No More Weigh in Wednesdays - Stuck in Utah

I weighed in 2 weeks ago (Jan. 23rd) but never got around to posting that I had lost another 2 lbs. Then we left for Utah on an impromptu trip Friday night (Jan.25th) hoping to return the following Tuesday at the latest. While I was pretty good about eating right while I was traveling but my exercise stopped completely. I thought this would be ok because I would start right back up again when we got back but then we got stuck in Utah with all the storms and was not able to return to Wa. again until Friday at 1:30am. We had started to drive back on Thurs. and got 3 hours into our drive when I-84 was shut down in Idaho so we turned back around and headed back to SLC. Dan decided to fly us back home so we headed to the airport to catch a 7:05 pm flight. The flight was delayed for 2 hours then cancelled completely. They then rerouted a plane from Phoenix and picked us up and like I said before we didn't get back home to Camas until 1:30 am. Thanks again Mom for picking us up and waiting all that time!

By Tues. or Wed. of the week we were in Ut. I had stopped eating right all together and I haven't eaten right or exercised since then. I am sure I have gained weight again and I have too much to worry about right now without needing to put this on my plate too. I know I am lame but what can I say. I am sure I pick up again soon but I don't know when. So if somebody else wants to start back up they can pick up where I left off....sorry!

On a lighter note, here is a picture of Zeke with his future wife(he-hee)....Sophie Belle! Love her!!! Wouldn't they make a great couple?!

I think we should keep this picture and use it to announce their engagement in about 16 years. I proposed this to Carrie (her mom) and she said; "First you should know--Sophie is a 10 cow woman. She has several offers on the table, so we are upping the dowry. Maybe you could build us a house!" We are currently still in negotiation. Anybody have some cows I can have?

A tribute to President Hinkley

This was sent to me, I loved it, so I thought I would share. What an amazing man he was and I hope that one day I will have lived my life in such a way that I am able to be in his influence again someday.

Weigh-in Wednesday #2

OK Alex, I guess this just for you and me since we seem to be the only ones participating. I have to sadly report that I did not lose any weight this week but I didn't gain any either. Huge bummer but I am sure that "my fat is turning into muscle". At least that is what everybody says to make you feel better. Dan did start this week. This is my good news for the week...Dan finally came home after being in Utah for 12 days. I am so happy to have him home. Which brings me to Calixta's post. Diet cola cans usually remind me of Dan. But in addition to that when ever I see the kids playing their instruments it reminds me of him, my Grandfather clock that he chose, and one of my favorite things is Harley Motorcycles.

We had SO much fun when we had a motorcycle. I can't wait until we can do that again. Hopefully I will be able to fit into all my leathers when we get around to getting another Harley, which brings around full circle to weight loss. It's not to late to start! Come jump on the fat wagon with us!

Weigh-in Wednesday and other happenings

Today is weigh-in Wednesday! I weighed in today at 138.8 lbs. which means that I have lost 2.2 lbs. That equals to 1.56% lost this week so far. 17.8 more pounds to go! I am excited to hear the progress of everyone else.

I am sooooo happy because I have located all my pictures that I feared were lost for good. I have spent the last 3 days going through them all and doing a thorough back up to hopefully ensure that I won't lose them again. Ciria will be happy to know this because I was worried I didn't have enough pictures of 2006 to do the scrapbook page. So, Cathy, Kiki and Ciria.......I am doing my pages for both 2006 & 2007. While going through my pictures I found some great ones that I thought I should share.

This was at the Provo Temple when Calixta and Nate got married. Apparently I didn't get the memo that said I was supposed to wear a pink shirt with a black skirt.

These were taken this year on the 4th of July at Fort Vancouver. We missed having Alex & Ciria and their families. I look forward to this up coming family reunion this year. I think it will be fun to have us all together this year. Thanks for getting the ball rolling Alex.

If you want any copies of these let me know and I will be happy to e-mail them to you.

The start of a New Year

Ok....today is January 2, 2008 as I am sure you all realize, but this also means today is day 1 of the Biggest Loser Challenge. It is not to late to start. Today I dragged my but out of bed, got the kids off to school and turned on my i-pod and worked out with Tony Horton. I only remember one other time that I have felt so fat and out of shape (not being pregnant) and that was when I started Power 90 the first time in 2004. Except back then I weighed 6 more pounds than I do this time. I am motivated! If you choose to participate I think we should do weigh-in Wednesdays. You should weigh yourself on the same scale each time at approximately the same time each day and then report progress. Today I weighed in at a whopping 141 lbs! My goal is to lose 21 lbs (that is 15% of by body weight) but my body usually stalls when I reach 126 lbs. so we will see what happens. BTW you don't have to post your weight if you don't want to...I am hoping by my doing so it will further motivate me to keep on track.
The next thing that started at the beginning of this month is the 2008 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway. You can enter once a day from now until Feb. 19th. This year the house is in the Florida Keys...how awesome would that be. Here is the link: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dream_home_2008/text/0,,HGTV_30596_65584,00.html if you are interested in entering, I know it is a huge chance that any of us will win it but the way I see it, somebody has got to win it so we should all at least try, beside it doesn't cost you anything. Good Luck on both! Have a great day!

