Week 3

1. Mom 40
2. Kim 36
3. Ethan 33
4. Kari 33
5. Dave 25
6. Adrienne 16

That's all I have and I'm going to be out of town for a few days. I'll update Wednesday or Thursday, email me asap to not lose any more points... remember 1 per day.

Week 2 Tally

1. Mom 59
2. Ethan 53
3. Kim 51
4. Adrienne 49
5. Kari 42
6. Dave 35
7. Richy 32
8. Dennis 22
9. Heather 21

These are the points I have thus far...

How did it go for you this week?

Happy Birthday Yesterday Dennis~

So sorry I didn't post this yesterday but HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!!! I sure do love you. I'm thankful for the times that we get a minute to chat on the phone lately too... I probably talk to you more than most of the rest of the fam. I think you're so great! You have a great sense of humor and are open to so many things. I appreciate your love of good food (even when you critique what I make :). I admire your devotion and love for those you care deeply about. Thanks for giving me some good book recommendations, I appreciate your ability to discern whether its appropriate for me. I love that you're always up for some fun and you know how to laugh (even if it is at Richy trying to lift you up). You're so very supportive and kind. There are a lot of reasons I look up to you. Thanks bro. Happy Birthday~ I hope all your dreams come true!

Poly.....Gamy

I was informed today that polygamy must be back in, and I am one of the first who gets to...... (enjoy?) it. I was washing the dishes and Lucy came to chat. She informed me she was getting married and when I asked her who the lucky guy was she said, "You!" She talked about the plans, the flowers we would have, (magical ones of course) the types of tables, the setting, and everything. I asked, "Lucy, I am already married what would my wife think?"

"She would say, 'It's o.k. to marry another girl, you can marry every girl you want, and then you can kiss all of them on the lips,.... at the same time!'" Her enthusiasm scared me a bit, but then it was so vivid in her imagination, that she must have already had this conversation with Adrienne, and A just didn't know how to give me the go ahead nod.

Let's hear it

OK, Let's hear how the week went for everyone. What was hard? What was easy? What are you most excited about? What is keeping you going this week?

Points: Week 1

1. Kari 58
2. Mom 56
3. Ethan 47
4. Kim 44
5. Richy 38
6. Dave 35
7. Adrienne 31
8. Dennis 29
9. Heather 21

eta. Dave and Adrienne hadn't counted Saturday's points yet when they were sent to me.

Happy Birthday Heather!

Just wanted to give a shout out to my sista from another mista. Heather you've been my sister for such a long time it just feels like we're blood. Thanks for being so great. For always helping with my hair and make up for dances way back in the day. Showing me good times (and good pizza) at Utah State. For getting muddy with me on the soccer field. For setting an excellent example on how to enjoy Halloween (OK, and lots of other stuff too). For finishing your degree and showing me I could do it too. For letting me witness the miracle of life for the first time and helping me to realize what a beautiful miracle it is. Being honest with me and forgiving me for my failings. For so many other fun and random and wonderful things. But most of all for loving me.

You are such a fabulous sister! You are beautiful, funny, smart, talented... the list could go on and on. I love you! And I hope you have a spectacular birthday because you deserve it!

And by the way, the birthday idea is one to talk to Dennis, Richy and Kari about... they're the only others who will be affected. You could form an alliance. :)

You Decide 2009

So, I've decided that I'm not going to worry about the questions/concerns you've all presented. I will simply ask each of you to honestly consider what you think is the best way to handle your personal situation and decide from there. I will not be policing the points, I will be recording the points. Just send me your weekly totals and I will record them, no questions asked. Just please be honest, so its fair for everyone.

How much water should I drink?

Several questions and concerns have come up about the water points. I know we all need different amounts of water for optimal health. I said 48 oz because I figured we all probably need more than that, but can get the extra fluids from other sources such as milk and 100% fruit or vegetable juices.

I did a search online to see how much water I should be drinking a day and found this little "quiz" at about.com. According to this I should be drinking approximately 82 oz. of fluid a day, so the 48 oz. is a definite low ball number and the milk and/or juice that I drink can make up for some of the difference (though I probably drink 56-64 oz. of water most days).

Go check out how much you should be drinking. If it says less than 48 oz. let me know and we'll figure something out. You can also read this article about why we need water.

