so, so sore

I've been working out at a local fitness club here in town and it is kicking my tail!!!! This finishes my 5th week, and phew! I'm constantly feeling my muscles being worked more than ever before! I've always loved exercising and have my entire life... but since having kids, I've lost the baby weight at home doing videos. But I'm SO tired of exercising by myself!!! And after 8 years of videos? I was so ready to join a group! Plus the videos haven't pushed me near as hard as these classes. I would have laid on the couch long before it got this hard if I was alone at home!



I attend four crazy, good classes each week... this week? It was Zumba, Hard Core, Cycling, and Cardio Sculpt. After the Hard Core class last night (all abs for 45 min.) I hurt in my ribs, sides, and every single muscle in my core. Ouchie! But it feels SO good... I feel more and more like my old self each day. I don't know about you, but I love working out. It makes me appreciate how God created my body and I feel like a machine when I'm working it and making it stronger.

This is what Cardio Sculpt looks like.

Cycling (some gyms call it Spinning) is an amazing workout. I sweat like you wouldn't believe, and my legs feel so strong now! That was this morning...

I'm one pound away from my pre-preggo weight with Annika. But my body is far from looking like it! Things are just different, ya know???? So I'm going for another 10-15lbs. Or even if I don't lose another pound, I know I'm doing incredible good for my body. OH, and a huge bonus? Free childcare. I rarely use it now that school has started, I go in the evenings or when Jeremy is home on Fri and Sat... but it's so great. And the classes are all women. Love that. So here's to sore muscles and disappearing fat. :)






A Zumba class!

Swap a DVD!

Last week, we signed up at www.swapadvd.com and think it's so cool! You join (it's free) and list all of the DVD's you own that you no longer want... then you make a list of all the DVD's that you'd like to own... and they do all the work for you. You get an email saying that someone wants your movie and you accept or not, then print the wrapper right there, take it to the post office (it costs less than $2 to send) and you get one credit for a movie to be sent to you!

So you pay the postage to send your movies out and someone else returns the favor! We got our first movie this weekend and another is on the way! I've sent 5 out so far.

Thanks, Elizabeth H. for telling us about it!!!

If you'd like to join and know Elizabeth, use her as a referral on the sign up application and she'll get a free movie credit. Her nickname on swapadvd.com is "mamatoblessings" Or if you don't know Elizabeth, you can use us as your referral, our nickname is "lovethosebaconbits" Thanks, and enjoy!!! It's the coolest service!

Girdwood getaway

Last Saturday and Sunday we took a trip to Girdwood with our good friends, the Novaks! Each year we're trying to plan a fun trip to kick the school year off right... the Novaks called just when we were wondering what in the world we would do this year with an invite for a trip to Girdwood! We stayed the night at the Alyeska Resort hotel and swam that night before bed in the pool (Gavin could have drown, but that's another story!) And we went on an amazingly beautiful (and kid-friendly) hike on the Winner Creek Trail on Sunday, then we drove up the road a bit to the Crow Creek Mine where the kids got to pan for gold! They got to take some little flakes home from the "practice" run. It was a FUN 24 hours with our good friends!

Miss Morgan sacked out in the morning when we woke up! She ended up on Abby's pillow.

We did 2.5 miles round trip, walked to the hand tram that went over the river, the came back. It took us about 2 hours with 6 kiddos and was SO fun. We haven't hiked much as a family, but loved this trail and plan to do it again. After our hike, once we got up to the mine, they told us there was a black bear at the hand tram after we left! It's exciting living here! But I'm so glad we missed it.

The Novaks on their way to the platform!

Morgan enjoying the ride!

Annika loved being in the backpack for the first time. She was a happy little camper the whole way, even with out a nap! She just sang and made her cute little Annika sounds the whole way. There are more pictures to come.... I forgot my camera at the pool and my battery died half way through the hike, so I missed gold panning too! (I was in the car anyways while a plum-tuckered Annika snoozed.) So I'll post more pics from our weekend when I get some from Sarah. :)

Family fun at the fair!

The state fair is always a highlight of our year as a family! As soon as we entered the gates, Jeremy and I stood in line for our favorite "Golden Cheese Nuggets"! They are yummy, greasy, little balls of deep-fried cheese curds. Then you can pick your sauce. My favorites are honey mustard or marinara. Good thing it's a once-a-year treat!

We took in a few shows... let the kids go on a couple rides... and ate of course. Next year, we have plans to enter some of our veggies, my knitting projects, and some kiddo projects into the fair for judging. Oh, and we got the new Alaska state quarter. It was released that day into circulation.

And the highlight of our day was Morgan winning the "hare chair" at the Lumberjack show! We've been attending the lumberjack show for years and have seen countless little ones come away with a fun little chair!!! But she doesn't want it in her room until it's painted pink!!! She's not so much lumberjack after all. But she did give a big "Yo Ho!" into the microphone when she won! She was adorable. No fear and shyness whatsoever. (I was a much different little girl... I would have died to have to go out there in front of all those people!)