New Years Eve

As Zac is downstairs partying with his friends, I am hiding in the office hoping to escape some of the noise and commotion of 12 year old boys. I can't believe that we are in our last hours of 2007. I also can't believe how time flies as you get older, it seemed when I was a kid time took forever to pass. Anyway, this is my list of the top 10 events (good & bad) for our family in 2007:

10. Moving back to Washington / Moving out of Utah either way you look at it, it is a good thing.

9. Rush Concert (Dan & Zac)

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry is alive, Snape is good and Dumbledor...well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

7. Fudge the Guinea pig :(

6. Completing a 7 mile run (then I stopped running completely and gained 15 lbs.)

5. Our "Sister's weekend" in St. George

4. Christmas 2007

3. Seeing Zac become a Deacon

2. Our Cape Disappointment trip

1. Celebrating our 15 year anniversary

What I am looking forward to next year: Buying Lyn Spears book on parenting so I can do exactly opposite to raise healthy and successful children. LOL!

Happy 2008!

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

We went to go see National Treasure: Book of Secrets today. Pretty good movie, although Zeke was pretty bored. He kept saying "When are they going to find the treasure, mom"? I liked it but I also like Nicolas Cage as an actor. It give you a new way to look at Mt. Rushmore. If you don't see it in the theaters it is definitely worth renting when it comes out. Tomorrow is Zac's 12th birthday. He is going to be sustained a Deacon...can you believe it? He would love to hear from you tomorrow.
Only 2 more days from the new year...any more takers in the Biggest Loser Challenge?!? It will be fun.......

I accidentally....

Yesterday we were out as a family and the topic of silly things we have all done came up. Zac reminded us of this incident that happened last year between he and Toni. After he reminded us about it we laughed so hard and agreed that I should share this on my blog.

Like I said, about a year ago Zac and Toni were tasked with helping me clean the bathroom. I had left them alone for a short time when Dan & I heard them arguing downstairs. Zac and Toni quickly found us both very eager to share their side of the story. Zac being his usual obnoxious self, managed to annoy Toni to the point where she decided to take action, and according to Zac she bit him on the butt. Toni's side of the story went something like this: "No, I didn't bite him! I tripped and I ACCIDENTALLY bit him on the butt"! Zac angrily responded, "How could you trip Toni, you were crawling"!

The Biggest Loser Challenge

Ok....we are getting close to January 1, 2008 which means new years resolutions. The number 1 New Years resolution is to lose weight. I for one am in great need of this resolution so I thought it would be fun to have a family and friends "Biggest Loser" Challenge. Anybody who wants to participate is welcome to. I wanted to start Jan.1 and go through March 31st for the contest. I was thinking anybody who choose to participate would put in $20 into a pool and then we would divide the winnings between the top 2 losers. If any of have watched The Biggest Loser you know how this works, the weight loss is measured by body percentage loss. I think we should have a weekly check-in to report progress. You can lose the weight however you feel most comfortable, ie., Weight Watchers, Power 90, Tae Bo, The Subway "Jared" diet and etc. What do you think? Anybody ready to put down the cheeseburgers and pick up the carrot sticks and weights?I need to hear back from those wanting to participate soon as Jan.1 is only 4 days away. Who is up for it?

Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas! A loud Christmas but a great one. Here are some pictures:

Zac got his Ibenez Bass Electric Guitar that he asked for. He has already been practicing. He wants to be able to play Sting's song "Message in a Bottle".

Toni received the Wii. She was the first one to wake up at 4:30 am and woke up the whole house screaming..."I got a Wii, I got a Wii"! The boys received their own numchuck and wiimote of their own.

Zeke received an electric drum set. Santa brought this to be therapeutic for Zeke. We have been told that he was born right handed but due to the complications at birth, he is forced to be left handed. Drumming is a way to help strengthen both hands. Anyway, Zeke has been thrilled about these.

The kids also got Guitar Hero from us. We are all having fun playing on it....including me. Although I am terrible. Today I actually passed 3 different songs.

This is video of Zeke trying out his punk rock singing voice. I warning you now to turn down the volume.

We had snow flurries throughout the day. By the end of the Day there was about a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground which meant that we had a white Christmas for the first time ever here in Washington!

