Today was a gorgeous day and we stayed outside for a couple of hours. After such a cold and snowy winter, I love to soak up every bit of sunshine we can. After being outside with the kids for a while, I decided to come in and get started on our (super healthy of course) dinner. Since our back yard is fully fenced and I have a view of it from the kitchen, we often let the kids play out in the back yard as long as we can see them. Until today! I'm standing in the kitchen chopping potatoes and Olivia comes running in the house screaming "Mommy, Grayson is in my treehouse!" "What, he can't climb up there!" I said. "How did he get up there?"

"He used the ladder!" she said. And sure enough, I ran outside to find him at the top of the slide! He came flying down the slide and was so proud of himself as he crashed to the bottom. And then of course, he ran right back around to the ladder.

I knew he would eventually learn how to do this, I just thought it would be next summer! Needless to say, he will not be playing in the back yard by himself anymore. The tree house is really high so we have to watch him closely as he plays on there. I shot a couple of videos...

Celebrity Encounter and Healthy Changes

After the horrible winter we've had, Michael and I decided to get away this past weekend for an anniversary trip. Other than one night away for a church marriage conference in Tulsa, we had not been away from the kids since Grayson was born. It was time! We stayed in a great hotel and got lots of rest. Saturday night we ate at a nice restaurant a couple of blocks from our hotel. As we were finishing up dinner, a group of people came in and sat down at the table next to us. At first I glanced at one of the girls and realized she looked familiar. I told Michael, " I think maybe I went to college with her." Then I said, "no, maybe she was on a reality show" And he looked at her and figured it out, "she was the girl from that show Friday Night Lights!" But this time she was a brunette instead of a blonde. I knew the guy she was sitting next to was also famous but couldn't quite figure it out. Then we realized that he was the Dad from National Treasure (Jon Voight) who also happens to be Angelina Jolie's Dad. I'm not big on celebrities but I couldn't help but stare! We kept our cool and quietly left the restaurant but it was definitely neat to see them. Of course as soon as we got back to the hotel we googled them and realized that they are filming a pilot for a show called Midland, which is set in Texas. I can't believe I've lived in the same town as Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood for 4 years now and still haven't seen them yet I go out of town and have a celebrity encounter!

For whatever reason, the hotel had a scale in the bathroom. Michael weighed himself and realized he's gained 10 pounds since last fall. Later that night, we watched a lecture from Jillian Michael's on healthy eating. Starting January 1st, I did Jillian's 30 day shred workout 4-5 days a week and had not lost a pound, but had really toned up my muscles. Then we we all got sick and I completely fell off the wagon towards the end of February. Michael and I decided that for 30 days, we would eat nothing but completely unprocessed food and work out at least 4 days a week and see how we feel at the end of the month. We are journaling our food and workouts and tonight (this is Day 1) we will take pictures and do measurements. We worked out at 5 this morning so we are off to a good start! We all eat pretty healthy anyway ( I cut out white bread and pasta a long time ago and I rarely fry anything) so I'm hoping it will be pretty easy on us. The hardest part is late night cravings and being so busy that we just grab whatever is convenient, not necessarily what is good for our bodies. I'm hoping these 30 days will help us get to a lifestyle where we feel good have lots of energy as well as set a great example for our children.

I'll keep you updated on our progress!