Books, Matt & Staten Island

• I finished reading Uncle Tom's Cabin a couple weeks ago. It was a fantastic book and I loved everything about it. I couldn't believe most of the things that happened to the slaves during that time, and I came to love Uncle Tom and some of the other characters for their strong faith no matter what they went through. I recommend this book to anyone.
• Matthew has been so much fun lately. He learns new words, sounds, and skills every day and always finds something to get into. It has been so cold here that we don't get out much, but he really enjoys his time at the children's museum, nursery, and riding the bus.
• We went to Staten Island for the first time last weekend. We met up with some friends, went to lunch, and explored the area. It was a nice little community, and felt like we were back in Utah (almost). We really liked it there, and it was hard coming back over the bridge into the real city.
• I just read Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. It was very interesting, and it takes place in NYC so I enjoyed reading about some things that I have seen first hand. I can't recommend it because of some bad language and other things. Too bad!