Heaven loves little boys

I came across this series of pictures while visiting the blog and realized that I didn't post them. Tigger and Roo are good friends who have grown, even in the time since these pictures were taken. Tigger's goose egg in the last picture was from a weight machine smacking him pretty good. He was fine, although he did have that bump for two days. 

Audible Book Review - The Hero's Guide to Saving your Kingdom by Bhristopher Healy, League of Princes, book 1

Having wrapped up the available Finishing School books I was trying to find something to get with my credit that Angel might like. It just so happened that the Audie Awards nominees were up. As I was perusing them I came across The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw, read by a favorite narrator of mine, Bronson Pinchot. I read the description, then went and looked at the first and second books in the series and thought it look interesting. I am here to say that not only was it interesting but it is fantastic! Bronson Pinchot is an amazing reader and does a fantastic job with each of the characters, even narrating goblins correctly (i.e. goblins sound like they have a mouth full of gelatin and that sounded about right). Angel hasn't used her credit yet and I'm trying to convince her to pick up the second book in the series with it, but I've been unsuccessful so far. Here is a link to the Audible page for the book. I'm looking forward to sharing Bronson's Pinchot's performance with my kids when they get just a little older.

Plot: You've heard how Prince Charming rescued Snow White, kissed Sleeping Beauty, saved Rapunzel, and won the heart of Cinderella. What you may not know is that Prince Charming is just what those idiot bards called the four separate princes who actually did those things. Prince Frederic, Prince Gustav, Prince Liam, and Prince Duncan all rather dislike being a Prince Charming. They all have their different reasons, but the fact of the matter is that they have this in common. It's those blasted bards' fault that no one knows the real them. However, when someone begins kidnapping the bards with horrible and malicious murder on their mind someone has to save the day. So, it is up to the imperfect but determined League of Princes [Charming] to do it.

My personal favorites: Hands down one of the best performances I have ever heard. In addition to the great voice the story was a lot of fun. It felt like a middle grade book with twenty-something year old characters (with the exception of the bandit king), but it didn't feel awkward or out of place. The writing was clean and pacing was great. I liked the way the princes were able to get their differing abilities in order and the pay off. There were funny parts and stand up and cheer parts. The princesses were awesome as well. They were strong without the men being week. Everyone was competent in their own way, even Duncan and Fredric.

Considerations: I have no difficulty in recommending this book to anyone. I think my seven-year old would enjoy listening to it, but I might be a little over eager.

I'm already planning on re-listening to it soon (probably while waiting for my next credit). I also can't wait for my own "princes charming" (ages five years and six months) can listen to it. It was fantstic and I can't wait to listen to the others. The total length was just over nine hours.

Audible Book Review - Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carrier, Finishing School Book the Third

This is the most recent of the Finishing school books to come out, so we have a wait for the fourth. That is I think there is going to be a fourth - or rather there better be. Again, I finished this a while ago, but haven't reviewed it due to classes and work. I'm learning how this series is fitting into the Gail's others and this book seems to have some key information about The Custard Protocol, her latest new story line. At least from what I could tell from reading some book summaries. Here is a link to Audible's page for the book. A fun thing about this performance, it uses music from "the official music video" for the series and even has the whole song availalbe as the last "chapter" in the audio file. I like the video so I've include it here. The series continues to be narrated by Moira Quirk who is an utter delight to listen to.

Plot: Sophronia has been at finishing school for about eighteen months now, well into her second year, and is learning all kinds of fun things. For one, they are learning seduction now and Sophronia is curious how she can apply it. Things are certainly more interesting between her, Lord Mersey and Soap. Especially when she and her Dimnity plan on attending her brother's engagement ball. However, she is very worried when Sidhaeg gets word from home that things have gone upside-down in her werewolf pack. What results is a wild chase involving a train, vampire drones, picklemen, a dirigible, the Queen's own wolf - the Dewan. Things are about to change for Sophronia and she has some important decisions to make.

My personal favorites: This book had much for of an adventure feel, particularly the parts with the train. I continued to like the characters and their personalities. Soap was delightful, as always, and I even could sympathize with Felix. Sidhaeg's troubles were relate-able and her determination was inspiring. Overall this book opens several questions, probably more than it answered, and it certainly left me ready for more.

Considerations: There are a few more references to sensuality than the last two books, but still within what I consider appropriate. There was nothing graphic and I don't have a problem recommending this book to anyone.

I don't know how long we will need to wait until the next book comes out. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, but it was satisfactory to me. I talked to my sister about the other books by Gail Carrier and while I may not get into those, I heartily recommend these books. The total length was just shy of nine hours.

