The Parker Report

First "Monthly Rewind" of 2012!

2012-02-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

Was it me or was January a long month? Holy Cow! Last year, I shamelessly stole the rewind idea from Run With Jess, and would link up to her blog. This year, I've decided I'm going to change it up a bit with the monthly rewinds and add in some new topics. Here we go...JANUARY REWIND!!! (Totally yelling that in an Oprah voice)

Running By The Numbers

Total Miles: 33 miles
Longest Run: 3.6 miles See THIS post
Races: I complete the "Freeze Your Thorns Off Virtual 5K. See the above link for that race report. My slowest 5k ever, but it's all good!
Cross Training: I tried "The Firm", P90X2, and hiking. I was sore after each cross training day so I think they were all great workouts!

Size Matters

Monthly Weight Loss: -4 pounds. 0.5lb/week...I'll take that
Pounds Until Goal Weight : 9 more pounds!
Year To Date Weight Loss: -4 pounds...Duh!

Gettin' Edumacation

Books I'm Reading: High Crimes: Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. So interesting, and sad. Why people want to die for a sport, I'll never understand.

Self Improvement: Sad to say, but I don't think I did anything specific thing this month to work on myself. I'll have to think about that one...Oh, I know! I completed my additional courses that my work requires us to take on the computer. That's pretty lame, but it's all I got right now.

Jammin' Out

Did you know I have one of these beauties now?

I've added some oldies and newbies this month...Florence and the Machine "Shake It Out", Nelly "Country Grammer", Kanye "Good Life"....I'll admit..I need some more new stuff!

Inspire Me!

Tryin' Stuff

Remember my New Year's Resolution to Try Something new every week? I ended up trying quinoa, a new greek restaurant I have wanted to go to for awhile, doing science experiments with the kids, and learning how to use my Kindle Fire. It was a great month!

Goals for Next Month

-I would like to NOT lose something important this month. I always misplace my keys, drivers license, kids backpacks, shoes, bills. It drive me crazy!! I'm going to come up with something to help change that annoying habit and not lose anything!!

-Stop being negative about my job. When it gets down to it, I am choosing to be there. I need to quit my bitchin' and make the best of it. Having a bad attitude isn't helping anyone.

-Go on my longest training run ever! I want to be up to 5 miles by the end of the month.

See ya later, January!!!!!!!

Sunday Hiking

2012-01-29T21:13:00.000-08:00

After my long run yesterday and the cramping it entailed, I was still pretty sore today. So what should you do when your legs feel like they cannot support you? Oh, why go climb a mountain, that's what! Yes, it's Sunday so we headed out to Badger for a hike. How could I not with temps like this?

The hill was still kinda snowy and very muddy in spots. Luckily I had a super cute hiking buddy!

We took the more steep 1 mile route today, taking a few breaks on the way. We were able to jog down though, which felt much better on the knees.

With these warm temps, it reminded me to share with you Parker's "Beach Day" he had at preschool. They have been learning a lot about the ocean this month, so this was kinda a finale to that chapter.

I'm pretty sure he's the cutest surfer boy ever. Can't wait until summer is really here!!

Freeze Your Thorns Off Virtual 5k

2012-01-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much to The Boring Runner for hosting the 2nd Annual Freeze Your Thorns Off Virtual 5k!!!

If you haven't read Adam's blog yet, go check it out. He is hysterical and always makes me laugh. He posts awesome stuff like this:

See?

Okay, back to the 5K....I incorporated my 3.12 miles into my longer run day of 3.6 miles in which I did a 6:1 run/walk ratio. I headed down to the good old Columbia River trail to get moving. It was 41 degrees, overcast, but pretty much a nice day around here for January. There is still some snow on the ground that I tried melting with my mind. I think it's working.

As you might or might not know, I've been doing all my running on the dreadmill this winter. Running outside today SUCKED! There were muscles in my legs that haven't been worked since October people! Needless to say, about a mile and a half in, my groin (ew) muscles starting majorly cramping up. Ouchie, my groinies!!

About a quarter mile later, I missed what I think was a major skunk fight because there was some total stinkage on the trail. BAD stinkage. Like I was plugging my nose and running. Then, to top it off I had to run over a bed of hot goose poop to make it back. Lovely. I think the wildlife plotted against me today.

So, my 5K time was 37:10...probably the worst 5K I've ever done. Oh well, it was fun and I totally froze my thorns off!! My overall 3.6 mile run was 41 minutes. Only had a cell phone, so here is my blurry post-run pic.

That's right. Waving off the stinky fumes and holding my groiny. The pose of a champion!!

My Fitness Pal

2012-01-27T23:42:00.000-08:00

So have you heard of My Fitness Pal?

It's this awesome website where you can keep track of calories and exercise, with a social network vibe built in too. There are different groups and forums you can take part in, or not. You can update your status, weigh in, create goals...whatever you want to get out of it. There are AMAZING success stories with before and after pictures that will inspire you to work hard.

I highly recommend it. I've lost 3 pounds in 10 days just by keeping track of what I'm doing and being more aware of my choices. If you decide to join let me know!!

