tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74973129056240783192024-02-22T08:49:36.295-08:00The PricesWelcome to our BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-42275673865940886972015-07-25T20:16:00.001-07:002015-07-25T20:16:22.479-07:00Opportunity to Host an In Home Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I applied to host a Seventh Genereation Healthy Baby Home Party and you can too! I love Seventh Generation's products and their comportment to keeping harmful chemicals out of our homes. But have to admit that I shy away from them, because of costs being higher than mainstream products. Check out www.seventhgeneration.com for more info on their new community page and for your opportunity to apply to host a home party of your own!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykQL21TbG32OSijOx8Jm7IH3tlIrAxMP95ECMHHMIaAk2K1IUDGv2tVnWpAAAgrd-Gs7k3Yso528CUx-ON0nVxWJSGJGoIB1w4-daQdNfO7hXTIXQlZsGfdfY7uDljxHtgYx4umVEpTo/s1600/healthybabyhomeparty_v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykQL21TbG32OSijOx8Jm7IH3tlIrAxMP95ECMHHMIaAk2K1IUDGv2tVnWpAAAgrd-Gs7k3Yso528CUx-ON0nVxWJSGJGoIB1w4-daQdNfO7hXTIXQlZsGfdfY7uDljxHtgYx4umVEpTo/s320/healthybabyhomeparty_v2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">What is a Healthy Baby Home Party?</b> Seventh Generation's Healthy Baby Home Parties are fun and informative for you and your guests, and together you will create a healthy environment for your families! And of course, the most fun of all is the opportunity to get together and talk about your kids and the things that matter to you most.</div>
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The Healthy Baby Home Party kit contains educational information from non-profit partner Healthy Child Healthy World, a fun party game to help you share tips, and products and coupons from Seventh Generation, bobble, Zarbee's Naturals, and other brands.</div>
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Hosts and guests will also be invited to join us in asking our U.S. Senators to reform chemical policy. For more information on our perspective, visit:<a href="http://www.seventhgeneration.com/responsibility" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #69bae8; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.seventhgeneration.com/responsibility</a>.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">What is the Application Process?</b></div>
<li style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">All applicants must be members of Generation Good first. Sign up at generationgood.net.</li>
<li style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Accept the Healthy Baby Home Party Application offer on your Generation Good dashboard and complete the application.<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
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<li style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Applicants will be notified in mid August on whether or not they have been selected to host a party via an email to the email address assigned to their Generation Good member profile.<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
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<li style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">All selected applicants will then be asked to confirm their participation by accepting the Healthy Baby Home Party Mission and confirming their shipping address before they are sent the Healthy Baby Home Party Kit.<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
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Each selected host will then receive a free party kit in the mail. We ask that all parties are held in August/September. For full Terms and Conditions:<a href="http://www.seventhgeneration.com/content/healthy-baby-home-party-terms-conditions" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #69bae8; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.seventhgeneration.com/content/healthy-baby-home-party-terms-conditions</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-61410912050425241932014-06-20T16:24:00.001-07:002014-06-20T16:24:54.677-07:00Vacation Roadtrip 2014 Days 6<div dir="ltr">
On the 6th day of our vacation we headed into Downtown Houston to check out the Aquarium. Growing up going to the Vancouver Aquarium and having many friends and family members that frequented the Seattle Aquarium my expectations were high. Several people warned us that it wasn't that great, but since it was part of our City Pass we went and checked it out.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biggest tank at the Aquarium</td></tr>
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Everyone was right it was a bit disappointing. We were able to walk slowly through the main aquarium in less than an hour. Most of the fish were your average aquarium fish. The highlights of the main part for my kids were the boa constrictor and the white bangled tiger. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elli and the Boa</td></tr>
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Our City Pass didn't include entrance to the carnival rides outside the aquarium or the train that drove through a tunnel on the shark exhibit. So that was another disappointment for the kids.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tiger</td></tr>
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We did however get into the sting ray exhibit and I had just enough cash to buy the food to feed the rays. To feed them you have to hold a little minnow fish between your knuckles, put your had under the water and wait for them to come up and suck the fish out of your hand. It was equally cool and disgusting at the same time.</div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OIvfHWsZExc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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The Sting Ray Cove definitely redeemed the day!</div>
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After we finished at the Aquarium we drove over to the Museum District and checked out the Children's Museum. It was pretty good, for a children's museum. Lots of stuff for kids to climb and play on. Lots of scientific stuff for the kids to learn from. It was Elli's favorite part of the trip, but the boys were less impressed with it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building Rockets</td></tr>
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Our favorite part of this museum was the hands on area in the basement. They had little stations set up where you could make paper airplanes, rockets and parachutes. Then you could test out your creation in their launch cage or wind tunnels. My mechanically minded kids (and husband) could have spent all day there. They also had a Lego vehicle building station and a couple test tracks to race the vehicles on.</div>
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All in all, it was a fun day. Next post... NASA!!!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-45582702583406212592014-05-19T19:59:00.000-07:002014-05-19T19:59:13.308-07:00Vacation Roadtrip 2014 Days 4 &5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Day 4 of our vacation was rather uneventful and I didn't take a single picture. We had Egg & I for breakfast and went to Walmart and bought Zaccheaus new swim shorts, since he packed his old ones from last summer. Then we went to visit Josh's mom at her apartment and made plans for taking her out with us the next day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for Breakfast</td></tr>
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We had breakfast at Kelley's Country Cooking, a local chain restaurant. The portions were gigantic and no one could eat all their food. We left with 3 boxes of left overs. After breakfast we headed over to the Museum District of Houston and checked out the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mock up a refinery made out of neon lights</td></tr>
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There was a whole area dedicated to the local mega industry of oil refining. The kids really enjoyed this because it helped them further understand what happens at Josh's work. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning about the oil industry</td></tr>
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Next we checked out the fossils on display at the museum. This was by far the biggest display of dinosaur bones and fossils I had ever seen. They had several different dinosaurs, mammoths, giant turtles and other creatures. There was even a skeleton of a giant sloth, that I am not entirely sure was real.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're having fun, really they are</td></tr>
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The kids liked seeing the real skeletons of creatures from all the different movies they've seen. I kept hearing that one's from Ice Age, that's the T-Rex from Land Before time. Joshua carefully documented the whole area with pictures on his DS.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree samplings of petrified wood</td></tr>
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The gallery of petrified wood slices was so cool. The slices of trees would make the most beautiful artwork to hang up at home. Too bad it would cost a fortune to get some. Several of the samples were from Washington State!<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seeing how much each metal weighs</td></tr>
