zzzzz....I might be sleeping....

I am still trying to get used to being back-not that the hour time difference caused me any jet lag-but the fact that we got in at 6:30 am yesterday morning, with practically no sleep during the 14 hours we were in the car caused me quite a bit of jet lag, or is that van lag....I don't know, like I said, I might be sleeping...

"KA-NG-A-ROO SHOWWW!" "ALRIIIIGHT!"

Name that movie!

We went to the Kangaroo Zoo while we were in Utah on Saturday with Suzanna and her boys and my niece Graci. It actually doesn't have any kangaroos there at all unfortunately! It is one of those places with the big blow up slides and toys. The kids had a blast. Topher was going down the HUGE slide over and over, I got a video of it on the video blog. I think they have a place kind of like it in Clackamas...anyone been-or know of another place like it? My kids LOVE it! Here are some pics...

Oh yeah, Chad loved it too-probably just as much as the kids!

goodbye curls...

I cut Tophers hair today. His first hair cut. It was so long it almost had a mullet look in the back. It was sad to see so many curls go, but I tried to keep the length on top. He looks a lot different to us, it lays a little funny in the front, because his hair always falls down in his face, and will not comb to the side. But I think I will like it in a few days...he still looks adorabable! (By the way, the hand in the first picture is Mona's she was trying to help me see that he still has curls-it was hard to see all those curls fall!)

wicked*

OH MY GOSH! Have any of you been to Lagoon lately? They have a ton of new rides, but the one that stands out is simply called Wicked. It is a roller coaster that you sit on a chair like seat on a platform and you go around a short bend, then it shoots you from a cannon basically-STRAIGHT UP! Then when you get to the top, you go STRAIGHT DOWN! You are staring at the ground. It is terrifying! Then the rest of the roller coaster is not much better, because you are sitting on a platform rather than a train car like normal roller coasters-you can't see the track and all of a sudden you could be upside down or just going on your side. So there you go-if you want to see your life flash before your eyes and really feel like you might possibly die right then, then the Wicked is the ride for you. So Scary!
Other than that, Lagoon was really fun, the kids had a blast hanging out with their cousins and riding the rides, even if they were a little scared of most of them. Wicked. This is lots taller and scarier than it looks-and it looks terrifying!

Bekah and Topher on the boats-how many of you have pics of you in these things? I know I do!Bekah on the kiddie swings-I'm surprised she liked these, they where pretty fast!

Bekah and Connor on the mini speed way-they had so much fun together! My neices Graci, Allyson, Shaleigh, Chad's stepdaughter Koko and my other neice Tiana. They are growing up way too fast!Topher on the carosuel, you can see the sweat on his face-it was soooo hot! We are missing the Oregon weather a bit!

Silly Costumes=Getting Along for once!

If I had known all I had to do to get these kids to get along for more than 30 seconds was pull out the dress up stuff I would have done it the first day of summer! Seriously this entertained them for way longer than any project or game I cooked up for them. They thought they were so hilarious, especially Zach, he was loving putting on all the girl clothes and getting the little girls to squeal with laughter. Perfect Blackmail for his dates in a couple of years eh? (Probably not, he really seems to enjoy it, he will probably dress this way for the dates! Hee Hee.)

Last Minute=Family Portrait Time

I know I was cutting it close, but I just got family pictures done, and we are leaving in the morning. Not thrilled with the results but happy to have them done and I don't think any of us look like complete nerds-we ALL have semi-normal expressions actually, (of course Chad looks great he is Mr. Photogenic always!) Impressive!

Hot Snot-We're Back on Track!

That is a line from one of my very favorite movies-Name it!
Tab wanted me to post some pics of me after this big old fast, and so I just took some goofy ones in front of the mirror-be aware they might be a little graphic-I lifted up my shirt in some of them after all-HaHa. I feel really great about the results, I put on a tank top this morning and tears came to my eyes when I looked in the mirror, I feel like I'm me again! Not perfect, no where near where I was in high school-but I feel great, and feel great about my body again- I swear I am going to take better care of it from here on out!
(and to answer your question amy-yes-we had to DRINK salt water, every morning 32 oz. of it-yechhh! drank the last one this morning! chad gagged every morning and i chugged it-so glad to be done!)

Welcome Mckayla

My sis's baby got here at 6:18 am today 7lbs 4oz, 20 inches. This is just a pic sent from a camera phone, I will send more when I actually get to see her! My mom is holding her right now and she says she is perfect!

