If you chance to meet a frown do not let it stay

I finally figured out how to upload videos I take off of my camera. Here is one of Lexi last summer singing a primary song...

Family Reunion

Today we had a family reunion for my family at Settlers Park in Meridian. I dont get to see many of my cousins very often so it was nice to see all of them. Here are some pictures of the event.

My cousin Andrea and her husband Brian

My cousin Nichole and her husband Josh and their daughter, Trinity
Dane and Ethan playing footballLexi and my nephew Hunter

My sis Kim and Nick
Dane and I

three of my cousins with me and mom and sister

All us girls... thats right all my cousins on my mom's side are girls!!!

All the family with spouses

I don't think Dane is going to ask me to be in charge of BBQing hotdogs again anytime soon.....

oops.

Good bye, Coca-Cola, I will miss you, but we shall be together soon!

Mmmm, doesnt this Ice cold glass look so tasty and refreshing? Those who know me well know the special bond I have with Coke and Dr. Pepper on fountain. Well, no more soda for me until I lose 10 pounds! Hopefully I can do it quickly so we can be reunited.

Let's get physical!

Okay, so I decided to purchase a workout DVD... I know what you're thinking, cheesy 80's video with leg warmers and leotards, but Richard Simmons is great!!! I really love how he helps me sweat to the oldies.




Okay, just kidding! The real video I am getting my boot-ay kicked is by this lady -




Its by Jillian Michaels, who is one of the trainers on 'The Biggest Loser', or what my kids call 'The Big Fat Losers'. My friend recommended it to me after hearing me complain about gaining weight, as I am talking to her on the phone, eating a drumstick ice cream cone.
I know I shouldn't complain about weight. I mean, its not like I am overweight. I have never had to worry about what I eat. But the 30's are not so kind to me as the 20's were. Pound by pound, those little buggers like to creep up on me. Now I really need to worry about what and how much I am eating. And Dane and I really like to have late night treats. Sugary, delicious, high calorie treats. But these treats have rudely recently decided (without my permission!) to make their home on my hips, and I am not liking it one bit.
So I purchased the video, 'Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism', off of Amazon.com and holy cow!!! It is hard! I am not a sweaty person, but this video makes me sweat! And the best part is, I dont have to listen to cheesy 80's music look at crazy ol' Richard in his short shorts! I love that I know something good is happening to my body. She really kicks my boot-ay into shape! My favorite quote she uses is " If you dont get uncomfortable, nothing is going to change!" I know that if I want to get in shape and lose a few pounds, I need to stop complaining about it, get off my bum, and get a little uncomfortable for about 40 minutes!
So far I have been doing it 4-5 days a week. And I started running at night. So we shall see if I can lose the 10 pounds of flab I have gained this spring.

You know what I love?

cute little kidddies with tan lines!

4 is the magic number!

Well, Lexi turned 4 on July 2nd. For some miraculous reason, the day she turned four marked the end of Lexi's meltdowns and little tantrums. I dont know if having a birthday and realizing that she is becoming a 'big girl' now has something to do to it, but I am hoping the 'big girl' attitude is here to stay.

I was worried about her taking swimming lessons because she has been freaking out about the littlest things lately, but on her first day this week she got right in the water and did everything her swim teacher asked her to. I will post pictures sometime after swim lessons are over next week.

Another thing I was worried about was her trip we had to take to the hospital to get some dental work done. Because she had a meltdown in the doctor's office, we had to reschedule her appointment for another week where she would take valium before the appointment in hopes of calming her down a bit. Well we did that and it did not help one bit. So our dentist suggested he do the work in the hospital while she was under anesthesia. I was preparing for the worst. Lexi and I went and picked out a pretty new nightgown she could wear to the hospital since we needed to be there at 6:30 am. We had that appointment this week and surprise surprise, she didnt freak out one bit! She was happy, and even wanted to ride back in the wagon they have there instead of me carrying her.

After they were done and she woke up they let me go back and sit with her and she was so calm and happy! I dont know what has happened to my sweet Lexi-lu, but whatever it is, I hope she stays this way. I guess 4 is the magic number in her mind.

This was her nurse wheeling her out to the car. She wanted to ride in the big wheelchair this time :)

Poor Lexi has been riding her tricycle and was in desperate need of a big girl bike, so we got her one for her birthday, complete with a princess helmet and princess knee pads.

We celebrated her birthday with family in the park with all kinds of yummy picnic foods and cupcakes.

I didnt get pictures of everyone there, but here are a few pictures of those who came.

This is Ethan with my nephew, Logan

Paige with my cute 3 month old niece, Harmony
Here's the kids waiting for the Iron Man to launch

my Sister Kim, and I and her baby

Ethan with his cousin, Halle

Dane's sister Noel, her husband Klinton, and their kids.

This is Dane's aunt Robin with her kids and her grandbaby. I love this cute family!!!

My sweet Lexi-lu is four. She is growing up so fast and I am so proud of the cute little girl that she is. Happy birthday Lulu!

Oregon Coast

My family, my parents and my sister and her family all went to the Oregon Coast. We had alot of fun. My parents stayed in a timeshare in Newport. My sister's and my family stayed in a cute little beach house in Seal Rock, which is about 15 minutes South of Newport.

The kids had fun playing in the sand. The Oregon coast is cooler, so the kids were not able to play in the water. Dane and Nick had fun on the beach as well :)

This is a picture of my step dad Warren, Nick and Dane
looking for mussels, and then cooking the mussels they found on the beach.
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Not just the kids enjoyed playing the games we brought!We also went to the Undersea gardens in Newport, where they had a live diver show. A man dressed in scuba gear went into the water while someone was narrating and he would pick up the creatures and bring them next to the glass so you could get a better look.

It was a rip off if you ask me. I think I am someone who is easily entertained, but it cost $33 for just my family to go and the diver show lasted about 10 minutes, and the water was murky, and it was kind of smelly too. Oh well, I guess it was something to do.

We also stopped at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and walked the 104 steps to the top. Lexi was unable to do it because you had to be at least 42 inches tall. The kids were excited because they got a button at the top that said something like "I survived the 104 steps to the top of the lighthouse". Paige was thoughtful enough to grab one to take back to Lexi.

This is a picture of us taking the walk down.

Our trip didnt stop here. Unfortunately, Dane's Grandpa passed away right before we left for Oregon. So we took one day out in the middle of our trip to drive the five hours to Washington to go to the funeral, and drove back to the coast on the same day. While we where in Washington we stopped at the cemetery where Dane's dad is buried.


It was a long day of driving, but I was actually glad that we were able to leave in the middle of our vacation to go to the funeral because that meant it was a shorter drive for us to get there from Oregon than from Boise.

On our way home from our vacation, we stopped at Multnomah Falls

We also stopped by this Stonehenge. If you are driving through the Dalles in Oregon on your way to Idaho, you can cross over the Columbia River which takes you into Washington and this is about a mile from the bridge.

This was our last picture of our trip taken at the Stonhenge.