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In the basement of the museum was a science lab with a big interactive periodic table (I wish LeapFrog or some other company would make something like that) and lots of interactive exhibits for kids to learn about matter, the solar system, the weather and elements.<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdufPKxUg6whgFWXeoYuRsixY-BtMz3ris4ihYSLrEYC8-Q4WadcRtzr8xfF7J3WEuMu6ak-6TCx-f1zWXrZsPOmde45v_c7EUuYqnAsZ69meB_tI8rYcrYVwW8D6qkldgq_jaPuiITWk/s1600/20140513_141634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdufPKxUg6whgFWXeoYuRsixY-BtMz3ris4ihYSLrEYC8-Q4WadcRtzr8xfF7J3WEuMu6ak-6TCx-f1zWXrZsPOmde45v_c7EUuYqnAsZ69meB_tI8rYcrYVwW8D6qkldgq_jaPuiITWk/s1600/20140513_141634.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the weather lab</td></tr>
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After the basement we went up to the second floor, where they had exhibits on sea shells/ sea life and a huge exhibit on rocks and gems. The older two have always been interested in Geology so this exhibit was really neat for them. Unfortunately this exhibit was so dark I didn't get a single good picture. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elli wanted her picture taken by the Zebra, but she refused to pose. LOL</td></tr>
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Across the hall from the rock and gem exhibit was the African Animal exhibit. We didn't spend a whole lot of time here as it was just stuffed African animals. The kids have all been to zoos with live versions that were more entertaining than the stuffed version. ;-)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EpB1D9sKJoxfrnz4kx6Gv54LTMzaXqfUsmtijJR8vFSYvyFOAAIeMjXV2szPYohnfSl9qnYIqWt7fi9KRy0LbQkTRI9e_Z2Pja7WpCgy7KRu5yL9UsbuzRuI_sHamiYn0s5yFLCo1B0/s1600/20140513_150944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EpB1D9sKJoxfrnz4kx6Gv54LTMzaXqfUsmtijJR8vFSYvyFOAAIeMjXV2szPYohnfSl9qnYIqWt7fi9KRy0LbQkTRI9e_Z2Pja7WpCgy7KRu5yL9UsbuzRuI_sHamiYn0s5yFLCo1B0/s1600/20140513_150944.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the Egyptian artifacts</td></tr>
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On the third floor there was an Egyptian exhibit full of many different artifacts from different time periods. There was several mummy's on display and when we came up on one Elli would say "Great another dead guy". She was a little creeped out by them.<br />
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Also on the third floor was a exhibit of the Americas that included displays on the Inca, Mayan, Native American and Inuit cultures. After seeing all the mummy's Elli thought the Eskimo mannequin was another "dead guy" and got really freaked out for a second because that one was standing up.<br />
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If you ever come to Houston the HMNS is a must see. We learned later in the week that Thursdays from 2-5 was free, but we didn't mind since our tickets were part of our City Pass that Josh bought through his work. You can walk through it fast in about 3 hours or slow down and spend all day there. Either way it is fun. I had my pedometer on and we walked 5 miles that day!<br />
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More post coming soon!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-52020887884431806772014-05-15T19:53:00.000-07:002014-05-15T19:53:25.681-07:00Vacation Roadtrip 2014 Days 1,2 & 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally feel recovered enough from our drive that I can share about it. Man that was a long drive!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-x1ci8c45llP0B5S7YThzTSMByWwBfnnQ1Za75S9h6lk7OamfyyyI-FM8ORfLwCjU8nP7laU-B21vape5o_7SgiWlsYp-p5vSyswAUdWJOj-q_gbY6O8-Dl7_Dft-cbgk8KJItVSJbA/s1600/2014-05-15_21.05.48%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-x1ci8c45llP0B5S7YThzTSMByWwBfnnQ1Za75S9h6lk7OamfyyyI-FM8ORfLwCjU8nP7laU-B21vape5o_7SgiWlsYp-p5vSyswAUdWJOj-q_gbY6O8-Dl7_Dft-cbgk8KJItVSJbA/s1600/2014-05-15_21.05.48%5B1%5D.png" height="302" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The route we took</td></tr>
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We left at 4am on Friday and began our trek to Josh's dad's house near Houston. As soon as we were into Eastern Washington Elli began asking if we were in Texas yet. She was not happy when we explained she had a day and a half to go.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Cn16mbJNVv-dVom2x9XxUXOf6kDJZT1PqNZsuNtumtEhMovgMR_3ZD0b7ZqunrvW6SOqc_Tm0S5vuEyJzTsyJMRRhjtu1-_VkArFHOYF4coEW5RyiGHnz7O_XkLw0CpLFgj9IAvyR6w/s1600/20140509_131617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Cn16mbJNVv-dVom2x9XxUXOf6kDJZT1PqNZsuNtumtEhMovgMR_3ZD0b7ZqunrvW6SOqc_Tm0S5vuEyJzTsyJMRRhjtu1-_VkArFHOYF4coEW5RyiGHnz7O_XkLw0CpLFgj9IAvyR6w/s1600/20140509_131617.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastern Washington</td></tr>
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We seemed to be traveling ahead of some storm system. Just as we were leaving each region we would get a weather warning on our phones for that area. We experienced nearly every type of weather possible. Rain, hail, lightning, thunder, sunshine, SNOW, fog and high winds were some we drove through.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N8LTagkykyI1g-gu2rm1gbUu14CeadFk9ah1E5ZC9il6-ga5YZHL-4W9QebwQD7DY9rF5Vf73mMhdRJZIDZQppN15NYzM4Pmcl4qI1ITlghJfQWa5VXFkQFd9SuVlJT284Z8g5dHqjA/s1600/20140509_165207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N8LTagkykyI1g-gu2rm1gbUu14CeadFk9ah1E5ZC9il6-ga5YZHL-4W9QebwQD7DY9rF5Vf73mMhdRJZIDZQppN15NYzM4Pmcl4qI1ITlghJfQWa5VXFkQFd9SuVlJT284Z8g5dHqjA/s1600/20140509_165207.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love wind turbines! These are in Eastern Oregon. Pay no attention to the crack in my windshield. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Josh and I took turns driving and basically changed seats at each fill up. Although I think he did more night driving than I did. I don't do well at night. </div>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPKdLjZPL3zF-z1d6BKfFBU0jhwfmrH-r4mpLNFiwyF-ogDzuEe72YHZSbt0qNWJVp-tz4NZRZ9XMZUxJ81QNdhhn6WZ02f76EKltwehl1wTqg2rIbrXgaWWWrVM2yhyRT8jpBbaFDJw/s1600/20140510_122518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPKdLjZPL3zF-z1d6BKfFBU0jhwfmrH-r4mpLNFiwyF-ogDzuEe72YHZSbt0qNWJVp-tz4NZRZ9XMZUxJ81QNdhhn6WZ02f76EKltwehl1wTqg2rIbrXgaWWWrVM2yhyRT8jpBbaFDJw/s1600/20140510_122518.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wyoming</td></tr>
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When we crossed through the mountains (around 10pm PST) of Wyoming I was trying to sleep and for some reason I woke up really nauseous, so we ditched the plans of trying to make it to Denver and got a room for the night in Rawlins, WY. I am so thankful we did that. We got one room and all squeezed in. Everyone slept well, we got a large free breakfast and we were back on the road by 11am PST.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUKkmmT2uEzKWpU92GQGQoCPWUYQ_f4FbnrL7ymC86f93jlMvrFjvVt7lfadONw2jOnd32i5-iGGuSyomOPTd54w7zKBNxAfjPecTSmM52AsSiCXUoXgQqY54NX99qUZn4q9wSPl28yU/s1600/20140510_144039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUKkmmT2uEzKWpU92GQGQoCPWUYQ_f4FbnrL7ymC86f93jlMvrFjvVt7lfadONw2jOnd32i5-iGGuSyomOPTd54w7zKBNxAfjPecTSmM52AsSiCXUoXgQqY54NX99qUZn4q9wSPl28yU/s1600/20140510_144039.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elli playing the game she got in her Chick-Fil-A meal</td></tr>
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Anyone who really knows me knows I do not eat fast food, but on a road trip it's hard to stop and eat at a good restaurant. There are 2 fast food places I will make an exception for. At home it's Taco Time and I only get the salad. On this trip, it's been Chick-Fil-A! On day 1 we stopped for lunch there just outside Boise. Day 2 found us eating a late lunch there in Denver. Josh really loves their food and I find it doesn't make me sick like some other fast food places, so we'll be eating there a lot on this trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_zpcchJLgAJNkrTeLCrjNDYdOAZfzjH7XhjFOGEJlLq63VJ9rLm7msXpMhGUYjlNZs33OnJJK9GKcg4w2YoJ3qHni-giM-nJe28uZfpeFQ527CqteBaQQPO0rQbmX4yP_GtXM_MOWFQ/s1600/20140511_155627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_zpcchJLgAJNkrTeLCrjNDYdOAZfzjH7XhjFOGEJlLq63VJ9rLm7msXpMhGUYjlNZs33OnJJK9GKcg4w2YoJ3qHni-giM-nJe28uZfpeFQ527CqteBaQQPO0rQbmX4yP_GtXM_MOWFQ/s1600/20140511_155627.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh crashed as soon as we got to his dad's</td></tr>
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We pushed through on the second day/ night and got into Houston around 9am EST on the third day. Needless to say we were pretty tired and took our turns taking naps throughout the day.<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbN_3tE-ARvnuhAl4XoziqR-OpWLgGy2ccomKJZhxvEDnfGE8uh82E-iKiVPr7unu9DZiforDkfrd0d38JkNszCjsmNz9vqehRkrUxAZUtyQaQoyGnn6l28bBJmJg3TQC0VAog4ChyphenhyphenrKs/s1600/20140511_165604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbN_3tE-ARvnuhAl4XoziqR-OpWLgGy2ccomKJZhxvEDnfGE8uh82E-iKiVPr7unu9DZiforDkfrd0d38JkNszCjsmNz9vqehRkrUxAZUtyQaQoyGnn6l28bBJmJg3TQC0VAog4ChyphenhyphenrKs/s1600/20140511_165604.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tasty Kake Fairy Visited Josh while he slept!</td></tr>
