5 years later and our Family's Whole30

Its been a while. 

Its been a LONG while.

I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get a chance to really blog again, but something has happened that has made me want to have a daily record for the next couple of months.

Whole30.

Whole30 has come up.

I want a reset on our life. On our health. I feel like Whole30 is the answer so we are willing to take the experiment to see.

Tomorrow is day one. I have bought enough food for tomorrow and hope to go shopping tomorrow for the rest of the week. I am trying to come up with some frugal, but fitting meals that will fit all of the requirements. It has been hard to find meals that fit both of these things, but I think we can do it. I am nervous, but I think we can do it. 

Sabrina and I made a countdown chain with some advice about what we might expect for that day. It made it a little more daunting to know that tired, headaches, and anger lies ahead for the next couple of weeks. But I am excited for day 16, which is typically the start of "Tiger Blood" feelings. Feelings of energy and feeling better than you have in years. Only 16 days away.

At the end of this, I hope that I have improved health - no more dizzies, no more anxiety, way more energy, 1 regular period, no more depression....HAPPINESS. I am hoping for some weight loss as well. I hope to lose weight. I won't look at the scale, but I hope to fit in my littler clothes someday soon. 

We are doing this right before the holiday season. We end right before Halloween. I am going to do it longer and end right before Thanksgiving. So I hope that this feeling of health and happiness and energy will be remembered throughout the merry season. 

So....

Ready, Set......

Raging Waters!!!

Today we had some family fun at Raging Waters. The kids were definitely in their element - they are 2 little fishies. Ariana will get there before we know it as well. :)

Aaron's cousin got us discount tickets to come and I am so glad that we could take advantage of the offer. Even though it rained on and off a few times while we were there, it was still worth it. I had a great time reading a book (something I NEVER feel I can do since I always have so much going on)while hanging out with Ariana and watching Aaron with the kids. It was so cute watching him with them. :) Sabrina was allowed to go off on her own since she has had swimming lessons. She was so proud to be independent of Daddy.

Although she did act as Daddy's little helper sometimes.

But Lucas didn't always appreciate Sabrina's help and would go back to find Daddy.

The water slide was the definite highlight of the day.

Everyone was kicked out of the pools when it began lightening so the kids invented a creative activity to keep them entertained.

Where did Lucas go?

There he is! :)

We are SO glad that we went. It was a great rejuvenating day for our family.

Ariana at TWO Months

Ariana is officially two months today (which means she got more shots - poor thing)! She is growing so much and is developing a cute little personality that is making it so much fun to have her around. The kids absolutely adore her as do her Daddy & me. :) She has been smiling a bunch more and is getting bigger and stronger every day.

2 Month Stats:
11 lb 6 oz (66%)
22.5 in (57%)
Smiles BIG time
Talks to us with her coos
Lifts her head 90 degrees & holds head steady
She has even given out a couple of cute laughs - OF COURSE Aaron was the one to first make her laugh - just like he did with the other two. What a good daddy he must be! :)

Look at those cheeks grow! :)

We are so excited to see what the next month will bring!

Happy 4th!

The 4th of July is always a big holiday for us since it has so many fun things for the family to do. In addition to the carnival we have had the tradition of going to the West Jordan parade every year. Sabrina absolutely LOVES the parade (she used to call it the hip hip parade...like hip hip hooray...so cute) and tells me every day in June that the parade is almost here, the parade is almost here! This year was a little different since we had Grandma & Karen with us. It made it that much more exciting though. We had a big special breakfast for my mom, the birthday girl, and then headed down to the parade sporting our red, white, & blue. Lucas is now a big fan of the parade as well. Him and Sabrina said hi to many of the floats and people passing by. It was really cute to see them so excited together. Ariana thought it was a great nap time.

CARNIVAL!!!

Every year there is a 4th of July Carnival near us and we LOVE going to join in the fun. This year it was fun having Grandma J & Karen join us. Last year Sabrina had her face painted for a dollar so I decided that I would do the job myself for her and Lucas for free. Here they are on the way to the park...

Once we got there it was hard to pick which rides to go on, but I think they had a fun time on the one's they chose. This was Lucas' first year to participate on the rides. He had such a good time as Sabrina showed him the ropes. :)

The kids' first roller coaster ride



Ariana enjoying her own ride.

Sabrina in the Ferris Wheel with Karen

Lucas looking up at Sabrina in the Ferris Wheel. You'll be tall enough next year, bud!

Lucas was too beat after all the fun to walk on his own to the car. He wanted to tell Ari about all the fun anyway.

