Week 1 in Photos- July 27- August 2, 2014

I have decided I really need to be better about documenting our lives. I am so good at taking tons of photos on my iPhone but then never doing anything with them. Or I over-share them on Facebook which is annoying. I know a bunch of people are into Instagram- and while I use it sometimes- I really need to just have a place I can document lots of photos each week.

So my new goal is to do weekly photos on here of our lives. We will see how long this lasts- but I would love to do it all year. I have friends who do "Project Life" and while I would LOVE to be able to do the same, realistically I know I just wont follow through like I hopefully will on here!

This was actually from the week prior. Grey and I flew from Wyoming to Philadelphia. I was supposed to be on the same flight as my in-laws who had been visiting us in Wyoming for a week- but there was a bit of a mix up so I flew solo with the boys. They did SOOOOO GOOD!!!!

Thursday July 24, 2014 

Greyson fell asleep on the 2nd plane of the day 

The boys on the 1st of 2 airplanes. They really did so great! 

Aunt Jean was nice enough to pick us up and take us to her house. Owen immediately started playing with his cousins and doctor dress up happened pretty fast! 

Sunday July 27 

Love this little one! 

Grey immediately took to sleeping in bed with his girl cousin's babies. I caught him like this when waking him up from nap this Sunday. He also makes me tuck "baby" in before we leave the room. I guess we are going to have to buy him a baby for Wyoming! It is adorable how paternal he is with the babies. 

Kisses from Victor- Uncle Steve's doggie! 

Monday July 28 

A day before my actual birthday (because the day of was getting a little busy), Owen took my out to the Movie Tavern here in town to see the new Planes Fire and Rescue movie. This place is great because you get to order food to eat while you watch the movie. I had a great birthday date with my oldest! 

Owen's yummy pizza at the movie

Tuesday July 29

Beautiful daisies and mini roses from my husband. He is away for a couple of months so it was extra special to get these from him for my birthday. I keep moving them from the dining room to my room depending where I am because they are so pretty- I want them around me all the time!

My sister sent me a sweet package and one of the contents was a birthday banner. I hung it up in the room I am staying for a little extra cheer! 

My best friend Erin took me out to the Cheesecake Factory- my absolute favorite place EVER to celebrate my Birthday. 

So I am now officially 33 years old. This was a particularly difficult birthday for me because (once again) my husband and I are apart for it  (darn military - said with a smile), and I just really wanted him around. I am here visiting with friends and family who did a great job of making me feel special- I just really missed my husband. We will also not be together for our 8th anniversary of marriage and HIS birthday. Not my favorite time for him to not be near us. Not that there IS ever a good time.... This just seems to happen more years than not. Ok, pitty party over!  :) 

Wednesday July 30

Grey loves to play dress up and can be found most days with a random hat or pair of shoes! 

Thursday July 31, 2014 

On Thursday we spent the day at Erin's in-laws amazing new pool.

Underwater shot of Owen, Papa and Evan 

Owen was so great in the water. I was so impressed! 

Greyson was a little less sure about the water- but by the end of the day he was letting me take him to the deep end to pretend to be a shark chasing Owen. Most of his time though was spent in the shallow shelf area checking it out himself. He LOVED the pool! 

Owen about to go down the great water slide! He love this thing and did not even mind going under water like he normally would have. The trip to the pool was definitely great for his confidence. We plan on going back next week! 

After they were tired of swimming all of the boys enjoyed some swinging time 

Grey riding his first big boy swing (without the sides of a baby swing! He loved it! 

Friday August 1, 2014 

Friday was finally a low key day. I feel like we had been go go go for a while so it was nice to not have any plans and to just hang around the house. We were all exhausted still from swimming! 

Grammy (Amy's step mother) sent a package with tons of stickers and activity books for all of the cousins. 

Showing off his new big boy backpack that we just ordered and had monogram ed from LL Bean. We also got the matching lunch box. Owen loved them both and felt like a pretty big deal! 

Cousin love early this morning!!! 

Saturday August 2, 2014 

It is so hard getting all 6 cousins looking in the same direction, smiling. But we sure tried! 

It is even harder when we put them all up on the play gym. Poor Mila was just not a happy camper! 

Grey really is enjoying swinging on the "big boy swing" 

The girls. My nieces and me!

The kids and I have had a really nice week traveling from Wyoming to PA. Our time here in PA has been really great so far. I am looking forward to a couple more weeks of fun!!! 

Advocare 24 Day Challenge Results/ My weight loss journey

***Please read to the end, I posted before and after pictures***

I am know I am super late posting this- but I am so happy to say that I lost 10lbs and many inches doing this plan.It ended a couple of weeks ago and I have lost about 5 more. So 15lbs in the last little over a month. It really did jump-start me (and my husband who lost almost 20lbs) into a healthier lifestyle.

I found the Advocare 24 Day challenge super easy to follow with the easy instructions to follow. They really walk you each step of the way. Included is even meal suggestions on how to get the best results. I also spent a ton of time on Pinterest researching "clean eating" and "Advocare 24 Day Challenge Eating Plans" to look for recipes my whole family would love. It really was a pretty easy process. Probably the easiest thing I did for my body, and I continue to do, is drink a ton of water. During the challenge I really tried to drink a gallon each day. Since then I am drinking about 65oz each day. I find it not only curbs my appetite, but it also makes my skin look better and makes my body feel overall better!