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While Josh was napping, Elli and I ran to the store and found some of Josh's favorite treats that we can't get in Washington. He used to get these all the time when he lived in Pennsylvania as a kid and I used to buy them for him online, but when I tried last time they didn't sell them online anymore. He was so excited to hear they had them in Texas. I think we may be taking a few boxes home with us when we leave. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CztxrFGZEacWH1DYszQPLgltmpF5QjasuYiDhd4BeNMDq5z7vDsfHT2zt_ixcWUdBSFkdIRikEU6hDI2l6d8YT1g2nEoxcOuliw1Xgsh5ImICle2LyBkB5tboh44EEnvP5vxQo1ATc0/s1600/IMG_20140511_140057%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CztxrFGZEacWH1DYszQPLgltmpF5QjasuYiDhd4BeNMDq5z7vDsfHT2zt_ixcWUdBSFkdIRikEU6hDI2l6d8YT1g2nEoxcOuliw1Xgsh5ImICle2LyBkB5tboh44EEnvP5vxQo1ATc0/s1600/IMG_20140511_140057%5B1%5D.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids in the pool</td></tr>
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Josh's dad's house has a pool out back, so once we were rested a bit we let the kids play until it was time for dinner. The kids are loving it here! I'm having fun, but can't wait to get back to my home. I feel so out of place down here. I'm pretty sure the locals can sense that I am not from here. LOL<div>
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I'll share the rest of our adventures soon...Stay tuned....</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-65889453008878707502014-04-21T11:23:00.001-07:002014-04-21T11:23:45.655-07:00He's a Sailor now<div dir="ltr">
The Price men are notoriously dreamers and adventurers. They enjoy learning, trying new things and living life to the fullest. Josh's latest dream has been sailing. He went sailing once on a trip with his dad in the Virgin Islands and recalls it fondly. Being that I am not a swimmer we have never done much with regards to water, as I don't want to drown and die. </div>
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But after talking with "the guys at work" who are sailors there was no holding this dream back. Josh wants to sail! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXFXOinpxa7KxSsduME16nSmk0zZD3GDdr5ALICRurVEmp02a79Q5qHm3cYtihnAqTwR2FFxdmWEYUoAh8nND10kU-PCjwifWE1dcQzf2YN7CZ1YrZFNebioHvXJ1i3D_qTrEdrDbvp4/s1600/20140222_111127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXFXOinpxa7KxSsduME16nSmk0zZD3GDdr5ALICRurVEmp02a79Q5qHm3cYtihnAqTwR2FFxdmWEYUoAh8nND10kU-PCjwifWE1dcQzf2YN7CZ1YrZFNebioHvXJ1i3D_qTrEdrDbvp4/s640/20140222_111127.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elli on the small boat we looked at back in March</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51aisahpqtqqiVq_eYGXLwnCWxjoeiXqow5hTyVRT5VjY-zZO0FUXwLUS7hIekGmjJJIXmNujVhX006SmL91l0ue0BueEs1cnhdstPzpW7zHnc_e_plmBFMvjI4GeK-Tjh2Nr3TvHi2w/s1600/20140222_111121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51aisahpqtqqiVq_eYGXLwnCWxjoeiXqow5hTyVRT5VjY-zZO0FUXwLUS7hIekGmjJJIXmNujVhX006SmL91l0ue0BueEs1cnhdstPzpW7zHnc_e_plmBFMvjI4GeK-Tjh2Nr3TvHi2w/s640/20140222_111121.jpg" /> </a> </div>
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So for the past 2 months we've been looking at sailboats for sale. Trying to figure out what would suit us. His work friends all suggested starting small (and several tried selling him their boats, so they could buy bigger ones), but we quickly learned that when you're 6'5", have 4 kids and a wife who can't swim a small sailboat doesn't really suit you. We started looking at bigger boats and we think we found the one that will fit us well. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ00huZ-d3S8vScTMZSuhu_PiOpByLMPS9MsFjJ1nO7FYv7TfHOs8zAm3oRiytopUDSlIlBUOZi2neRnIUMDo6VVNQHPxe3b4pi58cex8fiuZJ5joGdG8oqHFA0Rp961LiAr8iowUfis/s640/20140413_153800.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh's work friend Jim took us sailing! </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ00huZ-d3S8vScTMZSuhu_PiOpByLMPS9MsFjJ1nO7FYv7TfHOs8zAm3oRiytopUDSlIlBUOZi2neRnIUMDo6VVNQHPxe3b4pi58cex8fiuZJ5joGdG8oqHFA0Rp961LiAr8iowUfis/s1600/20140413_153800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0K6QKksLPUp3n9FQZamC8MS_5yjsGxjS2WrsdqAUxh1pUIhRjyTwuAVy6OB29RGoLEYkhlyEeQBQMTfNXJyV4Ux1LAvFuJNK0Zz49gVvz_WESlezl91eZRMwWXTC4qxP9WEqmTVyzRY/s640/20140413_180116.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagles at Blaine Harbor</td></tr>
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We are hoping to find one soon. Josh would love to take his dad and brothers out for their annual camping trip to the San Juan Islands. We also would use it for crabbing and fishing for the family.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0K6QKksLPUp3n9FQZamC8MS_5yjsGxjS2WrsdqAUxh1pUIhRjyTwuAVy6OB29RGoLEYkhlyEeQBQMTfNXJyV4Ux1LAvFuJNK0Zz49gVvz_WESlezl91eZRMwWXTC4qxP9WEqmTVyzRY/s1600/20140413_180116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4amw8obaIcUbGqnsA7rv-pUmZMHxwMjt2q7CWHayv-3R-fjgOLI465jeZCHdP5VKySDLXR6ZnzhWaCveG9NX5d7Aef-xUHqxGWgGPWdd97ntrYQhWpb8z9Xt28x1tckNeLa31sE_owQ/s640/20140418_113128.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a good thing I don't believe in luck because I'd have to change the name of this boat! </td></tr>
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<br />Last weekend we took a little day trip around the Puget Sound to look at some sailboats for sale. Josh had already researched boat makers and decided that a Catalina would be the boat for him. He sailed his friend's 30' and liked it, but he was too tall to stand down below. So we looked at some 36' and some 42'.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNvrrxo3Jsmz9C-EEQBpoSKf0idBRDSZlLvPlBJ0FkCYtklRIOVm16GFM8WOoTvoQnqnHjCi-CcU3vvNW8Re0AB2LCcna7tToAziicXeDCfLASoMUJ74Ld3CNLx1SDlEhBnPEPn-BxPs/s640/IMG_20140418_124004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding the Seattle-Bremerton Ferry last weekend</td></tr>
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FYI... there are some pretty nasty looking marinas in Bremerton!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNvrrxo3Jsmz9C-EEQBpoSKf0idBRDSZlLvPlBJ0FkCYtklRIOVm16GFM8WOoTvoQnqnHjCi-CcU3vvNW8Re0AB2LCcna7tToAziicXeDCfLASoMUJ74Ld3CNLx1SDlEhBnPEPn-BxPs/s1600/IMG_20140418_124004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a little too windy for Elli's hair this day</td></tr>
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While the 42' was the nicest boat we looked at (it had 2 bathrooms!), we liked the 36' the best. Josh could stand up inside, it had room for everyone & then some and (the deciding factor) a berth at the back with a bunk big enough for Josh and I. Now we wait and watch the market for our future boat! <div>
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Happy Sailing Friends!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-62451534911508402842014-03-20T20:54:00.001-07:002014-03-20T20:54:45.532-07:00The First Day of Spring<p dir="ltr">In past years we have alway done something fun for the first day of spring, but for some reason we stopped. I have no idea why, we just did. So this year I set out to bring back our celebrations!<br>
First I made rainbow pancakes for breakfast. Then, the kids and I got our deck all cleaned up (it was where we were storing our extra firewood through the winter). Followed by a fun afternoon together. We had a picnic lunch on the deck and did a scavenger hunt/ egg hunt around the yard. <br>
The sun was shining on us all afternoon. It was so nice being outside most of the day. A rare treat this early in the year in the PNW! <br>
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A while (maybe 2 yrs ago?) back I thought it would be fun for Elli to try out ballet, so I took her to a free day at DFJ. She did not listen at all, so we never went again. </div>
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Recently when we would drive by she would point out "oh! there's my ballet place! why can't I go there? Please, can I go there?" I wanted to say yes but it is so expensive and I wasn't sure how she would handle it this time around. So we waited. </div>
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A few weeks ago a friend posted pictures of her daughters ballet performance at FHS online and it looked like a great group to be a part of. I looked it up online and knew right away it was the ballet group for Elli. We used some of her Christmas money to get her dance gear and pay the initial fees and we waited until the morning of her first lesson to tell her the good news.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uP33Nk175x3NRBq8ImofHF8jpeu_7d3jqkqDZcyqx8gEKqcwBsYiXkHfM75WDs2nvKhrvrhO8qRUBq6ibhtvVjozAcH-rcmcfcW_swXFKb-yf5cHFLZCXrGISBc8_GLQALUoItz0WHM/s1600/IMG_20140107_094750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uP33Nk175x3NRBq8ImofHF8jpeu_7d3jqkqDZcyqx8gEKqcwBsYiXkHfM75WDs2nvKhrvrhO8qRUBq6ibhtvVjozAcH-rcmcfcW_swXFKb-yf5cHFLZCXrGISBc8_GLQALUoItz0WHM/s1600/IMG_20140107_094750.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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She was so happy to finally be going to ballet. </div>
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They did some real ballet moves....</div>
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They danced with scarves...</div>