Audible Book Review - 1634: The Baltic War by Eric Flint and David Weber, Ring of Fire book 3

I actually finished this book a while ago and have just now sat down to write the review. This is mainly due to starting back into my Master's program (only three classes left). It was a good think I finished the book prior to starting or I would find myself trying to listen to alternate history fiction while reading student development theory. Not a good idea. Eric and David continue to excite in book three and they fulfill a number of promises left in book two. I continue to enjoy the world Eric has made and I like the approach they use. The book is not just about the uptimers, but the downtimers as well. It looks at the difficulties in warfare, politics, economics, and social aspects. It's easy to cheer for the good guys, but Dave and Eric put "good guys" on both sides. Here is a link to Audible's page for the book. It is narrated by George Guidall, just like the second one, and continues to do a great job.

Plot: As the United States of Europe closed down the year 1633 it was at war with the League of Ostend. The Uptime technology that the USE possesses does help them in many ways, but it still has it's limitations. And they aren't the only ones with bright ideas and clever people. What's more, there are some important people still trapped in unfavorable circumstances. Rita Stearns and her delegation have been locked in the Tower of London for months. Rebecca Stearns is still besieged in Amsterdam, and Eddie Contrell is at the mercy of the Danish royal family. However, the country is holding it's collective breath to see if Admiral Simpson's iron- and timberclad ships will break the blockade. First they have to get there though.

My personal favorites: The action was well done. I could see David's influences in some of the scenes, particularly the naval ones. The characters were still delightful. While there is some character creep (you get to meet a whole lot of people), it wasn't too difficulty to get a hold of who was who. They did a good job of setting up the settings with the characters to make it easier to move between the groups. I did find the idea that everyone fall in love at first sight a little excessive, but it made for some fun situations.

Considerations: I'm sorry to say that this book hit about the same point as Red Shirts with me. I found myself wondering why characters were swearing - it didn't seemed appropriate. I'll grant them that some of the characters were just "those kind of people," but it did get tiring. I also need to point out that this book had a bit more sensuality then the last. While there was no "on page" interactions there were more references to sexual intercourse than previous. There was also a scene, towards the very end, where a soldier is being dressed down and the commander feels the need to be specific in his questioning of the man's behavior with a young lady. The scene is intended to be humorous, and is so, and the descriptions are very clinical and of nothing unusual. The interaction in question is also consensual.

I'm not sure that I'll continue the series. This is in no way a reflection on the writing or even the content. It just seemed like a nice place to stop without losing track of everybody. The series takes a huge split here and I'm not sure where I would go with it. I still enjoyed the books I've read emensly and I may pick them up at a later time,  For now, I think I'm going to take a break. The total length of the book was just under 26 and a half hour.

Putting a plug in a heart

It's amazing what kind of help people offer when you say the words "heart" and "procedure/operation." About a year and a half ago Angel went in to test for some rare adrenal cancer. Her father was diagnosed with it (years ago while we were planning our wedding - there was not difficulty in remove it) and apparently its genetic, so the whole family got tested. When Angel got her tests back they said, "Good news! You don't have adrenal cancer. You do have a hole in your heart." This was an unexpected diagnosis but it did explain some things. She had asthma and heart burn type symptoms but medicine never helped. She could tell the time up to 10:00 pm based on how tired she was. (Really. It was eerie.) It was also difficult for her to lose weight despite rigorous exercise and dieting. It made sense.

She went in for additional tests including one called the bubble test. The doctor shakes up a saline solution and puts it into the blood stream and they count the bubbles that aren't filtered by the lungs. The more bubbles there are the bigger the hole. When Angel had the test done they couldn't count the bubbles because there were too many of them. She was scheduled to get a scope done prior to a full procedure when we found out we were expecting Roo. They said to wait off until after the baby was born.

Now, a year later and with our out of pocket maximum achieved on our insurance we were able to get her in for the procedure. Below is a picture of what they put in her. It's called a septal occluder and the one they put in Angel was 30mm. I told her that I knew of tanks with a smaller gun that that. Ok, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle is an IFV not a AFV, but still. The procedure happen last week and since day one with the plug she has felt much more energy. They went in through the femoral artery and it went slick as a whistle. The Relief Society brought us dinner for three nights, which was very nice of them, and lots of people have asked about her. Some were surprised to see her at church yesterday. I think it boils down to the fact that the heart is a scary organ. It's so important to life that anything wrong with it is cause of grave concern. For Angel, this operation has provided her with additional energy she didn't know she could have.

