Silverwood

A few days ago our family went to Silverwood with friends. It was a great, HOT day...perfect for the waterpark! Our favorite ride of the day was the family raft ride. It took us all day to convince Cole to go on the corkscrew rollercoaster...but he finally worked up the courage. Gracie, as usual...was fearless! She and I had plans to go on all the scary stuff, but since the park was SO packed, we didn't have enough time for everything.

Notice, however, all the "safe" rides, Cole went on...haha. He is NOT a daredevil.

Gracie and I on the ferris wheel

Cole and his buddy

The kids and I have a tradition of always going on the tilt-a-whirl whenever we come across one. We love it! Notice the bandaged finger in this picture? Daddy caught Cole's finger in the power window the day before..haha.

A great family photo of us...yes, we just came off the bumper boats and I was soaking wet!

We ended the day with a late dinner at Red Lobster with our friends. What a perfect day!

Golf

We had a wonderful Friday with our friends Wade and Becky golfing at Circling Raven golf course. What a beautiful place! It was my first real round of golf, and I definately have some work to do. {grin}. I never thought I would enjoy golf, but I really did and can't wait to go again!

Paco and Wade, searching for lost balls (theirs, of course.. Becky and I stayed on the course! haha)

Becky, taking a practice swing

Nice form, honey!

Trying to look like I know what I'm doing?

Luckily, no balls in the water!

Love this one of Paco!

Now, where did that ball go? Is it here?

or maybe over HERE?

My BEST shot of the day!! Can you find my ball?

Hmmm..notice one bottle is full, and one is almost empty?? I believe the one on the left contributed to my great shot in the above photo.

Ummm...Wade? What game are YOU playing?

18th hole, and the clubhouse.

Wade and Becky

The Suttons

We finished the day with dinner in Liberty Lake at a great little bistro. I had the salmon risotto and a lemondrop martini.

That's what I call a perfect day.

A surprise

The last few years , ummm, months,  my husband has listened to me whine about wanting to do more traveling. Honestly, I've been a bit bored with life lately. So, imagine my surprise when I accidentally discovered a BIG (early birthday) surprise he had in store for me! (it really was an accident how I found out, and I felt terrible for ruining it for him).

A trip to Charlottesville, VA to see my sister and her (soon-to-be) husband! I am beyond excited! He was even so thoughtful as to get me a window seat on the plane AND a vegetarian meal. Awwww, honey, you are amazing! My sister was also in on the grand scheme, the little darling.

I'm anticipating lots of wine, sightseeing and hanging with my sis at her new yoga studio, bend. Woot!!

I yak.

Ahhhh...it's been an eventful week. The kiddos and I had a great time at Mt. Rainier with my Dad at the cabin. I will be doing a post about that tomorow night. Be prepared for picture overload!

Last night Amanda and I went on our kayak and wine tour. Maybe you remember back in May when we went on our kayak and luau. So fun! Last night was even better. It was a beautiful evening on the river, and we enjoyed some great food and wine at Bottles wine shop in Millwood.

Look at this crazy slide!!

Amanda and her sister

my Yak buddy

I love this one!

Taking a break for a little vino!

Bottles wine shop

Too bad she only has two hands!

Sampling some chocovino (chocolate wine, similar to a port)

a beautiful way to end an evening!!

Thankful Thursday

I've so many things to be thankful for in my life. Here are a few from this week:

-a nap with Gracie when I had nothing left to give the world
-an amazing boss who lets me put my family first
-sunshine, sunshine, sunshine
-healthy children
-the promise of leaving for the cabin...tomorrow!
-a husband's offer to help when I was feeling overwhelmed
-pretzel m&m's

bend

Yesterday, my sister Kelly opened her new yoga studio, bend, in Charlottesville, VA. I am so proud and excited for her! She specializes in children, pregnant mothers and families. Awesome, huh? If only we lived closer...sniff. Cole and Gracie love yoga and would love it even more if it were Auntie Kelly teaching them! Check out her website!!

I'm groovin

Three months ago, we had our final weigh-in for a weight loss contest at work. All my hard work paid off, and I won my second weight loss contest in a row. I was feeling great, was 65lbs lighter, $550.00 richer and really proud of myself. So, what did I do next?

Fell off the wagon, that's what.

Yep, I gave myself a 2 1/2 month "break". I just couldn't get myself back in the game. I loved the weight loss competition, because I am competitive and that was my source of motivation. After it was over, however, there was no one to compete with or to hold me accountable. I floundered. I stopped going to the gym as often, missed yoga classes, and didn't pay close enough attention to what I was eating. While I have continued with the vegetarian lifestyle, I let too much other junk slip into my diet. (cocktails, anyone? Doritos?)

Then, a few weeks ago, weighing in 11 pounds heavier than I did back in May, I realized that this journey isn't over, and it was time to get back on track. In a way, I'm thankful for the "break", because it was a sharp reminder of how easily I could slip back into old patterns. Maybe I needed that 11 pounds to serve as a smack in the face. Break's over, girl...you've got a job to do. And so I did. Like always, the first few days were the toughest. I realized I still had a goal weight to reach and every day I blew it just pushed my goal further away. I got back to the workouts, yoga, counting points (remember I follow the weight watcher's program), and excercising self control.

 Then, amazingly enough, it got easier. I looked forward to the workouts again, and loved how I felt after a day of really great eating. I fell back into my and it felt great.

I got my groove back.

 I've re-lost the 11 pounds and am on my way to where I want to be. I remain at 65lbs lost and have about 60 left to go. Of course I'll continue to update my "pounds lost" button on my sidebar. I'm over halfway there. I was hoping to have lost 100lbs by mid-October (my one year mark), but given that I "lost" a couple months I may not make it. :)

No matter. I'll get there when I get there. 'Cause Denise has got her groove back.