See my GoodReads link on the sidebar to see my ratings and reviews!!
*Signifies That It Belongs To a Series
2011 – Goal = 100 Books
The Goose Girl- Shannon Hale
Mutant Message Down Under- Marlo Morgan
Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy
The #1 Ladies Detective Agency- Alexander McCall Smith
Corduroy Mansions- Alexander McCall Smith
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- C.S. Lewis
Confident Baby Care- Jo Frost
To The Rescue: Biography of Thomas S. Monson- Heidi Swinton
The Girlfriends’ Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood- Vicki Iovine
In Harm’s Way- David Stanton
So THAT’s What They’re For- Janet Tamaro
1776- David McCullough
The Long Walk- Slavimir Rawicz
2010 – 81 Books
The Entire Harry Potter Series [2nd Time] – J.K. Rowling
Abish- K.C. Grant
Left to Tell- Immaculee Ilibagiza
The Baby Whisperer- Tracy Hogg
The Great Divorce- C.S. Lewis [2nd Time]
Parenting with Love & Logic- Foster CLine
On Becoming Babywise- Gary Ezzo
Still Alice- Lisa Genova
The Horse Boy- Rupert Issacson
Pregnancy Day by Day- Hope Ricciotti
The Good Earth- Pearl S. Buck
A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket
*The Bad Beginning
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
The Ember Series- Jeanne DuPrau
*The City of Ember
*The People of Sparks
The Bartimaeus Trilogy- Jonathan Stroud
*The Amulet of Samarkand
The Hunger Games Series- Suzanne Collins
*The Hunger Games [2nd Time]
*Catching Fire [2nd Time]
*Mockingjay
A Child is Born- Lennart Nilsson
The Midwife- Jennifer Worth
I am a Mother- Jane Clayson Johnson
Fire in the Bones: William Tyndale- Martyr, Father of the Restoration- S. Michael Wilcox
Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burgett
Life of Pi- Yann Martel
The Promised Land Series- David G. Woolley
*Pillar of Fire [2nd Time]
*Power of Deliverance
*Place of Refuge
*Day of Remembrance
Us: The Art of Relationships- Lisa Oz
The Midwife’s Apprentice- Karen Cushman
Thirteenth Tale- Diane Setterfield
What to Expect When You’re Expecting- Heidi Murkoff
Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis
Christ and the New Covenant- Jeffery R. Holland
Wise, Blue Autumn- Donald S. Smurthwait
Mortal Instruments Series – Cassandra Clare
*City of Bones
*City of Ashes
*City of Glass
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner- Stephenie Meyer
Fine, Old High Priests- Donald S. Smurthwaite
Princess Academy- Shannon Hale
Mysterious Benedict Society Series- Trenton Lee Stewart
*Mysterious Benedict Society
*Mysterious Benedict Society & The Perilous Journey
*Mysterious Benedict Society & The Prisoner’s Dilemma
Inkheart- Cornelia Funke
The Incomparable Christ- Vaughn J. Featherstone
Fablehaven Series- Brandon Mull
*Fablehaven
*Rise of the Evening Star
*Grip of the Shadow Plague
*Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
*Keys to the Demon Prison
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- Mary Anne Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Cotton Malone Series- Steve Berry
*The Templar Legacy
The Thorn Birds- Colleen McCullough
Pope Joan- Donna Woolfolk Cross
The Undaunted – Gerald N. Lund
Cry, The Beloved Country- Alan Paton
The Alchemist – Paolo Coehlo
Written on the Wind – Judith Pella
The Great and Terrible – Chris Stewart
*The Brothers
*Where Angels Fall
*The Second Sun
*Fury and Light
*From the End of Heaven
*Clear as the Moon
The Shack – William P. Young
Three Little Words – Ashley Rhodes-Courter
My Sisters Keeper- Jodi Picault
The Help – Kathryn Stockett
The Inheritance Cycle – Christopher Paolini
*Eragon
*Eldest
*Brisingr
2009 – 41 Books
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
The Christmas Sweater – Glen Beck
The Artemis Fowl Series – Eoin Colfer
*Artemis Fowl
*The Arctic Incident
*The Eternity Code
The Street Lawyer – John Grisham
Same Kind of Different As Me – Ron Hall & Denver Moore
Rebecca – Daphne de Maurier
The Giver – Lois Lowry
Percy Jackson & The Olympians – Rick Riordan
*The Lightning Thief
*The Sea of Monsters
*The Titan’s Curse
*The Battle of the Labyrinth
*The Last Olympian
The Great Divorce- C.S. Lewis
Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo
Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown
The Uglies Trilogy – Scott Westerfield
*Uglies
*Pretties
*Specials
Through Gates of Splendor- Elisabeth Elliot
The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands – Dr. Laura Schlessinger
The Actor & the Housewife – Shannon Hale
These Is My Words – Nancy Turner
The Choice – Nicholas Sparks
Lemon Tart – Josi S. Kilpack
Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson
Miracle of Forgiveness – Spencer W. Kimball
Eve & the Choice Made in Eden – Beverly Campbell
Rock Solid Relationships – Wendy L. Watson
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Ann Brashares
*The First Summer
*The Second Summer
*Girls in Pants
*Forever in Blue
A Parting Gift – Ben Erickson
2008 – 21 Books
The Host – Stephenie Meyer
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
*The Magician’s Nephew
