Summer Fun

We have been busy! It hit me the other day that Michael starts school on August 16 - just over two short weeks from now. I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by. The kids and I went to Delta for a few days in July. It was a nice change of pace, and so fun for the kids to see Grandma and Grandpa. Michael thought he was the coolest thing ever because he got to ride with Grandpa all over central Utah one day (he later told me they went to 16 towns, and then he proceeded to name them all). I'm sure he kept Grandpa entertained by singing every song he knows and chatting about every movie he's ever seen. I'm glad Grandpa's such a good sport - because it drives me bonkers after a while.

They had chicken week at Maceys, and the kids got these awesome hats.
We've broken out the Slip-n-slide a couple of times. Neither Michael nor Faith is a big fan of having water spray them in the face, so Michael prefers to run down the side.
He finally actually got to where he would run through the water instead of alongside it.
They especially like to crawl on it with no water at all. Here's Michael facing down the shark.
Faith's turn. Michael informed her that she had to stop and ask the shark for permission to pass. But he doesn't.
Lauren watching the fun.
I've been taking the kids to school lunch during the summer. I was trying to get Michael accustomed to lunch at school. Let me just say that it's a good thing we are having him in half-day kindergarten and we still have a year before he'll have to eat lunch there. I don't think there's any way he would be able to eat enough food to get him through the rest of the day without some major meltdown trauma.
Michael and Faith like to show us how big they are (which means they stick their bellies out as far as they can).
And let me just say, Faith is turning into a sassy little thing. This morning I asked if she wanted some toast, and she said "yup." I've been trying to get her to say "yes" instead, so I said, "Yes or no? Do you want some toast?" She responded, "Yup." So I repeated, "Yes or no?" She yelled at me, "I DON'T DO YES!"

And after breakfast, I told her to put her leftover food back on her plate (she likes to spread it all over the table). She stalled for a while. I kept telling her. Finally, she said, "You can do it!"

Boot Camp Wrap-Up

I know how much you all love reading about boot camp. But hey, this blog is as much a journal for me as it is an update for you, so bear with me. This is my last week of boot camp. Actually, it's the last week of this session, but I like it so much that I've signed up for the next session as well. I won't take the diet class again, but I will continue to follow the plan.

We had a timed strength test at the beginning of this session, and then we repeated that same test last week. Basically, we counted how many pull-ups we could do in one minute, then how many push-ups, then how many sit-ups. Here are my results:

Pull-ups: then, 1; now, 9
Push-ups: then, 8; now, 21
Sit-ups: then, 9; now, 23

So I've definitely gotten stronger. I was thrilled, because I didn't even realize how much I had improved until we did that second test.

And about the pull-ups, don't be too impressed. We use huge rubber bands to help us. There is no way on earth I could actually do 9 pull-ups without that band. Maybe 1. Maybe.

I also had my final weigh-in and body composition testing for the diet class. Over the last eight weeks, I've dropped 11 pounds overall (lost 14 pounds of fat, but gained 3 pounds of muscle), 5% body fat (I'm now in the "healthy" range for body fat), and 6 overall inches (1 from thighs, 1 from hips, 1 from chest, 1 from arms, and 2 from waist). My lean muscle mass increased by 3 pounds. Becky says that after measuring your lean muscle mass, women should add 20-30 pounds to that number to get your ideal weight. I'm still not in my "ideal weight range," but I'm close. I love that we don't go by the traditional charts, because I just don't fit into those. If you look the charts, I should weigh 142-156. But my lean muscle mass is currently 138. That means that I'd only have 4-18 pounds of fat, which is less than healthy. (Yes, I just told you that my ideal weight is 158-168.)

Boot camp makes me tired. I often take naps on days when we have it. But overall I have a lot more energy. And I almost never have headaches anymore. When I do, it always goes away when I drink some water. I haven't taken anything for a headache for a long time. I just feel better. And I really like that my clothes are baggy - although that means I have to spend money to get new ones that fit. Today I plan to spend some time altering a lot of my pants and shorts and see if I can make them last longer. I did buy a new swimsuit, and (TMI alert for you male readers) I'll need to get some new bras. I'm pretty sure about 3 pounds of weight came off of that area.

New fridge!!!

Our refrigerator has been one of my not-so-favorite things for a while now. It's just too small to fit all of our food - especially since I've been doing Bountiful Baskets and have a boatload of produce every week, as well as up to four gallons of milk (yes, I have one or two gallons of milk for the kids and one or two gallons for Jeff at any given time) and one or two half-gallons of goat milk (for Lauren). And then the food on one side of the bottom shelf would freeze, which was really frustrating, because that's where I keep my produce. So I was throwing a lot of stuff away.

Anyway, after some sweet-talking Jeff, and compromise involving an iPod Touch, I bought this:It's my dream fridge! Isn't it pretty? The kids are most infatuated with the water dispenser. We've never had one before. Getting that water line installed was interesting. It only took me two trips to Lowe's and four holes drilled in my floor. (Yes, I thought I measured correctly, but apparently not - twice. And then I had to move the line anyway because it was too far away from the wall and the fridge would sit on it and kink it.) But hey, the holes are all under the fridge, so it doesn't matter, right? (Please say right.)

I am infatuated with the child lock that prevents Faith from pushing all the buttons and changing all the settings, and also the filtered ice. Jeff is infatuated with his new iPod. And he says that since the kids are now drinking enormous amounts of water, that it was totally worth it.

