Biggest Loser = 2nd weigh-in

So Monday night was my first weigh-in. Before I tell you about the weigh-in, let me tell you about my week. IT WAS TOUGH!!!! Monday after my first weigh-in I went to a Zumba class - LoVeD it! Tuesday was my rest day, Wednesday was Step! Holy Moly did it KiCk mY BuTT! My knees hurt but I felt great afterwards. I think that was my 3rd time attending that class and I know the moves well enough that I can push for more cardio, great workout! Thursday I took advantage of the treadmill downstairs and cranked my music for an hour with an incline of 8 and speed set at 3.5. My legs felt like they were going to fall off! Friday I made it to the gym after work for 35 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes of weight training. Saturday was back to Zumba, YEAh! and Sunday was back at home to watch The Help, while walking my fat off on the treadmill.

I made a lot of changes to my diet this week, maintained 1200 calories every day, didn't eat out once, and (I proudly admit) not 1 diet Dr. Pepper! I tried a lot of healthy alternatives to my normal recipes and couldn't help but smile when my husband told me that the enchiladas were better than any restaurant he'd been to! I am really enjoying the food thing and finding it easier to get in to! I tried and tried to stay off the scale at home this week, but twice I failed. I was pleasantly surprised to see a 5 pound loss on my home scales! However, when I went to the weight-in I came up with a 3 pound loss. I admit, I was disappointed after how hard I had worked this week but I decided pretty quickly that I will NOT get discouraged, that is 3 pounds I will never have to worry about again if I continue with this lifestyle. This week I will try harder and hopefully see some bigger numbers!

In class on Moday we talked about the importance of food journaling and menu plans. Luckily those were 2 things I had already started but I did get some great hand-outs. Let me know if you'd like copies and I'll find a way to get them to you!

Bigest Loser

One of my New Year's resolutions is to lose 70 pound before the holidays. I joined the gym last October and have been kind of hit and miss since I joined. I decided I needed a serious jump start into my weight loss to help keep me motivated ~ so I'm competing in a Biggest Loser contest through my gym. It started last night, I just had my first weigh in (Ouch) and my before picture taken. We talked a lot about nutrition and learning to substitute certain things that are really high in fat or calories. I know I need to make some big changes - but I never thought about the little things that really add up, so I guess I'm making small changes too!

The contest will go for 8 weeks, each week prizes will be given to the person with the highest weight loss percentage, and the grand prize winner will receive $1000. Now, don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to win the money; but my main goals are to develop healthy habits, feel better overall, and learn as much as I can about nutrition and exercise. I've decided to bring you all in on this journey because (A) I know I need the support and (B) I may be able to pass along information I've learned that can help someone else in their journey.

To help keep me motivated I am going to post some "before" pictures. In 8 weeks I will post some "after" pictures. Hopefully we will be able to start to see a difference!

12 Resolutions for 2012

1 - I will NOT stress the small stuff
2 - I will StOp and EnJoY when my boys want to PLAY
3 - If I don't have enough money - I don't need it. That will be my motto for 2012!
4 - 70 pounds before the next HoLiDAy season
5 - Do 1 thing for myself - EVERY DAY!
6 - Be the example at home, AND everywhere I go
7 - Give back to those who helped me through last year
8 - Be a better FRIEND
9 - FInD ways to show Rick ~ Ryker ~ Karsen how much I LOVE them, EVERY DAY!
10 - Finish 70 Credits at school (GULP)
11 - Build a stronger testimony
12 - Be a BeTTeR neighbor

Twas the Night Before Christmas

I know I've talked a lot about my Mom lately, but this is my blog....do deal with it! LOL! Growing up I think I remember more about Christmas Eve then Christmas Day. There was food on the table all day long then at night we would have a big dinner, play games, sing Christmas Carols, read the Nativity story, and open 1 present. Then when all the festivities were done all of us kids would "sleep" in one room. After a night of giggling, fighting and anticipating the next day, we would get up bright and early to tear through presents.

Even when money was scarce my Mom managed to put on an amazing Christmas with more then we ever needed! As we got older and more people were welcomed into our family, she never slowed down - Christmas was amazing!

This year I found myself trying to live up to that and keep some of my family traditions while creating new ones that are unique to me and my family. I think it was still a lot like my Mom's but I loved every minute of it. On Christmas Eve I cleaned the house then took Ryker grocery shopping with me. We decided on ham, potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. While we were there we picked up a little Christmas tree and headed up to the cemetery. It was so pretty to look around and see all the flowers, lights and trees on the graves and know that there were others who were missing their loved ones, just trying to find a way to keep them with them during the holidays.