Wowsers

We've been really excited and stunned about Sarah Palin this week! I've been completely in the dark about it all except for checking the internet news pages everyday. But tonight I actually turned on the TV and saw her speech at the RNC. I'm not a political gal whatsoever. I do vote and am proud to do so, but I'm just not so into it. Until now! I love Sarah and what she has done for Alaska. I love that she's a Christian of course, as well.

She's been at church whenever she's been in town this whole summer. Always sitting with Todd and holding Trig. A couple Sundays ago in August, she was there again with the whole family. I told Drew that our Governor was here at church and the kids and I decided we'd go introduce ourselves. She was as sweet and kind as you'd imagine, and baby Trig was adorable. So then... when she was nominated last week, it was so fun to ask the kids, "Wasn't that so cool that you just met her at church?"

I got teary eyed watching her speak about her family and parents tonight. The Heaths are such great people. Sally always greets me by name and has always been so friendly to me and my family. And Mr. Heath was my hands-down favorite substitute teacher growing up. We did cool things like dissect ptarmigan gizzards and etch glass. I'm proud to be affiliated with Sarah being from Alaska!!!

funny, funny kids

Okay... I've been saving these couple for a few days....

Morgan
Yesterday she was playing with two Polly Pocket dolls and one was talking to the other... "Hi, who are you?" The other answered in a fierce Polly Pocket voice, "I'm your worstest nightmare!" Shocked, I asked her where she heard that????? "From Mulan!" During our Olympics watching marathon, we rented Mulan for the first time because it was set in China!

Drew
Tonight as Drew was getting ready for bed, he took a huge drink of water. I said, "Drew, you shouldn't drink so much right before bed!" Puzzled, he asked, "Why? Will it make me drunk?"
I gasped and said, "Where have you heard that word????" (in an elevated tone) "The Bible. Remember when that man drank too much wine?" Point taken.

"But son, we don't say that word."
"What does it mean, then?"
"Well, remember when we were behind that woman this summer that was driving crazy and crashed her car? Well, she was drunk. She drank too much of that yucky drink."
"Well, when I'm president? I'm gonna outlaw that yucky drink. And then I'm gonna have a LONG talk with those people that make that stuff. Mom, do they do it just for the money?"
(Man, this kid is perceptive.)
"Yes, they do."
"That is just wrong. They are killing people and hurting people and do it anyways!"

Oh, and did I mention (I may have before) that he wants his name to be Richard Johnson when he's president? I think his own name will be just fine. And I think he's a politically minded fellow. He definitely doesn't get that from us!!!

And here's one more funny quote from our eldest:

On our first day of school this week we were learning the Pledge of Allegiance and what the words mean in it. And I asked the kids what they thought the word "allegiance" meant.

Drew said, "Isn't that a book in the Bible?"
Ha ha ahahaha... "No! That's Ephesians!"
With a laugh, "OH!"

Allegiance.. isn't that a book in the Bible?

girlfriends day at the fair

Well, it wasn't really called Girlfriends Day at the state fair. But that's what it was to Morgan and I! I took Annika and Morgan to the fair yesterday to meet up with Sarah and Allison and their adorable kids! We had such a great day and stayed much later than we imagined we'd be up for! The kids and babies were so good, and the weather was great! A perfect overcast non-rainy fair day! Plus, it was $2 Tuesday... can't beat that! I took a bunch of "too cute to not post" pictures, enjoy!!!

The girls patiently waiting for their turn at the face painting booth!

Morgan was as still as I've ever seen her! This lady was amazing, she whipped out a beautiful butterfly in no time flat!

The beautiful results! Sorry, Liam... your puppy was adorable too.

baby chicks!

The ending of a fantastic day.

a visit with the Embrees!

Our good friends, the Embrees, are on home assignment in the USA from their home in South Africa, and we've had the privilege of hanging out with them on numerous occasions these past couple weeks! On this particular night, it was raspberry picking time!

Jeremy set up a berry picking contest... The winner? Hannah. The prize? Max's blue ribbon winning cookies for all.

This wonderful family has an amazing ministry in South Africa. They've lived there 7 years already! Thanks James and Ella for sharing your family with us.

You can check out what they're up to here.

fan in training

I snapped this shot last week of my little sweetie watching late night gymnastics with me! Everyone else was in bed usually, it was just me and Annika. She was clapping after the Chinese gymnast messed up on bars. Just Kidding... but she was really happy that night!

bountiful harvest

My super-gardener husband grows an incredible garden, if I do say so myself! I can't take any credit, I just pick it, cook with it, and eat it. I have grown to appreciate it SO much.

This year we grew cabbage (green & red), carrots, zucchini, 8 ball squash, green beans, apples, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, green onions, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, celery, spinach, swill chard, and butter crunch lettuce! Some he starts from seeds, and for some buys starts.

He has been working extra hard this summer to build a greenhouse for next year. I call it the Taj Ma-greenhouse, it's huge! But I'm dreaming of growing tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and pumpkin in it! Who knows if the last two will work... but it's worth a try! I tell him he should start a garden consulting business, he's amazing! Here are some pictures of some of the wonderful things we've grown this year:

You hit the nail on the head, son. Twice.

