looking back...

I have loved picking out Hannah's Halloween costumes these past three years. She sure makes her costumes look cute. Now, I get to dress Lia up too...and I can't wait! I love Halloween!

Ouch

I have never been awakened by the pain of a sore muscle, but the other night that is exactly what happened. My calves hurt so bad, I couldn't sleep. I guess I have to go back to the saying, "No pain, no gain." But in my case, I hope it is, "No pain, no loss (weight loss that is)".
Here is to the last week of "The Rage".

The Rage

So, for the last 2 weeks I, along with Amy Crowther, Kara Allen, and Arianne Taylor, have been doing an exercise program called the "Rage, Bootcamp". When I was in high school, I played basketball and softball. I also ran almost everyday while I was in college. However, when I got married, this all stopped and I have gained more weight than I would have liked to. I have tried to get back into shape, but it has been really hard. So, Amy told me about this new program that lasts 4 weeks, it is Monday through Friday, which I thought would be a little difficult, but I thought, let's do it. So we did it, or we are half way through it. Can I just say that I have never worked my body so much in my life! We have a trainer, who pushes us every night. He pushes until you can't do any more. They have changed the way we eat, and it has changed my life. I am losing weight (YAY!) and I have a better knowledge now of why I couldn't lose the weight before. It has given me the edge that I needed and now I can hopefully lose all the weight that I wanted to lose and then stay healthy. I have more energy and I am never hungry, I have eaten more fruits and veggies than I have in a long time and I know that my body is happy. It is great! Thanks Amy, for asking me to go with you!

Shoes

This is one of my first topical blogs, it of course still has to do with one of my children, but it also deals with the obsession of shoes. Personally, I don't have one. I am guilty of still having shoes that I bought in the ninth grade. And, yes, to me they are still in fashion. I think shoe obsession is something we are born with or without, the reason I say this, is my 11 month old baby has a complete obsession with shoes. She is constantly getting in to our shoes and wanting to wear shoes. And today at the store she proved to me that she was born with this obsession. I decided to buy her some church shoes, as she is walking now. As soon and we turned into the shoe isle, her eyes lit up and she got really excited. And then, I picked out some cute, yet simple black church shoes. Well, Lia just went crazy from that point on. Not fully understanding why she got so upset when I put them in the cart, I continued on. She continued to whine. I, all the time thinking she was hungry, just kept pushing on trying to get to the car so I could get her a bottle. She whined all the way to the check-out counter and as soon as she saw her shoes go on that conveyor belt, she flipped. And that is when I understood. So I had the check-out lady ring them up and take the plastic off so we could put them on her feet, and that little shoe girl stopped crying and immediately began to smile with her new, black shoes on foot.

Loss of a loved one

We heard the shocking news today of the passing of my dad's younger brother. I will admit, I have never had a family member that I am close to die before, so this has been more of a challenge than I ever thought. I grew up with my aunts and uncles around. This changed as I grew older, but I will always have happy memories of those times. Now that I am adult, I have come to see that things were not as rosy as I had painted them out to be. My dad's siblings don't always get along and now with the shock of my uncle passing, I think things were left unsaid. Things that should have been said more often, like, "I love you". I am an only child, so I may not understand fully what the sibling relationship is. However, I know that every relationship that we are given on this earth is for our growth and to see how much we can truly love God's children. I am so sad at the passing of my uncle, but I have already seen how my family has come together in ways that I thought weren't possible. I hope that we can all reflect on our relationships with those that we love because we chose to love them and those that God put in our life to love. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Tomorrow just may be too late. I know that the Jesus lives. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that we can be together forever as families. I love my family. I hope they know this. We love you Alan and we will miss you.

Zion Ponderosa Ranch with Gramma and Grandpa

Flavio dancing with our girls at dinner.

We went to a place near Zion National Park for my Mom's birthday last weekend. We had so much fun. Riding 4-wheelers, horse-back-riding, doing a zip-line, hiking and paint-balling. It was beautiful up there and the weather was perfect. We stayed in an amazing cabin, that really seemed like a great, big house. The cabin sleeps 16 very comfortably. It was great hanging out with my family. Our girls love them and love spending time with them.

Bitter-Sweet

So, one of Hannah's favorite people has moved away: Auntie Natalia. I am not sure whether Hannah understands this concept or not...but we sure do and we will miss her. We have prayed for her to get a great job these past months (as she graduated from BYU Law school this last April and right now is a horrible time to have done that, due the economy) but she received an offer last Friday from a Law firm in Las Vegas. We are so happy for her and Luis, but sad for us. We love you Auntie Tala, and will hopefully get to visit often.