Snow Days + Best Run of My Life!

2012-01-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

We've been pretty much snowed in these last couple days. I am not one for cold weather AT ALL, but the snow sure is pretty to look at.

Yesterday we got the chance to use a Christmas present from Grandma Lucy and make the perfect brownies.

mmmmmmm and perfect they were!

We then headed out for some sledding with Grammie. Sledding for me and Callie lasted about 15 minutes, then into the nice warm car we went. Callie wanted to sit in the car and make funny faces instead. She was entertaining as always.

Parker and Grammie would have stayed out in the snow all day!

Today after some playing in the ~~snow~~ ice, I decided to work on the concept of "Solids" and "liquids" with the kids. We talked about the difference and examples all morning, then I blew their minds and we made OOBLECK!!!

After all of this fun, I went for a run on my treadmill. Check out this time-

I think I might go for the Olympic team...what do you think? Hmmmmm....well maybe my Garmin was going dead and had a little malfunction.

Truth be told, I power walked 2 miles at 30 minutes....So overall the Garmin was pretty much right.

Hiking with da Hubs

2012-01-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

Went hiking up Badger today with the hubby. It was about 41 degrees out, sunny but kinda windy. I was really nervous I was going to freeze, but actually worked up a sweat and had to take off a bunch of my layers.

For those of you that don't know, Badger mountain is in Washington state. Elevation is about 1600 ft. There are a couple different routes. A longer route that's about 2.2 miles and a shorter, more steep route is about a mile. We went up the longer route and came down the steeper trail. It's a great hiking trail for beginners.

Cory would like to hike Mt. Adams this summer, so he is starting to train for that now. Crazy guy carried a 50 pound pack.

My moutaineer

The view was great like always. On the way down there was even a few pretty snowflakes. I'm totally sore already. Tomorrow, I'll need the Advil!

At the summit!

Soccer & Running

2012-01-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today was Parker's first day of soccer!! The kids decided on the team name of "Blue Guppies". Can you tell they are a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds? Too cute.

Parker was really cute. The coach told the kids to "dribble", so Parker picked up the ball and started dribbling like in basketball. The coach saw Parker doing this and told him, "dribble with your feet". Parker then tried bouncing the ball up and down with the bottom of his foot, trying to bounce it like a basketball, but with his feet. It was really funny. After a little more clarification, he got it. He did great for never even watching soccer before! He even made a few goals during practice. He still can't decide if he's going to be a lefty or righty kicker.

As for me, I had my long run today. I was happy to have both my mom and Cory join me so it was fun. We were all on treadmills, which kinda sucks, but also kinda good since physically treadmills are easier for me. Mentally, it's hard for me. Treadmills are so boring!!

I was excited though because I got a foot pod to go with my Garmin. It was very interesting to see how different my pace actually is from what the treadmill says. The foot pod definitely helps with accuracy. I did a run to walk ratio of 6:1 for this run, with an average of 11:00 per mile, 3 miles total. It was a workout and I'm tired tonight!

I haven't ran this long in weeks if not months, so it felt pretty good.

Helloooo last year in my twenties!!

2012-01-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Yuuuuuuuppp (that's for you Dad) it's my birthday. 29 feels GREAT! I love when it's my birthday. I'm one of those annoying people that uses the whole month of their birthday as a reason for everyone to be nice to me.

Today was a low-key day. Went to the grocery store, hit up the park and fed some INSANE birds, and went out to dinner with the fam. What a great way to celebrate. Here are some pictures of the crizazy birds at our river. These birds are trained to hunt down cars and chase people! To avoid the mental geese and below freezing temps, we fed them from the car.

I gotta say, I'm not one to want any gifts for my birthday...it's right after Christmas so I usually just like some family time and I'm good. This year though, holy cow! I got some awesome presents!! Cory and his family all went in on a gift for me and got me a Kindle Fire!

I'm addicted.

My parents got me all of the below, plus a puuurrrdy case for my sweet Kindle (need to think of a name for her...)

I'm lovin' these puppies:

I'm ALWAYS cold, so these are heavenly. I'll put these on, hide out under my Snuggie, play with the Kindle...magical.

My mom also helped the kids make me a sweet pot for my patio. How adorable is this?

I got an awesome pancake pen I cannot wait to try out. The kids will love this. Who am I kidding- I will love this!! Thank you Mom and Dad!

I got some mail love too. Thank you friends/family for my cards!! I love getting mail!

So that was my bday. Lengend....wait for it....

Tomorrow will entail Parker's first day of soccer and my longest run in WEEKS...3 miles. eeeks! I am hoping the weather warms up so I can run outside. It makes all the difference for me. The treadmill sucks sauce.

DARY!

Somethin' New

2012-01-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

So you guys all know one of my goals this year was to try a new thing every week. I have no plans on what these new things might be, just flyin' by the seat of my pants. The point is just to get outside of my comfort zone and do something I wouldn't normally try.

Are you ready for my new thingadaweek this week?

I tried Quinoa!!

I was really excited to try quinoa since I've seen so many yummy recipes on . I was at work, so it's Cory's job to make dinner Mondays and Tuesday since he gets home first. He went for simple and fast- the rice cooker.

