carson quote of the day

Yessss!!! beyblades and a  beyblade "vallerina!" (arena)

reese recited

Mom, is santa real?    
What do you think?   
I think he's just a human.

Biggest Loser

Warning: I'm posting before and after pictures so feel free to NOT look! Even the "after" pictures have left some room for improvement. What can I say? I've had three kids and I wear my stripes proudly! :)

A few friends and I did this competition at the local gym and it was lots of fun surprisingly! It was just like the t.v. show with Team Challenges, Last Chance Workouts, weekly weigh-ins, and prizes. I didn't end up winning, which honestly, I knew I wouldn't. I just didn't have the mass to lose. I did it to see what would happen and because my friends were doing it. I can safely say that I'm in the best shape of my life and I've never been so confident in myself. I feel awesome! It's such a nice change to look in the mirror and think "Dang! I look good!" It's nice to feel comfortable in my clothes now. It's awesome to have things fit better, like they should. I love shopping for clothes and having to go back to get a size SMALLER. It's been fun seeing my body change. I feel different in my own skin. My belly doesn't hang to the side when I lie down like it used to. My thighs don't rub together when I walk. I like when Ryan puts his hands on my waist and I can feel that they're not as far apart as they used to be. It's just awesome. :)

The first Last Chance Workout was killer for me! It was basically just drills across the basketball court but it was something I had never done before. We did the same workout at our last LCWO and it was cool to see how much I had improved. It was still challenge but I wasn't dying. There was a LCWO when we went up and down 8 flights of stairs for 45 minutes. That was for sure the hardest workout. I've never gotten to the point where I've wanted to puke before. 

There were two Team Challenges. The first one was treasure hunt around downtown. You ran to certain  places where you had to answer a nutrition question and then do a certain physical challenge like a certain number of burpies or push-ups or lunge squats. This challenge wasn't really hard for me because each team was divided into three levels so the most in-shape were a's and then the least in-shape and overweight were c's. For some reason, our trainer made me a c. I felt bad because I didn't feel like I was doing my part. 

But then the next challenge she made me a 1. First of all, it had been raining all night so it was muddy and cold.  We had to 22 different relays on the baseball field and then they had scattered like a thousand golf balls around the outfield and you had to run out, could only grab one ball at a time, run back all the way to the top of the stadium and drop the ball into your team's bucket. Since I was a 1 my golf ball only counted for one point. Man, it sucked. Plus, our team was literally half the size of everyone else's. We had 12 people show up, the other teams had at least 20. Each team had to have five 1's and the rest of the team were 2's and 3's. We were at a total disadvantage but we didn't come in last and we destroyed everyone else when it came to the relays. 

We just had crappy people on our team. We had 14 finishers and the winning team had 22. Lame. Oh, well. I'm just happy with how well I did. Plus, an added bonus was that I won 16 free hours of daycare with the raffle. I'll definitely use that!!

So here's the results...
14.5 pound total weight lost
9.7% total weight lost
4.5% body fat lost
 1.5 inches off chest, 3 inches off abs, 2.5 inches off hips, .75 inches off legs and arms
7.25 total lost inches

I forgot to add that I did the Atkins diet and I think that was what really helped me to lose weight. The first week I lost 7 pounds! Then because I thought since I did so well that I didn't need to be so strict with the Atkins plan and I didn't lose anything for 3 weeks. I got back to really following the diet and then I lost the rest. It's completely transformed my metabolism too! The first two weeks are super hard because it is really really strict but then you start to introduce foods back into your diet slowly to help you identify what will make your body start craving and losing control of your appetite. But seriously, I can eat whatever I want now! I feel guilty about it but I'm not gaining weight! It's crazy that I can have to much freedom! So I really commend the Atkins diet to everyone!! You just have to stick with it through all three phases! If not, you're just torturing yourself for two weeks. Every time I talk about the Atkins, people always ask me if I've tried Weight Watchers. And I have and I had a lot of success with it the first time because I didn't know how to eat healthy. The second time I did it, I was already eating healthy so the weight didn't really come off like before. The Atkins is different because it has the science behind what is happening to your body with food that you eat. It's made me look at food differently that's for sure.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with the Crandalls this year. Mutti and Alex and Alia came up. It was fun and low key. We went bowling and had a blast and got to know Bonnie better. This was a big holiday for Cam and Bonnie since it was when Cameron decided he wanted to purpose. We had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and everything was perfectly delicious as usual. Couldn't get enough of Keith's Lionhouse rolls though!
After we ate Thanksgiving dinner we went around and said what we were grateful for and Reese said "fireworks!" Luckily, the next day was the parade and fireworks.

 
Poor Reese. He zonked right before the fireworks. We woke him up for them but we was not feeling well.

When we got back to the Crandalls he threw up. We took him in the next day and he had strep throat which wasn't a surprise since Noah, Cam, Bonnie, Julie, Tyce, Alex, and Alia had it. I got it too but I didn't want to pay for the doctor but it went away on it's own thankfully. At least it was a bacteria so he felt better after getting on some antibiotics.

First Snow

11/9/2012

Hot chocolate-stache

Reese insisted that he wear his John Deere hat.

