Family Pictures

Back in July, my brother-in-law and his wife took some family pictures for us.  We had a free photo pass to Thanksgiving Point so we headed there and the kids had a blast zooming around in the golf cart after hours.  Too bad they turned off their huge, man-made waterfall before we could get pictures in front of it.  Oh well, I think we got some good ones.  I'm so thankful for these healthy, happy kids.  We are truly blessed beyond measure.

First Day of School Pictures

Early morning seminary for my 9th grader - I was too tired to take it at 6am so this was when he came home

 7th grader - nobody teases this tall guy

 5th grader who loves to make and take her lunch

Kindergarten - we almost missed the bus because I was too busy trying to get the perfect picture.  It's tradition for us to follow them to school and take a picture with Dad.

 

 

He had a wonderful first day and was so excited to ride the bus

  

 

One more to go (it goes by too fast doesn't it?)

100th post - CRAZY!

I see I missed June entirely.  School got out and it's been busy with our bucket list (see previous post).  My son J turned 12, had a CRAZY fun party and received the priesthood.  We saw Madagascar 3 in 3-D then did Xtreme Paintball.

We also got to go up to Bear Lake to reunite with my mom's side.  We played minute-to-win-it games every night which the kids loved.  My aunt put together a touching DVD with tons of family pictures I had never seen before. Thanks to my Dad for bringing up his boat - it was a blast!  We even got to ride our bikes around the lake.  :)

 

As soon as we came home we got to hang out with our friends from Arizona.  Wish these guys lived closer.  J is missing because he was at his first week-long scout camp and her baby was napping with Daddy.

I see that this is my 100th post (CRAZY) so I thought I would share my crazy workouts I've been doing.  That's why I've been too busy to blog.  I wish I could post before/after pictures but I try to avoid cameras.  Let's just mention I lost over 30 pounds since end of January.  Yes, I procrastinated my New Years Goals but I had to wait until I was motivated and my 5 year old proudly telling me I was the fatest mom (like it was a good thing) was my wake-up call.  I'm getting faster on my road bike (averaged 17.8 mph last Saturday on my 32 mile bike ride).  I must say it's a thrill to pass the men on my bike since I have a little competitive streak in me.  Last time I checked I was at 14% body fat and don't want to go any lower.  Don't worry - if you saw me you wouldn't be able to tell.  I've got plenty of "mommy" written all over my body.  I used to think I had to do lots of cardio to lose weight but now I realized how important it is to strength train as well and that healthy is not a number on the scale.

Diet:  I aim for 50% carbs, 35% protein and 15% fat and about 1500 calories a day with lots of water.  I love Chobani yogurt every morning.  Cottage cheese and chocolate protein shake for snacks.  Only 1 fruit a day.  I used to eat 3 fruits a day and snacked on whole wheat bread smothered in nutella.  Delicious but not healthy.

Exercise:  Monday 1 hour elliptical or spin class (I'm taking a break from running because of past injuries that flare up when I run) and weights.  Tuesday bike ride outside 15-20 miles.  Wednesday elliptical.  Thursday spin class and "swim" with kids.  Friday 45 min. elliptical (and yoga if I have time).  Saturday long bike ride.  This Saturday I'm doing 40 miles, next week, 45, then 50 then a rest with 30.  I got tested and found I have a higher VO2 max than most females my age.  That means I'm supposedly in better shape but it also means I have to work harder to get the same calorie burn.  I'm horrible at flexibility.

Strength Training for July (below is the training plan I came up with).  In June I was doing combination weight training using a 45 pound bar so I'm excited not to have to use hand/bar weights.

Power month - Plyometrics

Perform 3 sets of 12 reps with 30-60 second rest in-between sets.  

