February Highlights

Happy Leap Day everyone! I hope you all have had a wonderful February! 

I just thought that I'd share with you a few of my highlights from February. 

Well, spring is definitely coming. For the past two weeks the weather has been in the 50's. It's been so nice. :) There have been a bunch of robins around and the crocuses are coming up! I love all of the pretty flowers of spring, and the nice weather. The only thing I don't like about spring is all of the bugs.

                                                     The first sign of spring!

Valentines Day was a couple weeks ago. It was fun, but we didn't do much. :)

I've been getting really excited for the Iditarod that starts on Saturday! :)

I watched all of season 1 and 2 of When Calls the Heart to get ready for season 3 that just started! I'm SO excited!! I absolutely LOVE that show!!! I could talk about it all day long! :)

I have also read some really good books this month. I've read:

"Christy Miller" volume 1 by Robin Jones Gunn

"Heart of the Wilderness" by Janette Oke

"A Distant Melody" by Sarah Sundin

"A Memory Between Us" by Sarah Sundin

"The Secret of Shady Glenn" by Carolyn Keene 

"Blue Skies Tomorrow" by Sarah Sundin

I am looking forward to more springish days ahead! 

Have a great day!! :)

The Iditarod

Each spring for the past few years I have enjoyed following the Iditarod. It is coming up next weekend so I thought I'd share a little bit about the race and how it got started.

     In January of 1925 there was an epidemic of diphtheria in Nome, Alaska. They didn't have any antitoxin serum so they requested some. The nearest place to get serum was in Anchorage, one thousand miles away. It was brought by train but could only make it to Nenana because of the weather. In Nenana they put the carefully packed bottles of serum on the first of twenty sleds in a relay to Nome. Bill Shannon was the first of twenty mushers to leave on the nearly 700 mile snow-packed mail trail. This is what helped start the Iditarod.
     In 1973 the first Iditarod was run in honor of The Great Serum Race and to save the dog sled culture and Alaskan huskies which were being phased out because of the introduction of snow mobiles. Thirty-five mushers started the race but only twenty-two finished. Dick Wilmarth was the first to finish, it took him twenty days.
     The Iditarod starts the first Saturday in March. During the even years they take the northern route which is 975 miles and during the odd years they take the southern route which is 998 miles. They used to only take the northern trail but after several years the Iditarod Board of Directors thought it would be best to have a southern route because the smaller villages were being heavily impacted. In taking the southern route the mushers would be able to go through the ghost town of Iditarod and other smaller villages would be able to participate in the race.
It now takes the winner about nine days to complete the Iditarod. The first place winner gets a Dodge Ram, about $50,000, and a trophy. The next twenty-nine people get a percentage of the purse and everybody after that gets $1,049 and the last person to cross the finish line gets a red lantern award.
     What started out as a race to bring attention to the sled teams and the Alaskan huskies is now a very popular event that a lot of people attend and even more follow on the internet or the television.


Well, I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about this fun race. If you're interested in knowing more you can visit the Iditarod website here. 

A Distant Melody

From the Back Cover:

Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval- even marry a man she doesn't love. While Allie has nearly resigned herself to that fate, Lt. Walter Novak-fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women-takes his last furlough home in California before being shipped overseas.

Walt and Allie meet and begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt's muddy bomber base in England and Allie's mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart?

"A Distant Melody" is the first book in the Wings of Glory series. This is also the first book that I've read by Sarah Sundin. It was a really good book and I can't wait to read more by this author!

I give this book 9 out of 10 R's

The Spectacular Book Tag

Jonathan from The Second Brother tagged me for this fun book tag.

The Rules. :)

1. Answer the questions

2. Tag 3 to 5 bloggers

Here are the questions and my answers!

1. What are your favorite book covers?

I really like the covers of "The Love Letters" by Beverly Lewis, "A Revelation in Autumn" by Wanda Brunstetter, "The Sacrifice" by Beverly Lewis, "The Guardian" by Beverly Lewis, and "Child of Mine" by David and Beverly Lewis. 

As you can tell I really like covers that have babies and little kids on them. : ) 

2. What are your favorite book titles?
I like the title of the Dear America book, "Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie". 

3. Have you read a book and didn't know why they named it that and what was the title?
Not that I can think of. 

4. Have you read a book with a character that made you mad?
There are quite a few, but I'll just mention two.
1. Isabel Dinsmore from the Millie Keith books.
2. Ada Lambright from "A Cousin's Promise" by Wanda Brunstetter.

5. Is there someone or something from a book you would never want to come across?

I would never want to come across the hex doctor from "The Postcard". 

6. If you could meet a character in person from a book who would it be?

I would love to meet Mille Keith from the "A Life of Faith" series. 