I hope this helps clarify things. Let me know if you have any more questions about water.

I'm still trying to figure out how to handle some of the other questions/concerns that have come up. The points are set up so that it is fair for everyone. When we start making exceptions for one person because of this and another person because of that, I'm afraid the point system loses its integrity. I'm hoping to get an outsider to help me figure out the best way to handle your questions. I'll be sure to have answers soon!

Additional Info

The MyPyramid.gov website has some great insights to helping us get healthier. At this link you can put in your information and it will give you specific pyramid for your needs. If you're not at a healthy weight it will give you suggestions for progressively getting to a healthy weight. It also has some great tips for adding these good things into our diets. So if you're concerned about getting all your fruit and veggie servings in, check out the tips on your pyramid. It's pretty cool, they even have a link for those of us who are pregnant or breastfeeding. And if you'd like to get the kiddos involved they have a pyramid for them too.

Dave was asking me how much of something is considered a serving of fruit. Inside the Pyramid lists several different common fruit and how much is considered a serving. There is a chart for each pyramid option as well. I didn't realize that beans were considered vegetables, but according to the vegetable link from the same page linked above, they can be protein or vegetable. That's awesome, I use beans in a lot of my cooking!

Dave also asked me to define "treat" for purposes of the challenge. I don't want to do that, I think that it needs to be a personal decision for each person. The basic idea is to exclude high sugar/fat/calorie foods. Some ideas you might try to exclude: candy, cake, cookies, soda... you know treats. :) Whatever you deem as OK for you will go since you'll be awarding your points each day. Just keep in mind we're trying to get healthy. :)

So, I was thinking about 30 minutes of exercise and sometimes its really hard to get it all in one shot. If you get 30 minutes in increments (three 10 minutes workouts, for example) you can award yourself 1 point rather than 2.

I will post weekly points on the blog as well as total points for everyone involved. At the end of the challenge the person with the most points wins.

OK, any other questions or concerns. Now is the time to figure it all out.

Healthy Family Challenge Info

Hello all you healthy challengers!

I am so excited that we are going to do this! I decided that this week will be a practice week to get us all used to keeping track of our points and making these healthy choices... or like Ethan said "you have a week to get rid of your treats!" So the official tally will begin starting next Monday. I'd like to do the prize money thing for incentive, let me know if you want to or not. If we're going to do it, I'd like to know who all will be contributing and how much the prize money will be by next week. So get back to me asap.

We will run the challenge through the end of February, I think it is 12 weeks exactly. This way its not such a far off goal that there is no end in sight, but its long enough that we can (hopefully!) see some benefits.

The daily points will be awarded for the following:

• 2 points for 30 minutes exercise
• 1 point for strength or flexibility training (at least 10 minutes)
• 1 point for 7-8 hours of sleep
• 1 point for 5 fruits and vegetables
• 1 point for at least 48 oz. water
• 1 point for no food after 8:00 pm
• 1 point for no treats
• 1 point for personal prayer
• 1 point for reading the Book of Mormon

As you can see, a total of 10 points is possible for each day. Remember Sundays are free days! No points will be awarded for Sundays. That means a weekly total of 60 possible points. As you can also see, we are totally going to be on the honor system. Adrienne suggested she might create a spreadsheet to keep tally of her points on, if you're interested in her system ask her for a copy, I'm sure she'd love to help. That's what this is all about, encouraging each other and doing it together!

Points will be reported to me each Sunday. I will try to send an email out each Saturday night or Sunday morning to remind you to get me your points. I will post the points on the family blog so we can all keep track of our progress. Feel free to post on the blog how you've been feeling, what things you're finding have a big impact on you, what you're struggling with, etc. That way we can use it as a support system of sorts. I will post on the blog each Sunday night... that means I really need your weekly points that day. A point will be deducted from your weekly score each day after Sunday that I don't have your points (I'm so mean, I know!).

So far, I have the participants as:

1. Mom
2. Dennis
3. Heather
4. Richy
5. Kari
6. Adrienne
7. Kim
8. Ethan

Dad doesn't want to participate. I haven't heard anything from Sean or Dave. There is still time for you two to join us! Just let me know one way or the other, please.

