So, what do you do instead of playing in the water?  Why, sledding of course.

We went back to White Sands this past week and the kids had an absolute blast.  The pure joy on their faces was priceless.  Nick and Tori especially had boundless energy.  They’d sled and then scamper right back up the sandy hill again, ready for more.  And more.  And more.

Have you ever been sledding in the sand??

But, the upside to the lack of blogging is the fact that I’ve kept up with the workouts and I’m still planning on doing the Bataan Memorial Death March this coming March.  It’s kind of hard to blog when you’re spending all of your free time walking – if only I could do both at the same time!

I actually walked 175 miles in January.  I’ve been averaging about 35-35 miles per week.

I wore holes in the toes of my shoes. {and of course bought some new ones – I feel like I”m walking on springs now!}

Another plus to walking so much?  I’ve lost 17 pounds since the first of the year.  And I’m not done.

After a month of walking, I added in some strength training too – free weights at home.  My sister is a strength training coach, so she made some personal plans for me.  If only she lived close enough to be my personal trainer.  She did make me videos of how to do the different exercises, so it’s the next best thing to having her here with me.

It’s amazing how much better I feel already.  Stronger. Healthier. Younger.

I attempted running last week, because that seems like the natural progression to walking so darn much.  I figured it would be a much quicker way to get my miles in. (Walking 20 miles in a row takes a LONG time).  I think I’m going to hold off on the running though.  I honestly hurt for about 5 days afterwards – besides the normal sore muscles, I pulled a muscle in my calf and my knees hurt so badly.  I really don’t want to injure myself and end up not being able to do the march.

Oh, I don’t know if I mentioned it (because it’s been so darn long) but I’ve decided to switch my registration from the honorary march of 14.2 miles to the full 26.2.  Yep, a full marathon.  And even though I’m not going to be running it, it’s still quite a ways to go – especially over the uneven terrain at the White Sands Missile Range.

Have you ever trained for something like this before?  I’ve been filling up the playlist on my ipod, breaking in my new shoes, finding just  the right pair of socks and pants, and trying out different types of energy bars.  I think I’m going to be ready!!

Do you have any young artists in your home?  I really wish I could teach her art, but she is way beyond me!!

I know you guys are getting sick of zoo pictures.  I just can’t help myself.  It’s close by and free, so it’s my go-to place when we need to get out of the house.

Do you know what I love about this zoo the most?  It’s never busy – at least not when we’ve been there.  I always feel like we have it to ourselves.

My son looks so incredibly small in this photo, which I took yesterday while we were hiking at Dripping Springs, outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

I wasn’t expecting snow on the upper parts of the trail, but it was there – and slippery. No major falls – other than Nick who seemed to dive into the ground every once in a while. I’m starting to worry about that boy.

Here is the view as we were driving towards the hiking trails.  Those are the Organ Mountains.
This was at the old stagecoach stop.A friendly service dog we met along the trail.Cactus.  Nick was actually pulling the stickers out of these.  Not sure why.  Oh yeah – because he’s a boy.Thankfully we made it out okay!! This is at the ruins of Van Patten’s Mountain Camp/Dripping Springs Resort.As you can see, there was snow on the trail!!But none on the lower parts of the trail.Love these rock formations.Nick looks so incredibly small in this picture, doesn’t he?I think that this is one of the hikes that we’re going to want to do again – when the snow melts.

I did keep with it though and even upped my miles a little bit.

Sunday – 3 miles
Monday – 5.5 miles
Tuesday – 4 miles
Wednesday – 10 miles
Thursday – 2 miles
Friday – 2 1/4 miles
Saturday – 16 1/4 miles
For a grand total of…….43 miles!!!

My muscles are a little sore, but not too bad. It’s my joints that are a bit fatigued. I almost feel like they are over-extended or something. Nothing painful or anything, just tired.

Let’s see if I can keep it up another week!!

It’s hard for me to realize that she’s growing up.

She’s already been sounding out letters and with help reading a few small words.

And earlier this week, she was sitting at the table while the older kids were doing school.  She saw a sentence they were copying from the white board and she decided that she wanted to copy it also.  Well, she got as far as the first word.

Not too bad for a three year old!!

She’s a lefty as you can see. {And yes, she’s sitting at the table in her dad’s T-shirt with unbrushed hair.  Oh the beauty of homeschooling!}