Yellowstone

We made some new great friends named Stephanie and Peter who are from Iowa and living in Boise for 6 months. They wanted to see some cool sights that Idaho has to offer so we took them to the cabin in Island Park and did a day in Yellowstone. We were greeted by the buffalo that live in the Park and got to see Old Faithful. To end the day we watched the Bears Imax movie then went back for some of Mom's cookin at the cabin. It was a relaxing weekend and it was fun to enjoy the wildlife.

Here comes the sun..

And I think it's here to stay! This whole week it has been at least 70 and sunny so it's pretty safe to say that Spring is here to stay and Summer is coming. Hooray! I am definitely a summer girl and I am finding that Eva will be too. She loves being outside crawling around in the grass, going on walks and going to the playground. I am so excited for warm weather things: the zoo, swimming with Eva in her tiny swimsuit, camping, golfing with Eric, hiking and riding bikes.

Workout Tip: Use your Stroller and burn more Cal

I hope you are enjoying some exercise outside as the weather is getting nicer. And for you moms: You can burn more calories and get a better total body workout by pushing a stroller while walking or jogging rather than not. It is great because you can bring the kids along during your workout, and not only are you using leg muscles, but upper body as well by pushing, especially if you're going uphill. According to a study by ACE, exercise intensity and calorie burn were about 20 percent higher when walking with a stroller at 3 mph than when walking without a stroller.

So don't feel bad if you missed your morning run before your husband left for work. Just enjoy the outdoors with your kiddies and get a nice workout at the same time!

Easter Fun

I love everything about Easter: flowers, warm weather, chocolate, family time and most importantly, it is a humbling time to ponder our blessings and have gratitude for Christ's atonement.

We had a wonderful weekend with Eric's family in town. Saturday the boys went golfing while the girls and kids went shopping and to lunch at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine where we ate bugers and sweet potato fries in this old car. Easter morning Brenner dyed the most lovely, glittery eggs. Then we had an easter egg hunt in our tiny backyard. It was hilarious to watch Eva run in her walker and Brenner find an egg then hury to open it before he could look for more. "What's inside, what's inside?" he would say. Then he would give his empty eggs to Eva who took one in each hand and zipped back and forth. Kids make holidays so fun and it's even better when they can spend them with their cousins and grandparents. Thanks for coming guys!

Eva's Poundage, Jeep Drivers Ed and House Shopping

Much has happened since I posted last, especially with Eva. At her 1 year check-up she weighed 15 lbs 8 oz which dropped her from being in the 3rd percentile, to being off of the charts. That doesn't mean much to me anyway if you look at the world and see that people come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just tiny. But I was a little concerned that she had only gained a pound and a half in 6 months and that she all of a sudden became a picky eater. So not only does she look identical to my baby pictures, but she loves carbs, especially cereal just like me. Cheerios are her favorite and she has grown fond of Kix this week too. But she has grown to be independent and wants to feed herself which makes it difficult to get much healthy food in her. But, since she has gotten her two front teeth she is doing much better. So I don't worry so much anymore when I see chewed up raisins in different corners of the house.

Feeding Dad makes mealtime more fun.

I have been too scared to learn how to drive the jeep, but there are some days when I will need to drive it, so I am finally learning. I have never driven a stick shift before and it is very intimidating to me. 10 times Eric just had me practice slowly lifting off the clutch and that alone. Then when I got that down I was allowed to use the gas too. Shifting gears was a differernt story and I'll have to practice that more before I go out on the roads. Yesterday we just went in a circle a hundred times and the old people (everyone in our neighborhood) probably got their naps interrupted each time I would peel out around the corner. I don't catch on to these sort of things easy. Eric's mom drives a harley- I don't know how she does it. I remember being in driver's ed and my teacher was in front of the car I was driving motioning for me to pull forward and park. I did, then instead of braking, I punched the gas and hit the poor man! Needless to say I had to retake both the driving and the written tests! I'll let you know when I'm driving the jeep- maybe you'll want to stay off the road.

We have been renting for almost a year in Boise and now that we know that this is definitely where we will be staying, it is time to buy our first house! Although house shopping is super fun, it's a little tricky trying to decide where we want to live for the next 5 plus years. The good news: interest rates are looking mighty fine right now!

Some random but fun pics:

Skiing at Bogus BasinI love this one because you can just tell how much Grandma Christy loves Eva.

She has fun pulling her self up and walking around the furniture.

Workout Tip: Exercise During Pregnancy

For my friends who have a bun in the oven: keep working out! Exercise can help you have a healthy pregnancy and can also make the delivery easier, shorter, and less complicated (ACE Certified News). You should first check with you doctor before beginning. But usually, if you were physically active before your pregnancy, you can do most of the same activities within reason during pregnancy. And as your belly grows, modify your routine to what is comfortable. Keep in mind that your resting heart rate is faster during pregnancy due to the blood supply going to the uterus and you want to make sure the uterus is getting plenty of blood and oxygen as well as keeping your core temperature stable, so maintain a moderate intensity. Some women prefer not to lay on their backs and if that is the case, you can do most exercises standing or on a ball. Evaluate each form of exercise and rule out any that have risk of:
1. Injury
2. Falling
3. Abdominal Trauma

Cardio that is great during pregnancy:
Walking (jogging if it is comfortable and you are used to it)
Swimming-you feel weightless in the water and it's wonderful! It is easy on the joints too.
Elliptical

Strength Exercises that are great during pregnancy:
Ball Squats (ball up against wall and back against it)
Standing Shoulder Press
Standing Bicep Curls
Crunches on Ball: small crunches are ok to do on a ball in more of a vertical position rather than horizontal. Sit on the ball and roll forward so that your bottom is closer to the floor
Pelvic Lifts on Ball: In that same position as crunches on the ball, lift pelvis up and down. Feels great!
Cat pose: Get on hands and knees. While inhaling, arch the back and exhale while flattening it out. Yoga pose- helps ease lower back pain.
Tail Wags: Sounds funny, but while on your hands and knees move your hips side to side. This eases hip and back pain.
Hamstring Stretch

Click on my link for Fit Mama to see all of my workout tips!

Happy 1st Birthday Eva!

Our Eva girl is 1! She has added so much joy, laughter and meaning to our lives. I feel so blessed to be her mom. She makes me laugh every day with the funny things she does. One of her favorite things is running around the house in her walker. Today she came out from the office and the tray on her walker was loaded with pens, pencils, and markers (and the box they were in dragging inside the walker). Ahh! With a big smile on her face and a little ink on her tongue, she came out to show me what she had found. I suppose I need to follow her around and keep a better eye on her or do a better job at child-proofing. She is an army-crawling champ, but doesn't have a lot of patience and would rather be on her feet. She has been teething- just two so far on the bottom but I think she is getting top ones. She has been a little fussy lately so they must be coming. It's sad, but sometimes amusingly funny to see her get mad. She arches her back and while crying, she rolls her tongue. Eric thinks it's just a sign she'll be an excellent spanish speaker.

I was really looking forward to having a little party for Eva this weekend. My parents and sister were planning on coming and then had to back out at the last minute (for good reasons). I was so sad, so they sent us this beautiful fruit boquet. It was so yummy. Eva took a strawberry in each hand and went to town then she had fun tasting a chocolate-dipped pineapple.

We were glad to have Eric's Dad come stay for a couple days. He came to see us and to have some dental work done. So he had birthday cake with us and got to see Eva dive into her first cupcake after he helped her blow out her candle.

Happy Birthday to my little sweetie!