No More Fatty Assids!

I had a vision one night in July.

It was really late, and I was dreaming of somewhere sunny and seventy-five (I love that song!).

And then I had a super awesome idea.

For the past 10 years, Josh and I have talked about going to Mexico. We started talking about it when our friends Travis & Kayleen lived in Salmon, and we said we should go there there all together. A few years ago, I even made a tentative plan for just Josh and I to go: I picked a destination and priced it all out, but alas, this Viva Mexico Vacation dream has never come true (mostly due to finances).

Every year I try to convince Josh that we should use our tax money to go on vacation. He's succumbed a few times (and hasn't regretted it), but mostly he feels obligated to pay bills with it instead (very responsible and fatherly, so I don't hate him for it).

But I feel the time has come to make our Mexico vacation dream come true, and the only way to make him really commit to spending our tax money on it is by committing something major myself, too.

Last year, I made a huge effort to be more healthy and lose weight. I started early in the spring, and exercised all summer long and into the fall. But because of hormonal problems, and 2 surgeries, I didn't lose as much as I would've liked. I was feeling pretty good about myself in September & October, but then the holidays came, and I gained all the weight back that I'd lost. My exercise buddy moved at the beginning of this summer, and I completely lost my motivation to exercise or be healthy or lose weight. But after seeing photos of me from my two sister's weddings this summer, I knew that I NEEDED to get back on the eating healthy/exercising/losing weight bandwagon again.

So one night in early July, I was trying to come up with some kind of motivation for myself that would push me to want to be healthy again. And ding-ding-ding, I thought of Mexico. I envisioned myself buying and wearing a new swim suit and looking and feeling awesome on the beach. Josh and I usually take vacations in February (that's when tax returns come, and also it's a slow time for him at work so he's better able to take more time off). I thought of a reasonable goal weight to get to in 7 months' time, which would require me losing 40 pounds: approximately 6 pounds a month or 1.5 pounds a week to lose.

By this time, it was almost midnight. In the spring and summer, Josh goes to bed early because he has to wake up super early to go to work before the sun comes out. In the summer, I like to go to bed late and wake up late--so our sleep schedules aren't the same until late fall & winter. Anyhoo, I was laying in bed for a considerable amount of time thinking about all this, and when I finally had that "aha" moment, I rolled over and woke up Josh around midnight. I really like talking to Josh at night, because our time is uninterrupted, but because I talk so much, he usually falls asleep. The same is true when I wake him up to talk--he falls back to sleep pretty quickly. So, I got right to the point and said "If I lose 40 pounds by February, will you take me to Mexico?" He responded "How are you going to do it?, and I said "By eating right and exercising". He said "Sure", then fell back asleep.

That was good enough for me. I felt driven and determined to make the dream come true. If he was really willing to take the time off and pay for it, then I was willing to work hard to make my weight loss happen. I want to get a new swimsuit and look and feel good on a sunny beach in Mexico!

It's been over a month, and so far I've lost 7 pounds. In order to do this, I've changed several things about my daily habits.

I used to treat myself to a small piece of chocolate every morning for getting out of bed (I am NOT a morning person and this was my motivation to wake up!). Now I don't eat chocolate anymore; instead, I wake up and walk on my treadmill. Walking on the treadmill is boring, so I've started reading while I walk, and I've made myself a promise that I wouldn't read a book unless I was walking. This has helped motivate me to keep walking day after day, and to walk for greater lengths of time because I'm interested in what I'm reading instead of being bored and watching the clock (I just finished my 3rd book!).

I used to treat myself to one or two cans of pop daily, but now I don't drink soda pop anymore except on VERY special occasions (in the last 5 weeks, I've had 3 cans of pop).

I don't have desserts anymore, and I've tried to cut back on foods and drinks that are high in sugar content. For the most part, this surprisingly hasn't bothered me, but I have had a few urges to eat ice cream (I haven't given in yet, though).

I have been eating healthier choices for breakfast and lunch, but I eat whatever the family is eating for dinner. For breakfast, I like to put fresh fruit in a bowl of milk, or have yogurt, or cottage cheese. For lunch, I have alternated between eating salads or having a simple egg burrito.