This was Zeke by the end of the day and what a day it was. We sure missed being with our family. Thank you Mom & Dad for the ornaments and thanks Cathy, Vallen, Summer and Breck for the gifts. We loved them. We hope you guys had a great of a day as we did. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Well, if it isn't done by now I guess it really wasn't all that important! That is what I am telling myself anyway. The kids are all tucked into their beds and I can hear Zeke and Toni excitedly whispering in bed. I am monitoring Santa's progress for them on Norad and giving occasional updates. Zeke has been so excited all day. We had to finally break down and let him open his "jams" ie: pj's at 2 o'clock today just to settle them down. We had taco's for our Christmas Eve dinner. Then Mom came over and gave the kids their ornaments. She gave us an update on Dad and she left about 8pm. We read the account of Jesus' birth in the scriptures and watched "The Nativity". We wrapped up the evening with a couple of Christmas carols, led by Toni, family prayer and finally setting out cookies and milk for Santa. Whew, what a day! I must admit, even though I am so tired, I am excited for tomorrow.

"Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;He had a broad face and a little round belly,That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,....He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,And laying his finger aside of his nose,And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

15 years of marriage

As I have mentioned once or twice before, today is Dan & I's 15 year anniversary. I can't believe it! I feel way to young to be married that long and it has gone by so quickly. So, I thought I would stop and remember the top 10 things (in no real order) of the last 15 years of marriage with my wonderful husband Dan.

• 10. Cooking his favorite meals.


• 9. Living in Monterey CA for the first year of marriage. Dan still says it was a year long honeymoon, I think I have to agree.


• 8. Getting to go to China with Dan and standing on the Great Wall. WOW!


• 7. Watching him teach my kids soccer, guitar, to fish, ride bikes, their homework and etc.


• 6. Wrapping my arms around him each night and saying "I love you".


• 5. Seeing or hearing him come through the door at the end of the day. I still get just as excited as the kids.


• 4. Hearing him compliment me at least once a day....he has not missed a day yet.


• 3. Laughing on a daily basis with my best friend


• 2. Having Zac, Toni & Zeke with him.


• 1. Being married in the temple for all time and eternity with my soul mate.

I love you, Dan. Happy 15th Anniversary! I hope we have at least 50 more years!

Toni's Humor # 2

Tonight we were watching a reality show called "America's next big band" or something like that. It was the finale show and this was the first time we ever saw this particular show. There was this band called "The Clark Brothers". They were extremely talented and played all kinds of different instruments. They were announced the winners and performed one last song. One of the brothers was playing a mandolin and he was rocking out on it. Toni started laughing and said "that guy should not be rockin' out with such a tiny guitar!" Zac rolled his eyes and said "it's a mandolin Toni." I thought her comment was funny... I was laughing. I don't know, maybe you just had to be there.

You gotta love Clorox

So at least one person in my family has been sick for about 3 weeks now. So after Dan called me this afternoon to tell me that he had to go to urgent care because his eye infection had gotten worse, I decided that I was done with this sickness. I got my ipod turned on and spent at least 5 hours today going around with Clorox and disinfecting everything in the house. I am talking walls, cabinets, door knobs, handles, switches, the whole bathroom (all 3) and the kitchen, everything down to the stair banister as well as keyboards, remotes and telephones... anywhere our hands would have touched. I changed all sheets and towels. They were washed in HOT water and I replaced all toothbrushes. After I was done, it felt so good to know that everything was clean and germ free. Hopefully this will help us all get feeling better. Tomorrow....time to bake. Only 3 more days til' Christmas!

Part 2 of our NC trip

Well, I am back from NC since Tuesday evening. Just like coming home from being out of town for any period of time, it is major work to get caught up on everything. But, today I did mail out my Christmas cards. The next important thing I need to get done is to take Toni Christmas shopping for her brothers. I decided to post part 2 of our NC trip before it got to be to far away.

So, after having dinner with Paula's family on Saturday night, we got to go see Nate Clark and his little family on Sunday afternoon. Nate is a very good friend of mine who I went through high school with. He has been married to his wife Stephanie for (I think) 5 years. They have a cute 25 month old little boy named Owen. It was so good to see Nate, it has been around 14 years since I have last seen him. He hasn't changed a bit and he still lives in Woodcroft. I loved his wife and little boy. They are a great little family. Nate & Stephanie took us to lunch at a BBQ place. Original pulled pork bbq, with hushpuppies and fried okra...YUM. I swear I gained 5 lbs. just over the weekend with all the yummy food. After meeting with Nate's family we started to head toward Va. but on the way I had Dan stop by this familiar building...any guesses? For those of you who don't know what this is, it is our old Chapel in Chapel Hill. I think it said it was now an Institute Building.

Then we went for an almost 3 hour drive to a little town called Dublin, Va. We had dinner at the Waffle House and called it a night. Dan had his business meetings with the SIP manufacturer all day Monday. He woke up on Monday with a raging eye infection. So, I spent 3 hours in Wal-Mart getting a Rx for his eye. Funny, no matter how little the town, you can almost always find a Wal-mart.

