A weekend away

This past weekend we were lucky enough to enjoy a weekend in the town of Greenwater on Mt. Rainier. It was absolutely gorgeous and we had a truly relaxing time. We hadn't been camping in a long time so it made for a nice end to the summer.

We found some horses... Kevin and Maddie discovered the joy of throwing things in a fast moving river...



Maddie played with mud...

We roasted marshmallows...

And we sat around doing absolutely nothing...

It made for a very relaxing weekend.

Girls will be girls...

Maddie's last dance class

Saturday ended the summer session of Creative Dance at ADI and we have decided to take a break from it for fall. Our schedules have been so busy that we just aren't finding time in the week to hang out at home. We captured some lovely photos during the last class though...




PS... I don't know why everything is underlined but I can't turn it off. Sorry!

So far so good

Quick fitness update... We started the program last Wednesday which should of had us running on Friday. Unfortuantely due to my previous plans to halp my sister move and Kevin's plans for dinner with his Grandma, this didn't work out. We did however wake up and go running Saturday morning at 7am. The run went well and we seemed to move at a faster pace than our initial run which was great. Tonight is the last run of our week one series and things are going well.

Couch to 5k

So here's the deal... a few weeks ago my sister went skydiving and Maddie was lucky enough do be down on the ground and watch her land. She pretty much thought it was to coolest thing ever and proceeded to ask me if I would jump out of an airplane. There were two reasons for my reply of "no thanks" 1) because the idea of jumping out of an airplane scares the living day lights out of me, and 2) because as it turns out, I am actually over the wieght limit for a tandem jump. Ouch! Sorry kid, Mommy can't do that because she's too fat. Obviously not something any parent ever wants to say to their child.

Although the information is saddening, it's a good thing this situation occured. It put me back in to fitness mode which I have not been in since pre-wedding (unfortunately causing me to pack on a few since then). I did some research based on some programs I knew others had been on with success, and decided to tackle the Couch to 5k. Kevin and I went for our first 20 minute jog yesterday and it was absolutely invigorating. I know, 20 minutes is not so impressive (especially after I point out that the program had us alternating 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking), but man did it kick my big mama booty. I of course immediately came home and took a cold shower (my face was red like a tomato!) and you know what? I was still sweating after my shower! I love the feeling of a good workout and the energy rush it brings afterwards. My calves and abs are a bit tired today which is great, and I am truly looking forward to tomorrow (the program has us running 3 days a week).

As far as my diet, well I am simply trying to "watch what I eat" and use good judgement. If needed I will tackle larger adjustments later in to my program. For now, just trying to drink my daily water.

We took pictures of our chubby bodies after the run yesterday for later comparison, but I will spare you the visuals :)

And the layoffs begin...

12 today. Luckily none in my department. I guess we'll wait and see...

The story of the runny nose.

Yesterday, when sitting at home, Maddie walked by me with a runny nose. I saw a glimpse of red and thought she had a bloody nose. Immediately grabbing a tissue to have her blow her nose we found no blood on the tissue paper and no blood on her nose.

"Maddie, look up for me please."
"Ok Mama."
"Maddie did you put something in your nose?"
"Yes."
"What's in your nose Maddie?"
"A bead."
"A bead is in your nose?"
"Yes."
"Maddie, why is there a bead in your nose?"
"I found it at nap time and didn't want anyone to take it."
"So you put it in your nose?"
"Yes."
"Kevin! Call the doctor. Maddie has a bead in her nose."

Luckily our doctor's office is WONDERFUL and the on-call physician agreed to meet us at the clinic to attempt to "extract the bead" and hopefully prevent a trip to the ER and possible need for sedation. The doctor very calmly stuck a tool that looked like a tiny, thin, plastic spatula up her nose and around the bead and was able to push it out from above. Maddie didn't even cry. But she did bring the bead home (gross!).

Coffee Filters + Water Colors = Art Project

I am rather impressed by myself actually!

Garden

I am being perfectly honest when I tell you that neither Kevin nor I has a perfectly green thumb. In fact our garden has needed weeding for over a month now. I will be kind and not post pictures of my weeds for you to gasp in horrow at, I would like to share these pictures of our flower friends that arrived in our garden this year by surprise though. It's very exciting!

I think this one is a poppy... (the third image is from this morning when she was still sleeping):

My pretty purple friend:

These actually bloomed from our "clucks and chics" which was exciting because they have never bloomed flowers before:

A trip to the Key Penninsula

Our dear friends Meghan and Nathan (hi guys!) bought 5 acres of beautiful land on the Key Penninsula about 2 years ago and we finally made it out for a bbq/campout! Saturday we joined the Conant's and several other of their close friends for a BBQ (including Meghan's Mom who I can't believe I hadn't met in the 5 years we've been friends). It was a truly enjoyable day filled with food, games (Bag Throw!), beer, and good conversation. It was nice to get out and spend and entire afternoon and evening with adults. I didn't take too many pictures because I was distracted by all the good fun. I did manage to snap some of the drive down though and one of the dart board that was made by another guest (Bjorn) because it's just too good not to share. Enjoy! I hope your weekend was as good as ours.