Severinsen Family BBQ

Last week, some of my relatives that live out of town were here for a visit. We ended up using that as a perfect excuse for a Severinsen Family BBQ. There were a lot of cousins and spouses and kids that I have not seen for quite a long time! Plus in the last year, there have been 8 new babies born. So it was really fun to have a chance to all catch up. Just about everyone was able to make it and we missed those that couldn't be there for one reason or another.

Here are the pics that I took of each family. I somehow missed taking the picture of my Uncle Lynn's family. I didn't realize what they were all doing until too late. If I can get one of my cousins to email me the picture I'll add it later.

We really had a nice turnout. Of the 65 members of the family (my family, aunts, uncles, cousins, theirs spouses and their kids), 56 were there! 4 family members that live out of town weren't able to make it. And then the timing overlapped with a couple of previously planned trips. So, not too bad! The BBQ was great. Everyone brought fantastic food, and best of all, there were 3 kinds of homemade ice cream! YUM! Here are just some random pictures that I took throughout the evening.

It's been way too long since we all got together or even communicated in some way other than blogs and facebook! Hopefully we can make this a tradition in the future!

Pictures

Today, I was downloading pics off of my camera so that I could make room to take pictures at a family BBQ tonight. I decided that while I was at it, I should finally figure out how to do some of the fun picture albums that I've seen on other people's blogs.

These pictures are from the 4th of July up in Henefer. I went riding 4'wheelers with Scott, Kelli-Rae, my cousins Amy and Eric and some of their friends. Let's see how this works out! My favorite one has to be the close up of Amy! We all had a blast and were extremely dirty by the end of the day!

Travel Agent

Sometimes I feel like I really should have gotten a job as a travel agent. I mean, I'm pretty much my families unofficial travel agent already! Whenever my parents want to go on a trip, either with the family or just the two of them, I'm told where they want to go and when. Then it's up to me to find flights, hotels, car rentals. I even help them find what attractions are near by. I used to always have to figure out all of the maps and directions to everything as well, but dad's learned the joys of map quest and so he usually takes care of that himself.

Anyways, my parents are currently in San Diego. They decided to take advantage of the JetBlue flights there before it gets cancelled. There is a particular hotel that they've stayed at numerous times, and loved. So of course, that's where we booked them. Then yesterday morning, I get a phone call about how horrible the hotel is this time, and the staff are just completely rude. So now, I'm scrambling to find them something better! I'm happy to say that I succeeded! I got a phone call about 20 minutes after they had checked into the new hotel, and it was like night and day. But now I just need to get them new maps and directions of where to go!

lol, Maybe I missed my true calling! I should be planning trips! I guess for now though, I'll just be content with being the family travel agent. Time to start planning for Hawaii in May!

Favorite Authors and Genres

So, I thought that it'd be fun to add links to a few of my favorite authors websites and blogs onto my own blog. But as a started adding, I just couldn't narrow it down to only a few! LOL, I think I've ended up with over 20, and I would be surprised if I don't think of a few more to add later! I just wanted to mention some of them briefly for anyone looking for some new authors to read. I'm sure that some of them I'll end up bringing up in more detail later, especially when they have new books released.

A few of the authors are ones that I've followed since I was a teenager. They are LDS authors that I've always enjoyed, like Anita Stansfield, Jennie Hansen and Rachel Ann Nunes. Their books are some of the first that really got me hooked on reading. A couple of the other authors that I've loved in the same genre are Gerald N Lund and Nancy Campbell Allen. They don't have their own webpage's, so I couldn't add links! Of all of those, my favorite series was probably Allen's "Faith of our Father's" series. They are set during the civil war, and highlight characters both in the North, South, and a little bit from the church members already settled in Utah. If you really aren't into LDS fiction, but still love history, give these a try. The Church is only a very small part of these books, mostly because they weren't affected by the war too much since they had already moved to Utah.

Dan Brown, John Grisham and Vince Flynn are my favorite authors when I'm looking for a great action novel. Flynn is by far my favorite in this genre. He writes political thrillers, with his main character, Mitch Rapp, being a CIA agent. The first book of the series, "Transfer of Power", revolves around a group of terrorists that are intent on taking over the White House and killing the President. It was extremely intriguing to see the way that different members of the government react in very different ways to the crisis. Vince Flynn is one of the best action writers that I have ever read. Once you've started reading his series, you'll want to read them all!

Just about all of the rest of the authors that I have links for would fall into either the Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance genres. I find it really kinda funny that I am so into those genres lately. When I was growing up, I hated fantasy novels! If the things in the book couldn't happen in real life, then I didn't want to read it. I never even read the "Chronicles of Narnia" when I was younger. I was more of a Nancy Drew and Thoroughbred Horse Racing girl. When Harry Potter really started to make a name for itself, I did read that series, and loved it. Same with Twilight. But still, I really wasn't into reading anything else fantasy. Then, Kelli-Rae told me that I had to read the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, and I have been hooked ever since! For about the last year and a half, that's about all that I've read! I just can't get enough of vampires and werewolves/shifters. Throw in a few witches, wizards, and fae and I'm happy!

