Oh summer!

Where does the time go? I thought they said time flies once you have kids? Ahh yes, but time flies when you're having fun too!

A couple weeks ago we went to Clovis and had another fabulous time with the Marina's. We just love hanging out at their place and catching up with them. They have such a beautiful home, it's just the perfect getaway coupled with great company! The boys stayed with Nicole's parents as they usually do and they love every minute of it. They get to swim and play with 3 other dogs the whole time. We're so grateful to have them take such great care of our boys when we're away.

Doesn't this remind you of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FgUsC2kYs

Sleepy boy after a fun-filled weekend

4th of July weekend was really nice. We went to 2 BBQ's on the 3rd and had a blast. The morning of 4th we went to the Roseville parade with the fam. Afterward, we just hung out at the park and snacked on some fruit while Blair took a little nap in her stroller. The afternoon was quiet and relaxing (a rarity these days) and in the evening we went over to her parents for some pool time and a nice dinner.

We have really been enjoying this summer. If you've seen my posts on FB you'll see just how nice this summer is in shorts! I am actually wearing shorts (both bermuda and regular shorts (ok only once)) this summer for the first time in over 8yrs. Plus, the heat isn't that bad with some weight off; pool time is fun too.

We have some fun things planned for the summer. Tahoe cabin with my family, camping with Nicole's and our 1yr wedding anniversary. Can't believe almost a year has gone by since the best day of my life!

After a brief hiatus in exercising I think it's safe to say we're back at it! I have really been enjoying riding my bike on trails and am looking forward to exploring more and more! Nicole is sticking to yoga and the gym, but I'm hoping to get her riding with me soon.

Antelope Trail

WJU Trail

An honest update

I feel like every time I post on here it's about how busy we've been, but at least it's honest.

Lately, things have been pretty much the same. We work our tails off and are still so grateful we have such great jobs. That occupies much of our time of course and when we're not working well we're trying to live life to the fullest because really, there's nothing wrong with that right? I think I got that advice when I was like 15 or something and it hasn't slowed me down yet, even at the young married age of 27. ;)

WW - I finally hit 40lbs a couple weeks ago, it was a huge accomplishment. I'm finding it harder to lose the weight. Not only because we have tons going on and I have officially realized I'm an emotional eater, but because the weight is coming off a lot slower. However, I am not done and I am still tracking, but haven't been as active lately. I'll touch on why in a minute. Nicole is still around 30lbs, and doing about the same as I. We're hanging on, not falling off, just not making great strides like we were, but again that doesn't mean we're done. :) In this I find we're learning how to really use the lifestyle change even if we're not as successful with weight watchers because once we get to lifetime we won't have weight loss to be our main source of motivation. Anyhow, last week we missed our first weigh in ever because we were out of town, but we are looking forward to going to our meeting on Tuesday night even if it doesn't prove to be a loss, it's about the support and finding that motivation and what not.

Exciting news - we bought a 2007 Honda Pilot!! It was our first choice vehicle and we stayed really patient. We got the one we wanted which happened to be at the right price. During the 3 weeks we were looking and without a 2nd car mostly, we found a ton that would be perfect except the prices weren't so much perfect. I love our Pilot, our payment is practical, our interest rate low (8% less than on the Exploder I might add) and has all the utility we wanted such as 3rd row seating, roof rack, 4WD, leather, big enough back for both boys and it's comfortable!! No more bounce bounce bounce for us! Like I said, it's perfect for us and we are very happy with it to say the least. Oh and about that activity, well I was riding my bike to work as you know and this last week with having the new ride I couldn't leave it sitting all day so I didn't ride my back and well I didn't do anything else either! haha Except we did do some walking when we were out of town and we went (all 4 of us) for a walk tonight, so I guess I've (we've) been at least getting some walking in. Hoping soon enough I'll pick up the bike riding because I did log 75 miles in the month of May and I really enjoyed it.

This week has also been a little tough on me because unfortunately, I am afraid my Father has "gone out again"... just 4 days after getting out of a 90 rehab center and cleaning up his record. I'm hurt, upset, sad, angry, disappointed etc.. too many feelings to really grab hold of. I can't say I didn't see it coming, but really, less than 1 week after a successful 3 months in rehab, really? Ugh, disease, addiction, poor choices, weakness, etc.. whatever you want to call it, it has clearly gotten the best of him again and I'm worried. I am worried for his health, for others he may be putting in harms way and worried I'm going to get an awful phone call all over again and it sucks! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers that he gets over this outing before it's too late.

Today, we went to a celebration of life for a very sweet lady, Carolyn Nelson, who used to be our neighbor. I was honored her son called to inform me of her passing and to invite me to her service. It was a very touching service and we were so thankful we could be there. I'll never forget her smile and just how sweet she was, she'll definitely be missed.