Sad news my friends...none of us liked it. :(

Anyone have any suggestions? Perhaps a free almost full bag of quinoa?

Work Blahs

2012-01-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

Everyone has bad days at work. Yesterday was one of those days for me. No one particular thing happened, but we were SO busy. Every nurse was busy. There was no one to ask for help. I was drowning and overwhelmed.

I guess nursing is hard because it's just such a negative field. Patients are crabby for the most part- and rightfully so- they are sick and who wants to be at the doctor? You are probably fighting a cold yourself because of all the germs. You're coworkers are practically begging for your help because they are so behind. You are so behind, but you feel like you need to say "yes! I will help you!" Because you are a nurse and you want to help EVERYONE! You are a middle man between the patient and the doctor. The doctor is annoyed with the non compliant patient. The non compliant patient is mad at the doctor. You are stuck in the middle. I guess that's why the burnout rate for nurses just after 2 years is 58%!!! That is bad. I'm coming up on year 7.

Now don't get me wrong, somedays I like my job. The patients are polite. The doctors are on time. My coworkers are happy. Yesterday was just not one of those days.

I walked in the door from work, saw my family and just started crying. I didn't want to. I was just so drained, I couldn't help it. Sorry- I'm a cryer! They immediately made me smile and forget about all my work blahs. They always make me laugh.

Cory took us out for dinner. That was sweet and made me realize where I love to be.

So as I get ready for work this morning, I already have knots in my stomach over all the work I know that is sitting on my desk. I will get through this day! My family will get me through this day!!

Work Blah's SUCK!

Okay, my vent is over.

Holidays 2011

2012-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas was filled with lots of fun this year. The kids really got into the season which made every activity and craft so special.

I already filled you in on most of our December activites. For Christmas Eve we enjoyed spending time at Cory's parents house opening gifts and eating dinner. When we got home, we left out Reindeer food in the front yard, put out some milk and cookies and got the kids in bed. Santa left lots of presents!

Callie's main gift was the Barbie Townhouse. Parker got a Leappad, but was more stoked about his "big train".

We then headed over to Uncle Randy's and Aunt Shannon's for more gift opening and hanging out. After that, we did a gift drop off at home and headed back out to my parents house for MORE gifts and dinner. It was a fun day, but boy were we pooped!

For New Year's Eve we didn't do much. We played a fun game with the kids where they got to pop a balloon each hour from 1:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. In each balloon there was a fun activity or game.

Activities included:
-Going for a walk
-Play game of your choice
-Play with art set
-Dance Party
-Hot tubbing (had to make a stop at Grammie's for this one)
-Silly String Fight
-$1 each
-Have a thumb war
-Fireworks (poppers and noise makers)

But oh no- in 1 balloon there was a chore!! CLEAN YOUR ROOM!!!! You don't want to be the one to pick that one!

Welcome 2012!!!

2012 GOALS

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well I hope you enjoyed my post on my 2011 goals. With a new year, brings new goals. Always looking forward. Posting my goals on my blog not only keep my motivated, but it's a good way for other people to keep me in check. Thanks in advance bloggy peeps!

FINANCIAL GOALS:

-Pay off all credit cards. We don't have that much left, only 1 card, but still- we want to never see a capital one bill again!!

-Pay off student loan. Yes, I graduated in 2006 from college but I'm still paying on my loan. I'm ready to kick old lady Sallie Mae outta my house!

-Pay off all medical/dental bills immediately. No more payments!

- Use "Cash Only" Envelope system. This is a Dave Ramsey way of life. Here is the info on the envelope system.

FITNESS/HEALTH GOALS:

-Run a 10K. I always do the March for Babies, so this one will be done in April. Let's see if I can beat my time from last year!

-Run Bloomsday. THIS RACE should be a blast. Hoping to run it with family, so it should be fun.

-Kayak 1 time. This is a carried-over goal from 2011. I WILL do this.

-Make into the "Healthy Weight" category for my height. Between 146-148 pounds.

-In warm weather, bike once a week.

-Run while on a camping trip.

-Drink more water than pop.

CAREER GOALS:

-Change part time status to per diem.

-Complete 8 hours education hours.

PERSONAL GOALS:

-Complete 1 Bucket List item. I'll be sharing my bucket list sometime this year. Stay tuned!

-Try 1 new thing a week. I want to go outside my comfort zone this year and have more adventures.

-Go camping 3 times.

-Take kids to see a waterfall up close.

-Go to Silverwood or Silver Mountain.

-Read 3 books and complete book reviews on blog.

So that is all folks! My goals. Do you have any goals for 2012??

2011 Goal Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

2011 was good to me, I cannot complain too much. Crazy I never got around to sharing all of my 2011 goals with you- my bloggy peeps. So 365 days late, but here there are. BUUUUUTTTTT, I am sharing my 2012 goals with you so you are only allowed to be mad at me for a second.

2011 GOALS IN REVIEW:

*FINANCIAL GOALS:

-Complete FPU- FPU is a program by Dave Ramsey that helps you learn about money and getting out of debt. I did not complete FPU this year, but did read The Total Money Makeover and LOVED it.