That night we went to Radford for dinner. We had the WORST Mexican food ever. But there are a lot of Mexicans in the south now.

I had Dan take this picture of us before we went to dinner. We are getting old and fat. Time for Power 90...Tony Horton will be my new best friend again.

Tuesday morning came very fast. We had another 3 hour drive back to RDU. Dan lost his 2 month old Blackberry before we left. When we got back Mom was tired. The kids had lots of fun with her and the rest of the family this weekend. Thanks again Mom & Dad. I really appreciated it. (I called Dad to thank him for letting me borrow mom this weekend and he said "that's ok Kristy". I said "Dad, I said "Thank you" not "I am sorry"". He said "your welcome I guess" What a funny Dad.) And a big thank you to Dan who thought to take me along. I had a blast!

Paula's Family

Hey from Virgina! I have had such a wonderful time out here so far, I think Dan has also. We arrived at RDU at 8:30pm NC time. We then met up with Paula and Frankie and their family at the Cheesecake Factory over at the Crabtree Mall in Raleigh. They were so kind to wait for us. We had a great time with them. Paula and Frankie are the sweetest, kindest people you could ever meet. They have 6 AMAZING children, all of whom Paula home schools.

The oldest is Morgan, who was just 6 months old when Paula was my YW advisor. She is now 18yrs. old and is attending college in VA. She has a great personality you can tell she is very smart and beautiful, too! Spencer is 16 and seemed pretty quiet but got to talking to Dan before long. From what I overheard he is a good basketball player...Cute too! Kaylee, is around 13 and is a state champion in gymnastics. She is also very pretty, sweet and smart. Then there was Julia, 10, who became instant buds with Dan. They had a great time together. She is also in gymnastics and has quite a little sense of humor. She is a little red head like our little Zeke with a personality to match, lots of spunk! I love it! Just like all her bro's and sisters, she was equally as smart, pretty and so much fun to be around.

Benson is 6 like Zeke. He was just so quiet and well behaved, not like Zeke. We didn't get to see much of him as he was so tired he eventually laid down on the bench and fell right to sleep. Poor little guy was worn right out, he was a cutie though! The youngest little girl, Natalie, is 22 mo. old. She is a little firecracker! Every time she got the chance she would get down and make a run for it. She is so cute and such a happy little baby.

Frankie practices law in his town and is also the bishop in his ward. He is as always, very kind and generous. Thanks again for dinner!

And last but not least is Paula. She is the salt of the earth. I love her so much and you can't help but love her family too. Paula is everything I want to be when I "grow up" and she has been ever since I met her at the age of 14 or 15. She helped me through trials in my life and has always had a kind word to say. Paula will always have a huge place in my heart and in my life. I wish we could have spent more time with her and her family, they are just so fun. And I think they managed to convince Dan that it would be a good idea to move to NC. I think that will be further down the road, but I would come visit them anytime and they are more then welcome at my house anytime as well....all 8 of them!

What have I been up too?

Just in case you all have been wondering what I have been up to, I am here to tell you. Dan is home so we have been so happy to spend any time with him that we can. Dan posed just for me.

I have made 100 emergency preparedness folders for our ward, 100 Joseph Smith bookmarks double sided & laminated for next years lesson manual for Relief society and 100 copies of the 2008 lesson schedule to be put inside each manual for RS all before I have to leave. Zac has been home for 4 days sick with a fever/sore throat/pinkeye. I went to a birthday lunch for one of my friends who turned 40 this week. Had an IEP meeting for Zeke and much, much more that I won't go into right now.

We did get the new Utah quarter released this week. Now we only need Tennessee and Maine so if you see them, please grab them for us.

Toni came home in a bad mood yesterday and then "accidentally" gave Zeke a black eye when she kicked her door shut on him.

I found this video Toni shot of Zeke dancing in front of our Christmas tree to Christmas music on my camera. It is so cute I had to share.

Early 15 year anniversary present.

I am sooooo excited because Dan is coming home tomorrow night. I have a million things to get done before he gets home but like always it is not going very smooth. Dan surprised me and bought a ticket for me to go back to NC with him for a business thing he has. It was an early 15 year anniversary present. He knows how much I love the south east. I actually get home sick for it. Anyway, I am so excited to go and spend time with my husband of 15 years. Did I mention we have been married for 15 years. I can't believe it! Hopefully I can go see Paula Jones, we should be really close to her house. If we didn't get to I still would thrilled about going. We are leaving on Saturday and will come home on Tuesday. I will take pictures and share when I get back. One of my favorite things to do is to see all the old houses out there. Good night.

By the way

just to u guys know i was the one in tites
~Zac

JV Wrestling Tounament Video

Here is the video of the tournamnet. There are 3 different rounds. The second one is when he wrestled the girl. GO ZAC!
Round 1

Round 2

Round 3