That's all for now... it's just about time to go to bed with the most amazing woman in my life.

~ Jen

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Busy has taken over!

I am not quite sure where the last month has gone, but here we are! Boy, are we and have we been busy busy girls. Lots changing around us and tons more going on.

WW - we honestly had been pretty stagnant for awhile, but are happy to say we're back on top of things! Had some gain, got that off and are now back to losing. Keeping our eyes on the prize; Lifetime is just about 20 lbs away for both of us, yay! That means healthy BMI and no more spending 80 bucks a month on WW, but still being able to attend meetings and use the tools to help us maintain this lifestyle change. In case you can't see the tickers on the right, I am down 39.8lbs and Nicole is down 29lbs. :)

Truck - Well most of you know we'd been looking to sell my truck and get a more practical family vehicle. We have been looking to do this for some time and had the mindset to be more proactive rather than reactive. I knew I wouldn't want a car seat in my dropped Exploder on 22's. It was too flashy and uncomfortable, not to mention it was almost 10 yrs old and I was paying a hefty interest rate on it. Anyhow, almost 2 weeks ago I was successful in selling it on CL for a little over pay off. I am so relieved about this, but it was bittersweet I'm not going to lie. So, for the last week or better we had been doing some test driving and the I got pre-approved, (for the first time in my life, with the best rate available through Golden1) which was a very pleasant experience. We had been working to perfect my credit for 5+ years and what do you know? Hard work pays off! :) I'm officially pre-approved and we have our eyes on the 07-08 Honda Pilot. We'll see what happens. Maybe this weekend.

Bike Riding & Being active - Since we haven't had a 2nd vehicle I have been riding my bike to work even more than I was when we did have my truck. I over did it a little last week by riding, going to the gym and training for the 5k, but that's behind us now. We have managed to make it work even with this crappy rainy weather, with the help of Nicole's parents loaning their car for a couple days and Nicole waking up @ 530 to take me to work then doing the lunch time shuffle. That's if I don't ride, err can't ride. Being active, holy cow! We have a whole new understanding about this. 5k? Who woulda thought we could run a 5k in about 41:25, let alone our first one! We ran it along with Nicole's Mom and I don't think we would have done it as good without her there! It was an amazing experience. Running at the weight we are right now is fun and enjoyable. We talked like that whole night about how light we felt while running, how much we enjoyed it and how we couldn't wait to do another one. Or even bigger things such as a triathlon and\or 10k. Pretty crazy, but it feels great! Nicole also just did her first official yoga class with Momma L at a yoga studio, it was suppossed to be warm yoga, but it turned out to be hot yoga! LOL Not quite Bikram (108 degrees) but it was 96 degrees. And without water (oops) but she loved it and will be going back as much as she can!

Boys - Oh these boys, they're such troopers. We have been in and out of the house quite a bit lately. Whether it's a normal work day then something that evening, crazy weekend days with Birthdays and Weddings all in the same day, or just crappy weather so they weren't able to go run, they are amazing! They still love the crap out of each other and play non-stop. :)

Our girls - Momma L and Momma B are wonderful. They're our new blogger turned IRL friends and couldn't feel any more grateful that they have come into our life at this time. They are an amazing couple and are just the good, solid and down to earth type of people you want to surround yourself with. We have so many fun things in store for us and cannot wait to share some of our adventures with you all let alone introduce some of you to them! You'll love them like we do! ;)

As I am saving this OneRepublic's Good Life song came on, that's just what we're living!

A love like this

Oh Logan aka Logie Bear - this one is for you...

You have been given to us to love, play with, care for, provide for and just to provide a happy and healthy life. In return we are blessed with your happy presence, unconditional love and your loyalty to us. Duncan is very fortunate to have a brother (or bruder as I call you) that he can play with at anytime; not to mention that we all love your cute little growls and adorable whine noises you make as you play with him. They never get old; unless we have a headache or something. :) We have taken you to the dog park twice now and you are quite the social butterfly, just spreading your love to everyone whether they like it or not! ;) We are very anxious to see you swim for the first time because you're just so clumsy with those legs\paws!

I have grown to love you, but not without it taking some time. I never knew what it'd be like getting a dog that wasn't a puppy and bringing it into ones home, but now I do. Love didn't necessarily come easy, we've had you for about 5 months, but now Logie Bear I can truly say you're loved more than you know. You're our boy, (albeit special @ times, but that's what makes you, you!) Duncan's bruder and we couldn't be any more happy that we brought you into our home.

Yes, that is a chuck it ball they're playing tug-o-war with

Snuggling on Duncan

Mama Jen caught a yawn!

Happy and Lazy Logan @ the dog park, must be tough spreading your love around

Can't get enough of his bruder, awe!