Here are a couple of recent quotes out of my 7 year old's mouth. They blew me away! One in a funny way and one in a WOW way.

Gavin: "Mom, make some more!" (he was talking about some kind of food I'd made and he said it in a cute, excited way)
Drew: "Moms are Moms. You need to say please make some more. Moms aren't servants."

Thank you, son for acknowledging that I am indeed not a servant (in that way)! But, I am a servant by choice in serving my family and others in ways that please God. Sometimes my attitude needs some tweaking, but my four little ones and Jeremy are a joy to serve.

Okay, here's the WOW one. He randomly said this during lunch a couple weeks ago. I wrote it down right away because I never want to forget it.

After sitting at the table pondering for a moment... Drew said, "I think God is better than I think."

He continued by listing off the reasons why in this order:

1) He lets people make their own decisions.
2) He's nice.
3) He does miracles for people that don't believe in Him.
4) He lets us have a good home.
5) He brought Jesus down to earth to save us.

Thank you, sweet son, for reminding me that God is indeed "better than I think!" That same boy struggles with sin just like the rest of us, but is still able to ask for forgiveness, move forward, and glorify God with his words. I have to laugh thinking about the last two days with him. He has lost the use of his bike for 2 days, his computer time for a week, and spent an hour on his bed! That all happened in a 24 hour period! He struggles just like the apostle Paul did as stated in the Bible and as we all do today. Drew always says, "My brain wants to do right things, but my body just doesn't do it."

That is exactly (in 7 year old terms) what Paul was saying in the Bible in Romans 7:15: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

But to Drew's credit, the first thing he did before breakfast this morning was grab the electric sweeper in the kitchen and clean up because he said there were too many crumbs. No matter how exasperating some moments with him can be, he is so sweet, loving, and thoughtful. And later in the day he told me I looked like I needed to sit down and take a break because I was working too hard. I laughed really loudly and he said, "What??? You do!"

I always grab him and hug him and remind him that he was my first baby. And that I used to do all of the same things with him that I now do with our sweet Annika. He loves that, and is fascinated at the fact that he was WAY chubbier than her!

Chubba Lubba Drew at 7 months

HOORAY!

Finally! A gold medal for Shawn Johnson! She was flawless on beam and won herself a well-deserved Olympic Gold Medal!!! She has shown so much maturity in all of her interviews during these games and she's only 16! And to take so many silvers after being touted the world's next "it" girl in gymnastics.... she was so gracious. And on a side note, does anyone know how to mute commentator Tim Daggett??? hee hee Just kidding, he has been the commentator since I was a young teenager, I can tune him out now. Waa waaa waaahh

Way to go, Shawn!!!! Can you imagine training since you were 6 years old? And for like 8 hours a day for this??? Wowsers... I'm not so sure that would be my priority, but congrats, girl!

Nastia takes the gold!

Hooray for Team USA for taking the gold and the silver in the All-Around the other night!

I was on the edge of my seat, as were a few of you! It was a great competition, and it was completely amazing that our top two gymnast were 1-2, taking the gold and silver! I was so proud of Shawn Johnson for being so gracious to her friend and teammate, even though she was touted as our next gold medalist. And what a beautiful night of gymnastics for Nastia Liukin. She has absolutely flawless gymnastics, way to go!!! But you can cheer for Shawn and Nastia a couple more times this week! Nastia qualified to compete in the event finals in Uneven Bars and Beam, and Shawn will compete on the Beam and Floor Ex. starting Sunday night! I'm hoping our little Shawn will come through with a gold medal of her own.

Gymnastics!

Okay, so I have to admit that I'm bummed about the silver medal! They suffered a few setbacks both in the way of injuries just prior to the preliminaries and mistakes in tonight's performance. I was SO tense watching them on bars and beam. I could hardly watch. Gymnastics has been a love of mine since I don't remember when! It was a bit lonely watching the big event this time (miss you sis), my whole family went to bed after the first rotation. It was nice and quiet, but I miss the outloud cheering! Compared to Athens four years ago, the party at the Parker's, and a large toga over my prego belly... this was a bit of a letdown night of gymnastics. I at least should have eaten an egg roll, don't you think? But I loved every minute of it and am anxiously awaiting the Women's All-Around competition Thursday night!


Who will it be? Shawn, Nastia, or say it isn't so: a gymnast from China??? :)






Tell me, who do you think will take the All-Around gold?

My vote? The cool as a cucumber and extremely talented Shawn Johnson. But I would be equally thrilled if our Nastia took it as well!

Blog update and nightmare!

Well, I've finally figured out how to get those cool blogger backgrounds! Go to www.pyzam.com for free backgrounds... there are TOO many to choose from. But maybe do it without your kiddos and hubby in the room. I came across one racy one and I'm sure there are many more.

Have fun!!! But the only bummer (big bummer) in all this is that I accidentally clicked on something that deleted all my old "widgets" which were all of my links on the side!!!!! Okay, now I need to remember all the blogs I had linked to! Happy blogging!