Carson wanted me to take a picture of this snowflake he caught with his eye. :)

We had snow for pretty much one day and then it melted. Haven't really had any since. Carson and Ryan are dying to go skiing!

Halloween 2012

Great Halloween this year! Started off with pumpkin pancakes. Gotta remember that for next year... just add canned pumpkin and some cinnamon to pancake mix. Yummy and festive!

Don't mock my awesome pumpkin making skills :)

 I wanted to have everyone be candy bars this year but the boys are getting old to have their own opinion so that didn't happen. I'm secretly glad though that I didn't have to make 5 candy bar costumes! Reese was Spiderman for our ward party but then I made him be Reese's Pieces for trick or treating. I borrowed my costume from a friend and then quickly made Ryan's and when Reese saw me making Ryan's he wanted to be Reese's Pieces. I got this pillow awhile back so I cut it up so he could be Reese's Pieces. But of course when he saw Carson getting into his much cooler Spiderman costume, he changed his mind. So we had to compromise, Spiderman at the ward party, Reese's Pieces trick or treating. 

The weather was totally perfect for trick or treating too!

Preschool

Reese's first day of preschool co-op.

Isn't this picture awesome?! 

It pretty much sums up my day, everyday.

So blonde and tan. Gotta love summer. 

This preschool has been fun because of all the field trips. Already they've been to a bee museum, a pumpkin farm/animal feeding farm, and hands on art. Lots of fun places to go to!

These are pictures from Prairie Home Farms. Such a cute little farm where you can feed animals and buy pumpkins and squash. Also an awesome location for photoshoots!

Kids in his co-op- Reese, Brenden Garrett, Britton Ethington, and Bracken Kiracof.

Braids

First time putting Gwen's hair in braids. So cute!!

Ryan found Gwen downstairs by herself, sitting in the jump-a-roo, with a skiing helmet on, making car noises. Gotta love that imagination at such a young age! 

Gwen also LOVES to color! Anytime she sees paper or pens/pencils/ect, it's "Daw, daw? Daw!" Draw. Or "colow." So cute, even when she draws all over her face!

Gwen is really into "pretties." She found my newborn props. Love her pose!

This girl enjoys her spaghetti! I'm just glad we took her shirt off first!

Reese has been here...

I wonder what he's going to be when he grows up...

Bike rides

We went on a ton of bike rides this summer. This was after school had started and it was still beautiful and hot! Summer lasted a long time this year. It was really nice!!

Reese the gymnast. He's constantly flipping and rolling all over stuff. Wish we could afford gymnastic lessons! Why do they have to be so dang expensive?!

Carson learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels this summer and he learned how to do monkey bars. That's usually what he does the entire time we are at the park.

Have I mentioned how cute my kids are?

Kindergarten

Carson started Kindergarten this year. He did really well!! I could tell he was nervous but I think that since he went to a real preschool last year, he was more prepared. He walked right in like he knew what he was doing. We got him riding the bus and he loves it! The first time he got on, he could barely contain his excitement. It was like he was standing in line for a roller coaster ride! Ryan was a little skeptical about letting him ride the bus but it's only the Kindergarteners that ride so we don't have to worry about older kids infecting my little boy. It is a long bus ride but I think it's actually good for him. Gives him a chance to unwind before he gets home. Plus, he loves eating "hot lunch." I usually pack him a sandwich but once a week he gets to have hot lunch. That's what all his friends get so he thinks it's pretty cool. Funny to see how that will change. :) We had our first parent/teacher conferences and Mrs. Hansen said that he's doing really well and his best subject is math. Ryan was worried about his social life but he's got a lot of friends and plays well with the boys, maybe a little too well sometimes! It's been great to see him change already in the last few months. He finally has the desire to write and draw. That's always been a challenge. He's starting to sound out words and figuring out how to write them on his own. All throughout the day I'll hear him muttering under his breath and then he'll randomly announce "I know what (insert random word) starts with!" It's really cute and I love that he's so eager to learn!

Doesn't get much cuter people!

These are just some random videos that I found of Carson. The first one was from a few years ago. He might've been 3ish. The second one was from this summer. He's such a goof!

Carson is always entertaining!

Just a random Sunday but they were all coordinating and looking adorable so I grabbed a picture.

Dang, I have cute kids!!!

Ryan is the hardest person in the world to shop for. He's so low maintenance that all his stuff lasts forever and so dang smart and talented that you can't just go out and buy a cheap guitar and call it good. He's all about name-brand, high quality. So it's really hard to surprise him with something that he'll really want and use. He recently found his love for flying though and for the last two years or so I've wanted to get him a flight lesson. I wanted to wait for his 30th to make it his "big gift." The original plan was to kidnap him at work, take him to the airport for the flight lesson, and then go home for the surprise party. Didn't really work out that way but it was still fun. 

My friend has a pilot in their ward and gives families in the ward rides in this cute little plane. 

I gave him a call and we were able to figure out a time to get Ryan up in the air. 

Ryan was ecstatic! The pilot let him take off and fly for over an hour!  

Flying over Sliverwood

Ryan said that it was the best birthday present he's ever gotten. The next few weeks he spent a lot of time on the internet looking at planes. He's already got one picked out. :)