OK, if anyone has any questions or concerns about anything, let's get them sorted out before next week when the official tally starts. Thanks again everyone for doing this with me! I'm so excited!

Last one!

Finally, hats of to Coach Kreis. What a stud! He so much awesomer than Mr. Smuggy-pants. What an amazing job he has done for RSL. He's so little in real life! He's cute too!

Oh my gosh it's WILL JOHNSON!!! AHHHHHH!

So, you'll want to scroll down for the the first part of the story. Obviously, blogging is not a strong point. So after I got a quick pic of Russell and the cup, I continued on my way out past the baggage claim, when Oh my gosh! there's Andy Williams! I just happened to have a blue sharpie in my purse (seriously, I had been carrying it around for no reason in my purse and was going to take it out the other day, but I had the thought "you never know when you'll need a sharpie - boy, was I right!). So, Ethan and Spencer got their hats signed by Andy.
I'm on my way out again, moving along, I just happen to look to my left and standing RIGHT BY ME is.....WILLL JOOOHHHNSOOON! Now, as you all know, picking a favorite RSL player for me would be like choosing among my own children- impossible! But, IF I had a favorite, it would be Will......I LOVE YOU WILL!!!! Isn't he so CUTE! (He's smiling at me). The other pic is kinda blury cause I couldn't get the dang camera to work fast enough.
Wingert is down at the bottom there, he rocks!

RSL Homecoming Part 1

Some may consider me a bad mom for this (nuts to them!!), but I pulled my kids from school so we could go so we could go to the SLC airport and welcome home our favorite team. RSL ROCKS!!!! There were tons of people there (which was awesome), but we couldn't see a thing (not awesome). After much chanting, cheering and screaming (my throat still hurts), I decided it was time to go. Also, Skye and Gavin aren't quite fans yet, and they very much were not in the spirit of things :P













So, as we started walking out, I turned to my left and...Holy cow! There's Robbie Russell
with the MLS cup. Neato!

Ok, there is more but the pictures are gone. More to come as soon as I figure out how to blog...again!!! Blast.

A Holiday Proposal

So, I've been thinking. I really like to eat. I really like to eat junk. I'm really tired and don't feel like working out much. These are things I struggle with all the time. I'd really like to overcome my dread for these things, but I'd really like some support from each of you. Maybe we can all sort of cheer each other on?

So here's my proposal: we have a family fitness challenge.

The challenge isn't competing against each other per se. It would be more like each of us pushing ourselves to make better choices for our health. Each day we'd have the opportunity to earn 10 points. Points are awarded for things like exercising for 30 minutes, eating 5 fruits and vegetables, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, reading the Book of Mormon (don't forget spiritual fitness!). You can lose a point for eating a treat. Sundays are a free day, no points awarded, no points taken away. A friend of mine has been doing this with their family and it has gone really well. They each donated some money to a pool and the person with the most points wins the money.

The nice thing about it is that everyone can do their own kind of exercise. So Kari can get totally ripped with P90X and I can just walk or do water aerobics or something. It doesn't matter if we lose weight (which I obviously won't), its about getting healthier as a family.

I'd like to hear what you guys think. If we all contributed as little as $10 (each person that's participating) the pool would be over $100. That would be a great prize! I know the holidays are upon us and money is tight, but we don't even have to do the money thing. We can just do for bragging rights or some other prize. I think the holidays being upon us is a great reason to do this now to help us make good choices during this time. If we do it we can all decide on what we get points for or we can just go with what my friend's family has done. Whatever.

I propose that if we do this we do it for 3 or 4 months and report weekly. I'll gladly be the go to gal with the points and post on this here blog about everyone's progress. Or someone else can do it if you'd rather. We can even start after Thanksgiving so everyone can have 1 more week of indulgence. :)

Let me know who's in. You can leave a comment or email me your thoughts. Thanks everyone. Love ya!

Playing catch up

Woa. Its been a while since I've posted on this blog. Here's a cute video of Jonas that I think you'll enjoy!

Kids are Funny

Lucy helped me yesterday as I cleaned the fish we caught Thursday night. Our conversation went something like this:

Lucy:
It's sad that fish have to die so we can eat them.

Mama:
Yes, it's sad, but we eat lots of different animals. We eat cows and chickens and-

Lucy:
-But not pigs. We would NEVER eat pigs.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that, if given the choice, I would eat pigs every day!



