Missouri. 2011.

Last weekend, my children and I set out on the Missouri, 2011 adventure! Drake had never been there to meet any of our family and Calla could not wait to get back there. We had such a great time seeing everyone and visiting a few places along the way. Enjoy!

Calla, Drake, and I at the empty tomb at the Precious Moments Chapel.

Putting on the annual show on the well house stage

Drake & Great Granny

It was hot, hot, hot and the girls had a great time in the pool!

Before we left for vacay, Drake taught himself how to play piano!

Uncle Jeddy and the kids

Uncle Shane & Drake

Great Granny & Grandpa with my kids!

The Precious Moments Chapel! It was as great as always!!

Papa & Drake It was so nice to be outside and not get attacked by mosquitoes!

The kids and a Precious Moments turtle

Granny gave my mom and I some old screen doors and windows so then I had to go searching for things to photograph. I have lots to choose from now to decide what will go in the frames. I found this cool wooden bridge while driving around trying to get Drake to sleep!

This was at one of the motels we stayed at!

Wamego, Kansas! Oz Museum!

Calla and the clown

She was SO EXCITED to see Dorothy's museum!

The giant Tinman and Grandpa and my kids!

Calla at Toto's Tacoz!

A neat windmill shot!

Toto's Tacoz! Great food and inexpensive!!

The Boys & The Girls

Calla and I wanted our picture together today before church. After ours was done we decided we needed a picture of the boys too! I love my family!!!!

What a Wonderful World!

The last week Calla has been running a 102-103 or higher temperature. If you read the previous post you know Drake did that, but his only lasted 48 hours. Calla's.never.gave.up. We called the Dr. on Monday and they said to wait another day and if it was still high to bring her in. Tuesday morning it was still high. Chad took her in and she has strep throat. She got 2 shots to help her heal quicker. We sure felt like fabulous parents. She didn't complain of a sore throat. She just wasn't eating. Now we know.
Today she has been feeling quite a bit better. We went to Wal-Mart this afternoon and bought her school supplies. My FAVORITE time of the year!!! It is way exciting for me to actually have a child to buy for this year. And not just for myself. :)
Tonight the children and I went to the elementary school Calla will attend next fall. The just finished a giant tree house and we finally found time to check it out. It is part of their outdoor classroom and I think Calla thinks kindergarten will be held there next year...not sure! We were going to play on their playground, but there were some people there pulling weeds and cleaning so we opted for a different park. They had a great time playing!
Thanks for checking in!





















This boy LOVED the swing!

On her way up to the tree house.

inside the tree house

A view of the outside from across the yard!

The almost fully healthy girl on the slide!

Happy Independence Day America!

We had a nice lazy weekend around here! Drake ran a high fever most of the weekend and after a visit to the doctor and no other symptoms it was decided it was "something viral." He rounded the corner Sunday evening and has not turned back...Praise the Lord!
On Monday, we had 2 parties to attend. First we went to Chad's parent's house to hang with them and the cousins. Then it was on to our friend's house. Both parties were lots of fun, but boy were we glad to have the big bangs over with so that we could all get some sleep!

The boys!

Calla and her usual 4th of July attire...headphones!

The girls!

The girl cousins with their headbands from Grandma Karma!

Drake just taking it all in! He didn't need no stinking headphones!

Calla is working on our special 4th of July strawberries!

Thanks Family Fun Magazine for the great idea! They were delicious!!!

We actually spent $$ on fireworks this year and did some quiet ones at our house. Chad was so excited to get an Army tank and introduce the children to that. Well it went off and both kids started crying...Chad was bummed!

Drake enjoying his first Popsicle.

Watching fireworks at Grandma & Grandpa's house!