And Riley and Nikki are getting our old fridge. Hopefully it will be big enough for them. And if they don't put their produce on that one side on the bottom, it should work well.

Bear Lake

On Friday, we went to Bear Lake for our annual Hansen family outing. It was a lot of fun. The kids all had a great time.

Averie ate lots of sand.Faith was a busy-body all day long, and Lauren spent some time chillin' in the kiddie tent.
Faith liked this blow-up turtle so much that she didn't even care if she stayed on the beach with it.
Michael and Grandpa walking out as far as Michael could (he went pretty far).
Poor Faith was so worn out from all the fun. After leaving the lake, we showered and went to Garden City to get a shake. She insisted on having her umbrella in the van. By the time we got to Garden City, this is what she looked like. (You can see that her right eye is already a little swollen from the mosquitoes.)

Baseball game

We took the kids to the Ogden Raptors baseball game on Thursday night. It was Warren's/Dylan's night, and we picked up some free tickets there. Michael was kind of interested at first, until he realized that it moves a lot slower than baseball on the Wii does. I think we only stayed through five innings, and the only reason we made it that long was because of a frozen lemonade drink.

Faith's new trick

Faith has started climbing up to the top bunk, where Michael sleeps. She's pretty good at getting up and down. She likes to wear his "sleeping hat."

4th of July

This year we went to Huntsville for the parade on the 3rd. I would have liked to go to Delta to watch my brother Tom in the demolition derby, but I had to work that night, so it didn't work out. We had a good time at the parade, though. Charlie and Stevie helped Michael and Faith get a lot of candy, which made the whole experience much better than it has been in previous years (when they pushed all the little kids out of the way to get the candy themselves). Then we went over to the Huntsville park and walked around the booths, got some kettle corn, etc. It was a fun time.

Jeff took the kids to his parents' house in Layton while I was at work. They set up the slip-n-slide and lit sparklers. On Sunday evening, we did sparklers again at our house. It was fun to watch the kids play with them. Next time we'll wait until it's actually dark.I love Faith's smile in this one. Michael is being goofy, but Faith looks so cute.

More photos

Cuties going to church.Lauren loving her saucer.
Bull rider (at the Treehouse Children's Museum).
Rodeo princess.
Milking the cow.
Swimming lessons. Michael and Faith both did swimming lessons this year. Faith and I did the Mom and Tot class together, which is why I don't have any photos of it. The first two lessons, she pretty much screamed the whole time. Then she loosened up and realized it was fun, and other than floating on her back, she loved it. Michael did a great job in his lessons. He had a WONDERFUL teacher, and he ended up much more comfortable with the water than he had been. By the end, he was even willing to stick his face in the water, which he's never been okay with before.

Terrace Days

This is really late, I know, but I just downloaded the photos on my camera, and realized I haven't posted any photos for a really long time. On June 19, we had Terrace Days. We took the kids over to Rohmer Park and let them play on all the blow-up slides, bounce houses, etc. It was a lot of fun for them. Just a couple of pics:

Faith's shiner

We went to Bear Lake over the weekend, and Faith was bitten by mosquitoes. She swells up pretty bad. We came home yesterday, but this morning when she got out of bed, she had this shiner.I'm not sure if it's from mosquitoes or if it's from falling out of bed. She did start crying in the middle of the night and was out of bed when I went to check on her. But it was dark, so I didn't notice anything.

When she smiles it looks a lot worse. Her right eye is definitely swollen from mosquito bites, but not too badly. Her left eye, though, is almost swollen shut.

Thankful Thursday

Here's a challenge for you: write a brief note about five people who have had a good influence on you. But no family members or friends you see or talk to regularly. I've been thinking a lot lately about some good examples in my life. In no particular order:

1. Bishop Wadman from the student ward - he was one of the best bishops I've ever had. He loved everyone no matter who they were, what their situation was. He had a special sense of what people needed, and he did whatever he had to in order to meet those needs.

2. Wende Call - she was the general manager at the Days Inn when I was the Front Desk Manager. She taught me that being a good person has little to do with religion, and everything to do with character, integrity, honesty, etc.

3. Jamie Jepsen - what do I say about Jamie? She knew how to have fun! She made friends everywhere and was really good at making me forget whatever was wrong. She showed me that it's possible to have fun and still work hard and get the job done right.

4. Becca Winder - my favorite mission companion. She showed me what Christlike love looks like. She was so good at lifting those around her, and she never had to put others down to make herself look or feel better. She was amazing and humble. And she made some killer apple pie.

5. Terry Hansen - my high school debate coach. He believed in me, encouraged me, challenged me, sometimes knocked me off my high horse. He also introduced me to BLAB, which became a huge part of my life in high school and the early college years.

There are others, of course - too many to name. My life would be much different if it weren't for the influences of these people. Who has influenced you?

Funny Michael

Just had to write this one down. Michael was playing with Lauren today, and I heard him say, "Mom, thanks for getting this baby. She's cute!"

Yup, I just went and got her. You know, from the Cute Baby Store. That simple. (I wish.)

Melt my heart...

Last night I was sitting on the couch, and Michael came and sat down next to me. He snuggled up really close and said, "Mom, I really love you." Awwww. Is there anything sweeter than that? Well, maybe if he had brought me a bowl of ice cream too ....