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They also did some tumbling and jumping, but those were hard to get good photos of on my phone.</div>
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Her group is really small (only two other girls and two teachers), so it works well for keeping her interested. The free day we attended had about 15 toddlers participating, so this is much nicer. She seems to really like it and is really interested in learning this time around. Hope she keeps enjoying it! </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-44922050820410457702013-11-01T22:13:00.001-07:002013-11-01T22:30:01.028-07:00I love Influenster<p dir="ltr">A while back I signed up to be a part of an awesome program that allows me to sample new products in exchange for me writing reviews on said product and I'm loving it! So far I've just gotten two small sample boxes (called voxboxes), but there are larger ones to qualify for. (I'm hoping to get the next one!) The first sample I got was of some mouth wash. The second was for these awesome Dr. Scholl's Active Series insoles.</p>
<p dir="ltr">They are so nice and comfy and are bresthing new life into my old running shoes! As some of you may know I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot, so exercising is sometimes a painful experience, but not anymore. These things are the best I've tried (and I've tried many insoles). I would recommend them to anyone suffering from foot pain or that are just thinking about giving insoles a try! </p>
<p dir="ltr">If you want to become part of <a href="http://influenster. com">Influenster,</a> let me know and I'll send you an invite!</p>
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I know I've been neglecting my blog... I've been busy making memories with the family. Here's a picture recap of our summer...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9R_5yZ8qBKo2tgD-6L8_heEB2zJjUpZ7UJ5zsKW0FJORpLAr3oOQ7vF5kc-jzk3-ia3q1RMcZPkHYGvWOZly3BJzkYXIgY90f-p-kW1NXBSQ7TGXhlBgg0sn0vFh64iIuPQX_Po9MI8/s1600/zatrr.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9R_5yZ8qBKo2tgD-6L8_heEB2zJjUpZ7UJ5zsKW0FJORpLAr3oOQ7vF5kc-jzk3-ia3q1RMcZPkHYGvWOZly3BJzkYXIgY90f-p-kW1NXBSQ7TGXhlBgg0sn0vFh64iIuPQX_Po9MI8/s320/zatrr.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cheaus had a party and dinner at Red Robin for his birthday</div>
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Josh's work sponsored a family night at the Bellingham Bells game. Boundary Bay BBQ and playing with the mascots! So fun!</div>
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We moved! Hallelujah no more apartments! We are now Lyndenites! Whoop! Whoop!</div>
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Elli had a Little Mermaid Birthday party at the new house. </div>
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Elli got a new to her bike</div>
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We enjoyed the Lynden Fair... was so nice being able to walk there from the new house.</div>
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This is Joshua's first rodeo!</div>
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We are not against child labor in the Price household, kids are getting the car all sparkley for Josh.</div>
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And to bring our summer to an end, we joined our friends (and old neighbors) at Wild Waves in Federal Way for a special birthday celebration for their girls. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-50579406088012046242012-06-15T11:22:00.000-07:002012-06-15T11:22:36.458-07:00My Journey to Better Health, Part 5<b>"VIGINTI, VEINTE, VENTI!!!"</b><br /><br />I did not mean to abandon this series for so long! Some of you may have been wondering if I'm still keeping up with my health journey. Sorry to leave you all in the dark! We've been staying busy here finishing up the school year, having Gabriel's birthday party, took our first real family vacation, had all the kids sick with colds/sinus infection for a week and had Josh away for a week for fire training in Texas. So, not a lot of blogging time for me.<br />I've been doing really well at keeping up with my exercise routine of working out on my elliptical machine for 20 minutes every morning except Sundays and have only missed 1 or 2 days since getting the machine! I've also been trying to stay active throughout the rest of the day and going on walks or playing outside with the kids later in the day. Eating well is also going well, even while we were on vacation! Juicing has fallen by the wayside for a bit, but I'm hoping to get back into that soon.<br />I've had days where I felt like nothing was improving, no weight was being lost and just plain discouragement, but I pushed through it and kept working and am now starting to see the affects. I feel like I'm slimming down, but thanks to being a taller person haven't gone down in my clothing size yet. Finally yesterday, curiosity got to me and Elli and I walked over to the fitness center here and used their scale to check my weight... I lost TWENTY pounds! I can't believe it! I was expecting maybe 10, but not 20!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have lost the equivalent of 2- 10 lb bags of potatoes!!!</td></tr>
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I'm so thankful to all of you who encourage me and all of you are on similar health journeys, it's such a blessing to think of you all while I'm working towards my goals. Let's keep working hard!<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-36701319061680906762012-06-01T18:10:00.001-07:002012-06-01T18:10:46.460-07:00Surprise!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This past Tuesday (May 29th) we all loaded up in the Durango and headed off for a drive. I had already packed for everyone and had it loaded up. The kids had no idea where we were going. They came to consensus that we must be going to Auntie Trish's and Uncle Ben's because we never go anywhere else. After we past the Auburn area, they decided we must be going to visit my sister Shandi.<br />Shandi lives right down the road from our destination, so I let them keep on thinking that until we surprised them with the real destination in the video below!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlDy60UysGg_Inn-_huHxGP6pBjiPZzNfnys6EwqTQxS4bLiF8Stgun-9LIijVSdiWNj97c5feG8SHHUy5lQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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I love how Gabe is pretending to not be excited... LOL!</div>
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Here are some pictures of our fun time!</div>
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Joshua... He's getting all grown up & stuff... He needs to stop that!</div>
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Zaccheaus warming up in the kiddy pool</div>
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Elli getting sprayed at the Fort McKenzie part of the waterpark</div>
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She loved spraying everyone at the jet skis</div>
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Having fun at the kiddy slides</div>
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Shandi, Seaira, Sariah and Shanel(pictured above) came to play (a little fuzzy I know, but it was the best I got of her)</div>
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We watched the clocktower show each night we were there... The rhythm of nature song is now emblazoned into my memory and that's not a good thing. the show was filled with "lovely" lines like "trust the great wolfs howl" and "there's nothing to be scared of here, trust in Mother Nature"... Um, ya given the chance that great wolf would eat you and last time I checked nature cannot be trusted! ;-)</div>
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The story time afterwards was good though and the younger two enjoyed meeting the animal characters. On the first night Zaccheaus got all dressed up in his outfit just like the character Oliver, only to find out they just bring out one character each night and that night was Wiley's turn to be out for story time. The story reader lady noticed him all decked out in his Oliver garb, so she brought Oliver out for story time the second night we were there.</div>
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Zaccheaus and Oliver</div>
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Now Oliver being the mischievous raccoon that he is, sometimes is known to steal things... Like the story teller's book or a kids hat. Well, this evening Oliver was so excited that Zaccheaus dressed up just like him, he tried stealing Zaccheaus! He started walking off with him & Zaccheaus went right along with him... Of course they didn't go far and Oliver quickly returned my boy to me. </div>
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Gabe joined us for story time on the second night and Oliver gave him nooggies to get him to smile for the camera. </div>