*The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
*The Horse and His Boy
*Prince Caspian
*The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
*The Silver Chair
*The Last Battle
The Tales of Beedle the Bard – J.K. Rowling
The Twilight Series – Stephenie Meyer
*Twilight
*New Moon
*Eclipse
*Breaking Dawn
The Princess Bride – William Goldman
For One More Day – Mitch Albom
No One Can Take Your Place – Sheri Dew
If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn’t Be Hard – Sheri Dew
God Wants a Powerful People – Sheri Dew
The Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis
The Five Languages of Love – Gary Chapman
Strangling Your Husband Is Not An Option – Merrilee Brown Boyack
2007 or Before
Harry Potter and… – J.K. Rowling
*the Sorcerer’s Stone
*the Chamber of Secrets
*the Prisoner of Azkaban
*the Goblet of Fire
*the Order of the Phoenix
*the Half Blood Prince
*the Deathly Hallows
The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
Angels and Demons – Dan Brown
Digital Fortress – Dan Brown
Deception Point – Dan Brown
The Work and the Glory – Gerald N. Lund
*Pillar of Light
*Like a Fire is Burning
*Truth Will Prevail
*A Season of Joy
*The Gold to Refine
*Praise to the Man
*No Unhallowed Hand
*So Great a Cause
*All is Well
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings– J.R.R. Tolkien
*The Fellowship of the Ring
*The Two Towers
*The Return of the King
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Other Side of Heaven – John H. Groberg
Little House on the Prairie – Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Little House in the Big Woods
*Farmer Boy
*Little House on the Prairie
*On the Banks of Plum Creek
*By the Shores of Silver Lake
*The Long Winter
*Little Town on the Prairie
*These Happy Golden Years
*On the Way Home
*The First Four Years
The Time Quartet – Madeleine L’Engle
*A Wrinkle in Time
*A Wind in the Door
*Many Waters
*A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Little Men – Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
The Tales of Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter
Hatchet – Gary Paulsen
Felicity, An American Girl, 1-6 – Valerie Tripp
Kirsten, An American Girl vol. 1-6 – Janet Shaw
Molly, An American Girl vol. 1-6 Valerie Tripp
Samantha, An American Girl vol. 1-6 – Susan Adler
The Indian in the Cupboard – Lynne Reid Banks
The Return of the Indian – Lynne Reid Banks
Sideways Stories from the Westside School – Louis Sachar
Fudge – Judy Blume
Superfudge – Judy Blume
Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom
Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
Wednesday Letters – Jason F. Wright
Beowulf- Anonymous
Hamlet – William Shakespeare
Julius Cesar – William Shakespeare
Macbeth – William Shakespeare
Romeo & Juliet – William Shakespeare
The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
The Trumpet of the Swan – E.B. White
Where the Red Fern Grows – Wilson Rawls
Our Search for Happiness – M. Russell Ballard
Jesus the Christ – James E. Talmage
The Kingdom & the Crown – Gerald N. Lund
*Fishers of Men
*Come Unto Me
*Behold the Man
Children of the Promise – Dean Hughes
*Rumors of War
*Since You Went Away
*Far From Home
*When We Meet Again
*As Long As I Have You
Hearts of the Children – Dean Hughes
*The Writing On The Wall
*Troubled Waters
*How Many Roads
*Take Me Home
*So Much Of Life Ahead
Stone Tables – Orson Scott Card
Sarah – Orson Scott Card
Rebekah -Orson Scott Card
Rachel & Leah- Orson Scott Card
Isaiah for Idiots – John Bytheway
Leven Thumps & The Gateway to Foo – Obert Skye
Mary & Joseph – Robert Marcum
Faith of Our Fathers – Nancy Campbell Allen
*A House Divided
*To Make Men Free
*Through the Perilous Flight
Tennis Shoes Series – Chris Heimerdinger
*Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites
*Gadiantons & The Silver Sword
*The Feathered Serpent – Part 1
*The Feathered Serpent – Part 2
*The Sacred Quest
*The Lost Scrolls
*The Golden Crown
*The Warriors of Cumorah
*The Tower of Thunder
*Kingdoms and Conquerors
The Savior Heals Without a Scar – Sheri Dew
Moby Dick- Herman Melville
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Watership Down- Richard Adams
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
Nancy Drew Files – Edward Stratemeyer
Crucible- Arthur Miller
The Child Called It – Dave Pelzer
Redwall Abbey – Brian Jacques
*Redwall
*Mossflower
*Mattimeo
*Mariel of Redwall
*Salamandastron
*Martin the Warrior
*The Bellmaker
*The Outcast of Redwall
*Pearls of Lutra
*The Long Patrol
Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane
Millennial Glory- Wendie L. Edwards
*Hidden Light
The Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean M. Auel
Books I Read A LONG Time Ago That I Want to Read Again:
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
The Call of the Wild – Jack London
Animal Farm – George Orwell
1984 – George Orwell
The Scarlet Pimpernel – Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Priority To-Read List:
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
The Pilgrimage – Paolo Coehlo
