Today I am linking this post with Hallie for Five Favorites and Jessica for What We’re Reading Wednesday. (Scroll to #5 for that.) 🙂

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Beach Bonfires & Multi-Weinie Roasting Stick

This weekend we went to a beach party with two other Catholic families and we had so much fun! (And Catholic style, 3 families equaled 14 kids. ;-)) We had a bonfire and I tried my new hotdog roasting stick that held 4 hotdogs at once. (Which I picked up at Target, natch.) It worked great and kept tiny hands in the sand and out of the hot fire pit. Although, I relented and let them roast their own marshmallows when they promised they wouldn’t use it as a flaming light saber. 😉

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Black-Out Curtains

On those days when we aren’t watching the sun set over the Pacific, the boys are in bed and lights out by 8:00 PM. However,  it makes it hard when it is still bright and sunny outside. We bought some denim black-out curtains similar to these and they are an answer to prayer. They really block out the light and make it feel more like a dark night so the boys can go right to sleep.

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Imagine Dragons – Night Visions

So far this album has been my soundtrack of my summer. On those occasions when I get to go to Target and Costco solo, you’ll find me driving down Highway 1 singing along. Here is my current fave of the album.

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Link-ups!

Summer gives me a little more time to spend on the blog but I must admit that lately the majority of my blog posts are link-ups to other blogs. Heck, even this post is being linked TWICE. So which are my favorite link-up’s? Here they are…

• Five Favorites by Hallie (Wed) – Of course!
• What We’re Reading Wednesday by Jessica (This is my debut contribution. Scroll to #5.)
• Theme Thursday by Cari (Thurs)
• {pretty, happy, funny, real} by Like Mother, Like Daughter (Thurs)
• 7 Quick Takes by Jen (Fri)
• Catholic Woman’s Almanac by Suscipio (Mon)

I don’t have a place to play on Tuesday so I stay home and have my own link-up – A Pinterest Party. (Yes, that was a shameless plug and here are accompanying photos!)

Link-up your post! (Old or new.)

This week’s post: Pinterest Party & Link-up (vol 7): Dinosaur Kits for Your Little Paleontologist

What are your favorite link-ups??

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I love that summer also allows me to stay up late reading and not worry about an alarm clock in the morning. (Well, unless you count the two year old bouncing on my head in the AM.) I love to read but I have a habit of starting five books at once and only finishing one or two, months later. Plus, I love to read fiction but I am never sure which books are worth the read and which are a waste of time (or worse, immoral.) Then a friend told me about Good Reads.com and I love it. Imagine it as Instagram for readers. Instead of looking at your friends photos of the day, you can see what books they are reading, how they rated them, and any comments or reviews they had about them. I love it. You can check out the books on my lists here: https://www.goodreads.com/bobbi_rol

Which brings me to Housewifespice’s new link-up What We’re Reading Wednesday.

I just finished two books this week.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Amazon.com Description:

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man-perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Predjudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

This was a fun summer read. I am a big Austen fan and when the author talked about the BBC adaption of the book fans know the scenes she mentioned by heart – Darcy after his swim, Darcy and Elizabeth exchanging looks at the piano, etc it reminded me of years ago when my sister and I would watch and swoon together. I was eager to revisit the P&P love. I’ll admit that at first it was a little hard to get into it because the premise seemed a bit unbelievable but once I got into it I was thoroughly enjoying it and rooting for my favorite characters. If you aren’t looking for anything terribly deep, are an Austen fan, hopeless romantic and love a love story (no matter how improbable) then you’ll want to check it out.

The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back by Maria Sutton

Amazon.com Description:

This extraordinary and unflinchingly honest memoir takes us on a riveting journey into the hearts and souls of three enigmatic people whose destinies are forever changed by the events of World War II. The secrets of misguided love and passions are revealed as the author journeys between the past and the present to solve the mystery of a handsome Polish officer with piercing blue eyes and sun-colored hair. Maria Sutton takes us to the dark green hills and valleys of the ancient Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, where the woody fragrance of birch trees and new-mown hay fills the fresh, crisp air after a heavy rain. Vicariously, we see a sunrise over Poland obscured by brightly colored swastikas on warplanes and then we will be taken into suffocating cattle cars, lice-infested stalags, and to the Dachau death camp. Further down a country road, the hearty laughter and beer steins clinking with each salute to the Fuhrer s astonishing victories can be heard. As Maria takes us on this odyssey to solve a decades-long mystery, she learns the family secrets of untold heroism, quiet courage, and a mother s love and of tragedy, disillusionment, and heartbreak. At the end of her long journey, Maria uncovers a shattering and painful truth. But the secret, however heartbreaking, would also become the greatest gift she would receive.

I don’t often read non-fiction books for “fun” but I received a free copy of this book and thought I’d give it a try. I was intrigued by the author’s journey and how it personalized history lessons of the past. I was especially interested in the refugee camps since Brian’s family spent time in a refugee camp after the war and before immigrating to the United States. There were a few parts when the story dragged and jumped around a little but as the author got closer to the truth I could not put the book down. I was excited and heart broken as she learned the truth about her father and other family members. In the end, I loved how the experience strengthened her and gave her peace. Well worth the read.

Well, that’s it for this week! Thanks again to Hallie and Jessica for hosting!