Disneyland 2008

In what little spare time I now have, I'm still working on our Disneyland 2008 video. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of our trip.

Reed, Christina, Abby, Tyler, and Charlie all ready to enjoy a long and fun day at Disneyland. Little do they know what is in store for them!

Our first ride was on Finding Nemo, the newest Disneyland ride. I think Reed enjoyed it.

At the end of our first night we enjoyed a nice meal at Rainforest Cafe, even if they did lose our reservation.

Tyler, Abby and Charlie spent the night with us in Anaheim while Christine and Reed went back to spend the night with Jeff and Mark. But the next morning offered us a chance to dine with some of our favorite Disney characters. And the food was yummy!


And sometimes you just luck out. It's a Small World was closed, sparing us of having to ride. But I was soooo sad....

...so we took a side-trip over to California Adventures where Tyler, Abby, Charlie and Kent decided to try their luck on Grizzly Rapids.


We all got wet, but Charlie won the award for getting the wettest.


We were able to shop a little and found some new toys, including Reed's new favorite toy. Can you hear his parents praying the batteries wear out?

Well, it was a wonderful trip. We are looking forward to going back. The kids were so fun to be with, so polite and good. Way to go guys!

Disneyland Part 1: Tea Cups

Abby and I watched as "the men" made themselves sick on Alice in Wonderland's Tea Cups. Our trip was so much fun. We'll be posting more pictures of our trip soon.

Review - Mr. Monk in Outer Space

Earlier this week I finished Mr. Monk in Outer Space by Lee Goldberg. This was the fifth Monk book I have read.

The title is misleading. I was thinking somehow Monk would actually make it to outerspace. And the cover art indicates Monk ends up in a hazmat suit. Neither happen. Instead Monk is called on to investigate the death of the creator of a cult-classic TV program Beyond Earth (think Star Trek). He finally connects all his dots to figure out which "earther" (trekie) was the killer.

I didn't think this book was as funny or clever as the others. And I am especially miffed the title and cover art are so misleading. But I am still a fan of the books, recommending them. In fact, DeeAnn recently completed reading Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu. I am looking forward to this summer when Mr. Monk Goes to Germany comes out.

There are a few bad words in the book, but not too offensive. The book was 274 pages and was a very quick book to read.

Now it's on to The Time Thief by Linda Buckley-Archer.

Review - The Appeal

This morning before I left for work I finished The Appeal by John Grisham. The library bought two copies, both in large print and the reading was surprisingly easier than regular print. However, that is not an admission of anything.

Grisham has returned to his legal roots with this book. The premise of the book is simple. A large corporation is sued and found liable for a huge sum of money. A young lawyer is recruited to run for a Mississippi state supreme court seat so that he can be the swing vote to overturn the verdict and rule in favor of the corporation who will continue to dump toxic waste and corrupt the justice system.

The details are in the subplots. First there is the story of the cancer victims of the massive corporation. Second is the story of the husband and wife lawyers who take on the corporation and its lawyers at all costs, both personal and professional. Third is the story of the corporate titan who is only concerned about money and power and believes he can buy anything and everyone. Fifth is the team of political operatives who manipulate the election . And lastly is the story of the young lawyer who believes he can do good but must ultimately decide between good and evil. Will he do the right thing or will he continue uphold his campaign promises?

The book was good though it would not be appropriate for a child. Needless to say they would not understand the greed, politics, and law the book deals with. While I enjoyed this book, I really felt Grisham is getting boring and old. Still, it something I could recommend to those interested in his past legal thrillers.

The next book? I don't know yet!

Still Crazy After All These Years

Yes, Lexie is still crazy. Due to immense popularity of her first movie, she agreed to make a sequel. In this she only pretends to be insane. I think she gives a pretty convincing performance. Don't you?