-~~Pay for Disneyland with cash only~~. DONE and best time ever.

-~~Pay off $3K worth of debt.~~ DONE and way more than exceeded this.

-~~Pay off all medical and dental debt.~~ DONE. This came down to the last month of the year, but we did it!

*FITNESS/HEALTH GOALS:

-~~Run 1 mile without stopping~~. DONE. Got this done January 2011. A great way to kick off my year last year. Little did I know how much I would grow to love running.

-Try 3 veggie options rather than meat (I.e. boca bugers, vegisausage). Nope. Only did this once- tried eggplant for the first time in an eggplant grilled sandwich. It was delish!! Hopefully this year I can branch out a little more.

-~~Complete March For Babies in 90 minutes.~~ Rocked it in 70 minutes! Full recap was HERE.

- Kayak 1 time. Sadly I did not get to kayak last year. It's on my bucket list though and would love to get to kayak this year!

-Fix bike and use it once a week. Another goal I didn't make. This would be a good warm weather goal for me this year though.

- ~~Hike Badger Mtn.~~ DONE! I got to do this a few times last year and talk about it HERE. This is a great exercise to do when it's nice outside and I need to cross train.

-~~Be under 160 pounds by June 1st.~~ DONE! Reached this goal in May ( I believe..I was doing "No Weigh May" so I'm guesstimating. Weight loss has been my struggle, but luckily I was have been able to maintain this weigh

-~~Run a 5K~~. DONE! I reached this goal in May as well. I do a full race recap HERE. This was one of my biggest accomplishments all year.

~~Own a cute running outfit.~~ DONE! Thanks to a Christmas present from my in-laws, this goal can be checked off!

- Go Roller Skating. It's too bad I didn't complete this goal. It's such a fun way to burn some calories.

EDUCATION/CAREER GOALS:

- ~~Bring family pics to my office.~~ DONE! An easy goal, but it sure does brighten my day to look over and see the reason why I go to work smiling at me.

- Start planning for per diem status change. This has been a long time goal for Cory and I, but this year just wasn't the year. We want to make sure we are financially ready for me to reduce my hours before making this transition. This goal will be on my 2012 list for sure. More on this topic later.

PERSONAL GOALS:

-~~Read 2 books.~~ DONE! Checkity Check! Read a lot of good books this year! I did a few book reviews on running books HERE.

- ~~Have family pics taken in the fall~~ DONE!

-~~Put myself on a cleaning schedule~~ DONE! This has made such a difference to me. I tend to feel overwhelmed with the amount of cleaning I need to get done. My schedule has helped me reduce some of that stress.

-~~Do 2 arts and craft activities with the kids monthly~~ DONE! We had a blast doing it too!

-~~Go camping 3 times.~~ DONE! I talk about 1 of our trips HERE.

-~~Start using video camera.~~ DONE! Got lots of great and priceless footage this year!

-~~Update blog at least twice a month.~~ DONE! It was hard some months, but I did it!

So that's it! My 2011 goals. Most were met, so I'm happy. Stay tuned to find out about my 2012 goals and holiday updates!!

Thanks to all my readers who have stuck by me through the boring, the dull, and the extensive breaks between posts.

Funny Girl

2011-12-30T23:39:00.000-08:00

Callie is seriously my comic relief. She is so shy and quiet in public, but at home she is totally different. She loves to dance, sing, and ~~yell~~ play with Parker. She really is my little helper...cleaning, cooking, and keeping track of what everyone is doing. I thought I would share some funny Callie moments for your enjoyment.

Here's how Callie cleans her room...

Everything stuffed in the drawers...

But she's so cute with her Febreez

She sure loves using any kind of cleaner. Wonder who she gets that from?

Here's Callie when I told her to pose like a princess...

Here's how Callie puts on sunblock.

Don't trust this girl with a tube of lotion, a bottle of shampoo, or bodywash. It will be gone in 2 seconds.

Callie loves making up friends and has quite the imagination. She makes up whole stories about made-up people and it is so funny. Here are some examples of the crazy stories I hear on a daily basis.

"I have a Grandma Ella. She lives downstairs in the basement. She is in the bathroom right now because she is sick."

Callie has imaginary friends named Sharma and Sherma and they apparently are our neighbors. She says, "They talk to me through the Christmas tree!!!"

Me: "Callie you are growing like a weed!"
Callie: "yeah like an Octopus Tiger in the seaweed!"

Callie thinks my mom gets up everyday and cooks all the food for Granny's Buffet.

Callie spills someone else's drink (on accident) everyday. Seriously. Everyday.

Callie: "Mom, do you like my room?"
Me: "Yes, you have a very nice room."
Callie: "Thanks. I got it at Home Depot."

Callie calls black olives "black meatballs"

The other night while sitting at the table with Cory Callie yells, "I Love Dirty Movies!!" What every mother likes to hear!

So that's my silly girl. I hope this post brightened your day.

December Updates

2011-12-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

How is your Christmas shopping going? Mine is mostly done except for a few items. Who loves online shopping? This girl!

