52 Card Pickup

Have you ever played the game "52 Card Pickup"? It's the silly joke-of-a-game where the shuffler takes the entire deck of cards and flips them into the air and all the little kids pick the cards up as fast as they can. Fun right? NOT.

So we've been on a 2 month "52 card pickup" blogging hiatus. Between laundry, holidays, dishes, weddings, birthdays, shopping, traveling over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house and back, church calling craziness, being sick ALL STINKIN' WINTER, and everything else - the proverbial "cards" of our life here in Vernal have all been flipped in the air and we're trying to pick them up. Excuse us for our absence. Work with us as we play catch up. Scroll down the blog page as we try to document things in chronological order. And stay tuned for a boat load of posts and pics. We're back.

Health Challenge

Our insurance company is AWESOME. They have a fitness program that issues challenges every 2 months. If you and your spouse complete each challenge for the entire year then they will SEND YOU A CHECK FOR $400!!! Okay I'm not a very good new years resolution keeper - being fit has never been something I'm motivated to do - I love to sleep! But if FITNESS isn't enough of a motivator, $400 IS!! BUT this first challenge has been a DOOZY. EXERCISE 30 MIN A DAY FOR 5 DAYS A WEEK - AND - NO SUGAR. PERIOD. We can eat things like jam and honey - but we can't have dessert things. We have to replace soda with water and we have to replace things like candy, cookies, and other sweet things with fruit and vegetables. I can't believe how ADDICTED to sugar I had become - especially over the holidays! The first week nearly did me in - but now 1 month into the challenge - I really don't crave the sweet stuff anymore. Oh sure there is a night here and there when we've put the kids to bed and would LOVE to reach for a bowl of chocolate ice cream or cookies and milk. But instead we've had fresh fruit smoothies or a small bowl of wheat chex. Amazingly enough neither Paul nor I have missed sugar as much as we thought we would and we both feel SO MUCH BETTER!!

The second part of the challenge - exercise - really HAS been a challenge for me. Unfortunately running after a 3 yr. old and a 1 yr. old doesn't count as exercise (I beg to differ). I really thought I didn't have enough energy to workout after taking care of the kids and the house - but I was wrong. Working out has helped me to feel SO MUCH BETTER. I'm less sore and stiff at the end of the day. I feel better about myself. I really hated working out before. I hate going to the gym. I can't run on our elyptical when the kids are awake because of little fingers, but when they sleep (which is rarely at the same time) I want to sleep too!

I found that by breaking up the routine and doing new things each day - it's doable. I started recording aerobics and yoga on TV and doing them with the kids. THEY LOVE IT! Rachel jumps up and down in jumping jacks with me when I'm doing aerobics and Ben climbs on me when I'm trying to fold myself into a pretzel during yoga - not much of a help but hilariously funny. Every day Rachel wakes up and says, "C'mon Mom time to exercise!"

What more motivation could you ask for? ($400 helps too.)

cousins Cousins COUSINS!!

Welcome to the world BABY TYLER!! Trevor and Rachel welcomed their little bundle of joy, Tyler Clay Watts, into their family Jan. 23 - Uncle B's birthday! He weighed in at a grand 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 in. long. Here are a couple pirated photos - thanks Trev.

We talked on the web cam with them on Sunday and my Rachel has been talking about her new cousin ever since. "Mom TOMORROW we can talk to Trev and Rachel and Baby Tyler on the compooter again K?!"

Welcome to the world little guy. We can't wait to see you in the spring! Oh and Happy Birthday Trev!

PRIMARY!!

My baby is a BIG GIRL!! I can't believe I have a child old enough to be in primary! It feels like yesterday when we FINALLY got her used to going to nursery...wait I think it WAS yesterday...

Rachel is the youngest in her class, just making the Jan. 1 deadline with a Dec. 22 birthday. Most of the kids her age that she plays with won't be in primary till next year. But Rachel was ready. She has a hard time with chaos, and 15 little kids running around the nursery screaming and grabbing and crying = chaos. She likes adult supervision. She like constructive activities. She's good at sitting still and listening to stories (for a certain amount of time - she IS 3 ya know). She likes being around kids in smaller numbers and having a little more adult interaction. She LOVES to sing and has been able to hear pitch and carry a tune since she was 1. Sunbeams is TOTALLY her cup o' tea. And as you can tell she loved every minute of it.

I sat at the back of the chapel for a few minutes as she sat on the front pew with her new sunbeam class and her new sunbeam teacher; with her arms folded tightly and her legs dangling above the floor. Once she looked back and saw me and put her little hand up by her face making a little waving motion. It's okay Mom, I'm a big girl now. You don't have to watch through the door in the nursery to see if I'm the one crying. You can go to your Sunday school class. I'm going to go learn about Jesus and about being a child of God and about how to choose the right. I love you. I wanted desperately to go with her. I wanted to watch her sing. I wanted to watch her learn and grow. Are there times you DESPERATELY wish you could just shrink down to be a fly on a wall and watch your kids in their assorted activities - school, soccer, dance, primary, playing with their little brother in their room and giggling their hearts out?

I wish.