Swimming, Swimming, in the Public Pool

When days are hot, we know where to go! With temps into the upper 90s this week we hit the pool a few evenings. We have been waiting all summer for the weather to still be warm after supper so that we could do this! As an employee of the pool, I get in free. The children are under 5 so they are free, and we pay $2.00 for Chad...we didn't get a pool for our house this summer knowing it was so cheap to let someone else maintain the pool!
Drake just LOVED sitting in the corner and playing with the stuff that floated his way. It is shallow enough so that he can crawl around, but it is kinda rough on his knees.
Calla was all over the pool! She is much braver this year and is able to kick while she floats around on the floaties.
The first night I took both kids by myself and just stayed in the baby pool and we had lots of fun, but Calla really wanted to go down the water slide in the big pool. We got Chad to go with us the next night and I got to take Calla down the slide. At the bottom she got her face a little more wet than she liked and she told me that Daddy does a better job on the slide than me. I took her one more time and then it was decided that only Daddy could take her down. HA!

Happy 4th of July!!! Be Safe! God Bless America!

Community Olympics 2011

Last weekend was Community Olympics. For those of you not familiar with this; here you go! Your team consists of 10-30 adults that are willing to take part in a variety of sports. The teams are created before mid-May and are told what events are available and sign up for those they want to take part in. Our team was Recess Renegades. This team consisted of most of the people we played (And won!) Kickball League with in early spring. We did recruit a few other members (my brother Shane was one!) and were pleased with our performances during Olympics.
Some of the events:
Chad and I played coed-badminton. Lots of fun!
Shane participated in and won the men's obstacle course! He also did tug-of-war.
Saturday morning started out with a 5k run/walk. Then Shane and Chad went and played a round of alternating throw disc golf. I played in water polo...so fun! Kickball got canceled and we were devastated...
I also participated in croquet! Shane did archery and survived the rigorous Boot Camp! (It was super hot and intense!)
Saturday night they had an 80's Lip Sync and Minute to Win it competitions, our team only did the Minute to Win it.
Sunday was a 2 mile walk and then I went and did a 50M freestyle swim competition. Chad and Shane helped the men's indoor volleyball team take 4th place. We skipped out on the cup stacking to be contenders in the volleyball.
There were many other activities that our other teammates took part in and did well.
Our team finished 11th out of 25 teams!
Our children were graciously taken care of by Grandma Julie and Papa Bryan. We could not have done this without their help!
We are recruiting for next year's team...if you are dying to be a part of our team, let me know! :)

21 Day review

I have come to the end of my 21 day challenge. Overall, I am pleased with my progress. I do have some areas that I could have worked harder.

Pros:
I completed both of my 5k races!! The first one I ran most of it and finished with a time of 35:27. I probably walked 1/4 mile of this race. My time was an improvement over my 5k in April where I finished in 38:04 and walked close to a mile and 1/4 of this race.
My second 5k was this weekend and I ROCKED this one!! I finished with a time of 34:11 and RAN then entire time!!!!
After these two great races, I believe my body is ready to train for a 10K .
I am much more aware of my food choices and the amount of sodium I take in daily. (Without intentionally salting any food!)
I lost 6 lbs and I am ok with that for now. I feel like I am just becoming more healthy overall and trying to not focus on the number on the scale...hard to do for me!

Cons:
I did not get in as many miles running as I would have liked to. Swimming lessons started and we have a new format this year and I have been taking time to adjust my schedule daily to meet the needs of the students.
I could have eaten more fruits and vegetables and smaller portions some days.
I didn't lose more lbs. As mentioned before, I am trying to not focus on this.

My new plan:
Tomorrow I am starting the Bridge to 10k plan.
I am going to add some strength training in to my schedule.
I am starting a new 21 day challenge. Anyone else in this time?

21 Days

On June 5th, I found this moving post over on my friend Becky's blog and knew it is exactly what I had been looking for. Motivation. A reason to keep hitting the pavement. A plan to follow.

I jumped on last Sunday and set out with one thing in mind last week and that was my 21 days, one day at a time.
On Tuesday, I followed Becky's link back to the original woman that had posted about the 21 day Challenge. Tricia. Tricia is an amazing, outstanding, motivating woman that I can't stop reading about!! The short of her story is this: She weighed 278lbs and decided to take a 21 day challenge and eat healthy and move her body every single one of those days. She did it and lost 20lbs during those 3 weeks. Fast forward to today and she has lost about 130lbs and has run a marathon! Please go to her site and read about her amazing journey if you are needing some motivation!!!

