Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

** Please forgive me for the lack of character in this post. I've been traveling and am publishing from my phone**

Now on to Bernadette ...  I enjoyed the book and was taken by the twist at the end. Like most books it took me a while to get into it , but once I made time to read I really loved the book. I found the mother/daughter relationship to be the most intriguing part of the book. The book is told from Bee's point of view -- and she thought her mother hung the moon. I liked seeing Bernadette from Bee's perspective because it was honest about her crazy habits and strange tendencies, yet it showed she did have the heart to care about someone. 

At the beginning of the book I thought Elgie was a hard-working father who was just consumed with his work, but as the truth unraveled I began to think he used work to escape his life. I think he used it to escape Bernadette and her shenanigans and to escape the delapidating Striaght Gate. Do you agree? 

On the Straight Gate note -- do you think the property is symbolic of Bernadette and her life? It has huge potential, but lacks care  and love so it is crumbling around the family as they live together yet apart. 

Antarctica -- how random is that?? I found it interesting that  Bernadette and Elgie promised Bee anything she wanted if her grades were a certain standard. Bee chose to visit Antarctica. I learned a lot about the continent and was fascinated by the details Maria Sempler, the author, included. Do you honk rewarding grades and behaviors that are expected is okay? My famy just discussed this last weekend and we land all over the map in how we feel. 

What did you think about the writing structure? I thought it helped make this book a quick read. I enjoyed getting varying stories and perspectives on the same events in the book. Were you completely thrown for a loop at the end with Audrey's long confession? That made me have a little more compassion for her! 

At the end,, when all the pieces to the puzzle came out, I was dumbfounded as how smart and strategic  Maria Sempler is. I cannot imagine writing a book with so many secrets, varying points-of-view, and the literal man-hunt for Bernadette. I commend Maria for her work and rumor has it ttgat a film company has bought the rights to the book to turn it into a movie soon! 

I truly enjoyed this book and I look forward to hearing what you think, too. This is a very free book club -- you can answer the questions posed or you can leave your own thoughts. Please leave comments and we can interact about Bernadette. 

The next book and date will be announced on Monday. Two weeks from today is  July fourth, so perhaps well do Thursday that week. Take care and have a good weekend!! 

The Beach!

Tyler and I love the beach and we discovered that our girls do, too! We took our first ever vacation as a family (that wasn't a PCS) last week and had the best time. We hung out on the beach, played in the pool, rode the carousel, ate out, ordered in, napped, and just enjoyed each other.

Tyler took her on the carousel. I so enjoyed watching them come around each time and I love that he is getting to experience new things with her. Although she has always been fun, Caroline just keeps getting more and more fun!!

**Prepare for picture overload**

This year was quite different than last -- Tyler was here, I wasn't 10 months pregnant, and Caroline LOVED it! My family joined us for the second weekend of our trip and then the girls and I stayed for a few extra days with my Mom. I feel like a spoiled beach bum -- thank you, Tyler for letting me stay home with the girls and vacation with my Mom!!

Six Years

Tyler and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on Saturday .. SIX!! We kicked the weekend off with a ball Thursday night. I do have to say Army Balls are one of the perks of the Army ... you get to dress up, have a nice dinner and socialize all night with the friends you've made in the unit.

Friday we had a date day that included the driving range, a movie, dinner out and reading on the couch that night. Yay for six fabulous years ... I am excited about what lies ahead.

Virtual Book Club

I have found that many bloggers and friends of mine are trying to read more. Read for fun, read to learn, read to escape, whatever the reason we want to read more. In light of this, I have decided to start a virtual book club for the summer. We will begin on Friday, June 20 with the book Where'd You Go, Bernadette? 

On June 20 I will pose a few questions on my blog and you can choose to respond in the comments section or to write your own review and link-up to my blog on that day. Anyone -- blogger or non-blogger -- is welcome to join. I hope that this will be a fun way to interact throughout the summer!

TV Shows

Caroline does not get to watch a lot of television and she most certainly does not flip through the TV to choose what looks good. I have introduced her to a number of new shows over the last few months. She becomes obsessed with the new show and rarely goes back to the previous one.

Her old favorite, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,  is the only Disney show she has been able to watch. She hasn't watched it in months, so I'm not sure if she is over it or forgot about it. The other shows she has been introduced to are from PBS. They include: Clifford, Curious George, Madeline (DVD not PBS), and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

Most recently I introduced Super Why! I was afraid to introduce this because I didn't want to deal with the "Why" question before she started with it, but I LOVE this show. Super why .. the power to read. She LOVES it, too. This show is all about using books to find answers to solve problems. Letter recognition, letter sounds, and writing are all woven in each episode -- what's not to love. We recently bought a spelling wand at Target and she is having more fun than ever -- participating in writing words with Princess Pea on the show.

If you haven't seen it, check it out. PBS, 11 am EST.