Fishing with Grandma and Grandpa Brinkley

Grandparents Brinkley drove up to Iowa for a visit the weekend of September 11th. It was a short weekend, but we managed to do a lot. First day, they took the kids fishing for their first time at Kent Park. Rather quickly, we caught a small fish (blue gills?). The kids were very excited and wanted to touch it. Peter was all for it, but Natalie and Elaine were a bit more timid.

Peter got his first feel for the fishing pole.

Elaine had some sweet Daddy time along the lake.

Everyone wanted to be on Grandma's lap!

Natalie really wasn't sure about this flippery fish that hung in front of her.

The girls and Grandma took a nice stroll along an old bridge.



Elaine was enjoying the time and getting dirty.

Natalie stopping to pick the tiny flowers.

Peter having a peaceful (Forrest Gump) moment.

All in all, it was a BEAUTIFUL day, and the kids had a great time and will have lasting memories of their grandparents and fishing.

Peter's Soccer league kick-off

This season Peter joined the Iowa City Kickers, the community soccer league. It's a little more serious than the recreational tot soccer or tee ball. There's uniforms, shin guards, and soccer shoes. We've entered a new level of sports!

Peter loves...really loves...soccer. He's excited about practice and games, something he wasn't as excited with tee ball. I think it's the fact that soccer is more of a contact sport, specifically with the ball! Here's Peter practicing his kicking before his first game last Saturday (the 11th).

Coach Brian is great. He also has a great group in his team. Peter has a couple of classmates as well as new friends on his team. His first game was against another team made up of some of his preschool classmates and friends. It was confusing at first, but then it was all fun after that.

Towards the end of the game, Peter got possession of the ball and made a goal! Unfortunately, I didn't catch the goal...bad time for the camera battery to die! But Peter remembers it fondly!

Yes, this officially makes me a soccer mom.
(No bumper stickers for the van, please!)

Natalie's First day of 4-yr old Preschool

Last week on September 8th, Natalie finally started preschool again. She has been so excited to go back to school, especially since Peter's school started 2 weeks before her first day. Day started with her changing her outfit choice that was made the night before. I was afraid that choosing the outfit for the day would become a daily issue. I almost just grabbed a uniform for her. She finally decided what her first day of school attire would be:
Pink, pink, pink!

Eager to show her new book bag and to get to school!

With all the chaos and excitement in the air with parents dropping off their preschoolers, I was still able to coral all 3 of our children in front of the elementary school for a group photo. Peter just wanted to get to his kindergarten class. So, we went inside together, Peter going one way at 'the fork' and the girls and I going the other path towards the Bear room.

Like an old pro, Natalie knew just want to do as soon as we entered her room. With her teachers, Ms. Sarah and Ms. Connie eagerly waiting for the school year to begin, Natalie hung up her jacket and book bag on her hook.

Natalie's excitement level went up a notch with best friend, Thomas. Just as she had done last year, she slid her bear in the slot right next to Thomas'. It's all so cute.

Thomas and Natalie happy to be back in school together.

Here is some of Natalie's class during story time/pick-up. As usual, she's sitting right up front next to Thomas.

Natalie had a great first day of school and loved getting a huge hug from Elaine, who missed her big sister at school.

Regina Fall Fun Festival 2010

First ride of the festival: the Fun Slide...total fun for Peter and Natalie.
It started off really fun for them, but as their momentum built and the humps got deeper, you can see their faces of concern. However, they squealed with laughter and excitement when they reached the bottom.

Total joy!

Ride #2: the space shuttle (Elaine's first amusement park ride)

During the ride, Peter hollered "HERE WE ARE!" and Natalie squealed "I can't believe how tall I am!". Soon, Natalie took the advantage of her birds eye view and spotted other rides she wanted to go on next. Every turn of the ride, we could hear snip-its of what she wanted to do next. :)

Peter went into the Fun House by himself and loved it.
The barrel was a highlight for him!

Next was the Dragon roller coaster. It's been one of Peter and Natalie's favorite ride and this year, little Elaine joined them.

However, after just two times around, it became apparent that Elaine was not enjoying it as much as her siblings.

Elaine seriously was not loving it. Luckily, the operator noticed, stopped the ride for her to get off and gave us two tickets back.