No More Likey Lemonade!

WooHOOOOOOO! We just finished our last glasses of lemonade,(maybe FOREVER)!!! We still have the tea tonight and the salt water in the morning-but tomorrow we move onto the Orange juice! I have to say I am pretty proud of us! I feel great too, and my clothes are fitting MUCH better! I really don't think I would even be embarassed to put on a swimsuit now, so Suzanna-get that pool done-we'll be there this weekend! My stomach still needs some toning, but all the extra flip flap has gone out of it. I am super stoked. Thanks to everyone who offered words of support, to be honest on the days I wanted to quit I didn't, because I knew ya'll were reading this-so really Thanks!
Nothing else new to report on really- Chad has less than a month before he gets his Associates! 28 days after that he starts on his Bachelors. Really looking forward to that, we're going to The Chart House to celebrate on August the 13th(the day after his last class), We've heard great things about it-any of you been there?

day 8*

Woohoo! Yesterday was hard, but today has been much easier knowing that I am so close to being done. Tomorrow is actually the last day we are doing the lemonade, salt water flush and herbal tea, on Wednesday we are going to straight orange juice. Thursday oj and pureed vegetable soup and hopefully by Friday oj, salad and some more of the soup. We want to be able to eat while we are in Utah.
We are planning on leaving on Friday, if Chad sells 10 more cases by then-which isn't that many, but he's hit a bit of a rough patch. He's working his butt off though, and he just needs to get through enough of the no's to get to all the yes's, right?(Actually he isn't getting many no's-it's just more 'maybe laters', and just actually getting to talk to the doctors-everyone who tries it, loves it!) I have faith in him, I know he can do it! He is still staying positive and still loves it, and is working sooo hard. I am so proud of him, he is just the greatest.
Still, if any of you chiropractors want some of the best stuff for your patients-PLEASE-contact him! And any of you chiropractic students (and their wives!), go to the bookstore and buy some for yourselves, or tell the clinic that you want to see it there,-you won't be sorry! If you just have a chiropractor and want some for yourselves, let us know who they are, so Chad can use you as a referral! I want to leave Friday so bad-I can't wait to see everyone, and having a whole other Saturday will be great!

random thoughts on day *7

It's 8:46 pm, and I have drunk all my lemonade for the day, so actually I am all done with day 7! Today was the hardest day so far. I wanted to quit so bad today, but I would have hated myself for it, I only have a couple days left after all! I am getting super tired of the lemonade, and Chad keeps tempting me to quit, he won't quit until I do-so I have to be the strong one. I can make it though-I've made it this far! It has been a great weekend, we went to Multnomah Falls on Saturday and hiked up to the top-Bekah made it all the way up and down again! I was so proud of her, but even more proud of Chad who pushed Topher and everyones stuff all the way up. What a man! We went to my moms tonight and had 'dinner'(my mom and the kids had dinner, we drank lemonade), and watched 'The Next Food Network Star'. Anyone else watch this show? We really like it-we're pretty big fans of Food Network altogether. We are now leaving to Utah on Friday the 20th, so just a few more days before we leave for that! My sister is about ready to pop! She posted some of the pictures of the room we did for her on her blog-SUPER CUTE! I designed it, and my mom, Tabitha, Tyler, Chad, our friend Mike and I put it all together. See the pics *here.*Well just a few more days left of lemonade, and then we get to move on to orange juice! Super Exciting!

after all...

...it is Friday the 13th-a little something scary my mom cooked up, hope it makes you smile
Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com

6* Fend for yourself-mom is off duty!

We are on day 5. Only 6 days left, getting closer to 5 and a half! As you can see, my kids have learned that when they get hungry they just find their own grub! I caught Topher in the peanut butter, and had to take a picture. I have been feeding him, I promise, I was just a little slow getting him some lunch today and so he decided to take it into his own hands. We are still doing okay-there have been some harder moments though. Last night I played Bunco (with the cutest, funniest girls anywhere) (*edit: excuse me amy simpson is the cutest, funniest girl anywhere, and I'm sorry that I made such a misrepresentation on this blog)and had a little bit of a hard time seeing the candy and not reaching into it out of habit. Your sense of smell gets lots better when you are fasting, and the smell of reeses pieces...yummmm. I made it through! I'm super excited that I am such a dummy though-We started this on the 9th-and it's a ten day fast, so I thought we had to end on the 19th. Chad reminded me though that I needed to count the 9th, so we actually end on the 18th. Yeah! That feels like it takes a whole day off, although I know it technically doesn't, I am glad to see that the day I have circled on the calendar is a day closer!
This is the last weekend we have with Zach and Ryeleigh before our much anticipated trip to Utah! I don't know what we will do this weekend, but probably something fun. We'll see....