By just changing these few things, I lost 2 pounds a week for the first 3 weeks. However, the last two weeks it has become harder to drop the weight, so I need to make some changes again. I don't want to be on a "diet", because I want to make lifestyle changes, so I haven't cut out carbs. I think I will just add another thing to my exercise regime, and workout twice a day instead of walking just once a day.

I'm hoping that I can stay on track and keep focused on obtaining my goal, because I really, REALLY want to go to Mexico with my husband!!!

These photos were taken in 2012 on the Whitefish City Beach in Montana.

Orange Tops & Colored Socks

Soccer is a sport that my three younger boys totally love! This year's season started and ended a little later than in years past, and Kanyon was so stressed and worried in May because he thought that we'd missed it! Soccer started the last week of May (which was also the last week of school), and it was finished the second week of July. 

This year, the Association purchased new jerseys with the dues, and each child got to keep the jersey when the season was done. Jonah and Micah were in the U-11 league, and were on the same team. Their team's color was orange. They named their team the Savages (that's our high school mascot, and one of the high school's colors is also orange). There were 5 teams in their league, and they had the most disadvantaged team of them all: they had more girls than any other team (they had 5 and the other teams had 2 or 3), they had 3 young players from 3rd grade (they had only one older 5th grader, and the other teams had multiple older players and some had players from 6th grade), and they had 2 disadvantaged players. Throughout the entire season, they only won one game. They played their hearts out, and I was so proud of them for giving their best effort. Their games were in the evening, and often it was super hot and several players were gone so the kids that came had to play the majority of the hour-long games. 

Jonah's favorite position to play was forward, and he was good at it. He scored many goals throughout the season for his team! It was so exciting to watch him score and help his team out! Jonah traditionally wore blue socks during his games (the different colored socks helped his teammates and spectators know who was who!).

Jonah

One game he played goalie, but he didn't enjoy it as much

Micah liked playing the position of defender. He also played goalie in several of the games. He was fast, and liked defending the ball. It was exciting to see when he blocked the other team from scoring! Micah liked wearing different colored socks for every game (he loves bright colors!), and this helped others recognize him apart from his twin brother Jonah.

Micah

I love the facial expressions & body language in this photo!

Kanyon was on the U-9 league. His team was also orange! They called themselves the Flames. There were only 3 teams in his league, so they got to know the other teams pretty well. He had a great team, and awesome coaches. He really enjoyed working with his teammates, and they won more games than they lost! It was so fun to watch the little kids that are in 1st and 2nd grades play the sport so well.

Kanyon liked playing forward and goalie. The coaches did a good job of rotating players in all the positions, so he got to play both positions in almost every game. He just loved soccer! He was so good at kicking, and blocking, and turning the ball around. His coach told me that she appreciated that when she gave directions, he listened, and always tried his hardest, and it showed! Kanyon also loved wearing brightly colored long socks (you might recognize one pair that he also wore to my sister's wedding!).

Kanyon

Wow!!! BIG kick!

One of the hardest tasks for him was to throw the ball
from above his head using both hands, but by the end
of the season, he'd mastered it!

As with all the sports that the boys do, it was fun while it happened, but we were all glad when it was done, too! I've decided that 6-8 weeks is the perfect amount of time for young kids' sports. It's long enough for them to improve, but short enough that they (and us) don't get tired of it!

Pump, Pump It Up

The day of Tawna's wedding (July 5) also happened to be the same day as the Demolition Derby in Salmon. This is a huge annual event, and one that my boys have never missed. They were so sad when they found out they wouldn't be able to go this year, but the wedding of a family member always takes higher priority. For weeks they watched as our neighbors the Troughton's got their cars (FOUR this year!) ready to go for the event, and they always had some sadness in their eyes that they wouldn't be able to watch these same cars crash at the derby. I wanted to make it up to them, because I knew it was a big sacrifice on their part to miss it, so I promised them that when we went to the wedding, we'd do something super fun that they would just love. 