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We all had a great time and the kids are all already ready to go back again!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-34338601141738091752012-05-13T08:40:00.004-07:002012-05-13T08:40:56.091-07:00To all the mom's out there....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ut9-OD5W43wuj6tWfXwtUuxnlvXT10uzH8Kx4jVolPQGbn9zX5klXTiKX9PWwuLHmi06fXMjfmABIskTHAkqPzJU8GFCLm2OQSF0JFknImy2PCE5SZfMtiyWwbq78_CaFzZuy13KLoU/s1600/mothers-day-gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ut9-OD5W43wuj6tWfXwtUuxnlvXT10uzH8Kx4jVolPQGbn9zX5klXTiKX9PWwuLHmi06fXMjfmABIskTHAkqPzJU8GFCLm2OQSF0JFknImy2PCE5SZfMtiyWwbq78_CaFzZuy13KLoU/s400/mothers-day-gifts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-17151350181253007962012-05-08T08:50:00.000-07:002012-05-08T08:50:43.799-07:00Life's a beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last Sunday evening we were sitting here in our apartment, bellies full from a big Sunday lunch, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our evening. The sun was out we could take the kids to play at Boulevard Park (or any other park) and walk the boardwalk... Which we do quite often. Go out to eat, but we weren't hungry. Go to a store and look around.... What to do? Then Josh suggests, why don't we drive out to Lummi, buy some fireworks and build a fire on the beach. Um, ya, lets do that! The kids will love it!</div>
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I walked around gathering beach glass, I ended up with about twice as much =)</div>
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Gabe is having fun... This is his happy face. ;-)</div>
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Hello little ferry boat, I think it's about time I go ride you again and check out that little island you go to.</div>
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Beautiful sunset over Gooseberry Point. </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-19054399806981034282012-05-02T09:32:00.001-07:002012-05-02T13:47:40.206-07:00Walk/Run for Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFPSfdS_Z4lvPLprkuD2uLYzueeIlEj07r8FpJrkLNgQTSFXVq-MbgCjHmt2VLBZYSasPKAbznxq1dengeiGgdU55QjYyqCHuByof5gMcrLjYHt_aSs-tPXzkO-bP7xEsfH9zril8ncU/s1600/7631EB8F-4A13-FB34-A304-6CD36C8B06C5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFPSfdS_Z4lvPLprkuD2uLYzueeIlEj07r8FpJrkLNgQTSFXVq-MbgCjHmt2VLBZYSasPKAbznxq1dengeiGgdU55QjYyqCHuByof5gMcrLjYHt_aSs-tPXzkO-bP7xEsfH9zril8ncU/s640/7631EB8F-4A13-FB34-A304-6CD36C8B06C5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hi All! The family and I are participating int the Walk for Life again this year. The WFL takes place on May 19 at Abundant Life Church here in Bellingham. The Walk is the primary fundraiser for the <a href="http://www.whatcomclinic.com/" target="_blank">Whatcom County Pregnancy Clinic</a>, a non profit crisis pregnancy clinic downtown. If you would be interested in donating to our fundraising efforts please visit our<a href="http://www.fundeasy.com/m/979534/" target="_blank"> fundraising page</a> where you can donate or even sign up to walk with us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-40847664191124546162012-05-01T13:19:00.000-07:002012-05-01T13:19:30.679-07:00My Journey to Better Health, Pt. 4<b>"My new Toy"</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjr5l9JTC97aGwP5SmrxtteoEdDnFvx5hdsnVVEuP-LYjgJSQmNCkKPNZiQ2yBuQRawLnrB0CzuF03JpJl0iP9QphMq7ASf7TZotREAaJ843uXYFd7yet32x9qWd1tAxKsU_SKUuFGJE/s1600/spin_prod_529546801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjr5l9JTC97aGwP5SmrxtteoEdDnFvx5hdsnVVEuP-LYjgJSQmNCkKPNZiQ2yBuQRawLnrB0CzuF03JpJl0iP9QphMq7ASf7TZotREAaJ843uXYFd7yet32x9qWd1tAxKsU_SKUuFGJE/s320/spin_prod_529546801.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have wanted an elliptical machine for a really long time. I've watched craigslist and thrift stores, but never came across one. One day while Josh was at Sears looking at tools, I popped over to the exercise equipment and fell in love with this elliptical. They had a used one at a great price & I was hoping to get it. Josh's only worry was where would we put it. There's not exactly an abundance of space with 6 people living in this apartment. We decided to give away our oldest computer and clear out what was my old desk area and I could fit it there. This process ended up taking longer than I planned and I missed out on the used one. Bummer! The next week's Sears add came in the Sunday paper and the same one was going to be on sale $400 off! Plus if I used my Sears card I would save 5% more! And I had a $5 off coupon (every penny counts!), so I got a screaming deal on a NEW one, cheaper than the used one I originally looked at!</div>
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My first few times on it, it was evident how out of shape I was. I could hardly do more than 5 minutes of a jogging speed without needing to stop. But I was determined not to be discouraged. I've kept at it exercising every morning, except Sundays and I've gotten up to being able to do 20 minutes! I'm doing just over a half a mile and increasing the resistance each week. This thing will be whipping my butt into shape in no time!<br /></div>
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<b><br /></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-10242937570751407642012-04-24T08:46:00.000-07:002012-04-24T08:46:44.174-07:00A bump in the nightOne morning about two weeks ago, I went to grab something out of the truck and stumbled upon this scene....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8q7TTgtMBumKaitR_6xhO9BScIgG8cwapTYvCa38xePgHwAA_i8cjtvUzjwTB331DuU6wXVI71dVhm8KTNK6YjL5HpajCp0dnx6YY8RwdZlWDDenGsDb1VmS137rhRf0qUJ1v5GnGBk/s1600/DSC07178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8q7TTgtMBumKaitR_6xhO9BScIgG8cwapTYvCa38xePgHwAA_i8cjtvUzjwTB331DuU6wXVI71dVhm8KTNK6YjL5HpajCp0dnx6YY8RwdZlWDDenGsDb1VmS137rhRf0qUJ1v5GnGBk/s320/DSC07178.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hmm... are those tail-light pieces under my bumper? Oh wait the bumper is cracked and hanging a little weird and the license is all mangled up.... Yep, I think someone really did hit the truck! No note left, so I called the police and reported it as a hit and run.<br />Later that day I went out for a bit and then returned home and found this guy in our parking lot...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb22BnvCFUejNR8fy9VIb3qXfZ6sg3C4D43BTJVE1VvN0MJYyLWeLUingySgrpAghJBi-EbcfrR5D91wQbhGFTTbzJ38D_5b75GyGaWT4b2hVJFJRBVFj6daKzFz3nO_-iGSFEQFFTnEI/s1600/theculprit.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb22BnvCFUejNR8fy9VIb3qXfZ6sg3C4D43BTJVE1VvN0MJYyLWeLUingySgrpAghJBi-EbcfrR5D91wQbhGFTTbzJ38D_5b75GyGaWT4b2hVJFJRBVFj6daKzFz3nO_-iGSFEQFFTnEI/s320/theculprit.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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HaHa! I found you! I had no clue which neighbor this was, so I had to search them out... Turned out to be the guy who lives right next door to me! I spent most the next day stressed about having to confront him and on more than one instance decided to let Josh just deal with it, but I knew it was my responsibility. I prayed for God to ease my nerves, give me the right words to say and to protect me from any danger. Then when I saw his car back in our lot, I took Elli with me (no one can be angry with her cuteness around) and I headed over to his apartment. At first he played dumb but agreed to give me his insurance information. Then I explained to him that a police officer might contact him, because technically this was a hit and run (his girlfriend wasn't too happy with him about that one). But, if we could just get the truck repaired I wouldn't press charges and this could be done with. The last thing I want to do is create strife between my neighbors and I. They were both thankful for my attitude and were very cooperative with me.<br />After getting their info and talking with their insurance, I took the truck into Olsen's and had an estimate done, $1000 worth of damage was done and it would take almost a week to get it fixed. So, a rental car would be available for me. This is what I ended up getting...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27XI-06-9yIS5NKr8K6hTB8q2SbPJHpE8J1_7kvNU4up-agyxJ7LiWcRzVa09RymsuBH4X8iU3BGWoMYHfGy36d3p-MBIS8g_N2gssgAE9jireAR7Dq-_woaEs4_yMULOe-FZb_K5EME/s1600/thevan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27XI-06-9yIS5NKr8K6hTB8q2SbPJHpE8J1_7kvNU4up-agyxJ7LiWcRzVa09RymsuBH4X8iU3BGWoMYHfGy36d3p-MBIS8g_N2gssgAE9jireAR7Dq-_woaEs4_yMULOe-FZb_K5EME/s320/thevan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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2012 Chrysler Town & Country... Now note; I am one of those people that HATES mini vans. But, man! This thing is fancy! The keys have buttons to open and close the back doors and the trunk, satellite radio, leather seats, dvd system and more than enough room for my family and all our accoutrements. Since we had such a plush ride this week Josh decided to go check out the new Cabela's over the weekend and visit his brother in Auburn. The kids and I have been looking forward to our daily errand runs and enjoyed a trip down to Skagit County to check out the tulips. </div>
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Look at all that space they have! I'm definitely going to miss it! I'm not going to miss the V-6 engine and an average of 18 mpg! My Jetta TDI has ruined me, if it doesn't get close to 45 mpg, I don't want it! Yes, I know I can't get 45 mpg and fit a family of 6 in the vehicle, but a girl can dream right? Maybe Josh can design one and make us millions! LOL</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-59018439340551413682012-04-21T08:18:00.000-07:002012-04-21T08:18:09.793-07:00My Journey to Better Health, Pt 3<b>"Getting my juices flowing"</b><br />