7 more days of fasting...makes 1 weak!

Day 4: Feeling pretty good about the fast thus far. I haven't been hungry, but can't wait to eat again! I don't know if you realize how much of a day is occupied by eating! The day is pretty much revolved around it! Plus food tastes sooo much better than lemonade! It's almost like the day doesn't go by quite as fast when you don't have your next meal to look forward to. That said, I weighed myself last night at my moms, (I don't have a scale), and I have already lost 5 pounds! I think that was the little push I needed to continue on. Although 7 days is still a long time with no food....I can do it right? Thanks for all of your support already, I've really needed it, and will continue to need it this next week!

days left: 8---feeling: great

Day 3: Still going strong on the fast! I still am not hungry surprisingly enough! I feel a lot more energy and I didn't even know I was lacking in energy! I feel like I could go for a long run, I probably won't because it is so hot, but my house work is getting done! I feel like I can really do this-I know I can make it all the way to 10 days! We will be ending this fast on the 19th, the same day we are planning on leaving for Utah. {We are taking the kids back then, hopefully seeing my new niece (if she has been born!) and spending lots of quality time with Chads family. We miss them so much!}

*we are some tired muggles today!
I don't know if you know this about Chad and I-but we are pretty intense Harry Potter fans! Ever since our honeymoon, when we bought the first 2 books to start reading together on the plane ride home from Hawaii. Last night we went to the midnight showing of The Order of the Phoenix-great movie-of course not as fantastic as the book-but it was really good. I don't suggest going to a midnight movie-ever-but Zach finished reading the 3rd and 4th Harry Potter books since he's been here so that we could go-It was a deal him and his dad worked out. We didn't think we would actually have to go since Zach is a less than enthusiastic reader-but a little incentive with him goes a LONG way! He was reading for over 2 hours almost every day! Way to go dude!

*did i hear a niner in there?

Only nine more days to go! Day one was surprisingly okay for me, Chad couldn't stop thinking about steaks and bacon cheeseburgers-but there were times of the day that I actually felt full. I feel great today-not too hungry, and when I do get hungry I just make another glass of lemonade. My mom is doing it too, and her and Chad both say they are starving. Hopefully it gets easier for them and stay this easy for me! I'm not saying I couldn't go for-well anything- for lunch, but I am okay with my lemonade, knowing that this is good for me and my weight (yikes! I really let it get a little out of my control lately!) If I can do this for a whole 10 days, it will prove to me that I can really do anything, and the first thing I intend to do is start eating healthier right from the get go-this is sort of like a fresh start-I'm actually excited about it.

When life gives you lemons....

For the next 10 days Chad and I will be doing the Master Cleanse which consists of drinking nothing but organic, homemade lemonade. It's supposed to clean out all the toxins and impurities out of your body while helping you lose weight, have more energy and be happier. We'll see! Our friends John and Jessica did it not too long ago and did great on it. I'm glad Chad is doing it with me-I need all the support I can get-I sort of have a love affair going with food and it is going to be super hard to give it up for this long...I'll keep you updated on how it goes leaving out the cleansing part!

eleven*

I cannot believe that he is eleven-this boy who when I first met him was a silly little 5 year old that still had his chubby little hands and baby cheeks. He has grown out of his cheeks, but he is still very silly, and although we have had our difference of opinions on a great many things-I hope he knows that I love him and couldn't picture our family without him. He got really spoiled for his birthday, my mom and us went in on a new wave board for him. If you have not seen one of these things, check it out, they are pretty cool and Zach is a natural at it. Tyler got one a couple of weeks ago and we haven't been able to keep Zach off it, so we knew it would be a hit! His siblings all got him some one spot goodness from Target, and we caught a rare moment of genuine love on film between Zach & Rye when he opened her present. We went to Zach's favorite restaraunt for dinner, Fuddruckers and then to Malibu Raceway for such a fun time at the batting cages and racing. It was past 10 when we finally got to racing, so the pictures did not turn out well. There was this picture of Jim and Ryeleigh though-Rye was so little, you could barely see the top of her helmet, but she loved it-I rode with Chad and was terrified the entire time! We had dinner last night at my moms and cake and ice cream-the cake wasn't pretty, but so delicious! My mom made a Paula Dean recipe for a butter cake and mmmmmm! Happy Birthday buddy-We love you!

baby got some new shoes*

I know lots of you have these shoes for your kids, but Chad brought them home last night (I've been looking for these for Topher for awhile) and I could not get over how small they are. They are just way too cute!

bring 4th the fun...