Since Kanyon is old enough and tall enough now to go on water slides, I thought that would be the perfect activity. I reserved a hotel room right across from the Cowabunga Bay water park in Draper, and I promised the boys at the beginning of summer that the day after Tawna's wedding, we would go the water park. 

When we checked into our hotel in between Tawna's luncheon and wedding, the boys watched out the window at the water park for a while, and they became excited with the thought of going there the next day. I was glad it helped relieve some of the sadness of missing an event in Salmon that they love so much.

The next morning, we ate breakfast, packed up, and checked out of the hotel. I thought the water park opened at 10:00, but when we drove across the street at 9:50, nobody was there. A Hispanic gentleman was washing the sidewalks, and I asked him what time the park opened, but he didn't know what I was saying. I walked up to the entrance gate, and noticed that the park didn't actually open until 11. Josh was so irritated with me at this point, because he was happily reading a book when I announced that we needed to check out of the hotel when we did, and now it was all for nothing. I told him we could just get our room back for an hour, because I was sure it would be fine with the hotel, but he said he didn't want to sit for an hour in a room with restless children. Apparently there was nothing I could do to make that man happy at the moment! So I suggested that we go to the nearby store IKEA instead. He drove us there, and said he wasn't going inside (he wanted to finish reading his book). Thankfully, that store opened at 10 (perfect for us!) and I took the boys inside with me for 45 minutes. Kanyon played in the child drop-off area, and the older 3 boys explored the store on their own (thankfully it wasn't too busy, but I barely ever saw them inside!). I love that store, and I was glad for the chance to walk around at my own pace looking at furniture and home accessories. I only bought a few small things, and by the time we got back to the car, Josh was done reading his book and he was in a much better mood.

We drove back to the water park, and this time it was crowded and busy and we waited in line to get in. Once we got inside the park, we picked out some chairs to lay all our stuff on. The water slides weren't on, so we all got some tubes and played in the lazy river for about an hour.

Josh and I floated, and the boys played tag. Then Kanyon went down the Kiddie area slide. By noon, the big slides still weren't on, and we were starting to get bored.

Thankfully, my sister Tabbi came around that time. She told me the night before that she wanted to spend the next day with us because she doesn't have many opportunities to hang out with our family or my kids. She got a pizza, and we ate lunch with her, watching and hoping that the big waterslides would be turned on soon, because that was the whole reason we'd come to the water park.

A short while later, water started coming on and out of the big attraction, and the boys were once again excited at the prospect of going down the waterslides. There were some large buckets that filled, and poured water on the people below. The boys did that a few times waiting for the water level to reach the very top so the waterslides would be open.

But by 1:00, 2 hours after coming, the waterslides still weren't on. We did not want to spend our entire day waiting for them to come on. I spoke to a lady in the ticket shop, who told me that the park had run out of water the previous day (it had been the hottest day of the summer so far at 104 degrees), and that they were trying to prime the pump to have enough pressure to run the waterslides. I told Josh what the lady had told me, and he wanted to just leave and go home. Thankfully, since Tabbi was with us, she had a different idea. She said there was a Boondocks Family Fun Center not far from the water park, and we could go there instead.

I went back to the front desk and told the lady that we wanted our money back (we paid $20 a person for 4 hours, and we'd already been there 2 hours without any waterslides) because we were going to leave. She told me she would let us stay for the rest of the day for free, but that didn't work for us because we were making the 6-hour drive home to Salmon that day. She told me she would give us free passes for another day, but I told her we had no plans to come back to Utah that summer. We'd paid cash to get into the park, and we wanted our money back to go elsewhere. I wasn't going to back down, and thankfully she finally gave us our money back. 

The boys were so disappointed, but it would've been worse to keep waiting there. We drove to Boondocks, and got the 3-activity pass plus 10 arcade coins for each family member (which came to about the same price as we'd just paid at the water park). Our first activity was miniature golf (Kanyon's favorite!).

Then we did Go-Kart races next. That was so much fun!!!

Kanyon rode with Tabbi.
I got a picture of them as I was driving, which proved to
be a hard task, thus the reason why my finger is showing.