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I have had numerous friends suggest that I watch the documentary<a href="http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/"> "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead"</a> and give juicing a try... They were all on juicing diets, seeing great results and loving it. I've never been one to jump on bandwagons or follow the fads, so it takes me a while to finally give something a try.<br />One night while searching for something to watch on <a href="http://www.hulu.com/">Hulu</a> we came across the <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead">documentary</a> and decided it was time to listen to my friends and see what it was all about. What was different in this movie that I hadn't already heard from all those infomercials in the 80's and 90's? My brother had a mini juicer back when I was in high school and it ended up being too much of a hassle cutting the fruit and cleaning the machine that no one ever really used it. More recently Josh's mom gave us an old full size juicer, but it had the same fate as the previous one... Never being used. (Actually we ended up selling it on Craigslist in our failed attempt to move off to Texas.)<br />Anyhoo... back to the documentary. Josh and I were very skeptical at first, but the movie won us over. They went over how a healthy diet needs to be more micro-nutrient (or was it macro-nutrient?) based, as in the pyramid below;<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAUKgZYQo-cc3fQ_oz1VrQEy7WQE-Buo9b_-2Ql4YdnKR5syZytUdIqgNMNDwpxAriTTca6lprpxixl7eehHMioFb2-sBEzpIcExw0eC6QAV6800XYbzT9A28Ny0TL7dB-zCvVrQOmtI/s1600/pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAUKgZYQo-cc3fQ_oz1VrQEy7WQE-Buo9b_-2Ql4YdnKR5syZytUdIqgNMNDwpxAriTTca6lprpxixl7eehHMioFb2-sBEzpIcExw0eC6QAV6800XYbzT9A28Ny0TL7dB-zCvVrQOmtI/s320/pyramid.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">note; I have no idea who Dr Fuhrman is, he just had the right pyramid on his site =)</td></tr>
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While Josh and I weren't too keen on cutting down our meat/protein consumption to once a week and the idea of Josh "rarely" eating a steak is almost laughable. We did glean a few good points from the movie and decided to give juicing a try. The day after watching the movie I found a Jack LaLanne juicer at Costco and brought it home. The following weekend we went to Cash and Carry and bought a pallet cart full of fruits and veggies to try. We quickly learned what combos we liked and those we didn't.<br />Now we are about a month out from that and I've been making (mostly orange based) juices every morning and often make either a juice mix or a salad for lunch and have a regular dinner. I've also cut down my caffeine consumption from 1-3 servings a day to about 3 servings per week and have been working on drinking more water to stay hydrated. What a huge difference it has made! Between the juicing and the vitamins I started taking, I really feel the difference in my health... I haven't even had a single migraine since I started juicing! </div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I encourage you all to watch the movie and see if juicing can benefit you!</span> </div>
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<br />And here's a little video for you to watch and laugh at the juicing craze from back in the day... If you are not familiar with In Living Color or Jim Carrey's early work, this may not be funny to you. To me it's hilarious! ;-)</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-2027815070089604242012-04-18T17:56:00.000-07:002012-04-18T17:56:19.536-07:00Bham Herald Cute Kid Contest<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #19334d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><script src="http://bellinghamherald.upickem.net/engine/SubmissionWidget.aspx?PageType=VOTING&ContestID=56530&SubmissionID=19155769" type="text/javascript">
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</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #19334d; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">I entered a picture of Elizabeth into the the Bellingham Herald's Cutest Kid Contest in hopes of winning a gift certificate to our favorite consignment shop. Hop on over to their page and vote for her, please. =)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; height: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 1px;"><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Read more here: http://bellinghamherald.upickem.net/engine/SubmissionWidgetView.aspx?PageType=VOTING&ContestID=56530&SubmissionID=19155769&IncrementNumber=1#storylink=cpy</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-35919743089746460652012-04-16T13:24:00.001-07:002012-04-16T13:25:53.408-07:00Angel Food Loaf Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know it's a little ridiculous to post a dessert recipe during a series on better health and loosing weight, but I don't care! LOL! Actually this recipe does play into that a little bit, as I found it on my search for smaller desserts. I wanted to make something special that would have little left overs and less temptations to eat more than I should. So here is my recipe for an Angel Food Loaf Cake that I altered a bit from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-New-Cookbook/dp/B000YGLYEG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334607111&sr=8-2">this cookbook</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ingredients:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 cup sifted cake flour</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 cup sugar</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2/3 cup (5) egg whites</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 tsp cream of tartar</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">dash of salt</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 tsp vanilla</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 tsp lemon extract</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 cup sugar</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sift Flour with 1/4 cup sugar 4 times.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, vanilla, and lemon extract until egg whites are stiff enough to hold up in soft peaks but are still moist and glossy.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Add remaining 1/2 cup of sugar to egg whites, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition to blend. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over egg white mixture and fold in lightly. Fold in remaining flour by fourths. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bake in un-greased 10x5x3 inch loaf pan in moderate over (375 degrees) for 25 minutes or until done. Remove from oven, invert pan, and let stand for 1 hour or until cool.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzcwUf8HF2OizvYwQRTzO-HY3JaT_33e3_wNqSIcarbh440TupI-UsNPwM7FqMrhsknVZZ7abMBvHk738j5rJy1LO30v-k44nA3SoHlZA8sg943op4ZVA6WJL5kuKiRfbQXaTAs5H9lU/s1600/DSC07194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzcwUf8HF2OizvYwQRTzO-HY3JaT_33e3_wNqSIcarbh440TupI-UsNPwM7FqMrhsknVZZ7abMBvHk738j5rJy1LO30v-k44nA3SoHlZA8sg943op4ZVA6WJL5kuKiRfbQXaTAs5H9lU/s320/DSC07194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yummy! But it needs a little something more......</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfvCPnH3674DcdHuzkrBu-ZEydWPuSZyKRqZwfkZflzTzJP0FR5Js2LFJNdnlgq2xTCF1opIGwFgx5ZYsuHaEAEIcDxZuAx5d0dZJuQFWdN6i4K41yRMebe0nm6FKfh98Q6T-zpSUmGE/s1600/DSC07195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfvCPnH3674DcdHuzkrBu-ZEydWPuSZyKRqZwfkZflzTzJP0FR5Js2LFJNdnlgq2xTCF1opIGwFgx5ZYsuHaEAEIcDxZuAx5d0dZJuQFWdN6i4K41yRMebe0nm6FKfh98Q6T-zpSUmGE/s320/DSC07195.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">PERFECT!!!</div><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-90119683077393349882012-04-14T10:19:00.000-07:002012-04-14T10:19:46.301-07:00Great Wolf Lodge "Oliver" look a like contestI rarely ever do any of the online contests, since the odds are so low of winning. But I had to enter <a href="http://www.greatwolf.com/facebook-contest">this one</a> from the Great Wolf Lodge. Great Wolf is looking for pictures of kids who look like their newest character Oliver the raccoon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2C5tOts9CX4-B0OjsFbJTPAZU1qpf6nX3xfqU5uEd6PzgFQT8pz5ppmffhnlnsjyTKZb3_t5z3oExBQ94Vr46RGXKZFHjNVg1lHGqCfiypnZeqDbGlOwCyFfdqVTb_n7_QgFFOxzVOU/s1600/559945_10150732977554483_7776564482_9085616_857539226_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2C5tOts9CX4-B0OjsFbJTPAZU1qpf6nX3xfqU5uEd6PzgFQT8pz5ppmffhnlnsjyTKZb3_t5z3oExBQ94Vr46RGXKZFHjNVg1lHGqCfiypnZeqDbGlOwCyFfdqVTb_n7_QgFFOxzVOU/s320/559945_10150732977554483_7776564482_9085616_857539226_n.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo from greatwolf.com<br />
