From The Shelf

A MAN ON THE MOON: THE VOYAGES OF THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS - Wow! That's pretty much the first word that comes to mind when I think about how to describe this book. This is such a great...GREAT...book! As the title suggests, this is simply a detailed history of the entire Apollo Space program in the 1960's and early 70's. You begin the book as NASA is coming out of the Mercury and Gemini programs, and Kennedy is making his historic speech at Rice University (the one about the United States sending a man to the moon and back within ten years.) From then on each chapter is a different Apollo mission. There are so many fascinating stories here, I don't know where to begin. The tragic fire that killed 3 astronauts on Apollo 1, the astronauts of Apollo 8 reading the book of Genesis on live TV as they orbited the moon, the historic Apollo 11 landing on the moon with Neil and Buzz, and of course the near disaster of Apollo 13. But there are so many stories here that most people don't know, like how the geological discoveries of Apollo 15, 16, and 17 did more for lunar science than all the other Apollo missions combined. This book has it all. It's truly a fascinating read. Here you get all the details about every Apollo mission, right down to how the astronauts go to the bathroom in zero gravity (back in those days it got quite messy.) I've read a lot of great non-fiction books over the years. Titles like INTO THE WILD, MANHUNT, INTO THIN AIR, UNDAUNTED COURAGE, and ENDURANCE. I'm going to put this book on that list. It's really that good.

Dinosaur Cove

This is a series of books that Ben and I have been reading a lot lately. They're a lot like the Magic Tree House Books with short chapters and occasional pictures on every other page. In the Dinosaur Cove books, two boys who are around 10 find a secret world where dinosaurs are still alive. In each book they encounter a different species of dinosaur. I found two of these at the book store in Estes Park. I had never heard of the series and I knew right away Ben would love them. Since then we've gotten two more via Amazon.com. He really enjoys them, and I think these books have inspired his new "Fossil Hunting" activity in the backyard (read below.)

Fossil Hunting

Ben's new thing right now is going in the woods in the backyard and going "Fossil Hunting." He basically looks for rocks and pretends their "ammonites." Him and Megan put on their backpacks and go hiking in the woods. It's pretty funny.

Super Heroes!

This past week Ben's friend Kelvyn came over to play. Soon after Kelvyn arrived the two of them changed into Ben's super hero costumes and they started running around the house chasing pretend bad guys.

Whiting Forest

This morning we took a hike at the Whiting Forest with our friends the Manchesters (Nicholas, William, and their dad Andy.) Whiting Forest isn't that special...at least when you compare it to our Nature Center or Dow Gardens. But there is one nice thing about it that the other forests don't have....forts. There's about 7 forts throughout the whole woods. Kids can hunt for them, climb on them, and explore. It's a great idea for an otherwise ordinary stretch of woods. Anyway, it was a fun morning as you can see. A nice walk in the woods.

Meet Tom!

Allow me to introduce the newest member of the family...Tom...our goldfish. After the Aquasaurs finally died off (thank God) I took the kids to Petsmart and we picked out a goldfish. I asked Ben to come up with a name for the fish and he came up with "Tom." I have no idea where it came from...but that's what he came up with.
Anyway....meet Tom.

Life At Random

Some of the highlights from this past week include Megan's new baby stroller for her dolls...and a trip to the Loons game to see Lou E. Loon.

Life At Random - Estes Park Edition

Here's some random pictures from our week in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a great trip. The kids had a great time, and we were all sad to come home. Anyway...enjoy!