~WHEELER FARM~

The kids have been itching to get out and 'do something fun' lately. So on Nate's day off, we took them down to The Wheeler Historic Farm in Murray. They loved seeing all the farm animals and the river and we loved that it was FREE! Our friends, the Gerritsens came with us. Here are some pics of our little adventure....

Jayne loved being carried around by Daddy

We found a HUGE old Elm tree and the kids had a ball climbing on it.




Here's Lilly 'Cheesin' it up on the saddle

Jonah, Lilly, and Brooklyn loved looking at the ducks and geese. They got very wary, however, whenever we had to pass by the ones who were just wandering on the grass. Those things can sure honk loudly.

Lilly wanted to pet the cow

Jonah wanted to know what this building was. Once we explained the concept of the outhouse, all he could say was "deeee-sgusting!"

Nate took this shot. Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil. He thought it was pretty funny.

The kids loved throwing rocks in the river. They could have stayed there and done it all day.

Our New Family Vehicle!

First of all, the story that leads up to the new family vehicle.... a couple of months ago we were anonymously given a 1990 Subaru Legacy station wagon. It had been donated to our ward and through much prayer, our bishop said that he felt that we needed it and it would be a great blessing to us. We weren't sure how, seeing as it was beat up and old and we already had two vehicles, but we accepted. Our other two vehicles are 1997's and have lately been having troubles. We'd been wanting to get something newer that would fit the family and meet our needs for a very long time, but we couldn't see a way to get something we could afford without getting rid of both the Blazer and the Cadillac, thus leaving us with only one car. Having the Subaru made it possible for us to trade in both the Cadillac and the Blazer towards something else. We found a 2006 Jeep Commander and fell in love(well, Nate fell in love-I originally wanted something else that didn't work out, but I like the Jeep too). Nate's always liked them, so when we found one that would fit our budget, it was a no brainer. This picture isn't ours, it's one I got off the internet. But it's the same color and everything. It has a 3rd row seat that you can fold down if you need to, a sunroof in the front and moon roofs over the back. Jonah likes to sit in the 3rd row by himself.

It's in great condition and lots of fun to drive. I was hoping to get something with a bit better gas mileage, but I guess you can't have everything. Anyway, we're so very grateful for this blessing. I guess the bishop knew what he was talking about after all. It's been a long time since we had a reliable vehicle and we're planning to make it last quite a few years for us.

Losing the Weight: Week 2

Two weeks down, and 2 more pounds gone! Hooray!
Exercise for Week 2: I did Jillian Micheals for 5 days, moving up to level 2 of her workout for
the last 3 days
Nutrition: I did pretty well, I did splurge on Wendy's, but I just had a kid's meal and didn't eat my fries. I'm still staying away from soda, with the exception of the small diet coke I had with the kid's meal. Some of my new favorite snacks are carrot sticks and Gala apples. I'm drinking LOTS of water(at least 80 oz/day, which is tons for me) and I'm really trying to watch my portions and snacks.

My plan for this week is just more of the same. My neighbor invited me to try a water aerobics class with her twice a week, so we'll be starting that this week as well.

It was fun, but I'm so glad it's over!

The ward activity, I mean. Nate is the activities committee chairman. We had a "No Talent Show" last night. It was a lot of fun. I don't have any pictures because I was wrangling my kids and helping Nate the whole time, but we did get the whole thing on video. The idea was to do a talent show filled with things that aren't really considered your traditional talents. We had lots of participation. We had juggling, telling jokes, jump rope, piano, singing, skits, and even jello inhalation. Yes, he 'inhaled' the jello. We also had displays of visual arts. We had crafts, scrapbooking, costume making, photography, painting, and model ships and hand made wooden pens. The night was a great success!
I'm just glad that it's over because I'm an honorary member of the activities committee(being married to the chairman) and I stress about this stuff more than Nate does. We spent nearly all day yesterday setting up the gym and getting the supplies for decorations and making sure we had enough goodies. I was wiped out by the end of the night. But, like I said, it was a lot of fun and it went really well. Thanks to everyone who came!

Losing the Weight: Week 1

Alright, I'm being true to my word and I'm going to do weekly updates on my weight loss adventures. I just finished up week 1 of our group's weight loss challenge. I feel like I did pretty well. For my workouts I did 6 days of Jillian Micheal's 30 day Shred DVD, I walked Jonah to school a couple of days, and walked around the zoo last week as well. I feel like I did pretty good with my nutrition. I've given up my diet soda(even if only for these 6 weeks) and I'm drinking lots more water and trying to cut out most snacks(I'm such a 'muncher'). I'm happy to report that I lost 2 pounds this last week. It may not seem like a whole lot, but I'm super satisfied with it. I think the biggest difference after last week is how I feel. I've got a lot more energy and I feel happier and healthier already. Stay tuned for next week's update!

Fun at the Zoo!~

Last Thursday, we made our first trip to the zoo this year! Nate finally had a day off when the weather was good. We all had a great time! Jonah loved the crocodiles and Lilly had lots of fun with a red fox. He was running back and forth in his exhibit and she would chase him and say, "Get back here!" Here are some fun pics of the day...

When we rode the train, Jonah decided that he wanted to ride in a seat all by himself. He's getting so independent!

The kids rode the carousel for the first time. Lilly picked a gorilla and Jonah picked a rhinocerous. I thought Lilly would be scared, but as soon as the ride started, she just giggled and laughed the entire time! Nate was taking pictures and the kids had fun trying to yell "Hi Dad!" every time we passed him.

The kids always love playing with the "ball waterfall". Lilly was particularly hard to pull away from it this time.

Jayne was unimpressed, but enjoyed her ride in the stroller.

Lilly zonked out not five minutes after getting back in the Blazer. We were all pretty tired. Overall, we had so much fun and can't wait to go back!

Losing the Weight

This is me trying to be accountable for my weight loss. As most of you know, I'm in my 3rd round of losing the baby weight. I've done it twice before, once after each baby, losing about 50 pounds each time. This time, the weight's been coming off, just nice and slow. Since Jayne was born, I've lost 28 pounds and I have 15 to go until I'm at my "pre-Jayne" weight. After that, I plan on losing a bit more. A friend in the ward is starting a weight loss challenge and I signed up. It's for 6 weeks and we all put $10 in the pot to go to the winner. So, I'm going to post my progress on the blog as a way to make myself accountable. I won't tell you how much I weigh, but I will post weekly progress. Here is my "before" picture, taken last weekend. I never let anyone take full body shots of me, but I figured I've gotta get real in order to make the change and get the rest of this weight off.

I've been doing well so far this week. I usually do a Denise Austin DVD that I love, but my sweet Jonah bounced too hard on my exercise ball and put two holes in it. So, I'm finally using the Jillian Micheals 30 day shred DVD that I bought two months ago. I'm on my third day and feelin' pretty good about it. It's only 20 minutes long, which sometimes doesn't feel like long enough to lose weight, but we'll see. I'm also going to try to get to the gym as often as possible and visit my dear friend, the elliptical machine.

So, please feel free to post some tips or things that have worked for you in the comment section and stay tuned for a smaller, healthier, happier Ashley!