My cart was so slow that Josh lapped me!!!
He loved that apparently, as evident by his smile.

 Our next activity was the Bumper Boats. Josh, Tabbi, Kanyon, and I each got our own boat (Kanyon was tall enough for this that he didn't have to ride with anyone like he did in Go-Karts). While we were waiting in line for it, the three older boys decided that they'd rather do Go-Karts again, so they switched lines. The boats all sprayed water, which was good because it was so hot outside and the water was a welcome reprieve. This was hilarious fun activity, and I laughed so hard! Kanyon got the best boat--his spray gun shot straight out and he nailed all of us several times. My boat was the worst--my spray gun shot straight up into the air, providing me no defense whatsoever!

Kanyon on the left, and Tabbi on the right.

Josh on the left, and Kanyon on the right.

 When we were done with Bumper Boats, we watched the 3 older boys do their second Go-Kart race. Ammon got a good car this time, and was in the lead for most of it.

Micah must've got the same car I'd had before, because it was super slow and always lagging!

Jonah was always in the middle of the pack, so it was hard to get a good photo of him until the races were over.

Then we went inside and played arcades for a while. Arcades are like slot machines for children with all the ringing sounds, buzzing lights, and tickets shooting out of the machines when you get lucky. We played for quite some time until all the coins were used up, and we had about 1,000 tickets to redeem between the 4 kids (Josh, Tabbi, and I all donated our tickets to them). Then they picked out cheap prizes for their earnings (like small dollar toys and candies).

Then it was time to say good-bye to Tabbi. I was so glad she'd joined us for the day! She was so much fun to have around and she'd saved us twice that day--once with the nice pizza at the water park when the kids were getting bored, and once with her idea to go to Boondocks when Josh just wanted to leave and go home early.

On the way home, we noticed that the water park STILL didn't have their water slides turned on (this was 3 hours later), and we knew that we'd made the right choice to leave when we did. We stopped in Tremonton just long enough to eat dinner with my parents before driving to Salmon. We arrived home after 10:00 that night, a little later than we'd planned, but the day worked out good despite its early beginnings to be a vacation disaster! The boys still have never been to a WORKING water park, so we rectified that day's disappointments by scheduling to go to the new one in Rexburg next week!!! (Hopefully that water park trip will be a success!)

1,000th one

This is my 1,000th blog post.

It took me over 6 years of writing, proofreading, taking pictures, and uploading photos to reach this landmark post; but I sincerely love journaling and capturing our lives through a camera lens, so I think it has been well worth all the time!

When I first started blogging in 2008, my family looked like this:

Now in 2014, this is what we look like:

In another 6 years, in 2020, our oldest will be out of the house, our youngest will be a teenager, our twins will be in high school, and Josh and I will both be in our forties.

Looking back on the last 6 years since I started this online journal, it seems like time has passed so slowly. But when I think about that same amount of time in the future from now, it seems like it's passing too quickly.

Life is all about the journey. I'm so grateful that I blog because it helps me better remember the essence of time we have shared together.

Mawwage Bwings us Togetha

As Tawna and Bryce joined hands at the beginning of their marriage ceremony, their minister Jenna proclaimed "Mawwage. It's what bwings us togetha today.". Everyone in attendance chuckled, and she said "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I've always wanted to say that." Having the minister say this quote from the Princess Bride as the opening line of the ceremony was just one aspect that made my sister's wedding so much fun! 

The evidence of the good time is totally visible here:

And if the bride and groom are having fun at their own wedding, then you can be sure everyone else did, too! Their wedding was like a fun party; it was the funnest wedding I've ever been to!

The wedding party danced down the aisle to music...

Bryce's entry kicked it up a notch, too! (literally)

But I think I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm going to rewind a little bit.

Two of my younger sisters got married this summer. Trina, my youngest sister, got married in Logan in June. Just one month later, Tawna's wedding to Bryce was the day after Independence Day in Draper. They started off the day with a family/friend luncheon in Bryce's parents' backyard in Midvale. It was a relaxed atmosphere and a nice opportunity for members of the two families to meet each other before the big event that evening.  

