Some workout thoughts...

First, we are 2 days away from leaving to grab Goober before we head out on our AMAZING RACE...I can't wait to start because everyone around us is talking about it and my kids don't know...so I am making lots of weird sounds and shhhinnng people...its rude I know but I sooo want them to be surprised!!!

I got the oil changed today, the kiddos are packed, camping gear is packed, van is outfitted with books, dvds, games, and a spare tire!!

My Amazing Race binder is completely put together with each days itinerary, all 60 clues, each days reservations printed out and then I have all kinds of paperwork that goes with some of the clues. I also have clipboards put together for each kiddo with trivia about the states we are going to, road trip games, art work and Summer worksheets so that they WILL NEVER GET BORED...hehe.

Goober seems to be having the time of his life. He loved having his Uncle, Aunt and baby cousin to himself for a few days...and then having some time with CC and Papa before he left for Student Camp. Aunt Micah sent me soo many sweet videos of Goober playing with Levi and they both looked like they truly treasure one another. Goober loved playing x-box with Chris, going to the mall and eating pizza and coke with Chris and then being allowed to stay up late and watch TV....dang, he is never going to want to come home to us mean old strict parents :). I just got a video from Chris of Goober being in the front row of a worship time and he was doing all the dance moves and really into it...it made my heart sooo happy for him. We have prayed over him daily....for just 1 friend who loves Jesus hard, for his ears to truly hear from God, for him to be a leader, for him to long and thirst for God's word.

A lot of my running girl friends are gone right now... 1 is in Mexico with her family, 1 is in Switzerland for her job, the other just got a new puppy and is sleeping in due to being up late with him...and then 1 moved. So I have been doing a lot of solo workout this past week. Therefore, I have been listening to a ton of podcast and doing some good praying and soul searching. A few things that I have really been digesting lately are....

1-Having a workout plan before I leave the house is crucial....If I tell myself to climb stairs for 40 minutes then when I want to give up at 25 minutes I push harder to reach my goal. However, if I climb on the stair machine and get winded 25 minutes in I jump off..I didn't have a goal to reach towards. Same with running. When I run with the girls we plan out our mileage the night before....so I have been planning out my workouts so that I have a specific goal to meet....its like that with life too right? Plus, theres nothing like being proud of yourself after a good hard workout.

2-Reward yourself. Guys, I am telling ya, this sauna thing has changed my life. I CRAVE my prayer time in the sauna. I sit, stretch, soak and be still. I have nothing to prove in the sauna, I have nothing to be ashamed of, I have nothing to explain..I just sit in the presence of God ....close my eyes, sometimes turn my palms up as in offering my time and self to God and pray and listen. I do have to remind myself to stay in that mode if my mind wanders but there is nothing better than pushing myself through a hard workout and then releasing my body and spirit in prayer after.

3-If you find you are constantly stressed or don't have enough time in the day...THEN EXERCISE. Its the biggest stress reliever...you can't worry about the 10,000 things you have to do when you are so focused on lifting weights with the right form or running fast to keep up with friends or not falling off the treadmill. Plus, the minute I get home I am SOO STINKIN PRODUCTIVE. Its hard to sit down, I have tons of energy and find that days I don't workout are the most frustrating...at least productivity wise.

Thats my opinion at least.....

My glorious dinner...everyone was gone and I went out to the garden to pick dinner and add 2 fried eggs....it was DELICIOUS!

Everything is ready...clues, atlas for each kid, shirts.....CAN"T WAIT!

Ready for church!

Daddy wanted Sno Cones on Fathers Day and the kiddos were stoked...they got Bahama Mama Ramas-ice cream and sno cone mixed. My sugar free strawberry cheesecake sno cone was QUITE TASTY too!

See the cute kid second from the right...looks like he made friends fast at camp!

He put this together for Levi all by himself!

Ribbit was so proud of herself for the decoration on the outside of Adam's card...if you look close you can see where she calls him her "awfully cute, funny, awesome" daddy!

We got a good one for sure!

Every night...:)

Papa Dan came and picked them up for our school's Lion King Jr. play. They were sooo excited. They got candy, they got to play on his phone and STAY UP LATE!!

Check out Goober's bubble plate-straight out of the kiln...its all kinds of beautiful!!!

Another camper's plate....I am in love with this method!

                                           Papa with his oldest and youngest grandchildren!

Funny story and great memory. I decided to play water taxi with the kiddos. I crabwalked around the shallow end of the pool with one of them sitting on my stomach. I would try to twist and turn to throw them off. If they made it all the way around they had to pay the taxi with a kiss. Then it was the next persons turn. This lasted a good half hour.....Well at one point I dumped off Ribbit and said "time to pay the taxi" and they both jumped on me and were trying so hard to kiss me on the lips....but they were both slippery and wet (as was I) that they were sliding off and would come up out of the water and try again. I was laughing so hard but had to stay in the crab position to hold them both up...I was literally being drowned by my own children who were trying to kiss me but I was sucking water from laughing and going under. A very concerned lifeguard came over and asked if I was ok. I couldn't answer...I finally caught my breath, stopped laughing and then Ribbit cocked her head to the side, looked at me with all seriousness and said "Well that was interesting" and off I was laughing again!!!