Anchorage adventures...

 I had such a great time visiting my brother in Wasilla. We went to the zoo in Anchorage on my first day there. It was fun to see so many animals but I think the polar bear was my favorite.

 We took the kids swimming one day and had a great time! It was Natalee's first time in the pool and she swam like a fish. It was fun to re-live my swim instructor days and try to teach the kids a few basic water skills. I even dunked Natalee's head under water ;-)

 

Of course we had to make time for a photo shoot with the kids. Chance had to be bribed with marshmallows but at least we got some good pictures. 

 

 

 Auntie was able to baby sit the munchkins while mommy and daddy celebrated their anniversary. Auntie was getting pretty good at changing baby diapers and tickling 6 year olds!

Anchorage -day 2

Another fun and busy day with the kiddos! We took Chance to the donut shop today. He picked out a very patriotic donut with red, white and blue sprinkles.
After a quick trip to Target to pick up some swim diapers for Natalee we headed to the pool. It was natalee's
First time in the pool and she did great!! Aunty (being the former swim instructor that she is) made her float on her front and back, kick her legs and even dunk her face in the water. She's a happy little fish!!
That evening we headed out for a walk around the neighborhood to look at all the fancy houses. Josh and Erin bought a new house and it's located on a golf course so there are some pretty amazing houses.

Anchorage-day 1

I arrived in anchorage today and Josh and Erin picked me up so we could head to the zoo!! We had a great time looking at the lions, tigers and bears!!

First fire of the summer

It's hard to believe that we are JUST now having our first fire of the summer...in JULY!!!! Unfortunately, the weather has been pretty wet this summer and we've been bad about getting outdoors. Last night was a night without rain so we loaded up the wood and camping chairs and headed out to Lena Pt. This is one of our all time favorite BBQ spots because of the amazing view. 

Adam ordered a kayak for me the other day so hopefully it will be here when he gets home from Vegas. We are both looking forward to having some kayaking adventures before we have to go back to work. 

I'm heading up to Anchorage on Sunday to love on my niece and nephew. My nephew called me the other day to tell me that we'd be going swimming and that I needed to bring my swim suit :-) so cute. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for the grandparents :-) 

<3 

Juicing Day 5....

Adam and I have been talking about going on a juice diet for awhile now. We knew it would be difficult to do during the school year and figured summer vacation would be the perfect time to give this a try. I've decided to blog each day about the process and our experiences. 

My goal is to juice until Friday evening and then juice for breakfast and lunch and eat a regular meal for dinner. Adam's goal is to juice until Friday and then decide if he wants to continue. 

*Day 5* 

Today was the last day of my juice fast and I enjoyed my first meal at Twisted Fish with some fabulous ladies. I ordered coconut salmon and a small salad and both tasted pretty delicious. I went shopping at Costco today for more juicing ingredients but I also bought a bunch of fruits and veggies to eat. Adam is going to keep juicing until Friday but I am starting to incorporate solid foods back into my diet.

Juicing has been an interesting experience for me. It was really difficult at times but overall I feel much better and have a healthier attitude about food. I'll be sure to update the blog again when Adam finishes his juice diet! 

Juicing day 4

Adam and I have been talking about going on a juice diet for awhile now. We knew it would be difficult to do during the school year and figured summer vacation would be the perfect time to give this a try. I've decided to blog each day about the process and our experiences. 

My goal is to juice until Friday evening and then juice for breakfast and lunch and eat a regular meal for dinner. Adam's goal is to juice until Friday and then decide if he wants to continue. 

*Day 4*

Day four has been great! We are both feeling a lot healthier and have more energy. The mental fatigue is gone, the jeans are looser and we just feel better. Adam is down 1.8lbs from yesterday and my weight stayed the same. 

Today I messed around with a few different kinds of juice. This morning's juice included strawberries, a cucumber, 2 green apples and 2 red apples. The strawberries definitely added some nice flavor. I made a banana smoothie in the afternoon and this evening's juice consisted of spinach, carrots, a cucumber and 3 red apples.Our "dessert" smoothie was made with a frozen papaya, mango and pineapple fruit blend and lots of orange juice. It was delicious! 

Soup has been the one thing that has helped get me through the past few days. I get tired of cold, sweet drinks and crave warm and spicy. The thing that has gotten Adam through the last few nights of late night snacking has been homemade popsicles. 

Tomorrow is my last day on the juice diet and that has brought up a lot of discussion about our eating plan for the next couple of weeks. Adam has decided to juice until next Friday and I will continue to juice but will also include solid fruits and veggies. After that we will definitely be re-evaluating the way we eat food and will try to be more aware of what we put into our bodies. 

Juicing day 3

Adam and I have been talking about going on a juice diet for awhile now. We knew it would be difficult to do during the school year and figured summer vacation would be the perfect time to give this a try. I've decided to blog each day about the process and our experiences. 

My goal is to juice until Friday evening and then juice for breakfast and lunch and eat a regular meal for dinner. Adam's goal is to juice until Friday and then decide if he wants to continue. 

*Day 3*

Juicing seems to get easier as each day goes by. I knew today would be a challenge for me since it's Wine Wednesday with the ladies. They had an amazing dinner of homemade lasagna, bread and salad along with THREE (yes THREE!!!!) different types of desserts (two of which were cheesecake!). UGH, it was tough but I did it. 

Today's juice menu included pure grapefruit juice. It was yummy but it might have been a little too acidic for my stomach first thing in the morning. Our "main" juice drink included spinach, one green apple, two red apples, lots of carrots and a cucumber. In the evening I made a banana and strawberry smoothie with pineapple coconut juice. Adam and I are both enjoying the banana smoothies since they're pretty mild and not very sweet. I had two bowls of organic tomato soup and it was delicious! 

Adam has been feeling much better but he notices that he's sweating a lot. I've been feeling great and have noticed that I am not sweaty at all (which is weird because my hands and feet are usually a little clammy all the time). Our energy level is increasing and the mental fogginess is getting better. Adam is down 2lbs from yesterday and I am down 1lb.