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And I just so happen to have this picture of cute little Zaccheaus in his explorer outfit...</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlWDNI9EuKsnsW-900BGG8F76UWcXKMPfWebRz1-sq7DU9lp760cYyHdseOWtqQkW934E3_MNNXOSG2WYOdpy4VlWo9ItwN-5Frz5Nngm1bhb5R_ScM9mi4CXhw_qgqyDFLgGrHODDjk/s1600/zaccheaus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlWDNI9EuKsnsW-900BGG8F76UWcXKMPfWebRz1-sq7DU9lp760cYyHdseOWtqQkW934E3_MNNXOSG2WYOdpy4VlWo9ItwN-5Frz5Nngm1bhb5R_ScM9mi4CXhw_qgqyDFLgGrHODDjk/s320/zaccheaus.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I can enter up to 10 times with different pictures, but I think this one is pretty good. What do you think? They even both have glasses!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We've been wanting to go to GWL for years, this would be a great chance to go check them out!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-23175543040663749752012-04-10T17:05:00.000-07:002012-04-10T17:05:22.652-07:00My Journey To Better Health, Pt. 2"Check yourself before you wreck yourself"<br />
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My first step on my new weight loss journey was to learn what condition I was really in. As I was saying in my last post as the fall turned into winter I was becoming more and more tired and lacked the energy to just do normal day to day things. I was like Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh stories, LOL. Of course my over active imagination went into high gear thinking of all the things that could be wrong with me. Did I have Diabetes? Or maybe my iron levels were just low? So as soon as my medical insurance became active I scheduled an appointment with my Dr.<br />
He ordered a whole panel of lab work to check for diabetes, my cholesterol levels, my kidney function, my thyroid function and all my vitamin levels. Everything came back perfectly normal, with one exception. My vitamin D levels were really low. "Vitamin D, really?" I thought "I take a vitamin D supplement almost every day". The Dr, suggested that I up my supplements to 2,000 IU's a day and make sure I take it every day. I did and after the first week I was feeling really good, but would still start feeling tired mid day. So, I decided to up my supplement to 3,000 IUs, plus the 800 in my daily vitamins. This made the hugest difference! Right away I started being more active. Seriously, the second day of taking the 3,800 IUs I was running around the backyard playing soccer with the boys. Something I hadn't done in over a year. I'm sure it didn't hurt that by this time the sun had finally started coming out and the weather was perfect for playing outdoors.<br />
I learned online that vitamin d deficiency is a very serious problem that can lead to the bone disease <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001384/">Rickets</a>, because without vitamin d your body can not absorb all the calcium it needs. Because we live in an area with low sun exposure (Did you know Alaska gets more sun than Western Washington?), I don't drink milk and was spending most of my time indoors through the fall and winter I wasn't getting all the natural vitamin d that my body needed. Thankfully it didn't effect me in a way that would have lasting consequences, like bone damage.<br />
Hearing that I was perfectly healthy was such a relief! Now I just needed to make positive changes to my diet and lifestyle to keep everything that way!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B9hyphenhyphenWMDYn92pEJYt7uxNsknrQ5BFA8eVOHEx-WszwkrjSJiDi1AUPhiZr2KRAtmKiRW_FSPa92PHPGtL5XBmSj80njgh7J3_IchXJqP1my8WBIs5ucrLYU5WoABGqEhn9T_AHYZOyp0/s1600/eeyore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B9hyphenhyphenWMDYn92pEJYt7uxNsknrQ5BFA8eVOHEx-WszwkrjSJiDi1AUPhiZr2KRAtmKiRW_FSPa92PHPGtL5XBmSj80njgh7J3_IchXJqP1my8WBIs5ucrLYU5WoABGqEhn9T_AHYZOyp0/s1600/eeyore.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-49209231536115157752012-04-04T09:54:00.000-07:002012-04-04T09:54:33.150-07:00My Journey To Better Health, Pt. 1<b>"Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail"</b><br />
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I hope you don't mind or get bored by these posts, but I have decided to chronicle my weight loss/ health improvement journey here. <br />
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I have always had the idea that as long as I felt healthy, could keep up with the kids and still fit into my clothes; it didn't matter what my weight was. That was until after going up a size with each pregnancy and then I discovered I had put on 20 lbs after having one my last child and never changed a clothing size. Slowly I wasn't able to keep up with the kids as much as I used to and began to feel sick more often than not. I knew I needed to change something... to eat healthier and exercise more, but felt trapped because of our past limitations, when we were without a regular income. Eating healthier usually means spending more on fresh healthy food and how does one exercise regularly in the rainiest state of the US without some sort of indoor equipment or membership at a gym? I was bound and determined to make a change as soon as I was able to.<br />
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I thought that opportunity had come when I friend put together a weight loss accountability group back in the fall. Josh was working again and I had the support of a small group of friends, I was going to succeed this time, right? Wrong! As fall turned into winter and the holidays came around I found it harder and harder to put forth the effort needed (more on this in a later post) to succeed at my goal I had set of losing 30lbs by spring. I would lose 5lbs, gain it back, lose 3 and just yo-yo back and forth. Very discouraging. Looking back I realized my problem was that I had no plan of attack and made no drastic changes to my daily habits that would produce lasting results.<br />
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Which brings us to now. I have made some changes and am seeing some results (mostly health wise, not so much weight wise yet) and would love the support of my friends and family who read this blog to cheer me on. I have a lofty goal of losing 50 lbs by the end of the summer, which would bring down to my pre-3rd pregnancy weight. The next installment of this series should be up in the next couple of days. Then there will probably be weekly or bi-weekly follow ups. If you'd like to join me in this journey, we can talk more about the changes I'm making one on one sometime.<br />
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Pray for me friends this is going to take some major strength and determination.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-52745330254286577652012-03-30T14:08:00.000-07:002012-03-30T14:08:36.949-07:00He Finally Lost It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2AnKjs8ywio1Oe_z5XmUsBPZDOdNxiBgfa0a3YP_eAKWOlTRJN1gJIzSzu_JE8PzHM7o31UPAnkcLyhaz82SYuN1LIo_BPtR8y9cAy0ZBIN8Ww46aS2Xynr7BpAV_McvR8n1UcJ1D8k/s1600/be130af86a42__1333140735000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2AnKjs8ywio1Oe_z5XmUsBPZDOdNxiBgfa0a3YP_eAKWOlTRJN1gJIzSzu_JE8PzHM7o31UPAnkcLyhaz82SYuN1LIo_BPtR8y9cAy0ZBIN8Ww46aS2Xynr7BpAV_McvR8n1UcJ1D8k/s320/be130af86a42__1333140735000.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Zaccheaus has this tooth that's been growing in behind all his others. He calls it his shark tooth. Even though this adult tooth had been coming through for almost a month, his baby teeth were not coming loose. We think it might be because he grinds his teeth so bad at night all his teeth are tightly pushed into his gums. He's almost 7 and hasn't lost a single tooth! Josh and I have been working at loosening his baby tooth all week long and finally last night Josh was able to pull it out. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBftQwkzHsewR1S0LATdZ5tAG_DO_1HIvq4oHN4XNGjrKfoXUYabZPwRWqNw-cIijkA3DeAxNOrgXo8QjcwpumYvqR3O4Qb9zQuOFbyUeq5AhN6IRJna4N1w_VmnDcS_IMYPBFslcpIA/s1600/be3119d7575d__1333140708000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBftQwkzHsewR1S0LATdZ5tAG_DO_1HIvq4oHN4XNGjrKfoXUYabZPwRWqNw-cIijkA3DeAxNOrgXo8QjcwpumYvqR3O4Qb9zQuOFbyUeq5AhN6IRJna4N1w_VmnDcS_IMYPBFslcpIA/s320/be3119d7575d__1333140708000.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
He's happy to have it out, as it was starting to cause some pain. <br />
