Disneyland...we love it!

Hmmm....I really let time pass before posting, don't I? I guess I don't feel like I have anything worthy of being posted in cyberspace. :)

At Christmas, we were in AZ with all my brothers and sisters and we planned a spring break trip to Disneyland. When the time finally came to "fish or cut bait" only three of the families ended up coming. Too bad cuz we had a MARVELOUS time! How could we not when we had the Disneyland guru (Tony) with us who used his fabulous powers to make sure we had enough Fast Passes to go on whatever ride we wanted as many times as we wanted? I went on California Screamin' until I felt sick and then the kids kept on going on it after that. Thanks, Tony!
We were always waiting at the gates when they opened and we had a group every night who stayed until it closed (I was not in this group; I created my own secret escape that involved taking the tired child back to the hotel with a stop at Cold Stone on the way in - I highly recommend "Berry Berry Berry").
Katie loved the tea cups...there was barely a line so she would get off the ride and immediately run around to get back on again. Her brother and sisters were not willing to go with her, so good ol' Dad did his duty (his stomach was a little woozy).
My kids love being with their little cousins...my girls are more than willing to carry a baby around. But Josh became really interested in Heather's little girl Taryn - he just loved her and decided to work on winning her favor (she's picky). He walked all around with her and held her every chance she got and he must have won her over because at one point when she was tired she just leaned in to him. He loved it! We got a picture of it which he now has as the screensaver on his computer.
My favorite ride was Tower of Terror. The last time we went to Disneyland was five years ago, just a few months before this ride opened, so I hadn't been on it before. I loved the feeling in my stomach when the ride would drop and unlike rides that go upside down, this one didn't give me a headache.
It was such a great week. So fun to be with my brother and sister and their families and to be in the "happiest place on earth."

Lifestyle Change

So, I hit an all-time high for weight this last Christmas (other than being pregnant, of course).
I won't fill you in on the number, but let's just say I let out a huge gasp when I saw it.
I decided, "Okay, you've got to start exercising and eating right. No more putting it off." So, starting January 3rd, I headed back to the gym and cut my calories. The results?

I am almost halfway to my goal of losing 25 lbs. When I weighed in this week, it was the lowest weight I've been in almost two years! I'd lost 2 inches off my hips and and inch and a half off my shoulders. How is this possible? Good old-fashioned calorie counting and exercise. I eat between 1500 and 1800 calories a day of healthy stuff like fruits and veggies and low-fat meats, whole grain bread, etc. I have a trainer who works with me once a week at the gym and I go two other times and work out on my own.

Sometimes this whole thing is really hard. I have such a sweet tooth, and last night, that package of M&M's was calling to me. It was a mental challenge to set it aside and say, "Trust me. You'll regret it in the morning."

I'll post some pictures when I reach my goal, which will probably be the end of April!

Science Fair

We did it - we survived another science fair! The science fair is a big deal at our school: grades 3-9 are required to participate which means we had a minimum of three projects to complete. But Katie didn't want to be left out, so we did a fourth one.
The results: Jenna was awarded Best Display in 7-9 division, Kellie took 1st place in the 4-6 division, Katie took 2nd place in the 1-3 division, and Alissa ...well, let's just say some tears were shed and we're looking for redemption next year.
I spent the day printing out participation and award certificates, making sure each project was judged three times, and setting up tables and chairs. Whew!

Someone hurt my feelings

Isn't life confusing? I remember when I was a kid thinking how glad I would be when I was an adult and others word couldn't hurt me anymore. Turns out I was wrong. Here I am, 38 years old, and unkind words still wound deeper than anything. Darn my sensitive heart. Does it really matter what others think of me? My head says "no", but my heart says, "You bet it does!" I cursed some of my kids with this, too. I'm staying home from work today and pulling the covers over my head. Some days you just have to do that.

I've Been Thinking

I've had lots of thoughts running through my head this week...thoughts about our new president and our country, about the economy and education, about same-sex marriage and human rights, about faith and religion, about right and wrong.

I was so excited to see the inauguration of President Obama. I think it's important that he is a black man, that as a country we've elected him as our president. But I worry about the actions he's taken this week.

It's a complex time. I was talking with some of the teachers at school about a recent news article that said that in spite of the economy, gun sales have been through the roof since Obama was elected. People are scared he'll take away their guns since he's for gun control. One of the teachers was strongly for gun control, the other against, and I could see the validity of both of their arguments.

I read that Tom Hanks said all Mormons are un-American because of their support of Proposition 8 in California. Me? Un-American?

Lots to think about...

Basketball, basketball and .... more basketball

This is the time of year when basketball consumes our lives! This week, I watched 7 games, six of them in a 24-hour period. Our son, Josh, plays on his school team and we travel to every single game. Because we're a 1A team, that means a lot of distance driving. This week, we went to Ogden. The picture at left is David and I with the two other parents, Rick McCloskey and Fern Caka who also travel to every game. We're often the only fans at away games, but we cheer as loudly as possible!
Josh is a jumper, I secretly think of him as "Tigger". He gets tons of rebounds and usually gets the tip at the start of the game. He loves to steal and typically scores 10-12 points a game. David and I LOVE watching him play. Can you believe the kid who is deliberating fouling Josh in this photo threw a big fit when the foul was called on him? Kellie took this picture and said, "Mom, I have a picture of that foul." We offered to show it to the kid, but he didn't take us up on it. :)

Our girls all play on Jr. Jazz teams through the city, their games are all on Saturdays and I coach Alissa's team. This week, Jenna played a double-header, a game at 8am and the second at 9am. They won the first game by a miracle shot in literally the last second that tied the game and sent them into overtime. It was awesome! Jenna is a scrappy player who will go after every ball. She ends up on the floor a lot; the coach loves her aggressiveness.
On Saturday, Kellie scored 14 of the 24 points for her team - she's go the lay-up down which is more skills than most 6th graders her age have. She and her friends have been playing basketball together since third grade.

My little team that Alissa is on goes by the name "Viper Monkeys" ( I know - tough girls!) Half of them are in their first year and just learning to dribble, so we don't worry too much about the score, just about passing the ball around and guarding our man and trying to dribble without traveling. As one of my little girls said when I told her she couldn't dribble with two hands, just one, "But that's hard!" Alissa is one of the tallest girls in the league, so she enjoys rebounding and shooting over everyone's head. She has also mastered the lay-up and scores lots of baskets.

I have been coaching my girls in basketball since Jenna was in third grade. I can't play basketball myself, but when the city called me and said Jenna wouldn't be able to have a team since they couldn't find a coach, I volunteered. Being me, I headed to the public library and checked out videos and books on coaching basketball. After five years of coaching, I'm still not a great dribbler myself, but I know how it's supposed to be done and I can teach the kids to do it!