A Russian Play and 911

This weekend was the first of twelve outing of Christmas. Angel and I were discouraged that we weren't able to take the kids swimming, to the park, or out and about as much as we wanted to last year. This mainly was to do lack of money or time. This year will be different. Each of the kids received a calendar this year with certain dates blocked out. Angel and I have scheduled in days and activities that will be funded by the money we would have spent on toys this last Christmas. We found an activity a month we could do and planned them out in advance.

For January we took the kids to a play put on by the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. It was called "The Frog Princess" and was based on a Russian plan. There was a cast of five people with a total of eight characters. They were clever and for the alternate roles they Russ-ified the actors' names. So Rob Green played a Russian prince, but Robert Mikhailovich played the forest spirit. They did a really good job and the kids enjoyed it a lot. Angel and I had fun to. They had some fun moments where you knew the actors were exiting stage right and then running around like made to enter stage left. From a my former (if limited) stage crew experience it was well done with sound and fun effects. The actors were a lot of fun to watch and it made me want to get involved some how. The kids were good through it except when Tigger asked in a loud voice, "Is that a real frog?" when the frog princess first appeared (as a puppet).

We arrived home a little later than planned, but still in good order to find our CO alarm going off. We didn't go in the house (or at least nobody besides me) and I called the city to figure out what to do. I didn't want to call 911 because we were all safe and nothing was in immediate danger. Come to find out, a CO alarm going off is something you call 911 for. The police, fire and ambulance all showed up in good order and the kids were thrilled to watch the firefighters go though the house looking for possible sources. The ambulance crew even gave them little fuzzy teddy bears. Roo even got one. After an hour or so, they figured it was a bad monitor but called the gas company just to double check the furnace and water heater. Angel and the Kids went to her parents as it was quite late by then and I waited with one of the paramedics. The gas guy arrived and found out that his testing machine was broken. He had to call another guy in from about an hour away. I gave them the garage code and went to join my family. All in all it was a busy day. Everything checked out (they finished around 1 am) and I went out and bought a new monitor that I'll be installing very soon.

Book Review - Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan, Brotherband Chronicles book 4

I usually enjoy it when authors give us different views of the same world and characters they've introduced us to in previous books. The Brotherband Chronicles are just that. They are books that take place in the world the John Flanagan created with the Ranger's Apprentice series, but we are seeing it through the eyes of a different culture and different characters. We've met a couple of the ones we see, Eric the Oberjarl being the most often seen. But he remains a supporting character, much as he was when we first met him. The other thing I like about Brotherband is that, just like Ranger's Apprentice, we are introduced to a cast of characters and then proceed to go on a series of adventures with them. It is not one long story that spans several years, but rather a collection of the more interesting events that occur over the course of ten or twelve years. At least, we are into the first couple of years of our current set of characters. The first three books, The Outcasts, The Invaders, and The Hunters, introduce us to the crew of the Heron and detail their rise, fall, and restoration to honor. Flanagan has does a great job of giving the Herons a couple years of respite before throwing them into their next major life event. He does so with the usual humor, action, and suspense that we've come to expect from him. He's also given us a chance to reunite with other beloved characters we met in Ranger's Apprentice. What I particularly enjoy about how he's done this is our new main cast has been able to mature in our minds so there should be no difficulty maintaining their identity while we renew acquaintances with old friends. I'll be honest, I thought that Brotherband was well served as a trilogy but now I am very excited that is will go beyond that.

Plot: We pick up the story two years after Hal, as the young captain of the Heron, and his crew of former outcasts have reclaimed Skandia's prized artifact and returned it home. In that time Hal and the Herons have had regular duties as young men, patrolling the local waters and helping the country maintain his international role as maritime peace keepers. As part of their treaty with Araluen Skandia provides a duty ship for use by the Araluen king. Chosen to fulfill this duty for the next nine months, the herons set off with high spirits and happy hearts. However, they soon learn that one of their old acquaintances, rather, a formal rival, has gone rouge and they are the ones in the best position to deal with the delinquent. What else can they do when the scumbag has stolen people from the very country they are there to help to sell into slavery. It is useful that they have some help for the trip and that this help carries a longbow and mottled cloak.

My personal favorites: The characters remain wonderful. Whether it's Hal and Stig's long friendship, Invgar's quiet loyalty, or even the twin's sibling bickering. I also enjoy the accuracy of the sailing terms and conditions. Flanagan provides a nice glossary at the beginning of the book for those who are new to sailing. I also think the pacing is well done.

Considerations: Like Royal Ranger there is nothing that would cause me to keep this book from anyone. It is a great middle grade book, but may be fore appealing for young adult as the characters are late teens early twenties.

My sister brought this book up when she stayed with us and I had it finished in short order. And I enjoyed it immensely. The total length was 462 pages.