In between the luncheon and the wedding, my family checked ourselves into a nearby hotel and got dressed and ready for the evening. It was the first time the 3 younger boys had worn a real tie (one that doesn't have to be clipped on or zipped up), so Josh helped them tie them on just right. Kanyon absolutely hates wearing ties and will NEVER wear them to church. He says they bother his neck. He had been complaining for a month about having to wear a tie at Tawna's wedding. But a week before the wedding, he pulled some of his long soccer socks out of his drawer and said he wanted to wear them to the wedding because they matched. When we were at the hotel, and Josh was helping him with his tie, he was again very unhappy that he had to wear it. Then I pulled the long socks out of his bag, and told him he needed to put his socks on because they matched his tie. After her put his socks on, though, he realized they wouldn't be seen under his pants. So, we rolled his pants up so the socks could be seen. This seemed the only way to make him happy about wearing a tie: showing off his matching socks. He was so proud of his final look, and we were glad that he stopped complaining about wearing the tie! !

 We arrived at Cactus and Tropicals about an hour before the wedding was to begin, in case we needed to help set up. Everything was pretty much all set, though, so we took in our lovely surroundings. Cactus and Tropicals is a big plant store with a large greenhouse. It has an open space in the middle that is accommodating for large group events. It isn't a traditional place you'd think of to have a wedding, but it was so beautiful! And it really added to the fun and whimsical atmosphere of the wedding.

As I was taking photos of the wedding location, my dad photobombed it!!!

There were little paths all throughout the store among all the plants. It was a large place and so fun to wander around!

Tawna's colors were yellow and gray, with an accent of turquoise. Everyone in the family dressed up in the coordinating colors. There were probably 50 shades of gray and yellow being worn!!!

My boys looked so handsome in their coordinating ties

Dan & Trina

BreAnne, Brendan, & Cody

Aspen, Jen, Liberty, Sunny, Mick, & Abby

Tabbi & Cousin Liz
(she didn't get the memo about 50 shades of certain colors,
so she sprang a fan including the correct hues instead!)

Dad & Mom

When my mom saw me, she discovered a large slit in the back of my dress. I hadn't realized it was so big until I put the dress on the hotel, but I figured there was nothing that could be done about it. She of course had an emergency sewing kit, and she had me go with her to the bathroom so she could fix it. She got on her hands and knees and sewed that slit for me for about 20 minutes. There was lots of activity going on in the bathroom with people getting ready for the event, and I felt like the evil stepmother making Cinderella do my handiwork.

When she was done, I wanted to get away from all the chaos, so we found a quiet spot and took our seats near the front of the seating area.

There was some yellow ribbon marking off the seats of where the family members should sit, and Kanyon immediately got to work making an Indian headdress out of it! He was very happily occupied with that ribbon until the wedding started, so I gladly let him have it (although we got some strange looks from the kids across the aisle)!

When the wedding processional began, I wasn't at all ready for what transpired. Members of the wedding party danced their way down the aisle to different songs. It was so funny! I loved the dance moves of Jenna, I enjoyed watching the moms being twirled, and seeing the skip in the step of all the men was so delightful. Then Bryce's entry was unforgettable--especially with the inclusion of his grandma as he neared the end of the aisle! (You'll have to watch the above video, it's the best!) The little flower girls, two young nieces of the bride & groom, dropped yellow flower petals before Tawna's entrance. She had a traditional song playing as my dad escorted her.

Jenna, the wedding minister, is Bryce's sister. She was Tawna's roommate many years ago, and she's the one who introduced Tawna to Bryce. Because she knew the bride and groom both so well, she gave a very personalized ceremony. It was very fitting!

Several other people were involved in the ceremony, too. Bryce's dad gave words of advice. Tawna's (and mine!) sister Tabbi and Bryce's twin brother Brandon both spoke about love. Tawna and our mom, and Bryce with his mom, tried to light separate candles and join the candle light together on a bigger candle. But the lighter wasn't working, and it took several people and more than one lighter and the A/C unit being turned off for it to work! (It was over 100* outside, so the A/C didn't stay off for long because we were all starting to sweat!!!)