Summer Beginnings

The summer has officially begun. It seemed like it took forever to get here, but it finally warmed up ~ And just in time for the kids cabin fever to set in. Aaron has been busy making the backyard as much fun for the kids as possible and they have loved every bit of it. He has set up hammocks, fun sprinklers, a sand/water box, and a kiddie table. He has also been busy putting together our square foot gardens and a storage shed.

He deserves to relax at any chance he can get.

From the moment the kids wake up in the morning they beg me to go outside. Oh to be a kid again and just be able to play outside ALL day long. :)

Lucas' Tribute to His Father

The day before Father's Day the kids had played in the yard all day, running through the sprinklers and playing in the dirt so it was pretty necessary to give them a bath as soon as they came in from the yard. Aaron gave Lucas a bath while I took care of the girls. We have a detachable shower nozzle that we use for baths and as Aaron was trying to set the tempurature of the water, he got sprayed with it by Lucas. Lucas obviously knew what he did and was playing around so he turned toward the back of the tub and tried to run away from his daddy, but slipped instead and cut his chin open when he landed. All I heard was *BOOM* and then crying. I knew it wasn't good. Then I heard Aaron saying, "Oh boy, you cut yourself good. I think you are going to need stitches." WHAT?!?!? I couldn't help but think "And it begins." Aaron always tell me how well known he was at his local emergency room so I can just imagine how many more times we will do this. As we took him to the clinic and waited for him to be seen, he was really great. He was so calm and his normal self. He was a little nervous after they called him back and everyone was looking at him, but overall he was GREAT. They told me that no kid is ever that calm when something like that happens to them. It just goes to show once again how laid back Lucas is. He came out of the office with some glue stitches under his chin and a lollipop - so not too bad of an experience. :) 



Our Tribute to the Daddy

It is always fun to come up with fun things we can do to show Aaron how much he is appreciated during Father's Day. Sabrina helped me come up with this picture idea to give him for his office. 3 kids - 3 letters. Perfect, right? :)

Graduation #2 - Pre-K

As mentioned before in Sabrina's previous update, she already graduated from pre-kindergarten before, but because her birthday didn't make the deadline to start kindergarten she took it again. Now after all her hard work she has graduated...again. :)

The program began with the kids singing all the songs they had learned throughout the year. Sabrina was so cute and animated while she sang.

We then watched a slide show as the kids lined up for the procession that followed...pomp and circumstance and all.

Sabrina with Miss Sheila

We are so proud of our big girl and all that she has accomplished this year!

Lucas at 2 Years

Now it is Lucas' turn for an update. He really has grown and changed so much since the last blog about him so I am glad that I am doing this for him to show the huge transformation. His main job this last year was to work on doing the things that could help him get BIGGER...

playing with daddy...

...getting a balanced meal...

...and getting plenty of rest...

On his first birthday he got his first haircut and went from being our scraggly little boy...

to our handsome little man.

In May he experienced his first black eye when he pulled a large candle off a shelf. I believe he was climbing up the shelf - certainly not the first or last experience we have had with his being mischievous.

Poor little guy. But he seemed to heal pretty quick.

He has also worked hard to perfect his pout.

A couple of Lucas' favorite moments of the summer included the boat ride we took while camping at Moon Lake...

...and walking around Temple Square during our downtown Salt Lake staycation.

His love for the outdoors continues to grow...

...almost as big as him and his personality.

He also loves to read...

...to play in the water...

...to play with his toys...

...to color and write...

...and to chill with the Daddy.

His 2nd birthday...

...was spent at Wheeler Farm, one of his favorite places.

The theme for his birthday was "TWO Apples Up On Top" like the Dr. Seuss book. He LOVES apples. In fact, any time you ask him a simple question, it is typical for him to answer, "A Appoh." "Lucas, what did you dream about?" "A Appoh." "Lucas, what do you think?" "Appoh." Lately he says it with a smile, knowing that it cracks us up every time he says it. It just goes to show how healthy he is. He loves healthy foods and has a healthy appetite.

In fact, just the other day he downed a head of lettuce with Sabrina. What can I say, he is my growing boy. At his 2-year well child visit to the doctor, he was measuring in the 101 percentile for weight and 91 percentile for heighth. He is not obese or overweight...just one solid kid. But he has a soft heart which has become overwhelmingly apparent since he became a big brother.

He loves his sisters so much. He loves to follow Sabrina around and repeat everything she says. He also loves any chance he can get to hug her or Ariana. He really does get along with anyone who is around him - he is such a laid back kid. He is so full of love and is such a sweet li'l man.

Here he is today, our little man of the house. We love him so much!!!