We had a fun fourth and I hope everyone else did too! It was so blasted hot that day thought, that we didn't go out until about 7, just to avoid the sun! We went out to Happy Valley, which had a big celebration all day, we missed most of the planned activities but there was still plenty to do when we got there. Ryeleigh went into this giant water fountain thing and got soaked within minutes of getting there, but it was hot enough she was dry before too long. Zach played a game of baseball with a bunch of kids there for about 3 hours while the rest of us walked around and actually ran into some of our friends the Palmers, while we were there. They are opening a new skate shop in Happy Valley town center called Novakane, and were there promoting it. It was a lot of fun and the store looks like it will be really cool. Their daughter Hayden is one of Bekah's best little buddies, so they had a lot of fun running around and riding this rocking horse for a bit. Christopher fell asleep and stayed asleep until the fireworks started. It was a fun day, and a beautiful night-how awesome it is to live in this beautiful country with all the freedoms we enjoy. I know I take it for granted, but I am so grateful for all those who made and still make it possible to take it for granted! I mean we can work, play, worship, do basically whatever we want without feeling threatened-because of everything they have done and continue to do for us, we don't have to think about our freedom and security every second of every day like people do in other countries. It's really great to have a day to focus on our freedoms that we enjoy, and to feel grateful for living in this beautiful country.

Cape Disappointment-Quite the Opposite!

*Cape Disappointment

First of all we couldn't figure out why this gorgeous place was called that-but I did a little research and found that it was hard to find for traders and other ships, because of a string of bad luck that happened while trying to build a lighthouse. A lighthouse was needed badly because of all the ship wrecks, that stretch of beach is called the 'graveyard of the Pacific'. Lovely thought eh? Well it's a beautiful place to go play, so I highly recommend it! The light house is cool, in fact it's the oldest functioning light house on the west coast. You can't really see it in this little pic-but it's up there on the cliff-you can click on it to see it bigger. Every year for the past 4 years my family has gone to Cape Disappointment in Washington for the 4th of July. We have not been able to go because it's rent time from the first through the fifth, and Chad has always had to work. This year we were able to make it for a couple days since we got back before the 3rd (mandatory deposit day), and since Chad and the rest of the Myo-Med team were able to reach their goal of selling 200 cases in the month of June. We went from Friday, (after Chad got done with work) and stayed until Monday. We had so much fun that this is probably our favorite place to camp now. It is right next to the beach and yet the camping area totally feels like you are in the woods. Everything is so green and beautiful.

*Beach Bums

The kids stayed at the beach for pretty much the whole day each day. Zach and Ryeleigh found this board that looked like a surf board and Zach actually took it out into the water (I know crazy huh?) and surfed on the thing. He had a blast, scared us all a few times going to far out, but it kept him really busy, so that was a good thing. We all worked together to build a sand dinosaur, we of course buried a couple of the kids, Chad, Trae, Tony, Tyler and Jeremy all played football constantly (luckily we brought the MyoMed, Chad was very sore the next couple of days) and Ryeleigh and Kaylie dug a huge hole-all the usual beach activities. Tab and I of course took about a million pictures, there is no way I could post all the good ones! Topher loved it, this is the first time he could actually play on it by himself. There is a video of him running to the ocean for the first time-No fear! He was so cute!

*Ode to the Yurt

We stayed in a yurt the first night, because my mom and everyone didn't come until Saturday. Well we loved it so much we decided to rent one the other 2 nights. We had never heard of yurts before, (well Ryeleigh had, apparantly one of Tylers video games has yurts) but they are like big canvas tents with a wooden floor. It had heat and electricity and of course the best part was hearing Bekah say yurt. We were all thankful for a bed and a warm place to sleep, but she loved it the most. We all highly recommend yurt camping to everyone! (Chad even wants to put one in our backyard...)