I thought about not posting this here, but after my great results during my first week, I just HAD to share with all of you in hopes it would be the motivation you are looking for.

I really want to be down one pants size by the time school starts. When I get to that size, it will be the size I wore in high school...12 years ago. I have been running some this spring and have 2 5k races I am signed up for, but just really needed this extra boost to keep me moving.

Last week I traveled 10.3 miles. Running 6.5 of those miles and going on walks with Calla in a stroller for the rest.

I also started using an app on my Ipod called "Lose It!" to track what I am eating and my movement. I downloaded it several months ago, I think it was free...don't remember!

I documented my weight last Sunday (June 5th) when I started and then I got on the scale again yesterday, after one week. Guess what?? I lost 5lbs!!

My goals for this week:
eat more fiber (the app tells you the nutrients you are taking in)
eat more vegetables/fruit
run more than 6.5 miles
take a walk most evenings with my Calla girl in the stroller

Please leave me a comment if you too are taking Tricia's challenge! I want to keep up with you and your goals as well!!

Yanney Park Day

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Yanney Park Day here in town. During this wonderful event, the United Way has their annual Duck race. They drop thousands of rubber ducks down the canal and the top ten get prizes. We never seem to win...maybe next year! There is also live music, a food fair, jump-a-roos, fishing, and just small town fun!

The weather was just fabulous on this day and Drake enjoyed riding in his stroller for most of the day.

Calla has talked quite a bit about the jump-a-roos from last year and was so excited to see this new one. It stretched almost the width of a gymnasium and is a really cool obstacle course with this awesome slide at the end!

The swans had their 'ugly ducklings' following them around on the lake. It was a beautiful site!

Calla couldn't wait for the Duck Race to start!

Back again...

Thought I would tell you all about our a-ma-zing weekend we had in the big cities! Blogger decided to upload pics all in a crazy order today, so I will just comment on each one to tell you our story! Thanks for checking in on us again...you would think when I am working 1/2 time that I could update more, guess not! HA!

Two sassy girls outside Cracker Barrel! They did a cute rendition of Jesus Loves me along with the pose!

My 3 favorite men :)

Calla and the "Tin Man" at our motel!

Drake got to go swimming for the first time. He just hung out in this ring and enjoyed the water.

We visited the zoo and got to spend the day with my cousin Landon and his daughter Edyn! Calla had to compare her wingspan to an eagle!

Cute Edyn!

Calla and her otter friend :)

Drake after his swim

Long live the dinosaur at the zoo!

The Crooked House is still there too!

Drake enjoying the zoo!

Calla decided she loves flamingos at the zoo during our trip. Our public library does not have enough books for her to learn more about them...bummer!

Paper eating lion...check!

She was SO looking forward to "holding" a butterfly at the zoo. When we arrived our map for the day said the butterfly pavilion was not open until the next day...when we walked by it was open and Calla was elated!!!

Feeding the goats

Burlynn enjoying the real Taylor Swift!

So our seats were really far from the stage...it still was the best production I have ever attended!!

Calla on the caterpillar!

Calla during Frankie Ballard, she missed her nap earlier in the day.

Daddy and Calla getting excited to find our seats for the show!

Drake enjoying his first bath in the big tub!

So, I am not real proud of this picture, but I just LOVE Calla's face so I had to share. This would be when Taylor first took the stage singing "Sparks Fly." Obviously, I was bawling and Calla was awestruck! I was just so overtaken by emotion watching Burlynn and Calla see her step out on to that stage and see her!
Taylor sang for 2 solid hours. There was so much action going on during her songs that we thought we were on Broadway and not some arena! Calla has hardly stopped talking about it since and often talks about the next time we see Taylor!

Thanks again for visiting our page and sorry for the delay, I will try harder to stay on top of it!