By the River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept – Paolo Coehlo
Follow the River – James Alexander Thom
True Story of Hanzel & Gretel – Louise Murphy
The Memory Keepers Daughter – Kim Edwards
War & Peace – Leo Tolstoy
The Once & Future King – E.B. White
The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde
The Jungle Books – Rudyard Kipling
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
Anything by Bill Cosby
Go Forward With Faith: Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley – Sheri Dew
Have a Little Faith – Mitch Albom
Right before Nate returned home from his mission, my family and I, the Morales’, traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica to pick up another honorable missionary, my brother, Andrew. My father was born and raised in Costa Rica and has not been there since 1978 when he returned from his mission. My mother has always dreamed of taking our whole family there, and over all, it was probably one of the most fantastic, memorable experiences my family has witnessed. Aside from meeting all of our relatives, traveling, eating and “soaking up the local color,” the country itself was breathtaking.
Cam loved the food…
…and Brooke (our niece) thought all the exotic flowers looked especially beautiful in her hair.
My cousins taught me how to perform the native dances of Costa Rica and even let me borrow their authentic, folkloric costumes to practice in.
For me, I felt the most satisfying part of our journey was bringing a righteous servant home. I took this picture in the San Jose Airport. I thought the holes in the soles of his shoes were especially representative of Andrew’s long and devoted service to the country and people of our father. Well done, Andrew. We love you. And Mom & Dad, that was phenomenal! Thank you for making it happen.
And finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: He came home! Yet another missionary had fulfilled his calling and arrived safely to the awaiting arms of his family. Having received letters from Nate throughout MY entire mission and after, I know how hard he worked and how much he loved. I am confident the Lord accepted his sacrifice.
We hit it off right away.
For Valentine’s Day, Nate took me to a Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood concert in Madison Square Garden. WHAT A SHOW!! Keith Urban even came off stage and right up into our seats. We touched him!! But then, he signed his guitar and handed it to the girl standing right next to us. Blast! My mother told me after the fact, that she was hoping Nate would propose to me that night at the concert. He had a better plan…
Whenever I see this picture I think: “I’ve never looked that happy!”
Finally, we got engaged! And what a fiasco that was. Nate used almost every mode of transportation available to the modern man. And on a train, he popped the question! I was beyond ecstatic, as displayed in Picture #1.
We had a very short engagement. I went into Wedding Planning Overload and Nate went to “school”. There I met my competition: Tina…. the horse: Nate’s crush in Rexburg. We did manage to squeeze our mission reunions in to our busy schedule. Here is a shot of some of my mission companions.
Though very protective, as all best friends should be, my ex-companions were supportive of my suitor, soon-to-be eternal companion. But Nate won their hearts with ease. We cooked dinner for them, and Nate baked the famous Barbie Holden Breaksticks. Those breaksticks, baked to perfection and carefully served with a side of Ranch, and my companions completely melted in his hands.
We bought our first car!! 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer! Nice pick, Nate!
Following true Hispanic tradition, Nate serenaded me the night before we were married. My father did the same to my mother, except with a full blown Mariachi band. Personally, I preferred Nate’s acoustic rendition of “our” song, “Making Memories of Us.” By who? Keith Urban, of course.
Our wedding was the perfect day…
… full of lots of goofing around. We enjoyed the time in the car the most, eating Caramelo’s (our signature candy bar), playing music, singing way too loud, and honking and waving at everyone we drove by. Our rental car is now our dream car: Inifiti G36
I barely fit.
And then we partied hard!! 
The view from our window!
We got the chance to fulfil one of our greatest dreams: Swimming with dolphins! And kissing them too!
We then headed to our first home: COLORADO for Nate’s summer sales. We found it to our liking more than anywhere we’ve lived so far. We hope to return there someday. 
We liked to picnic in Colorado and these three pictures are on such occasions. One of those pictures, we were celebrating Kate’s birthday! She also happens to be an amazing photographer. Nice shot of the kiddo’s, Kate! We know how impossible it can be to get that perfect shot with children all under the age of 4! 
Can’t wait to see what other adventures you two muster up!
Thanks for sharing!
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