Mission Accomplished

I finished Mockingjay yesterday and yes, I did make it all the way through without reading the end. It was physically hard at times not to read the end and I actually don't know if I enjoyed it better. However, I spent yesterday reading because I knew I would never make it if I didn't read it fast. So did I like it?

***Spoilers*** (Don't read this if you don't want hints about the ending.)
I'm still processing this book. Yes, I loved it. It was a page turner but there were some things at the end that I said, 'Really? After all she does to protect some people they still die?' Although I was very confused at times who she should end up with there was always one boy I wanted her to end up with. So I was happy about the final choice but I felt a little sad about how Katniss got to that decision. I want to say it was contrived but it does fit into the plot and there are hints throughout the book about what will happen. I guess part of my problem was that I had no idea how Collins was going to end it and since I didn't know the ending I haven't had time to prepare for what happens.

Mockingjay is different from the other books. Katniss spends a lot of time as a mentally unstable person and not the strong young girl we saw in the first two books. That was frustrating at times but I think it's true. After going through so much you would break down at times and then be strong when you had to be. Anyway, I'm happy I've read it now and I know how it ends. Bryan said that if I read it without reading the end he would buy me something nice. There is another book coming out next week that I want and so I will go buy it as a reward for my patience.

Additional note: I've had a few days to think about it, and I still liked it because I like the characters, but I do feel there were some flaws in this book. I like the VERY ending because I wanted her with Peeta but how she gets there just didn't feel right to me. Oh well, I didn't write it and so I'll have to live with how the author saw things happening.

Friday Night Pizza

Friday night is always pizza night at our home: Pizza and a movie. This time Lucas invited his friend to come over. I had to take a picture of their pizzas. Lucas had his standard of pepperoni with no cheese. What surprised me is that his friend put HARDLY any cheese on his pizza. What are they thinking? No cheese on pizza. I think they're both crazy.

This is what a pizza should look like. Pepperoni, sausage, fresh basil (my slice of course), and LOTS of cheese! We took our pizzas, spread out the blanket in the family room and watched Harry Potter. Everyone had a fun night--even the boys with no cheese on their pizzas.

To All The BYU Haters

For All the BYU Haters from Furious Monkey on Vimeo.

Mockingjay

The third and last book to 'The Hunger Games' series comes out on Tuesday of next week. I've posted before about my issues with reading the ends of the books first. I've been thinking about this book in particular and wanting to open it to the last page and read how it ends. The truth is I do enjoy the suspense when I don't know the ending but I usually can't help myself. So--any suggestions? How do I read it and not skip ahead? I could try reading it really fast but next week is a busy one for me and so I don't know if that's even possible. Maybe stay up Tuesday night until it's done? Book club is at my home that night so do you think my friends will be offended if I read while we have book club? If you have any helpful hints let me know--I'm open to suggestions.

Annual GFL

The first weekend in August we headed to Idaho for the GFL draft. This year we were able to spend a couple of days in the mountains at the Clegg cabin (Jennilynn's family). The boys did lots of fun things; the lake, swinging, smores, playing in the sandbox, and going for a walk with Uncle Jeff. Unfortunately, Grandma Garner was not well and the weekend for her was spent mainly in the hospital. She went from the cabin to the ER. She is doing well now and we are all happy that she is. It was scary!
(For more info you can go to her blog at http://grandmaandgrandpagarner.blogspot.com/)
This is a model forest that the kids all made in the sandbox. It was so cute and they were all so proud of it.
The events of the draft were scaled back because of grandma's hospital stay but we still went swimming and had pizza the day of the draft.
I love the way their shirts turned out. They looked so cute. It's too bad that one wash ruined the iron ons. We used to make shirts all the time for Lucas and that never happened. I don't know why but it looks like we'll have to make shirts next year for the Yodas.
This year was fun because our team has won over 100 games through the years. We received a clock in commemoration. It now sits on my little desk in the living room, I love looking at it!