Oh What a Rush

This was an amazing day. We saw howler monkeys and parrots, coatis and vultures airing out their wings. The picture of the monkeys is of a mama and her baby. The cute little long-nosed animals are coatis. They are related to racoons. Such cute little critters.

The last picture is not the most exciting picture, but brings back the greatest memories for me. Because that's me on a zip line, flying through the air for approximately 1200 feet high above the rain forest floor. It was a total rush. One of the funnest things I've ever done.





Weeeeeeeeee . . . . .

The Next Installment

Here's day number two.

One of the many exotic birds we saw.

One of the scary crocs we saw.

Our fearless cap-i-tain feeding a 12 foot croc. Eeek!

It Was the Bomb

Okay, here is the way more fun post. If you want to read the depressing one, see my previous post. If you want to see the way fun post, keep reading.

I spent the past week in Costa Rica. Yes, the Central American country between Nicaragua and Panama. The home of the filming of Jurassic Park.

Can you say ultimate vacation? Amazing, stupendous and awesome don't even come close to this experience.

We spent two days on the Pacific Coast and two days inland at the Arenal Volcano. I'll have to post the pictures in installments. These are pictures that we actually took from our first day.


This is the view from the hotel room.

This is our Costa Rican friend that lived just outside our room.

Beautiful sunset from the ferry boat across the gulf.

Stay tuned for more . . .

And yes, it truly was the Bomb!

Difficult Passions

I usually like to blog about fun things, exciting things, things to think about, but today I need to write about something a little less fun.

Why is it that something that I love so much, something that I am passionate about is so difficult for me? I write and rewrite and edit and send it off to friends who generously read through my puke on the page and when I get it back, there are red marks all through it. (I should expect that. It is puke, right?)

This is not to say that the friends that critique my work have done poorly. In fact, they have done a tremendous job and given some great ideas and insights that would make my story better, much better.

It is just that I feel so discouraged. Why can't I write something good? Why does it always come out like cr**? Will I ever learn?

Okay, I'm done now. I just needed to get it out. Next post -- something a lot more fun.

The Forgotten Warrior

Syd is a tough, yet tender, teenager. Through a miraculous event, she is transported back in time. To her dismay, she leaves her sick mother and mentally challenged sister behind. Mistaken for a boy, and accused of being a spy, she has to prove herself to Captain Helaman and his second-in-command, Tarik (who also happens to be a hot stripling warrior).
I was drawn to Syd from the start. Her courage and story made joining her in this journey through Book of Mormon times a pleasure. I found putting the book down difficult. I wanted to keep going to see what would happen to her and her relationships with these people from earlier times.
Kathi Oram Peterson exceeded my expectations of this time-traveling story through part of Book of Mormon history. I enjoyed thinking about what life must have been like for them during these war-torn years. Kathi painted a superb picture of life during this time.
I care for these characters and wanted to know more about what was going to happen to them. What is going to happen to Syd? Does she get to go home? Where is Tarik? Is he okay? Apparently we’ll have to wait for the sequel. But I think it will be a wait worth waiting for.
To read Kathi’s great story The Forgotten Warrior, go to Deseret Book, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com or Seagull Book.
To find out more information about Kathi and her other works, go to her blog or her website.