Also, we had the pleasure of having Gavin over at our house tonight. Stomping around the house, his one-sided conversation went something like this:

"Mom"

"Mom"

"Mom"

"Mom"

"Dennis"

"Mom"


:)

Welcome Claire!

I'm sure Richy and Kari have a picture with her eyes open, but Dave took this one today and I couldn't resist posting it. She was 7 lb 13 oz, 22" long (going to give Paige a run for her money in height!), and hurried here, giving her mama a relatively short labor (yay!). She also has dark hair like Porter.

Apparently she also has a little attitude-check out the tongue!

Picture Time

Hey Family!
Just a friendly reminder to order your family pics (if you plan on ordering)! I don't think anyone has ordered yet except for us. I just feel a little bad because I know Ivy put in a lot of hard work to take our family pictures. I think she did a fantastic job. The family pics all look great ( I realize this is not solely because of the photographer, but also because of the great Holliday, Pfeiffer, Hanks, and Woodbury genes ;) The group pics of the grandkids are priceless (I ordered a couple of those so that my kids will remember the great fun they had with thier cousins when we move away).
Thanks all! Don't forget to visit : smile4ivy.com!
Love you all!

Waaah

Just wanted to let you all know I miss you all, a lot. I don't know how we're going to survive until next summer... You're the best family ever! And I love you!

Guess I better borrow those exercise videos!

Today while Dave was working on our tub (blech!) Dalton commented on my pink hammer (don't ask). I said it was a wimpy tool (because it is-the whole set was terrible!) and he said, "no, it's just a hammer." I said I needed tougher tools and asked him,

"Dalton, who's the toughest chick you know?"

And without the slightest pause, he answered...

"Kari."

I have just been outdone by a woman who is 8 months pregnant. And so, may I borrow the P90X? I guess I better do the strength training!

Sorry this is so long. Apparently, I'm kind of incompetent at blogging.

This is Sean striking an awkward pose along the Chicago River Walk. If you go to www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com you'll understand better the humor of this pic.

Thanks to wonderful family and friends, the kids seemed to have suvived the ordeal w/o any noticible emotional scars. Plus, they got treats.

This is the Hard Rock Hotel where we stayed. It was built in the 1930's during the Prohibition era. It was designed to look like a champagne bottle, so people could remember what one looked like. Consequently, there was no Champagne in our little mini fridge in our hotel room. It was stocked, however, with Heiniken, pop, juice and an $8 bottle of Figi water which I accidently drank. $8 water never tasted so good!....or, at least, I told myself.

Stupid formating problems, &%*@#!!

This is at the wedding of my cousin Vanessa (my other cousin, her sister Meredith is on her left). I know you don't know them and probably don't care, but I thought her wedding dress was quite unique and exquisite. The guests were all in black and white and Vanessa was in silver.

Next is Sean and I at the 2nd largest (the first is the Bellagio in Vegas) timed, lighted, musical, fountain in the world.

The same fountain at night when it's being timed, lighted, and musical.

Lastly, me messing around in the bathroom (a favorite pastime of mine) of an old fire station where we had the family wedding brunch. The bathroom was really nice.

More Chicago cause I Can't figure out how to format more than 4 pics at a time

Here we have Sean on the "invisible" observation deck on the Sears/Willis Tower. The bottom two are 1: Eating at Giordano's Pizza and the authentic Chicago style pizza. Rating- Two thumbs and two huge guts way up! 2: The "El" train station. This is Chicago's iconic elevated train that runs through the city. It's old, rickety and tremendously loud. Loved it. I'm trying to signify the fact we were at the "El" by signing an "L" forgetting that that sign also signifies something else, which I seemed to look like anyway. So, now there is this "double meaning" thing going on.

Chicago Highlights

Here are a few highlights from our recent trip to Chicago. The first picture (above) is the view from our hotel window. We had a nice view of the Chicago river, two towers obviously designed in the 60's and the Church of Scientology (below right hand corner). If you look closely you can see Tom Cruise peeking out one of the windows.

This picture we took for Dennis. We stayed in the Hard Rock Hotel and in the main lobby was this shimmering display.This was the actual outfit worn by the lead guitarist (?) for Styx. It has "Domo Arigato" written all over it, wouldn't you say?