We've been busy with all the usual Christmas stuff. Baking, arts and crafts, singing, drinking hot chocolate, looking at Christmas lights and trying to stay warm!

We had a fun time the other day making Snowman Pizzas and making handprinted Christmas trees. The kids each have their own small (fake) trees in their rooms. They had fun decorating their own trees with whatever they wanted. Yes, Callie's is pink.

Snowman Pizza!

Callie's handprint tree

We went out to meet Santa and his Reindeer recently too. The kids aren't ready to meet Santa yet, but waved at him from a distance.

No snow yet so no sledding or snowmen. We did have 1 day of flakes, but nothing stuck. It's been in the 20's here so maybe it's just too cold to snow. Here are some pictures of the kids on the first (and only!) snow day.

Parker and Callie are at the end of basketball season and that has been a fun new experience. Callie is too embarrassed to play right now. She will wait and shoot hoops at the end of practice when everyone is not paying attention.

Parker is enjoying himself a lot. Dribbling is hard, but he's really coming along. He does a great job listening to his coach (who is Uncle Jason) and practicing fundamentals like shooting, rebounding, and getting your hands up for defense. Parker likes to wave and wink at his family in the crowd, which is funny.

We also had Parker's first Christmas program at preschool. It was ADORABLE. They sang Jingle Bells using actual bells, recited a poem, sang and did sign language to "Happy Birthday, Jesus", sang Little Drummer Boy, and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with cute little hand gestures. Afterwards there was cake and refreshments. I was very impressed with all the hard work the kids and teachers put into the program.

Cory and I have been keeping busy keeping up with the kids and Christmas stuff. Cory has been enjoying hiking every week and hunting when he can. He had his first attempt at jerky and it was yummy.

Exercise for me has sadly taken the backburner. I'm embarrassed to say eating healthy hasn't been a priority either. My goal for this time of year was to maintain my current weight and focus on running and weight loss when the holidays are over. So far I'm maintaining so I'm trying to remember my goal and not get down on myself.

Hope everyone has a great week!

I Got Hacked!

2011-11-23T09:27:00.001-08:00

After some technical difficulties..aka I got hacked...I'm back! I hope you guys have had a wonderful month. Everyone at my house has been icky sicky so you didn't miss much around here.

Callie had her 3 year old check up and checked out puuuurrrfect. She has a total phobia of doctors, so getting her in the door took some pushing.. literally. No just kidding. She went in but whined, shook and pouted, refusing to get off my lap. That's okay though she did it and it's over! She ended up weighing around 27 pounds and is in the 25th percentile for weight and height. She's my little petite girl.

Parker was up next with his 4 year old check up. He weighed somewhere around 43 poundish I think. He's in the 50th percentile for height and 90th for weight! His doctor said he isn't concerned in the least with his weight because he's very proportionate to his frame and he's just going to probably be a stalky kid and adult. Hmmmm..maybe built like his Daddy?

As for Parker's health, everything was fine. Parker's doctor left the decision up to me if I want to go back to the ENT to have Parker's adenoids and tonsils taken out. I decided I'm going to wait for now and see how the winter goes. We both came to the conclusion that if he's getting more than a couple sinus infections a year, he should probably go back. OR if he gets just a simple runny nose, and it always turns to an infection-time for another consult. For now, we are going to keep on zyrtec and flonase through the winter, which seems to be Parker's allergy season, and see if that helps.

Another thing we talked about was Parker's leg pain. Every 6-8 weeks Parker's leg pain comes back. Sometimes it lasts a couple hours, sometimes all day. We haven't had an episode in quite a few weeks, but I still wanted to mention it to the doctor. Parker's doctor has never got to actually see him with the leg pain, so next time we are to call and get him right in. He says he will probably order a bone scan. He was trying not to freak me out, but I'm a mom and a nurse, so I think a little freaking out in my head was allowed.

Bubs also got 3 shots. I decided to split them up so he would get so many next year before Kindergarten. He had to be pinned down and screeeeaaamed his head off. When we were leaving the doctor office he was still crying and said, "I can't stop crying Mom!" awwww shots suck!

On another doctors note, I gotta brag about my mama. With all her hard work, exercising and running, her latest lab work all came back NORMAL! No pre-diabetes, no cholesterol problems, kidneys and everything looked great! Her next goal is to get off all her meds. Good job Mom, I am so proud of you!!!! Sometimes when you work so hard and are running mile after mile, it's tough to remember the payoff for your health. It must feel so good to see you just bought yourself years with your family. Run on! :)

Go Cougs!!!

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Uncle Trek signed with WSU today!! Congrats to Trek for such a great accomplishment!!

We got to go to the high school today and watch him sign his papers. It was pretty cool. The news was there and did a little interview. Not Trek's favorite thing to do, but he did great.

Parker was bummed that Trek won't be a Lion for much longer, but I think he'll grow to like Cougars too :) He also thought we were going to get to watch Trek play some baseball. It's hard to explain these things to a 4 year old!!

Callie keeps saying she's a big girl now because she went to high school.

