Biking ALL Day

This is what Tate wants to be doing every minute of every hour of every day!
He LOVES riding a bike, and he's getting good at it too!

Gardening = Simple Pleasures

We woke up this morning to behold that our tomato plant now has fruit! There are tiny green balls covering the plants.
This Bush bean plant amazes me. Last night, the plant had not yet appeared above the soil. When we awoke this morning, it was nearly 2 inches tall!
I couldn't help but take a picture of my favorite thing to grow-squash. It grows so quickly and is such a lovely plant.
And last but not least, here's a picture of some flowers in my flower garden.

I love having a garden! It not only beautifies the backyard, but it brings happiness and provides me with an escape from demanding daily routines.

(This season we planted zucchini, crookneck squash, watermelon, bush beans, bell peppers, cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, and lots of flowers.)

Reflections of Christ

Have you all been to the Visitor's Center lately? I actually went to mutual last night (I'm so bad about going consistently), and we went there. It was totally awesome! I really enjoyed the "Reflections of Christ Exhibit." Tate & I went a couple months ago, but it was so much better this time without the distraction of watching him and keeping him quiet throughout. I totally recommend going if you can, but for those of you who live out of state and can't, you can check out the slideshow of all the pictures HERE. It's about 5 1/2 minutes and is totally worth watching!

This is my very favorite picture in the exhibit. I LOVE the emotion and joy that it depicts!

52 Blessings-Week 1

I decided to begin a new scrapbook dedicated to my many blessings. Every week I plan on making a new page for it, and in a year I'll have a total of 52. Although I think that I want to make my scrapbook with double page spreads (The first for the picture of the blessing and the second for an explanation of the blessing.)

My first page is of President Monson (16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.) It was inspired by General Conference that was held this weekend.

New Accomplishment

Tate always wakes up at 6:30 sharp, not dependant on what time he goes to sleep. He could go to sleep at midnight, and he'd still wake up at the same time. Me on the other hand, I need my sleep. I especially LOVE to sleep in and could sleep all morning if I didn't have to wake up. I always wake up to see Bryan off to work in the morning (which is sometimes very early) and then I TRY to go back to sleep. It doesn't always happen, but if I do go back to sleep then it's really hard to wake up again. This morning being a Sunday, I was exhausted from a long week and Tate couldn't wake me up for anything. So, he got his own cereal. He actually did very good. Here's how I found him...

Lucky for him and mostly for me, there was only about 1/2 cup of milk left in the jug so he was able to pour it easily without making too big of a mess!

(Did you notice the HUGE scab on Tate's forehead? He tripped earlier this week while playing in the backyard and banged and cut his head on the patio pillar. Thankfully my neighbor is a nurse and they had some liquid stitch (glue) and they fixed it right up!)

Biggest Loser Contest

My family is doing a biggest loser contest this month. Here are the basics and rules of the game. I thought I would share it with you in case your family would like to try it too!

Purpose- To lose weight and have fun with some competition

Time Period- We are doing a 1 month time period, but depending on how much everyone would like to lose, you can do longer. But keep in mind that it may be more motivating to do it for a shorter period of time

How to Play-

• Give or mail a set amount (in our case $10) joining fee to a designated person in charge of collecting $. They will be in charge of distributing it to the winners at the end.


• Weigh in on the designated morning of the first day prior to showering, before eating/drinking, after using the bathroom, and without clothing. (It is recommended that you use a digital scale) *Please be 100% honest when weighing in as this is essential to the game! When weighing in, please note that we will be rounding up when it comes to pounds (ie. 1.1 pounds=2 pounds)
  
• Each player will need to establish their own personal method of weight loss throughout the month.


• Weigh in on the morning of the last day with the same stipulations as the first weigh in. There will be 2 winners, and an equal prize given to each of them. (It CAN possibly be the same person). The winners will be determined by the following; who loses the most pounds & who loses the most percentage of their initial weight.


• In order to keep this game more fair, someone needs to be in charge of figuring out every one's weight percentages and so that there is at least one witness. Please email your initial weight sometime on the starting day and then your ending weight on the last day to a designated person (If desired a 3rd party so as not to disclose weight to family members).


• Because this is a weight loss game, nobody should actually be gaining weight throughout the game. If however, your initial weight is less than your ending weight, you will need to pay $5 per pound gained. You do have the option of quitting the game instead, which will cost you a total of $10


• NO WEIGHT LOSS PILLS WILL BE ALLOWED! NO SAUNAS ON THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH! IF YOU THINK THAT SOMETHING IS NOT FAIR, IT PROBABLY ISN'T SO DON'T DO IT!!! There will be NO CHEATING tolerated. If anyone is found to be cheating, they will not be allowed to play further, and will still be forced to pay their joining fee.
  
  

We started on April 1st. It's been fun but hard so far. I think that I just like food too much! Yesterday was especially hard since my friend Olga taught me how to make Chimichangas. I just had to eat the entire thing! YUM!!
If YOU do decide to try the Biggest Loser Game with your family, then I'd LOVE TO HEAR how it goes for you.

Sad Sad Sad Day

I NO LONGER have a camera! Crazy, but I've been using Bryan's work camera when I could this whole long time, and now his work unexpectedly and out of the blue asked for it back... And as you all know, my blogging is mostly pictures. So I'm very sad to say it but until I get a new camera, my blogging is just going to be inconsistent and on a when I can basis. I seriously never thought this day would come!