I spent the rest of the day preparing dinner - it turned out great and I enjoyed spending that one on one time with my family. After dinner we opened 1 present - Christmas jammies! I wish I would have had my camera near by - the boys looked so cute! We read the Nativity Story, put out cookies and Coke for Santa then got the boys to bed. Rick and I ate the cookies but Rick really didn't want to drink Coke that late at night so I found an empty can and put it by the plate. I was shocked in the morning when Ryker ran right past the presents to the cookie plate and yelled "Mom, Santa ate all his cookies and he drank his CocaCola!"

After that it was all a blur of wrapping paper, toys and shrieks of excitement. Once that died down it was time to put everything together and test it out. What a fun weekend! The holidays were hard this year but I also felt so blessed to be with my extended family and my little family! Now I am for sure ready for 2012! Bring it one!

Must be Santa, Santa Claus

If you've been reading my blog then you'll remember the post I wrote in November called "My Christmas Story". If not, go back and read it so you'll understand just how great this night was for me and my family.

The Wednesday before Christmas I took the day off work, baked a ham, made a cheese ball, pumpkin pie and readied my house for pure chaos! For the most part all my siblings are local, but Jared is currently working in Colorado and Misty lives in Twin Falls, ID. Somehow it all worked out and everyone was able to be here for our family Christmas party. Everyone was there and all the kids were running around crazy, until.....the doorbell rang! Ryker was the lucky one that got to open the door to Santa Claus!


Each of the kids got a present from Santa .... their ornaments from Grandma. Ryker got one that looked like a golf bag since he LOVES golfing with Daddy.


Karsen got his Baby's First Christmas ornament, of course! He didn't really care about the present, but he really liked Santa's beard!


I am so thankful for Santa and Mrs Claus! They are such a blessing to each of us and I can't find the words to express just how much they mean to me!


My sweet sister-in-law Emma snuck a gift for each family into Santa's bag. I can't look at this ornament without getting choked up. I was with my Mom when this picture was taken and it has come to mean so much to me and my siblings. I am so thankful for Emma's thoughtfulness and love for my Mom.

While the night was a lot of fun, I speak for myself when I say this, but I felt like someone was missing. When we sat down to sing Christmas Carols all the kids started singing Silent Night and I cried like a baby. I know my Mom loved that song and LOVED hearing her grandkids sing. I hope she heard it and knows that she created an amazing legacy.

O Little Town of ......Las Vegas?

I have been with Stevens-Henager College for almost 3 years now. A couple times a year they give the Admissions team a free trip to Vegas. They put us up at the Monte Carlo, free airfare, 3 meals a day, and more snack food and soda then I typically consume in a month. All they ask in return is that we stay awake for 9 hours each day and learn new things. I was a little surprised that they planned our latest trip in December but, what are you gonna do? I did a little strip sight seeing, buffet eating and spending time with friends. I'll admit ....I was a little pathetic this time. I was in my room by 9 each night for a little study time and then tried to catch up on about 4 years of restless nights!

Bellagio Christmas room

Yes, I know I look 10 months pregnant - I'm not! Look back here when I post my New Year's resolutions!

I don't care if you like Chocolate of not....That looks AMAZING!

No, I didn't meet the Jabbawakeze - it was a skit we did for training. Too bad 2 other campus' had the same idea!

This is the Ogden Admissions Team!

No Place Like Home for the Holidays!

There is no place better than Utah during the holidays! So many fun family activities! Here is just a little of what we got to do in December as a family. Since it was especially cold this year, Karsen stayed home with Rick and Ryker and I got a lot of quality time. I tried to remember to take pictures at each event but, sadly, missed out on a few. Here are a couple highlights:


This year when I pulled out my ornaments to decorate the tree I noticed that there were several I didn't recognize. For the life of me, I couldn't remember them! Until finally I got to a couple that I remembered giving my Mom in Christmas' past. She must have somehow snuck them in with my other ornaments. It meant so much to me that I left my tree a little more bare this year with just lights, ornaments and the star. I loved my tree this year!


I have been slowly collecting each piece of this nativity set with the help of my Mom. She gave me most of it for Christmas last year. I love this set and wanna get the last couple pieces so next year it can be complete.