7. What book are you currently reading?
I am currently reading "A Memory Between Us" by Sarah Sundin. I am also re-reading "A Gown of Spanish Lace" by Janette Oke because it is so good. :) Also I am reading "Little House in the Big Woods" for fun. I usually don't read this many books at a time, but for some reason I am. :)

8. Have you read a book that made you cry?

"The Sacrifice" by Beverly Lewis was so sad and I almost cried.

9. What is the weirdest book you read? 

That would be "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle.

10. What is the worst book/series you ever read?
"The Postcard" by Beverly Lewis is the worst book I've ever read. I like all of Beverly Lewis' books, but this one is awful!

11. If you could only read one more book the entire year what would it be?

That is a very hard question! I hope that that would never happen, but if it did then I would probably choose the fourth Circle C Milestone book by Susan K. Marlow

Here is a list of the questions to make it easier to copy them. ;)

1. What are your favorite book covers?

2. What are your favorite book titles?

3. Have you read a book and didn't know why they named it that and what was the title?

4. Have you read a book with a character that made you mad?

5. Is there someone or something from a book you would never want to come across?

6. If you could meet a character in person from a book who would it be?

7. What book are you currently reading?

8. Have you read a book that made you cry?

9. What is the weirdest book you read? 

10. What is the worst book/series you ever read?

11. If you could only read one more book the entire year what would it be?

I am going to tag:
Blessing Counter
Emily McConnell
Lauren Stoner

James

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day! :) 

Do you have anything special planned for the day? 

We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 NASB

When Calls the Heart

From the Back Cover:

Elizabeth Thatcher is young, pretty, cultured, and educated. But when she journeys west to teach school in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, she's completely unprepared for the conditions she encounters. Still, she's determined to succeed at the formidable task of fitting in with the locals and shaping the hearts and minds of the schoolchildren in her care. 

She's just as determined not to give her heart to any of the local frontiersmen. Until she meets Wynn Delaney, a member the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...

I really enjoyed reading "When Calls the Heart". It is the first book in the Canadian West series. It is an enjoyable book and quite funny in places. 

I give this book 9 out of 10 R's

Infinity Dreams Award

Jesseca from Whimsical Writings tagged me for this fun tag. 

Here are the rules:

--Use the Infinity Dreams Award picture

--Thank the blogger who tagged you

--Tell us 11 facts about yourself

--Answer the 11 question

--Tag 11 bloggers

Here are 11 facts about me! 

1. I have been playing the violin for 12 years.

2. I have braces and I always like to pick my rubber band colors depending on which holiday is coming up next. Like right now I have pink for Valentines Day. 

3. My favorite color is blue. :)

4. I am not very fond of animals. 

5. I LOVE the TV series "When Calls the Heart"!!! 

6. I always wear colorful socks.

7. I crave ice. It is so good. :)

8. I have only moved to a different home one time.

9. I love to follow the Iditarod each year.

10. I really like babies and little kids, I also love to babysit.

11. My favorite winter activity is sledding. 

Now for the questions!

1. What is your favorite movie?

Well, I would say "When Calls the Heart", but since that's a TV series and not a movie than my favorite movie would probably be "The Redemption of Henry Myers".

2. Favorite genre of books?

I really like Amish fiction. I also enjoy stories that take place in the late 1800's including the Oregon Trail.

3. Books that are releasing in 2016 you are looking forward to reading?

"The Atonement" by Beverly Lewis
"The Wish" by Beverly Lewis

"The Quieting" by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The last Circle C Milestone book by Susan K. Marlow

4. If you could travel anywhere in the U.S., where would you go?

I would LOVE to go to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania again. : ) 

I would also like to go to Alaska sometime. 

5. Do you play any instruments?

Yes. I play the violin.

6. What is your favorite classical song?

I don't listen to a whole lot of classical music, but I do enjoy playing it on my violin. My favorites are Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, 1st Mvt. by Vivaldi and The Boy Paganini by Mollenhauer.

7. Surprise! You've just been given a ticket to meet your favorite author! Who is it?

Beverly Lewis! She has written a bunch of great Amish fiction books. It would be so cool to meet her. 

8. Favorite outdoor activity?

Sitting on the porch glider and reading a good book. ;)

9. Would you rather do laundry or clean the kitchen? (I know, I'm making you work ;P)

I would rather do laundry. I do the laundry in our family anyway and I enjoy it. Plus I love the smell of laundry soap, it is so wonderful. :)

10. What is your favorite book of the Bible and why is it your favorite?

I really like Philippians and Psalms because a lot of my favorite, encouraging verses come from those books.

11. Who is your favorite historical character and why?

Laura Ingalls Wilder because I've always been fascinated with that time period.


I am not going to tag anyone, but if someone wants to do this then go ahead! 

My Siblings Blogs

Just recently three of my siblings started a blog of their own. They wanted some free advertisement, so they've asked me to announce their blogs. My sister has an art blog showcasing her work and my younger brothers blogs are a little eclectic.
I Am Addyson
The Second Brother
Idaho Spud