who she ended up with (even though I felt we got to know Peeta better so I liked him a little more). I feel though, that she should have been happier than she was about who she ended up with. I felt like whether is was Gale or Peeta, either one of them at least deserved her happiness about being with them.

While I do have quite a list of complaints I actually thought it was a pretty good book. I like Colllin’s style of writing. She kept me on the edge of my seat and did not disappoint when it came to unpredictable twists and turns.

I also really liked the cast of characters. Cinna was my absolute favorite, his character was perfect. Haymitch and Peeta tie for second. Peeta was my favorite in the first and second, he showed the most promise of human nature, but I hated that he never completely recovered from torture. On the other hand I didn’t like Haymitch in the first book but he came such a long way and was almost noble in the third book, I love to see characters develop like that. I loved Fnick and Gale too, I wish they both would have had bigger parts in the books, they had so much potential to be great leaders. I am glad that Finick got his happy ending before he died though. And then there is Prim, to me she was really the symbol of the rebellion, she embodied everything good and pure, she had all the characteristics I wish Katniss could have found by the end of the book. I guess I can just hope Katniss will honor her sisters memory and aspire to obtain those qualities later in her life.

Not my favorite book ever, but I did like it a lot and would definitely recommend reading the whole series! The second book is definitely the best.

Heidi and Jentry's Fabulous Trip to Flagstaff

With jobs obtained and houses unpacked and somewhat put in order, Jentry and I finally got some free time to do as we pleased. We were ecstatic to get out of the house (and out of the heat!). We packed up our toys and our dog and headed up north.

We spent two nights in Oak Creek Canyon just out of Sedona and two nights at Upper Lake Mary outside of Flagstaff. It was an absolute blast.

These were some of the activities we enjoyed!

Hiking Pump House Wash

Warding off the numerous skunks in the Oak Creek Canyon Campgrounds

Hiking the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon

Enjoying Egg McMuffins cooked on a Camp Stove

Windsurfing at Upper Lake Mary

Watching the thunderstorms roll in over Upper Lake Mary

Racing to set up our tarp over our camp before the thunderstorms hit

Playing cards and doing crosswords under our tarp during the thunderstorms

Going to the Lowell Observitory in Flagstaff

(where both Pluto and the expanding nature of the Universe were discovered by Percival Lowell)

Eating at Salsa Brava in Flagstaff

(delicious burn your face off mexican food!)

Exploring Lava River Cave

Eating at Miss Zips

(an adorable little diner in Flagstaff that serves aweseom burgers and fries!)

Now its back to the real world, starting work again on Monday :( But we really enjoyed our time off!

Lake Powell, Tabuli, Paint, and Cactus Trees

Jentry and Heidi finally made it to Arizona! Well, actually we have been here over a week now but our stuff did not come until this past Monday and, today, Thursday, we finally have most of our stuff unpacked. MOST of it. Our new house is finally starting to feel like a home.

We have been pretty busy the last week and a half. It's hot here in Arizona, but surprising not unbearable. We are so glad our house has a pool, we (me, Jentry, and Bella) have been swimming in it pretty much every day! Anyway, here are few other things we have been up to.

1. Lake Powell

We broke our 11 hr drive to Glendale into two days and stayed overnight at Lake Powell. Well sort of, it was the KOA in Page. I think the rest of the people there thought we were crazy people with how much stuff we had. Not the most glamorous of camping spots, but we had fun grilling hot dogs, roasting marshmallows, and sleeping out under the stars.

2. Tabuli

What the heck is Tabuli? Deliciousness, thats what it is. Parsley, tomatoes, mint, and spices, mmm mmm. Yesterday Jentry and I went the the Twilight Farmers market. I felt kind of bad dragging Jentry along, I'm kind of obsessed with Farmers Markets and am always dragging him to different ones all over. But, come to find out, Jentry secretly LIKES the Farmers Market. He seemed to be having a great time chatting with all the vendors as they fed us sample after sample. It was tough not to buy everything we tasted, it was all SOOOO good! In the end we left with Blackberry Lavender Sauce, smoked salmon straight from Alaska, and yes, TABULI. What a treat!

3. Paint

Before we moved into our house, Jentry mentioned to me that the land lord had said that it would be okay if we wanted to some painting. I thought to myself, "Why would I want to paint? I don't really want to put any sort of effort into a house that is not mine. No color can be so bad to make me want to paint a rental house!" Then we arrived at our new home in Arizona. Within the first hour we were there we had already decided to repaint. Luckily, it was only two walls and since our stuff had not arrived yet it was pretty easy. But it took a long time. We also painted all the baseboards in the house. And Jentry made me scrub the grout (pretty much the entire house is tile). Bleh. Grout scrubbing is the worst job in the world. I am never putting tile in any house I ever own.

4. Cactus Trees

In Arizona, the cactuses grow bigger than trees. We happen to have one such "Catcuts Tree" on our street. And it is full of holes. It is like the Bird Hotel. Like the Bird Belagio. There are birds running around all over the place. I love it. I like the cactus tree a lot too.

P.S. I know that there is one picture on her 3 times, in funny places, the computer is being goofy

Heidi is Inspired

Today I read an article in Runner's World called

"A Magnificent Mile".

It was so incredibly inspiring.

It was about a women who, in 2007, started a 30 mile run to raise money to help women who were victims of the terrible violence in the Congo. Over the years people have joined her cause. Her run has grown and others have started events all over the country and they have raised a significant amount of money for Congolese Women. The money helps them to buy food and medical supplies and learn trades like cooking, sewing, and farming so they can support their families.

Last year this woman traveled to the Congo to meet the women she had helped and to do a 30 mile solo trek in place of her annual 30 mile run.

But when she got to the Congo her plans changed.

The women she met, women who were struggling to feed their children and get by, women who still lived in fear of violence everyday, these women wanted to know what THEY could do to HELP other women.

So instead of of 30 mile trek, she organized a one mile run. Forty seven Congolese women who had been victims of rape and violence themselves participated. They ran in the rain and the mud, in bare feet and their best skirts. And they sang and danced, before, during, and long after the run.

""Come let's run and dance for others!" they changed in Swahili as they circled around a woman squatting on the ground, poinding on a plastic oil can."

The run generated more than $47,000 to aid women in the Congo. This was such an amazing story about courageous, strong, beautiful women. It made my heart feel full. Even in the darkest, most disparged parts of the world, there is beauty, kindness, and love.

If you need to feel inspired, check out this article in the August edition of Runners World and then listen to ONE DAY by Matisayu and then I'll STAND BY YOU by the Glee Cast.

I promise you'll feel like you really can make a difference :)