Now to start this whole process over again, since the next adult tooth is starting to break through. ;-)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-40653866117658926142012-02-21T19:56:00.001-08:002012-02-21T19:57:02.504-08:00Valentines Dinner<div style="text-align: center;">Valentine's Day usually isn't that big of a deal in the price household, but this year I thought we were in need of a little something special. So I put together this little dinner for our family;</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxG_qyqXt6UIdkes8gz-yiKK-wiZhJYYwBN2-S3JcXdBGZuK_12pyjTg2vX9-1iLNqt0Ze-07n8CNEamBCbGzmWoE47xfUS0Zcbqo1YHEFBoLkz4jVU-T9WGcYnSxC0dzNC_DrNUX-p0/s1600/table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxG_qyqXt6UIdkes8gz-yiKK-wiZhJYYwBN2-S3JcXdBGZuK_12pyjTg2vX9-1iLNqt0Ze-07n8CNEamBCbGzmWoE47xfUS0Zcbqo1YHEFBoLkz4jVU-T9WGcYnSxC0dzNC_DrNUX-p0/s320/table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The table was set</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6CLVPRhSu96sFkLqTMfgNeaXDkhkqOapCwHVXMeVUMKctWrkPlOEfjXmzRqvLWLmF31Z0jeSE28fpXcZHY3IyNAohyphenhyphenXMYJPVd8rpAlHsV3GpfCckEzFZyw5Ibz3pPy-iYInL4Lj5pt8/s1600/dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6CLVPRhSu96sFkLqTMfgNeaXDkhkqOapCwHVXMeVUMKctWrkPlOEfjXmzRqvLWLmF31Z0jeSE28fpXcZHY3IyNAohyphenhyphenXMYJPVd8rpAlHsV3GpfCckEzFZyw5Ibz3pPy-iYInL4Lj5pt8/s320/dinner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dinner was made, simple yet delicious! The place mats are pieces of card stock that I wrote "I love you" on with a metallic sharpie.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRWH6kaJ06Sux-GWvnRTc4F-IM6xj54GFZNCSfCY9M0T7NEE0ZAPNBxBS4XyR3hfJHeGRMVw3iRZmEromLLvxp0eI06z17_MzF1y2iPBB2gl4cz2orlzs8b4AQG_VARI1IZ8mdlmzs8c/s1600/center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRWH6kaJ06Sux-GWvnRTc4F-IM6xj54GFZNCSfCY9M0T7NEE0ZAPNBxBS4XyR3hfJHeGRMVw3iRZmEromLLvxp0eI06z17_MzF1y2iPBB2gl4cz2orlzs8b4AQG_VARI1IZ8mdlmzs8c/s320/center.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Extra special items as a centerpiece, the cross has the Corinthians love verses on it. The willow tree figures represent our kids.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivs0hqdDXxIdld8Iy6B0iSsolzrR-iEs_75uePjWhja6DEZDg8mamhi-J6OgJnVkEDvwFAzpvzg0c-97OxQ0MZU_XGahg8TzgBuYieQncsjkC8ZRuRvE3nTrjavFq05fP7VIaJs61aYhg/s1600/tablecloth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivs0hqdDXxIdld8Iy6B0iSsolzrR-iEs_75uePjWhja6DEZDg8mamhi-J6OgJnVkEDvwFAzpvzg0c-97OxQ0MZU_XGahg8TzgBuYieQncsjkC8ZRuRvE3nTrjavFq05fP7VIaJs61aYhg/s320/tablecloth.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Close up of our table cloth. It's a plastic one from Fred Meyer. I don't really like the traditional Vday colors, but this one fit my style perfectly!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKljYvUpPr6CsMwUZPNLikQPD1lFLrryOVX0HOTkFihKWTEnlxx-nHmwTdC_059Gf9MwBUm6dZzR5klWMV-Of-XjkLdcGYHx4ConQ-b6MLqrc7g1mWZbFYqIN4ck_uTy5kYox17z-Vug/s1600/dessert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKljYvUpPr6CsMwUZPNLikQPD1lFLrryOVX0HOTkFihKWTEnlxx-nHmwTdC_059Gf9MwBUm6dZzR5klWMV-Of-XjkLdcGYHx4ConQ-b6MLqrc7g1mWZbFYqIN4ck_uTy5kYox17z-Vug/s320/dessert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The best part (IMO). A simple yet special dessert, boxed brownie mix, whipped cream & chocolate sauce.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have a real problem with over planning things and not being able to execute all the great ideas I have thought of. Which leads to the end result of me being frustrated and no one enjoying the evening, because mommy is grumpy. So this year I was purposeful to plan a simple menu and simple decorations that 1. didn't cost a ton of money and 2. were easy to execute even with being gone most the afternoon at my book study class. Josh commented that it was probably his best Valentine's Day ever. This comment did come after he took a nap (while the kids were outside and I was making dinner) and after he had a few glasses of wine with his steak dinner. But, I'm taking it as a complement regardless and think I was successful in my simple attempt! =)</div><br />
Did you do anything for Valentine's Day?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7497312905624078319.post-49913878323737387022012-02-19T21:46:00.000-08:002012-02-19T21:46:29.559-08:00January 2012<div style="text-align: center;">Not a lot of time for blogging lately. Seems when we've been staying home we've had one sickness or another and I don't really feel like blogging at those times. Other times we're constantly going-going-going and I'm exhausted at the end of the day and don't feel like even thinking, let alone blogging. LOL</div><div style="text-align: center;">Below is a picture recap of the month of January...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6YQom_7ZBOLmC-3bfKkam8DqnDf7Ly29OSw7z5jGA52KeEmnMILEhXTcIpR0VisDfk1lHazr3-X3Ms0JWhHP5ln1z1bMBQpFh1Ti2m8OCJQxZhhhVxPKXlt_Gybw5IE6FUpU2iLWG5c/s1600/joshshooting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6YQom_7ZBOLmC-3bfKkam8DqnDf7Ly29OSw7z5jGA52KeEmnMILEhXTcIpR0VisDfk1lHazr3-X3Ms0JWhHP5ln1z1bMBQpFh1Ti2m8OCJQxZhhhVxPKXlt_Gybw5IE6FUpU2iLWG5c/s320/joshshooting.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Josh and I went shooting with some of the guys from Conoco Phillips (his new job). I shot his Glock and his AR and was getting pretty good with the Glock, but at one point I had my hand in the wrong spot and the slide part came back and took a small chunk out of my knuckle on my thumb. Josh got to shoot the other guys' guns like the dessert eagle pictured above.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjBcmZY2lBJiX1Q_Tzo-gmzS7Bj-FJfgUfNpqTwOP0G57WtfVveGl2GqQehDR8BJs1ARFBM1klNoUtGRS441yX2EcF0CdRW_G9DlIWzti0T_LDd8i8Vhvff9CA73edOg-1Cy_6xBaRX8/s1600/zcutting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjBcmZY2lBJiX1Q_Tzo-gmzS7Bj-FJfgUfNpqTwOP0G57WtfVveGl2GqQehDR8BJs1ARFBM1klNoUtGRS441yX2EcF0CdRW_G9DlIWzti0T_LDd8i8Vhvff9CA73edOg-1Cy_6xBaRX8/s320/zcutting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I signed up online to get a unit study from Panda Express about the Chinese New Year and it came with a DVD, craft papers (making lanterns above), worksheets and 32 coupons for free kids meals! Seriously we still have like 15 of those coupons left, I've been giving them out to anyone I know. If you would like some, let me know and I'll give you some. (It does require the purchase of an adult meal for each free kids meal.) </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyonbIrhLFyDTRh5AVA0T5Bv2-q0i5g_VhT3qCtXLpR97LCmIfH1kIKegEvL2c7sH2ZSS2bJH33BHzyNi8M-xSkLKIDgTxfkfFvUGJwwsnwR6KMcthqEoWphVSI7VyKFt-LWvoTQAZHx0/s1600/joshuas+coat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyonbIrhLFyDTRh5AVA0T5Bv2-q0i5g_VhT3qCtXLpR97LCmIfH1kIKegEvL2c7sH2ZSS2bJH33BHzyNi8M-xSkLKIDgTxfkfFvUGJwwsnwR6KMcthqEoWphVSI7VyKFt-LWvoTQAZHx0/s320/joshuas+coat.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On the 14th Joshua turned 11! Seriously, I have an 11 year old people! I can't believe it! He's showing of his new winter coat we got him in the picture above.<br />
Some stats on Joshua...<br />
Height: 5'1"<br />
Weight: 115 lbs<br />
Shoe Size: Men's 10<br />
What he want to be when he's grown: Chef<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CMFK8-aqcaFFYN-OjlWE_sWIFEwllfPb-z_VGOniMCHHcE4jS5Teb6xmrZuEZ7pe6HnurBRA1xKI_zfncQXGYMu-q4rV2xUJ_TBQELQlIslVHBV-KnhiU8i91NNQYrTf-wJB2rZzQZo/s1600/elingrandpa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CMFK8-aqcaFFYN-OjlWE_sWIFEwllfPb-z_VGOniMCHHcE4jS5Teb6xmrZuEZ7pe6HnurBRA1xKI_zfncQXGYMu-q4rV2xUJ_TBQELQlIslVHBV-KnhiU8i91NNQYrTf-wJB2rZzQZo/s320/elingrandpa.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
I find it hard to plan birthday parties for Joshua. Being just after the holidays and the cold unpredictable weather at that time of year, seems to ruin any plans I make. So this year we just took him down to Burlington to Chuck E Cheese (where the pic of Eli and my dad was taken), played a ton of games and ate pizza (salad and knitting for me!), then we headed back to Bellingham and took him out for a game of bowling. While Josh and the boys were bowling I went to Dairy Queen and picked up an ice cream cake, per his request and took it back home to thaw. We came home, had cake and if I remember correctly played more video games. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxAMe2IlIRNHeZli0-Mkh-OJou1NKm0sFfEEowTPZw1NHh-XHSNycDUofSUe89eXSSp4EezJXpvW7-x_P9ECIjnzO5zZuvNqjVFIOJbZojLGuAj9qICew7Wk99g39B8lJk0m_kXx4TdQ/s1600/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxAMe2IlIRNHeZli0-Mkh-OJou1NKm0sFfEEowTPZw1NHh-XHSNycDUofSUe89eXSSp4EezJXpvW7-x_P9ECIjnzO5zZuvNqjVFIOJbZojLGuAj9qICew7Wk99g39B8lJk0m_kXx4TdQ/s320/snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The day of Joshua's birthday was the start of our big snow storm of the year. Some places closed during the storm and schools were cancelled, so we stayed home and played outside with the neighbor kids. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3bwSoqscPx6citmv2srxXjG4znNAERVlwoEaIXm-9iwQhHuo0Sijp5_jemKBtn06sBRWajeObTtfoMvJs42KopNQXJTml7cXduat2oHv2v51_b2eev-kBfQPmVHjbidjRUxo4KnhOEQ/s1600/snowboys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3bwSoqscPx6citmv2srxXjG4znNAERVlwoEaIXm-9iwQhHuo0Sijp5_jemKBtn06sBRWajeObTtfoMvJs42KopNQXJTml7cXduat2oHv2v51_b2eev-kBfQPmVHjbidjRUxo4KnhOEQ/s320/snowboys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The boys built a snow fort wall for snow ball fights and Eli kept filling her bucket and adding to their wall. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC4uVujQ2pPOUOs04qQiYAtizsQiTQGcVp2_8slEBSPJ5q0bIeMJqAfw5RDWThbvJeot29qsloPV6Jo_EdCIHF4PadH9VaskkckK9L_Ued2WDVz4V3gx3tz1uHiyDoXF4ux_pFgmObqE/s1600/moresnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC4uVujQ2pPOUOs04qQiYAtizsQiTQGcVp2_8slEBSPJ5q0bIeMJqAfw5RDWThbvJeot29qsloPV6Jo_EdCIHF4PadH9VaskkckK9L_Ued2WDVz4V3gx3tz1uHiyDoXF4ux_pFgmObqE/s320/moresnow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After the cold winds came in we decided it was too cold and stayed inside and admired the snow from the warmth of the apartment.<br />
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We finished off the month with the snow melting away just in time for my sister to fly in from Texas. We had just over a week to visit with her and my nephew Tristan. I didn't take a single pic while they were up. We were having too much fun playing with Tristan and catching up. =)<br />
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Stay tuned if I find a few more minutes this week, I'll get some posts up here of what has been happening this month. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09303120968694382304noreply@blogger.com1