Summer Fitness Challenge

Do you want (or need) some motivation to make healthier habits? Join me in a fitness challenge! It starts on Monday and will last until the last day of summer. Check out the details on Becoming Fabulously Flabless. I'd love to have more participants (=more motivation!)

The winner at the end of the challenge wins a $10 gift card to Bath & Body Works from each of the non-winners. (More participants = more to win).

If you have any questions, let me know!

:)

More from the Garden of the Gods. :)

More pictures of the beautiful Garden of the Gods. And one silly rabbit. Check him out -- just laying down right in the middle of the trail. Silly rabbit. :)

I couldn't wait

I couldn't wait to see my pictures until I got home, and the screen on the back of my camera just isn't big enough. So, I went to Walgreens and had a CD made. Here are the highlights from yesterday's activities:

Denver Colorado Temple

Air Force Academy

Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel

Garden of the Gods

More to come!

Sorry no pictures, yet

I have taken some cool pictures while I've been in Colorado, but I can't share them until I get home. I can't download to this computer. :(

I have a day off from work tomorrow. I plan to drive to Denver in the morning to attend the temple there. I'm looking forward to that. I've been to Houston (married there), San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Dallas (but only for baptisms as a youth) and Manti (but I don't remember it because I was a baby.) I've been outside some of the other temples, but those are the ones I have been inside.

Then, I'm going to go to the Garden of the Gods for some hiking at the bottom of Pikes Peak. I've been looking forward to going there. I'm sure to get some great pictures there.

So far, I've had a fun time in Colorado. It's been so quiet without the kids to fight with and housework... I can't say that I miss housework, but I do miss my kiddos.

Travel

I went to Dallas on Thursday for some training. What a long day! There were storms in Dallas in the morning, so my flight to Dallas was delayed over an hour. I finally made it there, attended the class, and then went back to the airport. My flight back to San Antonio had been delayed as well. I got to the airport at 6am, and I didn't get home until after 10pm. I was soooooo tired, especially since I got only 3 hours of sleep the night before.

That was Thursday. Friday I started packing for a longer flight. I'll be working in Colorado Springs this week. Thankfully, I had no air travel issues. No lost luggage. No delayed flights. Just one really bumpy flight on a really small commuter plane. I've never been sick on a plane until today. I didn't need the barf bag, but I didn't feel great. The flight was only 12 minutes!

I don't know about you, but travelling alone makes my mind wander. I think random thoughts. Here are my observations:

1. Why is a city that is so familiar to me when I'm on the ground so foreign from above? It is really hard to pick out landmarks from the airplane when taking off or landing. I thought I knew San Antonio pretty well... I did manage to find the temple as I landed coming from Dallas. I'm proud of that.
2. People watching is a fun airport activity. I was too tired to read. My feet hurt too much to walk the terminal -- again. So I watched people. I enjoyed it. I forgot that I was in a crowd of people -- which is good for me. I don't like crowds. I think it's a phobia.
3. On the way home from Dallas, my seat was behind the wing. It was cool how the exhaust from the engine blurred the lights below, but a few feet behind that everything looked clear again. (How bored was I!)
4. Crowded flights suck.
5. I love the book I'm reading. It is Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I'm not usually a big fan of nonfiction. I can't wait to try the recipes. :) Ok. So it is nonfiction, but it is part cookbook. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying this book. Plus, I would love to have a more productive garden...
6. Altitude sucks. I've never had problems with the altitude in Utah or on other trips. I can't breathe here! I don't have allergy problems (at least not currently). I just need more humidity in my air! My head hurts, and I ran out of breath walking up the stairs a few minutes ago. I hope this passes soon.
7. I saw a rabbit outside my hotel room. :) Maybe he'll come out again when I have my camera handy.
8. Mountains are beautiful.

Tanner and the kittens

I'm not sure how many kittens there were, but I saw two. We went to my aunt Linda's house for a barbeque on Father's day. Her neighbor, who we call Nanny (I don't even know her real name!) has a cat that had kittens recently.

Tanner wanted to hold the kittens. He loves animals. He was saying "baby cat" the whole time. So cute! So, I helped him hold the kitten. He was so excited.

He did really well. He didn't squeeze too hard. He was really gentle with the babies, and of course the mommy cat was meowing and crying because he was holding the kitten. He said, "Okay? mommy cat, okay?" He says that often. He'll say "Okay mommy okay?" when I cough or sneeze or if I'm frustrated... He's such a little sweetheart.

I let him hold both kittens and then we said, "bye baby cat" and went back to playing and chatting with family and friends.

A few minutes later, Tanner brought the kittens out for everyone to see. He was so proud of himself, showing the "baby cat" to everyone.

When we left, he didn't want to leave the cats behind. My mom says that we need to get a kitten for him. I don't think that will be happening anytime soon, if ever. Sorry Tanner!

Happy Father's Day!

happy father's day to all the dad's in my life (and future dads too!)

Self Portrait

I stink at taking pictures of myself. Some people are really good at holding a camera an arm's length away and getting a great picture. I'm no good at that. Having said that, this is my feeble attempt at taking a picture of myself -- rather, a mirror reflection of myself. This is what I look like right after I finish doing my makeup in the visor mirror two minutes before I clock in to work.

Isn't my hair super short? It looks even shorter from the back. Doug said he will take better haircut pictures to post...

When I grow up...

On the way home from OP Schnabel park this morning, Timmy said, "When I grow up I just want to be a football player and a basketball player and a soccer player and a teeball player and a chef and a daddy and a guy who builds things."

Too cute!

Coming Soon

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done a thankful Thursday in a while. It's time to be thankful again. Here goes:

*My new haircut. I love it. It the shortest cut I've had in more than a decade, and I love it. When I find my camera, I'll take a picture for everyone to see...

*Dibs. Bite sized ice cream. I craved these when I was pregnant with Timmy, but they weren't available then. It was a dilemma. Now it is an addiction. :)

*My crockpot. I've used it three times in the last week. It's hard making dinner for your family while you're at work. :) I'm starting to do more freezer meals and crock pot meals so my family can eat better while I'm away. Hot dogs and mac n cheese are good, but not everyday. Timmy *loved* the pork roast that I cooked this week -- shredded pork roast, barbeque sauce in a tortilla. Yay!

*IKEA. We had a fun trip to IKEA when Doug was on vacation. Less than halfway through the store, Doug asked if there is really a "shopping gene" in women. He was already tired of shopping, and I was just getting started!

*Darlene. Doug's baby sister. She babysits my kids in the evenings when Doug has somewhere to be and I'm at work. And she's going to be a mommy! Love ya Darlene!

*Church. Just in general. I've had a hard time adjusting to our ward. It's been almost a year since we moved into this area, and I still feel a little out of the loop sometimes. But, in the last several months, I've made some great friends, and I've had some faith-building experiences. I love what I do in the church. The young women are amazing!

*My garden. We've had some issues with some of the plants, but I love playing in my garden. More to come on the {adventures in gardening} when I find my camera.