One of my true joys in my life is watching BYU games "with" my sister Joan. We text back and forth with the most frequent word being texted is "Wahoo!" We are both, shall we say, passionate fans of BYU. It is so much fun to share this with her.
I watched the Pop Tarts Bowl alone as Ken was on a Christmas bird count that day, but I joined Joan and her family in their Pop Tarts Party. It was a great game. She sent me this picture after.
Ken participated in three Audubon Christmas bird counts this year: Zion National Park, St. George City, and Silver Reef. For many years, he was the director of the St. George City one, but he retired this year and was just a participant. He served as a group leader in all three counts. His brother, Don is a nature photographer and shared some of his pictures from the counts.
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| Female Ladderback Woodpecker |
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| Male Ladderback Woodpecker |
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| Hermit Thrush |
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| Northern Pygmy Owl- this picture was taken by another participant, Miranda Crawford. |
I am excited for reading in 2026. I like to take a picture of my TBR shelf at the first of the year.
What a delightful book!
90-year-old Eddie has never been kissed.
He forms a most unlikely friendship with a 26 -year-old woman who is
determined to help him find love and his first kiss. I loved Eddie and the other characters and
feel like I lost some friends when I finished the book. This is the kind of book I love most. 4+
stars from me.
Anxiously Engaged: A Biography of M. Russell Ballard by Susan Easton BlackThis is my annual book review for 2025. I read 77 books in 2025: 72 fiction and 5 non-fiction.
I have read SO many good books this year it is most difficult to choose my favorites. It has been a very good reading year. I rated 15 fiction books with 5 stars, and 2 non-fiction books with 5 stars. I read a lot about books, therefore am now better at choosing what books to read- hence a big increase in 5 star reads.
The fifteen fiction books that I rated 5 stars:
Three books by Rosamunde Pilcher: The Shell Seekers, September, and Winter Solstice
A Painted House by John Grisham
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The two non-fiction books I rated 5stars:
You Are My Sunshine by Sean Dietrich
The Book of Mormon
Each year I try to choose a favorite book in each category. It is SO hard this year. I read the Book of Mormon every year and it's always a favorite. Otherwise my favorite non-fiction book was You Are My Sunshine by Sean Dietrich. This author is an amazing storyteller and this book was hilarious, but also very tender. I highly recommend reading or listening to this one.
Now the harder category- fiction. I loved every one of the books that were rated with 5-stars. Every one. I'm analyzing which one most moved me- made me want to be a better person, I think it is a tie between three:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi This book will make you want to be better and do better. I loved it. I bought copies to give to my daughters, and other famly members and a dear friend. I will say it is my favorite of the year, but these other two a close second.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I hated it, but it made me look at life in a whole new way. It is so good.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I loved this book because of the example of the main character. In a situation that could cause him to become bitter and to give up, he gave up everything to do what was best for his child. He didn't become bitter against those who were causing him the pain, but just kept fighting for what was right. That's integrity.
So there you have it. My review of books read in 2025!
The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge SelleckWe had a wonderful Christmas season with the Keynotes. How I love these ladies. It was a whirlwind as we did our final rehearsal and 13 performances and a luncheon in 11days. We have a pretty good system, but still it's a lot of work for me to decide what we are singing at each venue and make performance charts, etc. We only do our entire program once- that's in the Tabernacle performance. The rest of the performances are shortened versions of the program. Every member has a narration part and a solo.
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| Kim Meyers, Kalynn Snow, Kyla Lawrence, Jen Pusey, Chris Tonks, Tami Peterson, Cindy Alton, Lydia Fisher, Kay Hinton, Val Jones, Connie Spilker, Cindi Witt, Carole Seegmiller (accompanist) |
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| Meadows FHE There were about 60 people in attendance |
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| Cool Yule |
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| Performing for the sealers of the Red Cliffs Utah temple Christmas party. |
Keynote
Christmas, 2025
A Glad Noel - with bells
It's Beginning to Look Like Christas/ Pine Cones and Holly Berries-
Soloists,: Val Jones and Tami Peterson
Winter
Wonderland
Soloist: Kalynn Snow
A Holly,
Jolly Christmas
Cool Yule
Carols of
Christmas
Soloist: Cindy Alton
An Angelic
Christmas Medley
Soloists: Kay Hinton and Connie Spilker
Come and See
Soloists: Jen Pusey and Lydia Fisher
I See a Star
Solooist: Kyla Lawrence
Oh, What a
Wonderful Child
Soloist: Kim Meyers
Dona Nobis
Pacem
Come, Lord
Jesus
Soloists: Chris Tonks and Cindi Witt
Sussex Carol
All on a
Silent Night
with Cello
1. The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
4 stars
Historical
Fiction Audiobook
I listened
to this on audio. I had a hard time
following it for about half of it. I
longed to see the book. I think it would
have been less confusing if I could have seen that each chapter at first was
about a different woman living in a boarding house in Washington DC in the
1950s. It was very well read, but I was
confused. But by the end I figured it
out. It is a great story. This eclectic group of women become almost as
family to one another. The end is
incredibly tense and thrilling. I
enjoyed the author’s notes at the end and the interview with the author and
narrator. Now armed with more
information, I almost want to listen to it again. 4 stars.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy LefteriI texted our family on our group text and asked them to send pictures of their Christmas decorations. I loved feeling the spirit in their homes at this special time of year. Merry Christmas!
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| Our Christmas dinner |
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| We gave each other books. A friend gave me the top one, but the rest were from Ken. Books make me happy. We spend many evenings reading. |
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| Ken's haul. |