Anyway, we are very proud of Trek and can't wait to head up to Pullman next year for lots of Coug games!!

October Fun Times

2011-11-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not even going to bother with an October Review because as far as exercising, blogging, or reading...well, I've been useless. We had 2 birthdays, a huge vacation, Cory and my anniversary, sicky kids, and oh wait- let's top it all off with Halloween! It was actually a fun month but just so busy my brain is still spinning. It's no wonder I ended up sick too. I think all of us just need to s...l...o...w...d...o...w...n... and what's that thing again? Oh yeah. Relax.

First off, I already mentioned Cory's birthday in a previous post, but it was pretty low key. He turned 29. Yay for being in your 20's!

For our 5th wedding anniversary we didn't do much. We actually have been together for 11 years now..can you freaking believe that?! I was 17 when we got together. IN-SA-HANE! We got New York Richie's, which is Cory's favorite, and Corona's, which is also Cory's favorite, and an ice cream cake, which is also Cory's favorite. We pigged out, sat around our fireplace, and watched movies.

Of course, Disneyland was amazing. See my previous post.

Right when we got back it was time for my favorite son's 4th birthday. We were all totally pooped from vacation, so we kept it very very small with just a few family members coming over for cake and presents. Parker had preschool that morning, and when he got home, magically the birthday fairy came and decorated the house in a "Go Diego Go" theme. He got lots of cool presents. Cory and I got him that new Hot Wheels track thingy that sticks to the wall. He also got a RC Helicopter, a scooter, clothes, a glow in the dark art board, a giant bowling set, games, and a Thomas follow the light. I think I might be forgetting some items there. A lot of stuff for just a few family members, huh? Our family is so generous. We are very blessed.

Being sung Happy Birthday at Red Robin

The kids started YMCA basketball that weekend. Most of the kids on the team are family friends, so it's great getting together for basically a big basketball playdate! Callie couldn't make it because she was fighting a fever. She wanted her Daddy to stay home with her, so he did and I took Parker. It was so cute to watch all the kids. Uncle Jason and Auntie Corrin are coaching and they did a great job. Go Red Team!

Next up, was Halloween! Parker missed the school field trip to the pumpkin patch since we were in Disneyland, so my mom, sister and I headed over one day after class.

The kids decided to paint their pumpkins this year instead of carving them.

Can you tell who painted which pumpkin?

Parker had a Harvest Party at school where the kids could dress up, play games, and win candy. It was a really cool event. I was able to take my lunch break from work during the party so I could go. Parker's cousin, Avah who's older, goes to the same school-but different classes, got to play games together. Callie was feeling better, so she got came and it was triple fun! Parker's trick or treating costume was a ghost, but the teacher requested no scary costumes. I didn't want to take the chance of scaring anyone, so Parker decided to be "Super Parker". He got a customed made Parker Cape for his birthday, so it was perfect. Callie was Cinderella. Avah was a butterfly.

Callie, Parker, and Avah

Super Parker!

They had different games like a cake walk (except the winner got a regular sized candy bar), fishing, bowling, ring toss, frog walk (they had to balance a rubber frog on a fly swatter and walk around), basketball, croquet, and face painting. At the face painting table Callie didn't want anything. Parker asked for "a circle". We decided a spider might be better.

We left with lots of candy and tired kids. Callie had been fighting off a fever for the past couple days, so she was extra tired.

My sick Callie

After getting off work, I met Cory at my parents for a quick bite of pizza and left to head over to Cory's parents house. Parker was crabby and Callie was still tired. Parker refused to get his face painted and Callie didn't want her hair or makeup done. Cory dressed up as a hunter man. It scared the heck outta me!! I was very creative and stayed in my scrubs. I went as a nurse. Good one, huh? By time we got to Cory's parents, the kids were shot. Next stop was Grama Lucy's house for a visit and more candy. Callie fell asleep in the car on the way over. We had plans to head back out to Parker's preschool for "Trick My Trunk" where people decorate their car in a theme and do a trunk or treat type event. On the way over, Parker fell asleep too. We ended up just calling it a night, and headed home.

The next day we figured out why the kids were so crabby and tired. They were both sick. Parker ended up going on antibiotics with a sinus infection, cojunctivitis, inflammed throat and ears. Poor guys was just miserable. And you know what they say about misery...within 12 hours, I was down with the high fever, bodyaches, sore throat, cough. Callie's been hanging tough and just has a stuffy nose and her fever had broke a night or 2 before Halloween. Cory's sick now too with same symptoms I had. Ugh. Parker starts his second round of antibiotics AGAIN tomorrow because his sinus symptoms are still lingering. He has his 4 year old check up coming and I think we might need an ENT visit. Anyways, not the way I wanted to start off November, but it is what it is. I wish the kids could have got to go trick or treating but luckily they got lots of candy and fun stuff from Grandparents. They didn't even realize they didn't go. And can I gripe for 1 second. Why the heck do we have Halloween during the weekdays? Can we just switch it to the last Saturday of October for stinkers sakes?!

So in a nutshell, that was my October. I'm ready for a more relaxed November!!

