A Body of Power

I have never been good at going to the gym. In years past I have joined a gym on two separate occasions. Each time I showed up to sign a contract, pay my year's dues, have a walk through with a trainer and was never seen again. Even when I worked at Curves I seldom used the equipment, usually only when I was training a new member whom typically never came back. The gym seems to be quite the money racket.

Anyway, my neighbor has been hounding me for over a year to join her gym promising me she would make me go and I would have fun. I finally decided to give it a chance and got a three month trial membership in August. I have been going three to four days a week ever since, which is amazing since the trainer tried to kill me on my first day there. Not really, it just felt like it since I was in total body pain for five days following the work out. Seriously, I could hardly move any of my appendages and my muscles hurt to even touch them.

But go back I did and I'm grateful for it. They have a Power class that I LOVE! It is an all over workout and you feel great after you finish the class... because you survived! I have also been using the treadmill, elliptical machine and various other weight machines on my off days.

I am hoping with all this extra exercise the last of my baby weight I want to come off will do so quickly. According to my trainer it would happen sooner if I cut out all sweets but that is NOT going to happen. I have cut out sweets before and found myself eating a whole container of ice cream followed by a baker's dozen of donuts. Not exactly the best way to lose and keep off the fat. I see nothing wrong with eating, in moderation, the things that I like to eat.

My trainer says I don't have a lot to lose. However what I do have to lose is all centrally located in my mid-section. Once I get that area in shape I just need keep it that way. I am hoping to cut back on my exercise once I get to the size I am shooting for, but we will see. I am just glad I joined the gym and have great friends who push to keep me there. It's amazing the things we can accomplish with just a little bit of encouragement from our friends.

First Day of Preschool

On Wednesday L met her teachers at preschool. She was a little nervous at first but when it was time to go she gave them each a huge hug goodbye. Today she went back for her first day and she loved it. She went straight to the play-dough table and played happily there until I was ready to leave. She was fine letting me go and happy to see me when I returned to pick her up. Her only complaint was that she couldn't play on the big kids playground. I completely understand her frustration since she is the size of a first grader but I explained that the other kids were too little to safely play on it so she would have to be content playing on the small playground. She wasn't happy with that answer so we will see if this is a source of contention in the future.



As you can tell from this picture, L is very animated. She has quite the personality to go along with it. I love her to pieces and can hardly believe she is in preschool already. I hope it is as good of an experience as it was for her older sister. Her class is huge! She generally has a hard time with large groups of kids around. It will be interesting to see how she grows and changes through the coming year.

First of First

K started her first day of first grade today. She started at a new school this year from last year after our transfer request got approved. We are both so excited! This is a newer and better school with lots of advanced classes for reading and math. She is already reading at a third grade level so this will help her to continue improving in this area. She also knows three of the kids in her class already. One from church, one from preschool, and one from her soccer team. Here are a few pictures we took before school started.



When we got to school, we put all of her supplies in a sack with her name on them and then she found her seat. She was excited to see the workbook on her desk. It was one similar to the ones she did at her old school.

When she came home from school she was so excited to tell me all about how great her first day was. She said there are toys to play with when it is rainy outside. She gets to go to the library and check out books every week. She gets to have time each day to talk to her desk neighbors and get to know them.
She ate lunch today and thought it was so cool she could pick out whatever she wanted to eat. She chose macaroni, kidney beans, carrots, cucumbers, orange slices, and chocolate milk. She made a some new friends and likes this school much better than her old one. I think it's going to be a great year!

Labor Day BBQ

Every year at this time we invite a few of our closest friends over for a BBQ. We all used to be in the same ward but are now in three different ones. We seldom see each other any more, but when we do, we always pick up where we left off before. What more could you ask for in true friends? It is so fun to hear what has happened since we last met and see how much the kids have grown. I am always amazed how well they play together and how they also pick up their friendships as if they had just seen each other last week. I hope we are able to continue this tradition well into the future.
This year it was hot, sunny, and the day before school started. M decided to go hunting with some guys from our ward that morning and when he got back he started up the grill. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, fruit salad, chips, and snicker brownie trifle.
As usual, I didn't get any pictures of the food or us eating it but M got some pictures of the kids playing in the back yard. We had a great time and ate way too much food. Here's to another great BBQ!

Me relaxing and visiting while enjoying the a/c.

Liz and Jeff

Becky, Randy, and their baby girl.

Kiddos laying in the sun after playing in the pool.

Playing with the teeter-totter.

A Weekend with Family

We have been so busy around here which is why there have been no posts for a couple of weeks. I am hoping with school starting I will have more time. Looking at the calendar in the coming weeks it's doubtful but I am going to try to catch up so stop by back by to see what has been keeping us so busy. Until then, here is our trip to the coast the last weekend in August.

My in-laws, my sister-in-law and her family, my other sister-in-law, and my family all went to Newport for the weekend. It was great seeing all the family, especially M's sister and her family who flew in from Connecticut. We stayed in an amazing house right on the beach in Newport. It used to be a bed and breakfast so there were three master bedrooms, one regular bedroom with a bathroom outside the door, two kitchens and three living rooms. There was lots of space for us to spread out. Grandma played hide and seek with the kids for a couple hours the first night we arrived. Here is a picture of the back of the house from the beach.
On Saturday we headed down to Otter Rock so the boys could do some boogie boarding. Tom's 49th birthday was that day and to celebrate he boogie boarded for the first time ever. He did a great job! His son, Quinn also gave it a try. I am always amazed that people surf in this frigid water.

K and Quinn were inseparable the entire weekend. They are two years apart in age and are very similar in intelligence and personality.
There was a paddle board race that morning from Otter Rock to Nye Beach. Here is a picture of some of those participating in the race.
Later in the afternoon, Grandma made a fire and roasted wienies for the kids. They loved the dogs and each had two or three.

Here is Quinn, K, L, and Nate. Nate is two years older than L. They also tagged along together and have similar personalities.

Here is M with his big sister Corina.
It was great seeing her and catching up. It's been three
years since the last time we saw each other.

We went out to dinner at The Chowder Bowl and they had very tasty
fish and chips. L was so tired she slept through most of dinner.
Grandpa was giddy with excitement because we didn't have to wait for
a table but not 10 minutes after we were seated there was a line
out the door and down the sidewalk to get in for dinner.

After dinner we went for a walk down to the bay front.
There were a lot of sea lions in the harbor. Apparently they try to
get them to go into the cage which they then take out to sea to drop
off the sea lions. They always end up back in the harbor though.

Aren't these two cute? K really missed him after we left.

On Sunday we went to the aquarium. I am not going to show a lot of pictures of this since I have already posted some this year. I will only show you the super cute or interesting ones.

I liked this one of Kendra with the fish.

L looking super grown up.

Here is a picture of the whole family, minus Luke, my brother-in-law.
He was at college for football practice, we missed him.

Saying our final goodbyes before heading our separate ways.
Hopefully we won't wait another three years before we get to see
each other again. Thanks for a wonderful weekend!