Perfect Date

For the past couple of months I've been part of an Instagram book club with Megan Walker to read her books, Lakeshire Park and Miss Newbury's List, in preparation for her book, The Duke's Bargain, which comes out on May 5. It has been wonderful learning behind the scenes details from Megan as well as hearing experiences from other readers. Do you know how many of us have memories of berry picking from our youth?

When I found out Megan was coming to Utah to do an event at the Provo Library with Joanna Barker and Esther Hatch who both had books come out recently, as well as several other authors, I made sure to get a ticket. 

The event was a speed-dating/speed-friending kind of event. The authors each spent six minutes at a table with readers who got to ask questions and chat before they rotated to another table.

I loved how it was done because I got to chat with some authors I hadn't been able to chat with before.

Afterward was a Q&A session then book signing.

 

Before the event started, I met up with Amber from that same book club and we hung out the whole time, both got our hugs from Megan Walker, and got to be each other's picture takers with the authors (I didn't get pictures with all the authors but that's okay). It was fun.

Book Club Buddies!

I got a bunch of swag (not all pictured. Let's just say I have plenty of bookmarks to lose now), and got The Duke's Bargain (before release date) by Megan Walker, 

 

and If You'll Have Me by Esther Hatch, 

 

and A Love Most Daring by Joanna Barker. 

Those last two books I really got into when I read (or listened to) them earlier- see my March 30, 2026 post about A Love Most Daring.

 

I also got pictures with Jennifer Moore 

 

and Jentry Flint 

 

and Arlem Hawks.

 

It was a fun way to do an author event and I'm so glad I went.

I love events with the Provo Library.

 

P.S. That day was the perfect date to do this event since April 25 was Perfect Date Day. The speed-dating style fit right in with it.   

Jeremy took the kids out that morning for some birding. Their weather was not too hot and not too cold. It was also Celebrate Trails Day so they walked around the visitor's center at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

P.P.S. Since April 25 was also World Penguin Day, we ate fish sticks. Even though it was National Plumbers Day, I did not wear my Mario shirt to my event. I wore my Gentlemen's Gamble shirt. 

 

Bonding Time: Hiking

Since it has been a mild Winter, I wanted to take my nature loving boy out hiking one day in the hills.

Jr. Jr. and I took the afternoon on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 19, since he didn't have school, and we hiked up to Battle Creek Falls. We took binoculars and the birding camera with us.

Just up from the parking area, we heard scritch-scratching in the underbrush, which I would have assumed was a spotted towhee but I could see robins, so not a spotted towhee (be careful about assuming). Jr. Jr. has really good eyes when it comes to spotting things so he helped me notice the bird that was not a robin. I got a look at it in the underbrush with binoculars and this is how things come out of my mouth since I'm a birder-

Me: You're right. That's not a robin. That's a thrush! Robins are actually thrushes but this one... if it has a reddish tail, it's a hermit thrush. Do you see the tail?

Jr. Jr. confirmed the reddish tail (I would use the term "rufous"). 

I love birding.

Besides the birds, we also enjoyed the hike together. We had plenty to talk about, including the ice we kept seeing in the stream and the water flowing under the ice. 

Nature's cool, man.

 

We made it all the way up to the falls and a little above the falls before turning around. I only slipped twice, once on the way up, once on the way down, both in the same location. Ha. Nothing scary. 

When we got back down to where we saw the hermit thrush on the way up, we saw it again with the robins. It decided it would be a good sport and posed in a tree so I could get some good pictures of it. I was very pleased with it sitting there for so long.

Jr. Jr. and I enjoyed that time together. I love that we have that love of nature in common.

  

I love bonding time! 

 

Earlier that day, I got out for my morning walk at the park with the Christmas lights. The city says they're going to leave them up until Valentine's Day like they did last year.

Lucky, Nichole, and I made cheese ball that day, too. Nichole shaped it into a witch's hat. It didn't last long. Mmmmm, cheese ball. 

 

January 19 was also Whisper "I Love You" Day. There was plenty of that going around. It was National Popcorn Day. The kids had popcorn. It was also Brew a Potion Day. We had hot chocolate and I told everyone to put whatever they wanted into or on it.

 

The next day, January 20, was Penguin Awareness Day. Jet and I watched "Surf's Up" together. I haven't watched that in a while. It was fun.

  

Perfect Date

April 25 was Arbor Day. I went for a walk in a place with trees... and birds. I got to see a couple of spotted sandpipers and killdeer. So many killdeer. 

It was a beautiful birding morning. 

 

April 25 was also Perfect Date Day because, "it's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket." Jeremy and I went on a date. We stopped by the library to pick up Miss Congeniality (which we never got around to watching) and went to Deer Creek Reservoir to eat dinner in the van and look for loons.

We found one that Jeremy named Claire. Think about that for a moment? Classical music fans? 

Claire the Loon. 

The weather was just right for wearing our light jackets.

 

At home the kids ate fish sticks and watched The Super Mario Bros. Movie for National Plumbers Day, World Penguin Day, and National Telephone Day, all on April 25.

Catching Up January 2025 Part 3

January 19 was Brew a Potion Day and National Popcorn Day and Whisper "I Love You" Day. There were definitely whispers of "I love you" that day. Somebody made popcorn. 

I'm not sure what this is. It definitely looks like some sort of potion. It's possible it is Chicken Tortilla Soup since that was what was on the menu plan for that day. Catching up isn't always easy when I'm making assumptions months later.

 

January 20 was Penguin Awareness Day. We ate fish sticks and started watching some penguin movie.

 

January 21 was National Hug/Hugging Day and Granola Bar Day. Some of us ate granola bars. Some of us also got some good hugging in.

January 22 was Hot Sauce Day. Lucky loves hot sauce and puts it on a lot of things.

Speaking of Lucky and his love of hot sauce, for Christmas he got a bunch of little bottles of hot sauce so one evening, we had a taste test, starting with what was supposed to be the mildest and working our way to the hottest. We dipped chicken nuggets in them to try them out. I'll be honest, that was fun.

January 23 was Pie Day. I made a pudding pie using a homemade graham cracker crust that had been sitting in our freezer for a long time.

I also had a Relief Society activity that night.

 

January 25 was A Room of One's Own Day. 

January 28 was Blueberry Pancake Day. I think we had blueberry pancakes. I think. But I don't see pictures so... who knows?

That day, Lucky went to an event at the Orem Library: Winter in Narnia. He made a shield and a dragon and did other activities. 

While he was at his event, I was left unsupervised. I only had two items on my list to check out but... I ended up with a lot more. After I took this picture, I picked up even more to check out. Tee Hee. I love the library.