For the last 6 years I have been building my Christmas Village. Each year I add on a new building. I'm thinking that in the next couple years I'll have to find a new spot for it.

I got to escape on one of my days off from work and take my niece Lily to the movies for her Birthday. We saw Arthur Christmas, ate pizza and candy and I loved getting to spend some one on one time with her. I think I'll make this my new tradition for the nieces and nephews birthdays, I love spending time with family!

There is a park in Ogden that turns into Christmas Village the day after Thanksgiving. It was a little too cold to walk around so we went and saw Santa then rode the train around the block and called it good.

This is Ryker on the train, I love his "smiley" face!


Karsen is now 8 months old, says Mamma and scoots EVERYWHERE! He is still so happy and playful, loves to cuddle and is pretty dang spoiled!

Ryker was sagging his pants and looked like a little gangster. I told him to show me a peace sign and he did this - I guess he's a little OG!

This month I also took the boys to our ward Christmas breakfast, went on a horse carriage ride through the lights at Willard Bay, made a yummy Christmas Eve dinner and spend a lot of quality time with my family. Believe it or not, I'm still not caught up with the month of December so keep checking back, I'm getting there!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

For the last 3 years I have been fortunate enough to watch Ryker sing with his classmates from Operation Happy Kids in their annual Christmas program. At 1 he stood in front of his other classmates and just smiled since he couldn't pronounce half the words. At 2 he sang as loud as possible then ran back to his Mamma as soon as it was over. At 3 - my heart swelled a little - he sat protectively by his little brother and sang every word clearly. Karsen just looked happy to be sitting next to his best buddy and loved listening to the other kids sing.



I know it's hard to see, but yes that's Karsen, trying to get the antlers off his head.


Ryker just giggled when Karsen tried to take off Santa's beard. My little trouble makers!


Karsen loved seeing Santa, but liked the paper even more!


Like I said, he loved the paper.


Ryker had his own present but was happier to clean up Karsen's paper and let him play with his toy. He is such an incredible big brother!

Wendell (Skip) Adams

After a very long night of black Friday shopping, and not as much rest as I needed, I woke up and checked my email. I had an email from my Aunt Cheryl letting me know that my Dad had turned for the worst and wasn't doing well. I had known for about 3 weeks that he was sick but was amazed at how fast his cancer moved. No sooner had I closed my email that my brothers Jared and Jesse called me to let me know that my Dad had passed.

I have not been fortunate enough to have a close relationship with my Dad for the last 20 years, but I am very thankful that I did get to talk to him before he passed and both of us got to say some of the things we wanted to say. I was very young when he left but I do still have some great memories of family camping trips, road trips, hiking, horse back riding and quality family time. Finding out that he had passed was harder than I anticipated - especially so close to losing my Mom.

This has been a tough year - one I will be tremendously relieved when it is over! But I am thankful my parents are out of pain and no longer suffering. I will keep them in my heart always!

Thanksgiving

This year was a little weird for me. Rick's family needed to celebrate Thanksgiving on another night due to work schedules and my family was giving priority to in-laws. This left us nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. So... I decided to step up and start making memories for my own little family. I cooked the entire Thanksgiving dinner...all...by...myself! The only problem? I'm used to cooking for a large group - not 2 adults and a picky 3 year old.

Mom's Famous Candied Yams - lightly burnt.


Yummy green bean casserole.



Turkey wrapped in bacon - I know, it sounds weird - but SUPER DELICIOUS!


Chocolate/Peanut Butter pie and Banana Cream pie

After dinner I got really brave - I mean REALLY brave.......I started black Friday shopping at 7 PM! I hit Michael's, Old Navy, and Shopko and was done by 1 AM. Unfortunately - the one thing Rick really wanted was at Big 5 and they didn't open until 5 AM. So I sat in my jeep watching movies and trying to keep my eyes open! Talk about true love! So proud to say I made it through and Rick got his inversion table. This was my first all nighter in a very, very, very long time. And, hopefully my last all nighter for a very, very, very long time!

My Christmas Story

So, to say this has been a tough year is probably a bit of an understatement; to say that it has been hard to get in the Christmas spirit is even more so. But I want to share a story because it has reminded me the true meaning of Christmas and helped me feel Christ love this year.

