Jillian Michaels 30 day shred

So, today is my birthday. For my birthday I'm going to officially commit to doing the Jillian Michaels 30-day shred. I'm opening this up to anyone who wants to do it too. I know Amanda is on board. I think you're supposed to do it everyday for 30 days. I'm going to skip Sundays, so it will be the 34 day shred. You need light hand weights and I think that's all. I bought the DVD for $7 on Amazon, or it's $15 at Borders and there's a coupon for $5 off in my email if someone wants it.

Who's in?

Little Boy's Creativity

We were at Ikea and found this mobile thingy. I bought it for Jack thinking that he could hang his artwork or toys from it. He had other ideas.



There are exactly 16 clips on the mobile. Turns out... Jack has exactly 16 pairs of underwear.

Cascade Springs- a calamity of errors

So, it's Sunday and Jack doesn't want to go to church. I mean REALLY doesn't want to go. Full tantrum and crying. I told him if he went we would go somewhere he would like after church. (bargaining) He said that he wanted to go back to the waterfall (Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon) and this time ride bikes by the waterfall. I said, "ok."

After church I was thinking that Provo canyon was a bit far. We live very close to American Fork Canyon. Surely there is something we could see there. So I went online, on my phone, and looked it up. Sure enough, Cascade Springs. Just go up AF Canyon and follow the signs. Sounds easy. Done.

We load up both the kids' bikes. Now there's no room for the stroller. No prob I'll just carry the baby in the front pack. We head out and it starts to thunderstorm. I've noticed, since living here, that the storms don't last long, so we persevere. We start up the canyon and the storm is already petering out. Every sign we see, we check for Cascade Springs. Nope... not yet. Keep going. Oh, now we're at the Alpine Loop, a one car road that goes from American Fork Canyon to Provo Canyon. "Should we go back kids?" "NO! Keep going" I have to mention that it's kind of sketchy on that road. Especially when you meet someone coming down, like a truck. Like the part where you're driving next to a cliff with no guardrail. I loved that. So... we drive for another 20 minutes and then see a sign "Cascade Springs 7 miles." Do we turn back? NO! We've come this far, what's another 7 miles?

We finally get there and the first thing we see??? A sign that says "No Bikes." Great-- now Jack's upset. I also realized that I didn't bring the camera, so all of the pictures are taken with my cell phone. Arrgh.


Cascade Springs is an Artisan Spring. It is where the groundwater meets up with the ground. It's crazy. There is so much water and it doesn't appear to come from anywhere.





We walked all over. The kids really liked it and it was very beautiful. Totally worth the hour drive. Just next time, I'll ditch the bikes and bring the stroller. My arms and back were killing me.



I asked a couple of people if there was a faster way to go home... Like maybe just continue on to Heber and drive from there. Uh... no. The way we came was fastest they said. Lucky I brought a bottle just for the ride home so Hudson wouldn't scream. As it was he didn't start screaming until we were about 2 miles from home. We hurried.

We are here.... we are here... we are here

We are finally here and trying to establish some semblance of a routine. We arrived late on a Saturday, much thanks to Anne, Andrew and Danielle who helped us get here. The Elder's Quorum helped us unload and the bishop brought us dinner. We appreciated all of that because we were really tired. We unpacked for a few days and then headed to Idaho to spend 4th of July with Brian's family. It was nice to see everyone. The boys rode their motorcycles everyday. They can just ride around Brian's mom's house, pretty much unattended.

Amanda and Tyler made the very long trek from Tucson to spend the holiday with us. It was great to spend time with them. Tyler went shooting with the boys the first night they were there. Brian and his brother weren't expecting much from the city boy. There was none of the requisite bragging out of Tyler, so they were shocked when he not only shot better than anyone there, he was one of the best they'd seen. I asked if there was some sort of contest we could enter Tyler into and make some money off of him.

All the boys rode their motorcycles in the parade. I'll post a picture later. Lillian caught all the candy that the parade participants threw. She took her job very seriously.

Brian blessed the baby on Sunday. It was really nice. Tyler and Brian's cousin's husband, also named Brian, were able to participate.

And now to the baby... he cries.... A LOT. I'm pretty sure he has colic. You can even ask Amanda, she was a witness to this. He fusses and wants to eat, but then spits up because he's overfed. It's mostly in the afternoons, but can spill over into the morning, or night. He is an ok sleeper. He usually goes for about 3-4 hours and then is up every 2 hours from when he last woke. Meaning, if he's up at 2 and goes back to sleep at 2:30... he's up at 4, not 4:30. I'm still trying to nurse him, but it's frustrating with him crying so much. When Brian's gone, and I'm here alone... I may have to put him down and go outside. The crying can really been overwhelming.

We haven't yet been able to go to church. The kids are still desperate for friends. There is a primary activity this Sat. that they're going to go to. Hopefully it will result in friends.

I have met some of my neighbors. I was invited to go to the movies with a group of 10 women that go every month. Brian let me go and I had a good time. We saw The Proposal. I thought it was super funny. It was nice to get out. I wish it was to dinner instead of the movies because I didn't get to talk to very many of the women. The movies aren't conducive to talking.

The house is nice. The view is unbelieveable. We are trying to unpack one box a day. We're babystepping. We miss everyone. We have not found replacement friends or family yet. Please come and visit.