2nd Place

I know, I know, 2nd place is the first loser. Well, I tried really hard to get first place, but I just didn't get there. I came in 1.14% below first in the Biggest Loser Competition. I lost 46 pounds in 10 weeks. I have taken this week off and just done my best to maintain, but I'll get back into it here in a week or so and try to lose some more. I feel great and am really happy that I did the Biggest Loser. The last week of the competition, I was at Girls' Camp. It was great and I didn't eat any junk! I was proud of myself. Whenever I was offered some 'unhealthy' food, there were usually a few people (if not more), that would make sure I didn't have it. What a support group! The day we didn't go on a hike and I did some of my strength training in the pavilion, I was made fun of by all the people sitting in their camping chairs... It builds character. I apologize for the horrible side of the house background of this picture, but it is what we were able to get. Have a great day!

one of those days

So, yesterday, I was ready to give my kids away. Just take them somewhere and leave. I actually tried it, kind of, but it didn't work. As you probably know, I am in the middle of a Biggest Loser Competition (lost 28 pounds so far!). I go to the gym every day. They have a pretty good children's center that my kids go to, and they like it! Yesterday, however, was a bad morning. The boys were fighting and brawling the whole morning. I struggled to get them both dressed and ready to go. We go the the Children's Center and I told the lady checking me in that it had been a bad morning and that they would probably be fine once they got in to play with other kids. But they always write down where you will be just in case. I told her to come get me if they were being bad. I got into the gym and was happy to have some time alone since my patience had already run out. I stretched, and got on the treadmill. I had been on there for about 15 minutes when I see her. She is looking for me. She comes over with a "I'm really sorry" kind of look on her face and says. "They are both hitting. ALOT." Arg. Alright, back home we go.

It was about 9:30 when we got home, I wouldn't let either one go to the car on their own, since they both like to run away from me and I was already frustrated. I kept asking Stephen in the car what was up with the hitting and he just kept saying, "I hit other boys and girls." Once we were home, Stephen, in the most matter-of-fact voice says, "Mom, I'm hungry." Really? He had breakfast, two bowls of cereal, before we left! Ok, sit down, we'll find something to eat. They both scarfed down food. I made 6 pieces of cinnamon toast and between them they had 3 gogurts (frozen and cut in half). Ok, maybe they were just hungry, but they are both still really whiney! Bennet got to take a nap at 11:00 (normally 12:30) and Stephen took his nap at noon (normally 1:30).

Ok, I'll just get my exercise in now because I didn't get much in at the gym. But first, I need to get all the cinnamon sugar off of the floor and clean up the kitchen a bit. Bennet woke up as I went downstairs to ellipital and I got in about 30 min. until I realized that he wasn't going to go back to sleep. I took a quick shower and got him up. Shortly after that, Stephen woke up and I could start getting them ready to leave. I had a Dr. appointment in Salt Lake, so they boys got to go to Park City with me where I dropped them off at Scott's work so he could bring them back home. Easy enough, I do this all the time... Then Stephen won't go to the bathroom and won't put on his shoes, he decides to fight everything. I have everything in the car, including Bennett. I turned on the car because that made Stephen move faster. The boys love pushing the little button on the door handle of the driver's side door. It locks the car when the key is right there. It doesn't do anything when the key is in the car (it is a whole keyless entry thing, I love it - well, usually). Somehow yesterday as I was scrambling to get out the door, when Stephen pushed the button, it locked all the doors to the car. Remember, the car is running, Bennett is inside as are my keys! AHHH! I wanted to scream and scream! I looked for Scott's key, but couldn't find it. I finally called him and it was in his pocket. Great. But, he just had the electronic part of the key, not the key itself! aha!! ok, I found that key (buried in a drawer) and got into the car. By the time I had the boys in Scott's office, I was perfectly happy to say goodbye and head out!

Scott even when to his parent's to help them with something and didn't get home until about 10:00! It was great (except for the late bedtimes)! I went to the gym to meet with my trainer and team, then even stayed late and did more. The day ended on a better note.

Today? Everything is fine. I'm not frustrated and the boys aren't just crying and whining and being bad (hitting). Why do things all seem to happen on the same day? Why? So I can appreciate days like today and be glad all days are not like yesterday was? I guess so. Sometimes I feel silly that I can't control my two kids. I mean, there are plenty of mother's out there that have lots more kids than me and they all seem fine. Stay with mom at the store, Stop when she asks instead of running in front of cars, etc. I do love my boys, they are so much fun and learning so fast! But those days are hard to get through sometimes...

Cancun!