Tawna talked about the many reasons why she loves Bryce.

And Bryce told her the many reasons why he loves her, too.

Everyone was all smiles throughout the entire ceremony. It was such a truly wonderful wedding! At the end, they said their "I Do's" and the ceremony was done (and the Air Conditioning was turned back on, thank goodness!). And they danced together on their way back to the aisle to the tune of "I'm on Top of the World", and the audience clapped in rhythm on their departure.

It was only a little hectic for the momentary time between the wedding and the reception, because that was the designated time for family pictures. All the chairs needed to be cleared from the wedding area and set around the tables for people to eat at the reception, members of the family needed to be gathered, and time was short so it all had to happen quickly. The photographer seemed a little overwhelmed with all the people in the small space, too. I admit I was a little disappointed with how the big family picture turned out. We were all wearing matching clothes and looking good (not at all common for our type of family photos). I wish we'd kept a few of the chairs from the wedding so that some of the family members could sit and everyone would be visible. Brendan's face is hiding behind my dad's, Sunny is facing backwards, Dad is half-hidden, and Jen's face is bright in the sunlight...but it was a feat to have us all together in one place, and for such a happy occasion, too!

Bride & Groom with the Perkins family

Perkins siblings (minus Lisa)

Then it was Bryce's family's turn. At least you can see everyone's faces in his family picture! And what a good-looking bunch they are!

And just like that, the reception began. It was just as fun as the wedding. There was a large dessert assortment, an ice cream bar, and a drink-mixing bar (which included non-alcoholic beverages). Josh and I took turns the whole night scooping ice cream with Jen & Aspen, and Ammon & Bryce's nephew Duncan.

There was fun music playing, and I danced to the music as I was serving the ice cream! Whenever I wasn't serving, I tried to go around and visit with people. I recognized some people from my high school days that were Tawna's friends, and some extended family dropped by, too.

Aunt Janet, Uncle John, Mom, Ileen, Aunt Connie, and Dad

Dad's uncles & aunts came: Frank, Bev, Gene & Shirley, & Dean, 

Tawna's and my friend Jackie. I haven't seen her in 15 years!

 There was an awesome photo booth at the entry of the reception for people to have their photos taken in, then added to the wedding guest book. There were props and accessories that could be worn in the photos, too. That was so much fun! I did it twice with Josh and once with Micah. Kanyon had it done once with cousin Aspen. Unfortunately, Ammon and Jonah never did it. There was a long line to do it at first, so Jonah waited. But then Jonah and Kanyon were taken back to the hotel early by Josh because Kanyon didn't want to stay at the reception after an hour so Jonah never got the chance. Ammon thought it was dumb and chose not to do it (party pooper material right there). The best part was that each photo strip printed twice: one for the guest book and one for the guests to keep. I'm so glad that we got to take home our copies!

A close-up of my favorite takes with Josh.

Micah's favorite outfit from the photo booth.
He reminded us of Sir Elton John!

Micah adding our picture strip to the guest book.

 Towards the end of the evening, one of my favorite songs to dance to ("Timber" by Ke$ha) was playing, and I pulled Josh out to dance with me in the open space near the reception line. Ammon was mortified to watch his parents dance, and said it was embarrassing to watch us "grind". I can assure you that there was no grinding happening, though! I love dancing with Josh, and I was so happy that he was willing to dance with me in front of everyone, even if we were the only two on the dance floor!

The last activity at their reception was the cake-cutting. I loved the backdrop for the simple cake--the rows of pinned photos of Bryce and Tawna from their childhood and dating years:

I found these two that included me, and they made me smile.
The photo on the left shows me in my bowl-haircut wearing my
favorite shirt when I was 6. I wore that shirt almost every day; I loved it so much!

It was a fantastic wedding and reception, and we all had a great time! We are so glad that Tawna and Bryce found each other and got married. They are good complements of each other, and they make a great couple! We are so happy for them and we were happy to be a part of their fun celebration!