Did everyone have a good 4th?

We had a great 4th of July. PJ got to light off a ton of fireworks using his specially welded launcher, Bridget and Maggie got to stuff themselves silly with M and M's, cookies and cupcakes all the while playing and racing around the yard. When it came time for the actual fireworks Bridget was all for it but Maggie did not like them in the least, plus she was absolutely worn out by that time. So she and I sat inside and she fell asleep on me and ended up snoozing through the whole show. Maybe next year I'll actually get to watch the fireworks.

Right now I'm busy making lists of all the things we need to get/remember/wash/pack for our trip to Lowell, Idaho for the tri-annual family reunion. I'm really wondering how we are going to manage to pack everything we need in our little Vue. It is going to take some creative packing for sure. Of course one of my necessities for any kind of trip be it long or short are some books. Especially since we will be bring for about 8 hours each way and I don't have a problem reading a book in a moving car like some people do. I have three physical books to bring with me and two audiobooks loaded up on my ipod. Between them all I have a zombie book, a horror novel, historical romance, modern fiction and classic fiction. While I was thinking about what books to bring I realized I hadn't been doing any book reviews on here. It's been hard to find the time to write them up so I'll just give a quick list of what I've read since the last book review and rate each one on a scale of DNF ( means did not finish, usually library book that was due and I didn't care enough to re-check out) to 5 stars. I linked them to their respective amazon pages.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop ****
Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop ***
Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop *** 1/2
The Silver Pigs by Lindsay Davis DNF
The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt *****
The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt ***1/2
To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt ****
Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas ***
Not Quite a Lady by Loretta Chase ****
Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase *****
Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry ****1/2
Dead Man's Song by Jonathan Maberry ****
Lover Avenged by JR Ward ****1/2
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris *****
The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe **1/2
Delicious by Sherry Thomas ****
Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Philips ***1/2
Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas ****
Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas ***
Ceremony in Death by JD Robb ****
Vengeance in Death by JD Robb ****1/2
Holiday in Death by JD Robb ***1/2
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley *****
In Defense of Food by Micheal Pollan *****
The Omnivores Dillema by Micheal Pollan *****

Of them all it is the last two by Micheal Pollan that I would tell everybody and anybody to read. If you even have one inkling of concern (and you should!) about the food you eat or serve to your family you really, really need to read these books. They are eye opening, jaw dropping and stomach turning about American big agribusiness, politics, food commercialism and just plain bad science. These books truly changed the way I think about my food, how and where I shop and what is most important to know about the food I eat. As a result of reading these books my family now eats vegetarian every other day, I get most of my produce from local farm stands, I also buy my meat from a local butcher and I (almost) never buy pre-made mixes or meals anymore. These are not "diet" books although I really think that anyone who would at least try to eat by the basic tenets of the books couldn't help to lose some weight and sure as hell feel better.