On our first official day in Chicago we visited the Sears tower which is now called the Willis Tower (Wha' choo takin' bout Willis!). This is the downward view taken from the clear observation cubicles. Wowza! Isn't it stunning!! (The toe nails I mean...I guess the view is ok too).

View from the Sears/Willis Tower.

That date that started it all...

I just wanted to say thanks, Sean for that first date years ago that lead to me getting my first sister!  Who knew that "Guys and Dolls" and dinner would lead to such a perfect addition to our family?!  We love you guys and hope you take a minute to remember your special first date today!

And, of course, Happy Birthday to Lucy!  See the post below for all the mushy stuff! ;)

Happy, Happy Birthday Children Dear!

Happy days will come to you all year!

If I had a wish then it would be,

A happy, happy birthday to you from me!

It is common knowledge that I have the very best of the best nieces and nephew... Unfortunately, your aunt dropped the ball in calling all of you on your birthdays!

I hope all your birthday wishes came true (and I hope yours come true on Thursday, Lucy-Bear)

I love you guys!!!

May 31st:  Happy 4th Birthday Skye!!!

I am so glad that you are my niece!  You are so much fun.  You have the cutest grin and definitely know how to find trouble, giving you plenty to grin about.  Its been hard for me to get to know you since I've lived away your whole life, but I love coming to Utah and seeing what a cute, spunky little girl you are!  The first time you ever talked to me, I cheered!  I think you weren't too sure about that crazy lady that kept saying she was your aunt.  I'm glad that you let your mom do your hair sometimes, because it always looks so cute (and all the hairbows are a great addition) that was always something I struggled with.  I know how it is growing up with all brothers, and you're definitely holding your own.  Way to go Skye! You have a spark in your personality that makes me want to hang out with you more and more, you are just so much fun!  I love you!

June 4:  Happy 3rd Birthday Lincoln!!!

Can you really be 3 already?!  I remember when you were born and I was so jealous that your mom had her baby, but I still had to wait for mine!  I'm pretty sure you were the only one of your parent's kids that has come close to comparing in size with my kids.  I love your big eyes and I love your silly smile.  I love playing catch with you and am amazed at how well you are able to throw and catch that ball, you'll be a great athlete before we know it!  I love hearing you talk in the background when I'm talking to your mom on the phone, your voice is so cute and you seem to be only a little more advanced than Levi, so it gives me hope for him!  I am so looking forward to you and Levi becoming the best of cousins!  I love you!
June 5:  Happy 10th Birthday Ethan!!!

Holy cow!!! How can you be 10 already?!  It really only feels like yesterday when you were a little baby I got to babysit and pamper.  I did a flashback post a while back for those of you who don't remember what a cutie he was... just click the link.  You have literally grown up into such a great young man!  You are so smart and terribly funny, though I remember a time you HATED it when people thought you were funny.  You set a great example to my kids when they're around and I really appreciate it.  You are kind and sharing and they think you are so totally awesome!  I know you don't really know me very well, now that I'm a stranger, but you'll always be cute little Ethan to me that I love almost as much as my own!
June 11:  Happy 4th Birthday Lucy-Bear

Lucy, you are such a beauty!!!  Simply stunning!  I love you so much.  I love to talk to you on the phone and hear your sweet, sweet voice.  I love to see your BIG blue eyes that just make me smile.  I love that you love to pretend as much as your cousin Jonas.  You two would make quite a pair creating your own world!  You have such a gentle, sweet nature people just love to be around you.  Thanks for knowing me, loving me and always calling me Kimily.  You are a sweetie and I love you.

And the ideas just keep getting better...