We finally did it. We finally went on vacation. It was so nice to drop our kids off at Grandma's house and leave for 6 days! We went to an all-inclusive resort called El Dorado Royale. It was between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. We had a great time. The first day there, we laid by the pool in a grove of palm trees. Here is our friend that hung out with us most of the day.

Everyone, meet Hector.

Here is Scott getting the 'votes' for Dorado Idol. He sang Neil Diamond. He didn't win because he was actually good and we weren't part of a wedding party. The lady next to Scott in the black dress won "The cheapest bottle of Tequila we could find!" She sang (I'm using the word sing very loosely) Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

The second full day we were there, we went to Xel Ha (pronounced 'Shell Ha'). We went snorkling and on a zip line. We took a wrong turn and found parrots!

There were also Manatees. The water looks dirty, but that is mostly lettuce that they were feeding them. Can you see this manatee shoving the lettuce in his mouth with his fin?

After Xel Ha we went to Tulum. Here is proof that we were both there, together. It was neat to see Tulum. I just wish we had had a better tour guide, one that would have actually talked about Tulum and not just what horrible things had happened to the Mayans over time.

This is the souvenir we could have purchased at Tulum. We found this pretty funny.

We sat on the beach and had a wonderful time. (This picture was taken as the lower half of my legs were getting burned. oops!)

It was so nice to go on vacation. Scott and I both read a full book! We couldn't believe it. It has been a long time since I have just been able to sit and read. We didn't have internet access and that made the whole trip even better! I am still in the Biggest Loser Competition, so I was a little worried about staying on track, but we did workout a little and I didn't over do it on the food, and I gained no weight! I'm pretty proud of that. (In fact, I would have won the weigh in this past week, except that I was disqualified because I didn't weigh in the week before when we were on vacation. I'm fine that I didn't win a prize, but proud that my vacation didn't ruin anything. I'm still in second place overall!)

We came home to a sick child and a broken washing machine. That relaxed feeling sure went away fast, but I'm so glad we were able to go!

The Biggest Loser

So, about a month ago or more, I got an email from my gym about a contest they were going to do called, "The Biggest Loser". Heard of it? Well, I decided, why not apply, they won't pick me to be involved, I'll just turn in an application. Well, I was selected to compete! I thought it would be great. I have been going to the gym and eating right, but something is missing because I'm not losing weight. About a week and half ago was the kick-off. I am on the Green team, we meet with our trainer twice a week and have to log all the food we eat. We meet with a nutritionist and have had a body scan and a physical. I worked really hard last week, I was tired, my kids were tired, Scott was tired of me leaving every evening (I'm doing 'two-a-days'), but it all payed off. I lost 11 pounds last week. Yes, you read that right, 11! I was the weekly winner! I won a night stay at the Blue Boar Inn (a place just up the street, but hey, it is something) and a $25 Gift Certificate to a local Cafe. I'm way excited! Now, if I can keep this up, there will be nothing left of me after the 10 weeks! :) This is something that I really wasn't going to mention to anyone that I am doing, but my picture was in the paper this week, so, I guess my secret is out...

A little late

A few weeks ago, we went tubing for Stephen's birthday. We had a ton of fun and all were VERY wet when we got home. My mother-in-law went just to take pictures, so we got a few really good ones.

Stephen and his dad. Flying down the hill was really fun!

My dad went with us. I think he had some fun, too.

Here is most of our group. Stephen had a great time going down the hill, but once we really picked up speed, he would curl up in a ball to keep the snow off of his face. You can see my feet behind Scott in this picture.

My cute nephew that giggled down every run.

Stephen with his Aunt Cori. This was his preferred way to get to the rope tow and it had to be Cori who pulled him.

He fit perfectly in a big tube. Happy boy.

Once we were home, we had soup and rolls for dinner, then opened presents. I love this picture because Bennett just couldn't stay away. (He and my neice stayed home during the tubing...)

All the birthday boy wanted was a green birthday cake. Here it is. He is still talking about having a "green happy birthday cake". Funny kid.

Bennett was happy after he had some cake.

Moving forward

We are all getting better around here, and it is nice. Here are a few pictures from the last couple weeks. The first 3 are redundant, Stephen was feeling better and picked out his outfit. He was 'The conductor" he said. I put all three pictures in because it shows the other sickie in the background. Bennet does not hold still at all. Most of the pictures I have of him are blurry because he just doesn't stop moving. Notice him in the background of the following pictures to see how much he just didn't feel well this day (he had strep, we just didn't know it yet).

