LUI - Update

So for lighten up Iowa, in the Fort Dodge area, we are currently ranked 13th in the weight loss division and activity minutes division! I am pretty proud of our team for that! There are 68 teams competing the Fort Dodge area! And I had a great week last week, I lost another two pounds, so I am down a total of twelve!! The activity part is harder for me, but I am working on it! Again, any encouragement or good motivators that anyone has, they're always welcome! Oh, one more thing...I started reading a book from my sister, "The Beck Solution Diet, How to Think like a Thin Person". It has some great ideas that I am trying to put into practice!

Fun in the Snow

Its winter in Iowa!! Well it doesn't feel too much like it today! It is about 40 degrees and a metly mess everywhere! It was nice all weekend so we got out and played in the snow! Saturday we went to Des Moines to find Kyle some new boots for his snowboard (that i got him at a garage sale last summer for $20!) and we ended up getting him a new snowboard (and bindings, boots, goggles!). So we had to try it out so we stopped in Dayton at schlice hill(no clue how to spell it). It was fun to go there and think about sledding when I was a kid! Kyle had a good time. Not as fun as somewhere with a lift and bigger hills! But hey he got to try out his new toy! And then on Sunday we took our sleds and Kyle's new "toy" out to Kennedy Park here in town. Wow! A ton of people were there. It was fun to watch the all the kids, there were a bunch of crashes too! Kyle snowboarded a little, but it was hard with that many kids, he was afraid of taking someone out! Abby was with both days and she had a lot of fun playing in the snow! It was a fun weekend! Hope everyone has a great week!

Abby on top of a snowpile in our yard! She loved to climb to the top!

Kyle at the bottom of the hill in Dayton! I think he was excited about his new board!
Abby and I ran to the bottom of the hill to meet Kyle!
Abby digging in the snow. Its funny to watch, she just goes nuts digging away!
Now we're at Kennedy, Kyle getting ready for his first run down!
A closer view of his new board! It's pretty sweet!

Blowing me a kiss on the way down!

Us! It was a great day to be outside!

Abby playing in the snow! I think she was pretty cold by the end of the day!

A view of the lodge at Kennedy, it was pretty full!

The hill at Kennedy, it was busy!!

Lighten Up Iowa

So for the 2nd year in a row my sister & I are on a Lighten Up Iowa team with a friend, JoAnn. We are competing the in weight loss & accumulate activity minutes divison! Last year I have to say I wasn't 100% successful. I did log about 5000 minutes of activity, but only lost about 5 pounds overall. I have a hefty goal this year. I want to have 7000 activity minutes and lose about 35-40 pounds! I am already on track, so far since the 1st of January I have lost 8 pounds! So I just need to keep the scale going in that direction....down! So anyway, I just wanted to share this and any encouragement that anyone has is always welcome!

Nice Shoes Duane!

I just had to share this because it is pretty funny! Mom & Duane were over at our house on Sunday and Duane was going out for a smoke and said his boots took too long to put on so he slipped into Mom's shoes. Little did he know that I was prepared when he came back in with my camera!! Quite funny! Him & Mom are headed south now to South Padre Island where they will be spending a month or so! The Harley's, the dog, and everything! Keep them in your prayers as they travel.

Christmas

I know this posting is late, but I still wanted to put up our pictures from Christmas! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and made some great memories!!

Christmas w/Abby! She got a bone!

She wasn't too sure about it at first....but now you can hardly get that bone from her!

Christmas Eve at Mindi & Preston's house. Brian, Christine , Nathan, Grandma, & me.

Nathan & Grandma

He is quite the goofball....& he loves Oreo Salad!! (can you tell?!?)

Grandma opening her gift, we got her a digital camera!

Nathan got "Ben Ten" toys....wasn't really sure what "Ben Ten" was, but it was a successful gift!

Angela got a straberry shortcake girl on a snowmobile!

Dad opening his toffee! He was quite interested in the box!

Christmas morning at Mom's house. Here is Kyle picking his lotto ticket! He actually won, $12! This was the first year we had a winner!

This was my ticket...it was a dud.

Maya passing out the numbers for the white elephant Mom put togheter! We hadn't done it before with my family, but it was fun!

Mindi & Preston with their "white elephant" gifts!

Wendi & her "white elephant" gifts....she loves chocolate so she was happy!

Duane got a flashlight & PB cups...but I stole it from him 'cause I wanted the PB cups!

Wendi got a new flat iron...this wasn't a white elephant gift! We drew names again this year, I had Wendi's name.

Preston had Kyle's name and.............he got an iPod!!! He was pretty excited! Mindi actually won it from a radio station! But it was still awesome that they gave it to Kyle!

Pam, Mom, & Maya opening Maya's gift. It was a puzzle! She still doesn't too excited about opening gifts, next year she will be though!!

Pam & Maya opening another gift, we got her a learning book that makes noises!! I am sure Pam & Jeff appreciate the "noisy" gifts!! ;)

Mom had Duane's work coat embroidered, he loved it!

Mom & her new sweater from Duane!

Florida Trip

This year I had the opportunity to take my Grampo (pronounced Gram-poo) to Florida. We had a good trip and we were able to stop at Stef & Geoff's on the way. And it just so happened that it was Stef's birthday too! So we got to celebrate together!

Stef, the B-E-A-UTIFUL birthday girl!

Hanging out on the couch!
Grampo - he was cold!
Stef's Christmas trees! I love her fireplace!
Geoff played & sang for us!

Happy Birthday Stef!

The cake Grampo & I picked for Stef!

I brought Larita's cookies....they are Stef's favorite!

Kyle put Stef's birthday on the Wendy's sign, so I, of course, had to take a picture!

Our Christmas Tree

Last year after Christmas we bought a new Christmas tree. It is a pre-lite one and I love it! It was quite a bit bigger than our other one, so I had to find a new place for it! I went with a new color scheme this year, teal & silver!! I like how it turned out! You can't see too well, but there are really neat silver letters that spell out PEACE under the tree, but I think Abby had gotten into them!! :)