For those of you who knew my Mom, I truly hope you got to be around her at the holidays. She LOVED Christmas and thoroughly spoiled everyone. Every year we would yell at her and tell her she didn't need to do so much; but I can't tell you how much I looked forward to opening my new Christmas ornament from her every year. It usually had something to do with where we were at in our lives that year, she took special care in picking out every ornament so that it had special meaning and sentimental value. I look at my Christmas tree now and I can tell a story about almost every single ornament. Without me knowing my Mom snuck in some of her ornaments with mine so this year my story tells a whole different story. In fact, some may say my tree looks pretty empty since it only has ornaments, lights and a star this year. But every time I look at it I feel like I have a piece of my Mom with me.

Anyway, that was just to give you a little background - that is not my story. My story started at my niece and nephews birthday party. I was talking to my sister-in-law Brittany and we were discussing how sad it was that everyone feels so disconnected since my Mom passed and that it feels like not much effort has been put in (by anyone) to spend time together. I don't think we had even discussed the idea of getting together for the holidays. Brittany and I decided that Mom would probably turn over in her grave if we didn't do something for Christmas so we were going to plan something. And that was the end of the discussion. Nothing was planned.

About a week later I started thinking about it again as I was going through some old papers. I thought it would be a lot of fun to have a party and invite "Santa" for the little kids; I really wanted him to give each of the grandkids their ornaments that year. Right then I found a coupon for $15 off a visit from Santa at your family Christmas party! Instantly the thought hit me - I don't want a Santa that we don't know this year. Everyone's emotions are so raw and I didn't want an outsider there who didn't understand the situation.

That is when things got a little crazy! Ab0out an hour after I put all the papers away and was folding laundry, my phone rang. It was my Aunt Rhonda. Now she is not my biological aunt but I have known here my whole life, she is one of my Mom's best friends, and was by her side the day she passed-away. She told me that she had been thinking about us kids and wondered if we were planning on doing anything for Christmas. I let her know we had thought about it, but nothing was planned. I couldn't believe it when she told me that her husband, my Uncle Kent, plays Santa at Christmas time and they really wanted to be able to do this for us. She then asked me if each parent would buy ornaments for their kids so that "Santa" could give them their ornaments - with love from up above.

My first thought was: Okay, Mom, I'm listening - I got it! But just as quickly I realized that God's hand was in this and that He was aware of us and our hardships this year. At a time when I feel so lonely, and miss my Mom more than I ever thought possible, He found a way to show me that we are all loved. My testimony grew this month and I am so excited for our family party, I hope all of my siblings will be able to feel the same love that I felt.

Mommy and the Boys

A friend of mine that I grew up with in Ogden Valley is starting her photography business and I was fortunate enough to find a few free minutes to get some pictures of the boys. Unfortunately poor Ryker was not feeling good and it was pretty cold the day we met up so it was one of the shortest photo shoots ever; but Amy did a great job and I'm so excited to show off how cute my boys are!! Enjoy!


Karsen - 7 months

Ryker - 3 years old

Best Buddies


Mommy and Karsen


My sweet Ryker

Happy Halloween!

The older my boys get, the funner the holidays seem to be! Ryker is starting to get very in to Halloween and got to pick his costume for the first time. He really wanted to be Thor; I thought it would be really easy to find the costume - not so much! I finally found it online and when I got it Ryker had to put it on right away - then watch Thor! All through the movie he kept asking "Mom, can I pick up cars?", "Mom, can I fly?". LOL!

Karsen still doesn't know what is going on, but I will never miss an opportunity to dress my boys up in funny costumes. Karson was a little dragon and looked adorable with his chubby little cheeks!

Karsen stayed home with Rick while I took Ryker around the neighborhood. At first he was a bit reserved and didn't want to approach a door unless I was with him. After a while he got the hang of it and was running from door to door like a pro! Every time I'd ask him if he was done he would say, "after this house."

Ryker and our pumpkins - pre-carving

My cute dragon- Karsen- 6 months

Mighty Thor - Ryker, 3 years old


My Boys!

Thriller - year 3!

After our salon adventure we made it home in just enough time to shower off, get dressed and run out the door. Totally worth it!! I love Thriller, it gets better every year I swear! The zombies come out before and after the show - and 1 always seems to take me by surprise making me curse very loudly! Sorry to all the people I offended! The dancers are so talented and the show is so well put together. And Tuachan is the perfect background - an outdoor amphitheater in the middle the mountains. We had such a blast - I'm already looking forward to next year.