"Smile, Stephen"

"Even better smile, Stephen"

"Ok, mom, that is enough smiling for me" (Poor Bennett)

My family all went to a BYU basketball game. We were up near the top of the Marriott Center. This is my nephew keeping himself busy during the game. (Stephen wasn't invited to go, he and Bennett stayed home with a babysitter)

My dad and I took all 4 of his grandchildren and went to the fieldhouse in Park City to play on the bounce houses. Here we are all ready to go!

After the bounce houses, we decorated sugar cookies. It was a big hit, well, the frosting was a big hit. Whatever, everyone was happy!

Here is Stephen with his two cousins. They found our collection of hats and costumes! They all had a great time finding all the funny hats we have! (Bennett wouldn't stand with them, but he was wearing a funny hat, too)

I am happy that we are finally healthy enough to hang out with our families, especially since my dad is in town. I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day!

catching up

I feel like I have been in the house for weeks. I'm pretty sure I have. After we got home from CA, my dad and sister drove into town. They made it across the country in 3 days and only hit snow in the GA/TN/KY area. We were able to spend some time with them before Stephen started vomiting and Bennett came down with strep. My mother-in-law will not be going to Egypt this year (always goes in February to dig), so she was able to watch the boys for me last Monday so I could go with my dad and sister, Lisa, to move my sister, Kathy, into her new home! She is now a resident of UT and living in a care facility in Sandy. We are exited to have her close and she really seems to like it. We were all a little worried about how she would react to this change. (Even though her home ward threw a little party for her that she kept calling her "Farewell") We are all very pleased with how well she is doing.

The day after that, I decided to start potty training Stephen, since we were stuck in the house anyway because Bennett couldn't go anywhere. Stephen has done really well with no diapers! The first day he was screaming for diapers. Then he started to get really excited about getting a sticker every time he went to the bathroom. He is having trouble at night, but I expected that. During the day we have success! I can't believe how few diapers we go though now!

Well, we had a babysitter over on Saturday and Scott and I went to a BYU basketball game with my family on Saturday. I got home that evening and started working on my lesson for YW (having realized that I had been reading the wrong lesson all week...). I stayed up late working on while my throat started to hurt. "It's late, that is all, it will be fine in the morning". Nope. My throat really hurt that morning, but I couldn't not teach YW. I was suppose to teach last month, but I lost my voice, so I couldn't. I didn't want to do it again! I got through my lesson that was ok, then we went to PC for Superbowl Sunday! I felt more and more crummy as the day went on and left just after halftime. Then we asked our neighbor to come over and hang out at our house while Scott took my to a clinic. (Same one I went to with Bennett last week). The Dr. did the strep test and was surprised when he said, "The test isn't over and it is positive!" Yup. Stuck in the house, again... but I feel better today than I did Sunday or Monday!

Hopefully we are done with sicknesses and we can have fun and leave the house over the next few weeks while dad is in town!

California

Yes, that is right! California. We went on a vacation last week! Scott's parents invited us to go with them to California for a few days. We got up really early on Wednesday morning and fought a snow storm all the way to Salt Lake City. After arriving at the Long Beach airport, we then went on a little memory lane tour of California (Scott's dad grew up there, and Scott and all his siblings were born there, so there was a lot to see - and places to eat). Then, bright at early Thursday morning, we went to Disneyland. Well, the gates opened at 10:00. We stayed all day - it was a fun, exhausting, beautiful day!

Scott and Stephen on the rocket ship ride, the first stop for us after Main Street. Scott was excited to take Stephen on this one. After they got off, there were many tears from Stephen because he didn't want to get off. I was worried that the day might go like that, but once he realized there were lots of other things to do, he was fine.

Bennet totally zonked on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. After the first two little falls (this child does not like to be splashed and he was on the front row between dad and grandpa), he just slumped over on Scott so we decided to take the train to the entrance so he could get a few more ZZZZ's.

Jamie and Stephen. Can't quite remember where this was taken... (but here is proof that I was there!)

As we were walking to the World of Color, Stephen fell asleep on Grandma's shoulder. So, once we got our spot, this is where he was for the entire show, darn it. Bennett tried to stay awake during the show, but he just couldn't, so he was carried out sleeping on a shoulder, too. **Sidenote = World of Color is awesome!

Here is Bennett, Grandpa, Scott and Grandma waiting for the show to start

We took it easy Friday, let the boys rest, played games in our room, went to the beach and drove around. On Saturday, we went to Legoland. We decided just to do the Aquarium, though, so here is Stephen and Grandpa at the touch tank checking out star fish.

We had a fun time, it was nice to wear summer clothes for a few days and pretend there wasn't snow at our house. Flying with a 16 month old is not all that great. At least we didn't have to drive all the way there, right?