Leaves are falling all around...

Welcome to Maple Canyon. 

 It is a beautiful spot to take kids on their day off from school.

 To walk on the colors of fall.

 And explore the wonder of nature with friends...

 ... and family

 Up hills, over stream beds, through quiet glens...

 until you reach your magnificent destination; a natural stone archway.

 What fun it is.

 Others find the place magical as well and use the natural footholds to touch the sky!

 What a great place to go exploring.

We sure had a great day!

(Nelson some how escaped having a closeup done!)

Utah State 4-H Horse Show

Last weekend was a fun whirlwind of family, and horses! Thursday evening we left for Ogden, Utah home of the Golden Spike arena. It was a busy day and in the rush I forgot a few things (luckily not a child).

Deric was super smart and suggested we bring Wally's trike... this kept him happy most of the time which made all the rest of us very happy.

 He also suggested we bring our wagon, another great idea. We did a lot of walking and the kids enjoyed pushing and pulling each other around.

 Jessica did amazing. This was her first state show and it was Duke's first show (he is a hunting horse).

 Roy fell asleep in the wagon both days.

 This is Jess doing the "trail" event. She had to do a 360 degree turn with Duke in this little box!

 Big smiles during the showmanship!

 Sam got to ride too!!

 This is a speed event called quadrangle.

 Making new friends.

 Waiting to run the poles event. I love the activity in the background... lots of girls were warming up waiting for their turn. I also love that Deric is standing there with her. He was at her side the entire weekend!

 The poster the county Horse committee made for our girls!

 Showing off the county t-shirt!

 This picture is a sad one. Jess is crying. The horse is refusing... he just didn't want to go around the barrel. He was finished at this point, it had been a very long two days. But Jess didn't give up. She worked at each barrel until he would finally relent and go around it.  She MADE him go around all three barrels, a task that was taking most girls around 20 seconds took Jess over 2 minutes... but she never gave up. I was so proud of her. So was the rest of the audience, they all clapped as the finished and the the gate person gave her a high "five". It was a hard life lesson but I am glad she finished, she is too!

 

Part of the fun on Saturday is the painting and glittering of the horses. Some kids go all out!

 

 Cleaning up the big boy after a LONG weekend!

 At the very end Roy tried pulling everyone in the wagon. He was successful too, he pulled them all over the place. My baby is getting so big!

Nice day for a walk!

It is a nice day to take my brother for a walk!

... or for a drag, what ever works!!

Summer Fun 4th of July

I titled this "summer fun" first because the 4th of July was almost a month ago! I hope you all had a wonderful day. We sure did!

Deric woke up bright and early and drove to Provo to hold a prime spot for us on University Ave. He got there at 6am for the Parade that starts at 9am!  The kids and I drove up an met him there. Two of Deric's brothers , my sister in law and a bunch of the cousins met us there too! It was a good parade, long but entertaining! 

 

We love this flag that stands for freedom, and are so grateful for the men and women who have worked and still work to keep it that way.

  

Every one was red whit and blue for the occasion!

 

I guess the boys were mostly blue!!

 The girls even painted their nails the night before!

 

I just loved this picture... this little guy really enjoyed the fire trucks!

Scandinavian Festival 2013

Our family lives in Ephraim, which has a rich Scandinavian heritage. So, every year on Memorial Day Weekend they hold a festival to honor and remember their ancestors.  This year we participated a lot in the festivities. 

Sam and Sarah practiced for a few weeks and performed Scandinavian children dances both Friday and Saturday.

 On Saturday I got up early and ran in my first 10k. My entire family was a sleep so there are no pictures of me in my floresent green shirt with a running viking on it!! (so sad!)

Then we go ready and went to the parade. This crew is anxiously awaiting the parade... and the candy everyone throws!

 Can you see Jess marching with the band!?

 Roy spotted her!

 Sarah and Sam got to ride in the parade too!

We had a great day full of face painting, yummy food, bounce houses (all traditional of course!), and fun with friends and family.

Fathers Day Monkeys!

This year we sent out cards to a few of the dad's in our life with these pictures and a caption that said...

Weight loss? A journey.

Lately I have noticed many people I know posting on Facebook their personal success and failures with weight loss and physical health. I often go to post things that I too am struggling with and or succeeding with and for some reason I always back out at the last minute.

Weight loss for me has been an ongoing battle for... well, as long as I can remember. Last summer was the breaking point for me. I got home from a fabulous vacation in NH and I could hardly bear to look at the photos of myself. This is what I saw...

In my horror I started to loose and did fairly well. I would take some off and put some back on. My continued failure was wearing on me. I felt like I was trapped in the body of someone else.  Then 10 weeks ago I did an 8 week weight loss challenge. I also did a two week triathlon (you complete an Iornman triathlon but you have two weeks to complete it all), a 5k, a sprint triathlon, and a 10k. I exercised about three hours a day and ate better than I have ever before. I lost 42lbs in those 8 weeks (and 19 inches)!!! I am also stronger and feel better than I have in a LONG time. I am hooked now too, I LOVE triathlons. I have already signed up for one this month (an olympic leangth!) I am actually down just over 60 lbs from the above photo!

I mostly want to express that I know with hard work and determination many things are possible. I also feel that my journey to better health was strengthened when I prayed. With His help, all things are possible!

This all being said, I still struggle, a lot! Some days are good and others bad, but it is worth the effort to feel better and to have more energy for my family. Now I have about 25 more pounds to go, my goal is to have it gone by the end of the summer.

*I obviously have a hard time sharing this... It has taken me two weeks to actually post this on my blog!!