Parade of Homes - continued

More pictures since blogger stopped me on the last post.

Parade of Homes

This is very picture heavy - I apologize in advance. 10 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms. Sleeps 28 in beds plus 8 Costco sleeping mats for kids loft. Time for a family reunion! We won "Best Layout" and will find out later if we won People's Choice award. We had some amazing competition. It was fun being in the Parade of Homes. Now we can relax, right? :)

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!)

Summer Fun List 2012

Every year I make up a list of things I want to do with my kids to make some memories.  Last year I only got half of them done.  I'm bound and determined to fit it all in this summer.  Maybe if we start a little early, like right now, we'll be able to get it all done.  :)

Summer Fun List for 2012

1.       Outdoor "concert in the park"
2.       New Outdoor Amphitheatre with Dad
3.       Bear Lake family reunions: Minnetonka Cave, 50 mile Bike Ride, Pickleville Playhouse, Talent Show, sandcastles on Rendevous Beach, shaved ice and raspberry shakes
4.       Hogle Zoo, Liberty Park (wear swim suits underneath for waterpark) and Tracy Aviary
5.       Thanksgiving point gardens, dino museum, feed the farm animals, eat an ice cream tower, see the new Brave movie
6.       Red Butte Gardens
7.       The Leonardo museum by Salt Lake City Library, have lunch on the roof of the library.  Yes, you can legally do that and it's safe.
8.       Lagoon with Dad
9.       Clark Planetarium, Discovery Gateway, City Creek Disney Store, Temple Square, lunch at Lion House, Church History Museum
10.   Hike Cecret Lake then go to the new Natural History Museum
11.   Donut Falls and Living Planet Aquarium
12.   Family Bike Ride to McD’s for smoothies
13.   Library, B&N Reading programs
14.   Provo Beach Resort with Dad
15.   Snowbird with coupon with Dad
16.   Planet Play with coupon with Dad
17.   Short hike to Ensign Peak and then visit Gilgal Gardens
18.   Airborne jump place with coupon, lunch at IKEA, Bowling that night with Dad
19.   Cupcakes on Sundays – homemade, different every week, share extras with neighbors so I don't get pleasantly plump again.
20.   Crafting: large gumball bracelet and edible necklace (fruit loops & cheerios), melted crayon art, corn syrup paintings, tie dye shirts, paint hot rocks, black magic art, angry birds balloon fight, noodle light saber swords, handmade geodes from egg shells, sidewalk chart art in driveway, origami, sew pajama pants
21.   Redbox movies and pizza on Friday nights.  Our baby hates the real theatre, or maybe she just wants us to save the money and spend it on her in the future.  She won't tell me.
22.   Family Camping – foil dinner & smores with Dad
23.   Gardner Village
24.   Bridal Veil Falls and BYU MOA
25.   Jeeping with Dad
26.   Picnic at Sugarhouse Park? Make red & white blanket with embroidered handprints.  Large squares = quick sewing job
27.   Rock Wall climbing
28.   Fly kites
29.   Paint yourself with chocolate pudding then have a water balloon fight
30.   Fishing
31.   Wheeler Farm
32.   Mini golf
33.   Boondocks
34.   Splash pad in Herriman
35.   Blow bubbles – make all sorts of devices with yarn, wire, etc.
36.   Block Party - homemade rootbeer, jumping castle, BBQ, don’t forget tiki torches.  We don’t share with bugs.
37.   Color Me Mine pottery studio with Dad for Mother’s Day or Mom’s Birthday.  I really want a large platter with all their handprints on it.
38.  Sew and construct a Summer Tent from PVC pipes

Summer recap

We were gone almost all summer, seriously.  I think we were home a total of 10 days in between mid-June and the first day of school.   My mom shattered her ankle in May and so I packed up my kids and headed up to Bear Lake to help her get thru the summer.  We were also gone for two family reunions during that time.  My mom manages cabins up there during the summer for family vacations.
 

www.bearlakelodge.com 

It was a good year, meaning busy.  She was short on maids so while I went and cleaned places every day she would keep an eye on my kids while doing paperwork.  My oldest is pretty good about babysitting but they all get tired of each other after spending all day together in a smaller place.  Thank heavens for DVDs, video games, books and Bear Lake raspberries.  The first month she needed quite a bit of help because she was still in her wheelchair so I did most of the cooking as well.  She tried to do as much as possible but it's hard getting around with a wheelchair.  She's recovering much faster than we anticipated.  She can now walk around a little even though she has 15 screws and 2 plates in her leg.  It's truly been a miracle.

During Raspberry Days we had a 2-day break so we went and enjoyed the festivities.  The kids were happy about that.  The beach was almost nonexistent this year because of the high water levels and it was COLD.  We went to the beach once and that was enough, I didn't want to go again.  We got to do a bunch of "firsts" this year like ride the big bike, have shaved ice, enjoy the parade, shopping, ride the race cars, and go on a 10 mile hike.   (My boy scout is passing off his hiking merit badge so I was his travel buddy - since then we've done two more 10 milers and are doing the big 20 miler next weekend.)  We forgot breakfast and remembered after mile one (should've gone back.)  2 hours later we got to the KOA market and loaded up.  At mile 8 we found a bush of wild raspberries and thanked heaven for the angel that planted it.  LOL

Also during the summer, my cousin Loren got married to a sweet girl named Samantha in the Salt Lake Temple and they had their reception in our backyard.  We got home the day before to clean the house and left the morning after for Bear Lake again.  Super fun party - I would totally do it again.  Isn't she gorgeous - what a lucky guy!

July - summer fun

We didn't get as much done as I would've liked this summer. A new baby will do that to you. We had fun up at our cabin in Bear Lake though. Played outside a lot with our new backyard playsets. I did manage to take the kids downtown via TRAX since they begged me to. I still can't believe we all survived. What was I thinking taking 5 kids downtown by myself? I had to nurse K on the way home and no, I didn't care that the train was packed. Yes, I had a nursing cover but I still got a few strange looks. I was to tired to care though.

This summer...

My boy turned 10
My daughter turned 8

and I have a four month old already. Where did summer go? I now am the mother of a middle-schooler (scary since I remember being that age very clearly). Oh, and I discovered Nutella. How I lived without it before I'll never know. Oh wait, that's the bad news. I think I weigh more now than I did when I came home from delivering baby#5. If you haven't tried Nutella, go buy some and spread it on whole wheat bread. De-LISH!