3 favorite authors in the genre:

Charlaine Harris - Her best series is her Sookie Stackhouse books. It has lots of different paranormal elements, but vampires are the main focus. The first book is called "Dead Until Dark." If you've watched (or heard about) the show True Blood on HBO, this is the series that the show is based off of. I also really like her Harper Connely series, but it's more of an acquired taste. Not everyone would probably love it. I haven't read her mystery series yet, but hopefully I'll get around to them soon.

Patricia Briggs - Her Mercedes Thompson, shifter series easily tops the list. I just love her characters. Mercedes is a were-coyote and most of her neighbors and friends are either werewolves, vampires or fae. If you've never read Urban Fantasy, this is one that I'd recommend. I love novels with a strong, kick-ass female lead. That perfectly describes Mercy. She never lets anyone push her around, not even her neighbor and friend, Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack. WARNING THOUGH! I have had a lot of people not want to read this series because of the covers. For some odd reason that I really can't fathom, the covers make Mercy look like she's a slut. She is FAR from it! In fact, while there is some romance in this series, it plays just a tiny part in the story. And all of it's clean. Please, don't judge this book by it's cover! Start with "Moon Called"

Richelle Mead - Her young adult series, "Vampire Academy" is an all time favorite. It's one of those series that just keeps getting better and better. So far, there are 3 books released. And I have been waiting very impatiently for the 4th book to come out later this month. Mead has several other series as well. I've only read the first book in her Succubus series, but enjoyed it. And I've heard good things about her other books as well.

Hope this gave some ideas to people of what to read next!

The Hunger Games

I just finished re-reading one of the best books that I've read all year. It easily makes the top 5, possibly even the top spot. The book is called "The Hunger Games", and it's by Suzanne Collins. This is the first book of a Young Adult trilogy, but really it's a book that anyone would love. Kelli-Rae originally read it and lent it to me. I really apologize for how long this post is probably going to end up being. I usually don't like really long blog posts, but I'm pretty passionate about this book! So, it's going to be hard for me to limit myself on what I say!

Before I talk about the book, let me just give an example of how engrossing it is. My mom really enjoys reading, but she's never been someone that will just sit and read for hours on end and finish a book in just a few days. Typically, it takes her a month or so to read a book, especially if she's reading it during the school year. She's too busy with work and everything to read. She's never really understood how I sometimes would rather stay up all night finishing a book instead of sleeping. Also, if she isn't really interested in the book, she's not likely to finish it. I can't tell you how many books she has with a bookmark about 100 pages in, that she's never finished. Anyways, after I finished The Hunger Games, I told me mom what a great book it was, and she decided to give it a try. I believe that she started reading on a Thursday afternoon once she got home from work. For the next couple of days, I rarely saw her put it down! She would walk around the house carrying the book, and when she had a minute or 2, she opened it up just to read another page. She was done with the book sometime on Saturday. I have NEVER in 27 years, seen my mom read a book that fast! Especially not a book that's almost 400 pages long! If that doesn't make you want to think about reading this book, hopefully my description of it will.

The book takes place in an alternate reality. Imagine our country in the future. There have been wars, famine, natural disasters, and a completely and total breakdown of our government and country. What is left is a country called Panem, which consists of the Capital and 12 districts throughout the nation. While the Capital is very wealthy, the districts are very pour. There's no welfare system. You are completely on your own. And the laws are brutal. If you break them, you'll either be subjected to a whipping or more likely be killed. This is not a fun country to grow up in. The main character is a 16-year old girl named Katniss. She is quite the survivor. At the age of 11, her father is killed in a mine explosion and she becomes the soul provider for her mother and little sister Prim. Every day, Katniss and her best friend Gale risk their lives by breaking the law, sneaking under the fence that surrounds their district and going into the woods to hunt, fish, and gather plants and berries. Anything that their family doesn't need for food gets traded on the black market for essentials. Although life is far from pleasant, Katniss and her family are surviving well enough.

But then comes Reaping Day when everything changes. Once a year, the Capital holds The Hunger Games. It's basically their way of showing the districts who is in charge, and who has all the control. 1 boy and 1 girl (called Tributes) from each of the districts has to compete in the ultimate game of survivor. Only one of the 24 will leave the arena alive. Katniss becomes one of the tributes and now she is literally in the fight of her life. She just has to hope that her brains, and nerve, and talent will be enough to keep her alive. She also has to decided who she can trust, or if she can trust anyone. What are people's ulterior motives for what they say and do?

This book has everything! Action, suspense, mystery, friendship, romance, humor in the most unlikely places, and a great psychological element! Once you start reading, you can't put the book down. And then you come to the last page, where it says "End of Book 1" and you wish that you had a time machine to go forward to the day the next book is released! I can't even tell you how much I recommend this book to everyone! Also, as a side note. After I finished reading the book, I ended up having to find a copy of the audio book. It's a fantastic version as well. Also, the second book, Catching Fire, will be released on September 1st.

LOL, I did warn you that I am passionate about this book! I wasn't exaggerating!