BACK FROM DISNEY

2011-11-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Disneyland was so much fun!!!! Going as a 18 year old and returning 10 years later with my family was a much different experience, in a good way! Being there with kids is waaaay more fun. Seeing their little faces light up in excitement over everything.

It started with the plane rides, which the kids did great. I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck for the take-offs and landings.

Callie waiting at airport-"There's our plane!"

We stayed on Embassy Suites South, which was just a short shuttle ride to the park. The good things worth mentioning about the hotel was it had a free breakfast buffet, really good room service, a really pretty lobby, and laundry rooms. The negative parts was, first off, the cab company the hotel was supposed to send to pick us up never showed! We ended up just getting our own cab, but to make up for it, the manager gave us a $100 gift card for room service and a free limo ride to the airport at checkout. How nice, huh? So it ended up actually good! Other than that, the rooms had thin walls...kids were running up and down the halls at all hours of the night/morning. Also, the showers were ALwAYS cold-warm at best. The decor was really outdated too and didn't match..but that seems like every hotel to me. All in all, it was an average stay. We will probably try another hotel next time just to see what else is out there.

First Limo Ride!!

As far as the parks, the wait times were awesome compared to summer hours. At disney and california adventure, most wait times were 10-20 minutes at the most. The longest we waited was for the Peter Pan ride at Disney at 30 mins. Disney was for sure the most crowded. When we went to Universal and Seaworld, there were practically no wait times at all.

All the parks were decorated up for Halloween, which is super fun. It's my favorite holiday and the kids loved seeing "spooky things".

Callie's favorite parts were the teacups, meeting the princess, and seeing the castle. She also loved "driving the cars" (Autopia). Her number one favorite part though was seeing Tinkerbell. We never got to meet her in Pixie Hollow, but she got to see her at the parade and during the fireworks show. She enjoyed snacking on cotton candy and was really good about taking a short nap each day in the stoller.

Pretty as a princess

Seeing Tinkerbell for the first time

First Mickey Ears

Meeting Ariel

Seeing the ocean should always take your breath away!

We got a purple teacup! Yess!

Look There's Ariel!

Learning how to eat crab at Joe's

Waiting for Bugs Life 4D..Callie didn't like it!

Look at those shark teeth!

Keeping Mommy entertained while waiting for World of Color

Yeehaw!

Come on muscles!

Meeting the princess from the Seaworld show

Parker's favorite parts were Autopia, the Nemo submarines, and getting splashed by the whales at Seaworld. He also loved the Buzz lightyear ride and rollercoaster in toon town. Parker did not take any naps while we were at the parks, but definately could have used them! He was really good though about riding around in the stoller and waiting in line- both of which I thought would be hard for a 4 year old, but no problems. He enjoyed telling the workers everyday, "It's my birthday today!" I think he just loved being told Happy Birthday all the time and getting to say he's 4. Another cute thing was when we went to Turtle Talk with Crush, he lets the kids ask a question. Parker wanted to ask Crush if he likes baseball. His Dad was proud.

Meeting Shamu

Buzz Lightyear, To The Rescue!

Wish Cars World was open! Oh well, meeting the cars was still cool

Look Dad, Ferris Wheels aren't scary!

Look, it's Crush!

Mmmmm, a giant turkey leg!

At the Handy Manny Show

Petting a baby alligator

Parker on Splash Mountain- he's in front of me

I thought I saw Parker at Universal for a second...

I enjoyed being there so much and am hoping the kids will have snapshots of memories in their minds for the rest of their lives. I know they won't remember everything- but that's what this blog is for! It was so magical because the kids just soaked up every show, ride, character..everything. They have that innocent imagination and belief in dreams that Disneyland is all about. It was so special. Now I just keep asking, when can we go back?!

Here are some extra snapshots:

The Cupcake Classic Virtual Race

2011-10-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

I'm all signed up for Run With Jess' Cupcake Classic Virtual Race!!

Jess is hosting a 3.7 virtual race in celebration of her 37th birthday. Go check it out and sign up!!

Football Camp 2011

2011-10-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Fantasy football 2026 I will be drafting this guy.

Parker Stemp!!!

Okay maybe not. But Saturday was Parker's football debut and he did great! There is a 2 day flag football camp through the YMCA and Parker, his cousin Brady, and buddy Parker (yes, we have 2 Parkers in the bunch) rocked it!

They focused on running and catching flags, throwing, hiking, and running with the football this week. Next week will be more skills practice and a little game. So cute. 3 and 4 year olds playing football? I am there.

Parker did awesome. He listened so well and I was so impressed. Preschool has made such a difference with him following directions and paying attention. Football wise, he did good too. He said hiking and running were his favorite parts.

Later that evening, we headed over to the grid kids field where Uncle Chase and Uncle Chuck are coaches. I thought Parker would love to see older kids (7-8 yr olds) play football. Turns out, he was just interested in playing with his sister and cousin Avah. Oh well. It was cool to see Chase coach and those little guys are so cute in all their gear. That's him in the white/grew sweatshirt. Go Coach!

For now, an hour every Saturday is plenty of football for my little guy.