I have talked with Heather and Adrienne about this idea and we all agree that we could really simplify Christmas this year.  If we all pitch in $20 bucks to Mom and Dad to aid in getting gifts for the kids, then that eases the burden on everyone.  No one has to save a month's worth of work to pay for the cousin gifts.  The kids still get gifts, but not so many that it overwhelms the spirit of Christmas or the toy box.  If you really, really want to buy gifts for the kids, maybe you could go shopping with Mom and/or Dad.  Or if they want help, maybe you could at least be willing to offer it.  (I would love to go shopping with you guys if you wanted to do it in July :)

For the sibling exchange, we'd do something totally different as well.  We each buy a $20-25 gift card to be used on a date.  Then when we'd usually do the exchange we play a little game to exchange cards (I say we, but it would really be you... since we won't be there).  This way we don't end up cluttering one another's homes, but we get something we all need... a nice date that we might otherwise get to go on.  Adrienne and Heather both suggested that whoever's card you end up with will babysit your kids while you use their card.  That sounds like a great idea to me.  Mom and Dad could even participate in this exchange rather than buy for all of us, if they'd like.  

OK, so far this is the idea going around.  What do you think?  Talk about it with those who are too cool for the blog and see what they think.  I know its May, and if we end up with this plan it won't really matter having it planned this far in advance, but if we go with other plans then I'd like time to budget and shop for it.  Thanks for working with me!  I love ya!

I've been thinking...

It is now officially May and that means we only have like 6 1/2 good months to figure Christmas out.  My thought is the earlier the better.  So what do you guys want to do for Christmas this year?  My family will not be making the trek for the holiday, but that's all the more reason for us to know the plan sooner than later.  I'm just going to list all the ideas I can come up with, good or bad, for consideration...

• family gift exchange like last year
• individual gift exchange
• couple gift exchange and individual kids 
• family gift for mom and dad's house
• festival of trees or some such service
• $5 gift exchange game
• just individual kids exchange
• homemade exchange

I know only a couple of y'all read this blog, but hopefully this will  be enough to get the ball rolling so a decision can be made soon!

I don't know how everyone felt about last year's gifts but it was great for us.  And I really enjoyed the service trip as well, although it didn't really feel like we were doing much.  I love the pictures I got of those cute girls (and boy) with the smiles on their faces.  I also have a great family gift in mind, so it wouldn't hurt my feelings any if that's what we did.  I'm quite open to whatever the family decides they want to do.  I know my list isn't complete, there are lots of options you may come up with that aren't listed and I know that some of you may hate some of the ideas, like I said, just wanted to get the ball rolling.  

Let's get this figured out soon so Christmas doesn't have to be so stressful or expensive for all of our sakes!

Haiku (kinda) for the Birthday Guy

Twinkle in his eye
Awesome funny dude
Missing a tooth
That's cool!

Happy Birthday Big Ethan!!! We love you!

Funny Kid Pics

Pic #1: Gavin instinctively knew which canister held the brown sugar and went for it with gusto.
Pic #2: David redux?
Pic#3: Though not pictured here, this was the work of the "white tornado" (aka Gavin) as well. We had a veggie platter with ranch dip sitting out on the table. From the other room I heard a huge crash and went running into the kitchen to survey the damage. The veggie tray had been dumped on the floor (presumably by Gavin who was trying to grab it and pulled it down), carrots and broccoli EVERYWHERE! The dip was on the floor as well, but lucklily had only fallen on its side so very little dressing made it on the floor. Skye (who, as you can see, was showcasing all her hairbows that day) was standing there with a shell shocked expression on her face. I noticed some of the dip had splattered on her arm so I grabbed a rag to clean it off. I couldn't figure out why she would be so upset just because of a little ranch dressing -then I saw it. A huge glob of dressing had plopped right on top of her head covering her flower clip. How the heck that happened is beyond me. Guess we'll just have to chalk it up to being in the wrong place at the wrong time and some very aerodynamic
ranch dressing.
Pic#4: As much as he likes to get dirty, Gavin's quite anxious to get clean again.

First-the kids and dirt category....

I thought there were some real winners here. The boys gave it a good shot, but I think Amarra takes the cake.

funny pics

Thanks Kimily for the idea, even though nobody else seems to care too much. But I am going to post a couple of pics that are not of the kids, cause my kids are really to hard to sneak up on with the camera, and none of them want to be on camera with the exception of Lucy........ while she is posing.

So I will share a few pictures from my travels.....


Everyone knows that in the South people tend to be a little..... hickish, well, in Florida I went to rent a movie and the largest single section of this video store fit the bill..


All the retired widowers come to the same summer camp in one area,..... I don't who's teaching but they must be good.

And last of all, when you need the best to represent you and get you top dollar for your house look no further than Jack.........