Elaine was happy to watch the rest of the ride from a distance.
FINALLY, Peter got to play BINGO. He's been wanting to play since our cruise in June. We got very close to a win, but no Bingo this year!
There's always next year!

To make up for the bad Dragon ride, we let the girls have one last trip on the space shuttle. The first time, Elaine sat on the outside and got squished by Peter in the end. So, we decided to have Natalie sit on the outside. Well, someone was not happy with that arrangement. I will let you determine who that was yourself.

Peter got one last turn on the Fun Slide. I captured his fun on video, but the end was a bit rough. He ended up wiping out at the bottom as he "took flight". He wasn't sure about the crash landing, and got a red cheek to prove it. On the way to the car, he took the best of it and asked if we saw him fly. He liked flying! :)

2010 Fall Fun Festival success!

My transformation to the new me

Normally on this blog, I've limited my posts to details about our three children and the going-ons with the stages of their lives. I rarely, if ever, document about myself. I have always stayed in the background, or back burner. There wasn't much about me that was blog-worthy...until now. Today, it is a different day. I have accomplished something huge in my life, something that has changed not only my body but also my inner self.

Ten weeks ago, I embarked on an extreme journey, hoping to transform my body from the shlumpadinka shape it's become over the past 10 years into a better, healthier shape. At the urging of my good friend Katy, I took on the Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping 10-week challenge. It all sounded very extreme and very unlike anything...again, ANYTHING...I've ever attempted before in my life.

I admit it. I have lived a sedentary, lazy, and relaxed life. The highest level of exercise I've ever attained was lifting my kids in and out of their seats or cleaning the house. Certainly, I never broke a sweat nor did I ever like to sweat or be sweaty. My biggest weight loss was during my 6 months of being hyperthyroid, which meant I did nothing to lose any of it. Since that time, I've had my thyroid corrected and had another child. At age 35, I reached my heaviest weight of my life...a weight that I will not disclose but needless to say, it was a number I never dreamed I would reach. Having 3 children gave me a new perspective in life. I want to be the best mom, not just to provide and care for them but also to provide them a good role model of self respect and self esteem. In order to do that, I needed to gain those two attributes myself.

For 45 minutes per day, 6 days a week, for 10 weeks, I faced body drenching kickboxing workouts and resistance bands full body training along with a 6 meals a day, protein/carbohydrate portion-controlled, and 80 ounces of water a day diet. There were some tough days and many impossible days. Either way, I walked through the doors to the gym EVERY day for the 5am class ready for the challenge. As painful and difficult as it got during those high-energy 45 minutes, I fought until the end. It was always a comfort knowing that within 15 minutes after I was done, my body would recover and the rest of the day was ahead of me. There was also the prize of $1,000 for the female and male with the best results. It was one of the big things that kept me going. "In it to win it" was my bounce back when the tough got the best of me.

Yesterday was the end of the 10-week challenge. Here are the final numbers:

Lost 12 lbs
Lost 2.6% body fat
Lost a total of 19.5 inches
(of which 10 inches was from my waist and 4.25 inches from my hips)
44 push-ups per minute (increased by 18)
34 sit-ups per minute (increased by 19)
Increased my flexibility (sit & reach) by 5 inches
Knocked 1:10 off my mile run from my 5 weeks' test

Last night they held the awards ceremony. I was proud to receive my T-shirts for perfect attendance and finishing (conquering) the 10-week challenge. Although I did not end up winning the $1,000, I truly felt in my heart that I'd already won (back) the greatest prize...myself.

My before/after pictures:

June 29, 2010 to September 4, 2010

Upon coming home from my final 10 week test, I received these rewards from my children and husband (with the Rocky theme playing in the background...it was my favorite part of the day).

A check for $90,000 from Peter.

A check from Natalie picturing she and I holding hands.

Elaine proudly presented me with her art reward.

The beautiful flowers from my husband.

Burer kid special

It's an Elaine sandwich with Peter and Natalie toast!

Natalie's new gymnastics class

We switched to a new gymnastics program (Iowa Gymnest) because it offered better class times. On a day when she doesn't have preschool, she'll have an hour of her gymnastics class...Mighty Mini!

She's gotten really good in stretching,

sticking her landing pose,

and completing a cartwheel!