Hilton Head, SC {Part 1}

At the end of August we took a nice long family vacation to the beach with some good friends of ours. The plan was to go to Seaside, Florida but had to change locations to Hilton Head, SC because of the hurricane. It ended up great and we had a lot of fun despite the rain we seemed to have a few days. We started off every day with some time on the beach. First day trying to get 4 adults and 4 children all packed up to get down to the beach (which was about a block away) was pretty entertaining. Kids had a blast on the beach! We built sand castles, jumped the waves, chased the birds, and enjoyed throwing sand everywhere (okay Brayden and his buddy Easton did at least :)). In the afternoon the kids would nap and we got to spend some adult, kid free time at the pool. I am so glad we had one right there at the house! All the kids became little fish by the end of the trip. Cami and Emma Grace would count and jump in "together." I am pretty sure they jumped in, swam over to the stairs, and jumped back in a million times. Cami took a few days to figure out the "kicking her legs to swim" and would get pretty frustrated, but after a few days she did a ton better. Brayden would even get on the side of the pool, make some noise that sounded like he was trying to count "1-2-3" and then would jump in (more like step in haha). So all in all it was an awesome trip with tons of great memories!

Wilson County Fair

This was our 2nd year to go to the Wilson County Fair and we had a lot of fun. We rode the Giant Ferris Wheel, we went down the giant slide with Cami (she could of gone down the slide all day if we had let her), went on the Merry-Go-Round, and went to the petting Zoo. Kids had a blast and we look forward to going back next year!

Cami kept on chasing the chickens... it was hilarious!

Just goofing around the house and Papa and Grandma visit

It had rained several days in a row so Cami was getting a little stir crazy... no harm in playing in the rain, right?

such a sweet boy (14 months old)

Cami LOVES to "read"

Finally got a picture of his snaggle tooth

Evertime I would ask him to smile for me he would close his eyes

pucker up :)

"You looking at me?"

Cami and her Papa

Cami adores her grandma

Happy 4th of July

What a fun memorable 4th! For the 4th this year we were invited to go over to our good friends the Reeder's with a few other friends from Devin's work. We were only going to go for a few hours due to nap time, but Cami was having so much fun we decided just to stay and hang out and ended u going to the Mount Juliet Fireworks show as well with the Reeder's.  Their little girl is only 1 year older then Cami and they have become the best of friends and love each other. Whatever one does the other always wants to do and they play amazing together. They also have a little boy that is 5 weeks younger then Brayden. Thanks to him, Brayden finally started clapping! We are very blessed to have friends like the Reeder's in our lives and can't wait for the beach in the Fall!

Cami and daddy doing sparklers!

Sweet daddy did a little firework show for Cami since we didn't think we were going to be able to go see fireworks

She loved the Fireworks {even asked if we could go see them tonight)

Such a cute family!

It's a LifeStyle, not a Diet!

DISCLAIMER: It's a short novel :)

Devin's 29th Birthday Dinner in January (left side) and us in May/June (right side)

So most of you know by now Devin and I have been on a journey the last 6 months to get healthy by exercising more and eating healthier. 6 months ago it would be normal for us to order pizza one night, Mexican the next, and maybe a fatty hamburger or something, also very unhealthy mixed in there somewhere too. We both knew we were getting a little bit bigger than we should be and definitely not eating the way we needed to be, but yet we continued on the unhealthy lifestyle. After seeing a picture of us from Devin's birthday dinner and realizing how big we really were we decided it was time for a change... a BIG change!! Both of us had been relatively thin most of our lives, but I know for me I had been thin because I was on the other extreme of eating too much and just hardly eating or taking diet pills or trying this diet or that. So Devin and I put our heads and hearts together and decided we wanted to do a eating lifestyle makeover and NOT A DIET for not only us but for our children! Let's face it, diets don't stick and pretty much impossible to maintain for the rest of your life. Yes we wanted the instant weight loss and instantly being able to fit back in our "skinny" jeans from 5 years ago, but we knew we wanted this to stick long term. We wanted Cami and Brayden to see us as an examle of how you can eat in moderation and still have stuff you love as long as it is not at every meal and snack. We are 6 months in, still struggle, but both feeling better then we have in years! Many people have asked Devin and me what we have done to make us successful, so here is a little bit of what we have done. It is not rocket science, but it is something you have to commit too. So here we go... For me, I started off with a goal of being in the gym 3 times a week. I quickly found it was hard for me to just go every other day so I started to try to workout 4-5 times a week and found it was a lot easier actually because it was a daily routine. Tracking what I ate was also very key(because I have learned I am not a good judge of calories and thinking something wasn't that bad for me turned out to be VERY bad). So my brother told me about an app on my phone to help me do the tracking and I do feel like I owe a lot of my success to having that as a reminder of where I was at for the day and what that meant I could or could not have that day (aka watching my portions). {side note: Also, thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for being a big source of motivation and encouragement in the beginning. We had many long talks talking through what struggles I faced that day or week or how I was just feeling in general. So a BIG thank you to them and I love you tons.} Looking up calories and nurtition before I went into a restaurant also heled me make better choices and I wasn't as tempted to stray to something unhealthy. The most recent thing we are doing is constantly researching healthy alternatives to foods that we love and to stick to our guts so maybe it won't stick as much :).  And lastly, I have learned to not deprive myself of the treats that I love or else I over indulge. Trust me I still love my Mexican and Pizza!  For Devin just just decided he wanted to loose weight and POOF, it was gone. haha just kidding (although it kind of felt that way haha)... So for him he actually just really watched his portions since that was his biggest struggle. He also is going to the gym 2-3 times a week and doing different exercises. I am so proud of him!

So that is my modified version of what we have done to be successful. I still have about 20 more pounds I want to lose over the course of the next 6-9 months, and Devin only has about 5 more. I know because of the committment we have established it is possible to accomplish these goals. I am SO thankful to have my bestfriend and husband on the journey and to lean on. It seems like when one of us is weak, the other person picks up the slack. Devin and I are not perfect and we still have days we struggle to make the right choices. But, once again it goes back to lifestyle change and one day some of the struggles we have now won't be there. So lastly we just wanted to say we are VERY thankful for the encouragement of family and friends because it has helped more than you know!

(sorry this is so long... lots on my mind about the subject matter lately!)

Brayden is 1 already?!

We cannot believe precious Brayden is already the BIG "1"!! What a year it has been. Brayden is full of energy, smart, loving, lights up a room with his smile and those precious eyes, stubborn, persistent, and strong willed. We are so happy and feel so blessed that God decided to make him part of our family!

For his party we invited some close friends over and Papa and Grandma came up to celebrate with a "Under the Sea" Birthday party. Good thing it was a water party for the kids because it was about 98 degrees that day with a lot of humidity. Thank you to all the parents who endured the heat, you guys made the day extra special. And thank you Papa and Grandma for helping get the party food together, Susan (aka Two Two) for making the birthday cake, and Devin for blowing up all the water toys. We could not of asked for a better way to celebrate precious Brayden!!

 

he absolutely LOVED the cake and dug right in!

Brayden's Dedication

While we were in Oregon we decided to to Brayden's Dedication. It was very special being able to celebrate it with Devin's family since they were not able to be at Cami's. Another thing that made it extra special was that we did it on Mother's Day! Thank you Pastor Kenner for doing the dedication and the church for praying over our precious son. Over the past year I have realized more than ever what a precious gift from God Brayden is to our family. We are truly blessed to have Brayden in our family and can't imagine life without him. Love you buddy!

May 13, 2012

(closest thing to a family photo for Mother's Day and Brayden's dedication :(. I have to get better about remembering to take pictures on these special days)