In-between exercises rest 1-2 min. (depending on the speed your heart rate lowers)

Warm-up with 5 min. of rowing OR treadmill rotations (1 min walk then rotate at 3.5 mph for 30 seconds each to L side, back walk, R side, front, R side, back walk, L side, then front 1 minute run)

(Remember to keep abs tight and arms up shoot whenever possible for upper body)

*Squat jumps – squat then jump with hands high in the air.  Down and up as fast as you can.
*Knee tucks - Jump high, tucking knees high, tapping them with your hands in front of you.
*Lateral hurdle jumps – with both feet, side jump over an object then quickly jump back to other side.
*Power skipping OR Bounding (exaggerated running)
*Box jumps - work on progressing up to higher boxes.  Have your feet tap and jump down or walk it down.
*Plyo Push-ups - push so fast that your hands leave the floor for a second. Clap them if you want. (Work on progressing from Girl à Boy style)
*Split squat lunges. Like single leg lunges but instead you jump and switch legs with 90 degree swinging arms.

Finish with core work:

-Stability ball sit-ups 25 reps
-Assisted chin-ups 12 reps (need to work on this not being assisted)
-Plank hold for 1+ minute
Rest & repeat 3 times

Stretch it all out  (My FAVORITE part!)

June - 10 years old

J’s Birthday Memories:
Ate French toast for breakfast, went to Classic Skating –Skating on blades, jungle gym, bounce area and Blast Zone, Grandma M. came when we got back from Panda Express (Oh how I hope they have Orange Chicken in heaven...), Ipod touch came after that – took 4 hours to try to get it working, got card from Grandma Y. in the mail, Rumbi for dinner, Walmart for Ipod skin, Ate poppy seed cake, then Mom slept like a baby.

2009 Year in Review

A little late but here's a taste of what we've done this year. 2010 is sure to be even more eventful what with my parents returning from their mission, Z becoming a deacon, E getting baptized and the new baby's blessing. I can't wait!

School and Birthday Pictures

My baby boy turned 3 recently. We had Mickey Mouse waffles, went to our favorite children's museum, Discovery Gateway, then bought fun stuff at Build-a-Bear. He fell asleep on the way home. I think his pictures turned out so cute though I may be a bit biased. The next day the kids brought home their school pictures and thankfully we won't need to do any retakes. E's teeth are all falling out at this age so I begged her to PLEASE remember to do a sweet, closed-mouth smile. Gotta love that age! Our last trip to the dentist resulted in 3 repeat visits for cavity fillings and sealants. The one kid who didn't get cavities this time? "He'll need to get braces next time." Thanks for the warning.

N now likes to put his food that is on his plate into his drinking cup. Then he'll tell me, "Mom, look! Mmmm, Licious!" Umm, yeah, that looks real delicious sweetheart. :} The other day I was tending 5 year old twins and we were talking about their preschool. The boy said, "I get to ride the bus to the Helementary school". I couldn't help but laugh - I've never heard anyone make that mistake. I tried to correct him by saying, "You mean eLLLLementary school?" He couldn't pronounce it right so I gave up. Kids say the darndest things don't they?

Happy Halloween!

Don't you hate it when you almost finish a post and then make one slight edit on the Html and your post gets cut to 1 paragraph and your pictures are gone? Yeah, me too... Blogger needs an "undo" button, seriously. I also need to get a lock on my camera case since my almost-three-year-old can now pull it out and take pictures and change the settings to low resolution. Not good... I'm too tired to re-write so feel free to use your imagination. Happy Halloween! (I need some chocolate now)

Picking pumpkins at Farnsworth Farms Festival

Witch, Pumpkin, Z the werewolf and J as Darth Vader

Waldo & Wenda (I even had striped tights.) Wow, we look like dorks
Z's
Hubby's
J's N's
E's
Mommy's

First Day of School & Belated Birthday

My 3 oldest had their first day of school which was on Wednesday. They're holding up their fingers to show which grade they're going into. They're all laughing at me because right at that moment, our sprinklers sprayed cold water all over the back of legs. At least it got some good, geniune smiles out of them, right? Nathan was sad for 5 minutes but I felt like I was on vacation - it was so quiet and I got SO MUCH done. I cleaned, read a book (uninterrupted) and took a cat nap.

I finally got my daughter's birthday pictures taken, a week late. Oh well. We were too busy having fun at Lagoon and I was too tired when we got home. She lost ANOTHER tooth so she looks a little goofy. What a fun age!