The program  has been over for a couple of weeks now and I am still continuing to lose weight. Like I said before- at least an additional 5-8lbs. I am currently on vacation and I wont weigh myself again until I get back to Wyoming! But I am really really happy with my current size which I have not been able to say in a REALLY long time.

Since November I have lost 35lbs and I am SO SO SO proud of myself!!! I normally would never post a pictures like this of myself- but this is so motivating to me! I do not have a great photo when I was at my heaviest because I avoided the camera as MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Pardon the nose injury in the 2nd picture. I had just gotten stitches after an injury on the Wyoming Ice!

Here are a couple of photos of when I was at my largest.This was last November. Even at the end of November, so I had probably already lost 5 or so pounds. Just seeing this makes me cringe!!! I really had to search hard for these photos because I really avoided the camera during this time. I was so embarrassed about my size!



I gained 40lbs in a very short amount of time- mostly due to a medication I was put on in October. There were some other circumstances sure, but the medication was the main factor. It was given to help with my insomnia but they also give it to anorexic patients to hold onto weight- not a side effect that was discussed with me first. Not a great side effect and after the 28 days on it was DONE!!! Unfortunately the weight did not come off as quickly as it came on!

These pictures (which again I can not believe I am posting!) were taken June 16th the day we began our 24 day challenge. Like I said, I lost at least 10lbs (on this 24 Day Challenege) and MANY more inches. My energy level went way up and I just feel better all around!

And this picture was taken on Sunday July 27, 2014- a couple of days ago. Sorry for the not so great  great quality. My sister in law gave me this amazing bathing suit and I am just really proud of how far I have come!

I am really proud of myself and I can not to lose even more- but mostly I am excited about this healthier lifestyle I have started.

Please let me know if you want any more information!

You can check out my Advocare Website here- https://www.advocare.com/140613876/default.aspx

Or for more information on the 24 Day Challenge go here: https://www.advocare.com/140613876/24DayChallenge/Default.aspx

Cha-Cha-Change!

Over the next few weeks I will be participating in an Advocare 24 day Cleanse/Challenge . It is just time for a change. Last Fall I gained 40lbs in a very short amount of time. Since I have been able to loose about 20-25 (depends on the day) of it, but I still want to lose that last 15!

I am super excited to chronicle my time doing the challenge- the good, the bad and the ugly!! I promise I will not try to hardcore promote these products- but it is something I believe in 100%! I believe in the products so much that I decided to become a distributor as well!

I have never been someone to struggle with weight. I have always been able to eat pretty much whatever I want and stay between 120-130 which has been a good place for me. However, after 2 kids my body composition has just changed!

I have heard of these fad “diets” before and I have always been super suspicious. No sugar? No processed food? NO WAY! But now I realize I really need a change. I am sleepy ALL THE TIME. I am a chronic Pepsi drinker. I eat a ton of processed food.

This is what made me start looking deeper into the 24 Day Challenge by Advocare. I have had friends who use/sell Advocare for years but I never truly looked into it. After doing my research and praying about it, I decided this was the plan for me!

It is really about a lifestyle change! The 24 Day Challenge is the perfect jump start to this!

The 24 Day Challenge is broken up into 2 Phases: The Cleanse Phase and the Max Phase.

AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge: Days 1-10 Cleanse Phase

The first ten days are about cleansing your body of toxins and preparing for optimal nutrient absorption, and you may enjoy weight loss as well!

• Herbal Cleanse-Citrus: helps to cleanse and detoxify your body.

• OmegaPlex: essential fatty acids for increased overall wellness.

• AdvoCare Spark: nutritionally-advanced energy

AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge: Days 11-24 Max Phase

Give your body the best tools you need to achieve your next weight management goal during days 11-24!

• Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS): Your choice of

Max C+ for maximum appetite control,

Max E+ for maximum energy, or

Max 3 for appetite control and overall wellness.*

• Meal Replacement Shake – Complete nutrition in a great-tasting shake!

• AdvoCare Spark: nutritionally advanced energy

 

Each AdvoCare Products 24-Day Challenge includes:

• One box of Meal Replacement Shakes

• One box of Herbal Cleanse

• One bottle of OmegaPlex

• One box of AdvoCare Spark – Choose Flavor

• One box of AdvoCare Spark – Choose Flavor

• Your choice of one box of MNS Max 3, C, or E 

In addition to using the Advocare Products I will also be adhering to these guidelines. I am a little nervous about putting these restrictions on myself, but I know this is the start of a great, healthier lifestyle!



I am starting this challenge next Monday- June 16,2014. I will be sharing before and after photos on here as well as my assessment of the products, meal plans and other updates. I am so excited about this journey!!! Please let me know if you have any questions about this process!

Big boy!!!

I have not posted in so long!!! We celebrated Owen's 5th birthday back in February! I will do a post soon with lots of photos- but he had a great time.

We recently spent some time with family in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It was so nice to spend some time outside of Wyoming! I love it here, but I definitely enjoyed the lack of wind and snow for a bit!

We had some amazing family photos taken by my very talented friend Kris!

I am so excited to have an updated picture of our little family! The boys have gotten so big! 

Speaking of big.. guess who went to Kindergarten Roundup this week??? THIS GUY! 

I can not believe he will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall!!! He was so excited to see the classes and meet the new teachers! He is most excited to "ride the school bus!"