Running With No Music

2011-10-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am a run with my Ipod kinda gal. It's my BFF while running.

I can run with out my garmin. I cannot run without my Ipod. If I am forced to, I get instantly angry. She-beast style.

So imagine my meltdown when I went running on Friday when I about 2 minutes in, bebopping along to Pink when .... SILENCE... My Ipod died. I instantly dropped to my knees and shoock my fists at the sky, asking God "WHY!!??"

My Ipod is old. I have to charge it pretty much after each use. I should have known to check it before heading out the door. This is what happens when you are lazy and only run 1-2 times a week. You forget to check on your running BFF.

I was only 2 minutes into a 45 minute run. I can't do this! Another minute passed and I was already bored. Nothing to think about besides my need for oxygen, and making up stories in my head about the people I was passing on the trail. Does anyone else do that?

A few more minutes passed and hey, this isn't so bad. FYI, I am not one of those people who can think about their life, their problems, or plans for the week while I run. I feel like I can barely have a complete thought, let alone plan out my future. That's why I enjoy running. I can tune out and NOT THINK. My mind goes blank and I don't need to think about anything. No worries about cleaning, bills, shopping, errands..nothing. Just me and being outside watching the scenery. Love it.

So I guess I learned running without music is not so bad. Time actually went by pretty dang fast. I didn't have the fastest run though. 45 mins= 3.75 miles with a minute of walking every 1/2 mile. Guess that's what happens with no Kanye to pump me up and get my feet moving. I still heart my BFF, but I think I will try and run without music every now and then.

Are you an Ipod junky too?

Oh, and I promise to get some more pics up on this blog. I've been bad about carrying my camera with me. Bad Blogger!

Happy Birthday Cory

2011-10-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

October rings in with Cory's birthday. October 1st. We played it pretty low key this year. We had plans to hike Mt. Si, but things kinda fell apart. We decided to hang out and have a more laid back kind of day. At least for me and the kids. Cory was super busy trying to launch his new business..a clothing line!

Introducing... PARKER ALAN CLOTHING

Yes, it is named after our son. Yes, we eventually want to start a seperate line named after our daughter.

This clothing line has some super cute stuff for men, women, boys, and girls.

So I am shamelessly plugging our new business and encourage you to visit the webpage, like the company of facebook, and follow on twitter. Stay tuned for some fun giveaways!!

September Rewind

2011-10-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hey all! September has ended and it's October!! My favorite month of the year. We've got birthdays, anniversaries, Halloween, and this year- DISNEYLAND! We are T-minus 10 days, people!

Again, I'm linking up to Run With Jess' Blog for a monthly rewind. Thank Jess!

MILES OF TRIALS

September Miles:23 miles. I thought it was less! I totally slacked.
Longest Run:3.5 miles.
Races: Grape Crush Rush 5K..no PR, but was a post-flu run, so I was happy.

IT'S NOT FAT, IT'S FUEL

Monthly Weight Loss: -2.4 lbs
Year To Date Weight Loss: 21 pounds!

I met my initial weight loss goal this month which felt amazing. Goal #1 was to be pre-baby weight. Haven't been this light since 2006! My next goal is to be in the "healthy" range for my height, which means I need to lose another 10 lbs. They say the last 10 are the hardest, so onward we go.

MIND OVER MILES

Books I'm Reading: I'm totally hooked on The Biggest Loser, so this month I think I read every single Biggest Loser book ever made. It's always good to re-educate myself on nutrition and fitness.

ROCK ON!

Songs Downloaded This Month: None! I've been listening to the Running With the Pack podcasts. They keep me entertained and give awesome tips about running.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

MONTHLY CONFESSION:

Not so much of a confession, but more of an announcement..I gots me a treadmill!! Totally got one a freecycle. I love freecycle! I think the speed might be off and I can't use my garmin because I'm indoors. There is a footpod piece I can buy to go along with the garmin for indoor running, but it's like $40. I'm think Santa might have to bring me that one.

OCTOBER ASPIRATIONS:

-Have the best vacation EVER!
-Enjoy Parker's last few weeks being 3.
-Get all our fall cleaning things done (clean gutters, put patio furniture away, and all that yucky stuff.)
-Run 3 times a week.

Happy October!

Can Someone Kick My A**?

2011-09-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Confession: I have been a total lazy butt since the last 5K I was in. I'm talking maybe 1 run within the last 2 weeks. I don't know what it is. Since reaching my goal weight, I've become a TOTAL slacker in the exercise/healthy eating department. I cannot find motivation ANYWHERE!!

I know it sounds lame, but I just don't feel like it. Okay, that sounded more babyish than I thought. Guess I've been hanging out with little kids too much.

So today, I've decided I'm back on the exercise train. I'm going running/walking tonight. I know it will be hard. I've probably lost a lot of endurance. But at least I'm doing SOMETHING, right?!

Feel free to leave me a comment to wake me up. I needed shaken and slapped STAT. Do I want to gain all that weight back? Do I want to ruin all the hard work I've done? Do I need to keep asking myself rhetorical questions? Yes, if that's what it takes. YES Katie, YES! Okay, I've officially lost it.