Happy Birthday August

Apparently Fall is a big time for birthdays in our family. August turned 5 on October 3rd but we got to celebrate a little early. August wanted an Oaks Park birthday and they close down the rides at the end of September so Lisa planned it for the last Saturday in September. It was an excellent birthday celebration. We met at a park on the Willamette river just outside the entrance of Oaks Park for lunch and cupcakes.  Most of my photos are from that park since it wasn't super easy to take pictures on the rides. 

That's my sweet Miles, snuggling with daddy. 

Brent and Lisa prepared excellent lunch food.

Auntie Lisa was kind enough to let Charlie throw leaves in her face.

And I really liked this tree...so there about 50 pictures of Charlie on this tree.

And we got to go down onto the dock and see the progress on reinforcing the Sellwood bridge.

And there's the birthday boy!

Apparently it was already Fall at this park, We don't have this many leaves at our house.

After an excellent lunch we got to go to Oaks Park. Charlie has never really gone on any rides like this and he was SO excited.

This ride said adults could ride too, but once Max sat down in the tiny boat, he felt a little awkward. haha!

So much fun!

We took lots of cell phone selfies on the rides.



Charlie and I went on this very jerky roller coaster, he loved it, I felt like I had a little whiplash. Max went with him the second time.

Charlie and I also went on the Spider ride which was pretty fun. It went for a long time and the whole time it was going, Charlie was curled up to me and super still so I thought he had fallen asleep, as soon as the ride stopped, he perked his little head up and grinned.

Charlie;s favorite ride was the motorcycles. I got to ride in the side car, he especially liked to honk the incredibly loud horn, and he may or may not have thrown a little fit when it was time to go.

We met up with our cousins and we all headed to the carousel which was the one ride that Miles was allowed to go on.

While we were waiting for the carousel, Max and Charlie went down the BIG PINK slide.

It used to be all Pink hence the name Big Pink...in case anyone was confused.

We then got to get on the carousel...Charlie couldn't decide between riding a horse or sitting on the bench. Once the ride started I told him, he couldn't switch anymore and he was stuck on the bench. He was pretty bummed because once the ride started he spotted a zebra that we really wanted to ride.

I then got to ride on the Ferris Wheel with Charlie. We were some of the first people to get on so it seemed like the loading and unloading process was taking forever. Charlie liked looking around the park from up high in the air.

At this point he was getting pretty exhausted. He woke up too early and we just kept playing right through his naptime. 

Charlie curled up next to me but I didn't realize he was asleep until we were unloading and the worker pointed it out. I carried my big boy off the Ferris Wheel and put him in the stroller to rest.

Max went on the Go Carts with Brayden then I took Miles to nurse.

I met up with the rest of the family in the roller skating rink. Miles had fallen asleep in my arms and Charlie was still asleep in the stroller so I opted not to skate. We only had about 30 minutes before we needed to leave to meet some more family members for dinner.  Max skated while I stayed with the boys. I was bummed that Charlie slept through this part. I was excited to see how his skating has improved.

This guy is a pretty great skater.

Lisa and Auggie

We had to say our goodbyes a little earlier than we wanted to but we had an amazing time at August's party and we can't wait to go again!

We then hopped (drove) over the river to The Old Spaghetti Factory to meet with my Green Grandma and Dad and Brother to celebrate all the Fall birthdays in our family. It was an enjoyable dinner and we got the best table in the restaurant. 

Hurrah for Fall birthdays and a Saturday well spent!

Picnic on the River

After the triathlon and Everett's birthday, the weekend fun kept going with

a Sunday Picnic. My mom and James and Elizabeth and family came to church with us so we could spend the afternoon having a picnic on the river. We went up to Longview to meet with my mom's friend and his children, then we all went together to this excellent park on the river. We ate some delicious food and I had fun taking lots of photos at this beautiful location. 

Gwenevere is such a thoughtful and kind big cousin! 

Little Grace is beautiful!

Cousins!

Grace and Charlie, only 3 months apart. I feel like this would be one of those pictures that would be pretty funny to recreate when they are adults. Haha.

But really...My nieces are beautiful and brilliant!

She's Hawaiian..really!

I like this one a lot.

Cousins..Six months apart.

and then there was Dan, I'm going to attempt his senior pictures soon so I took about 2 minutes to practice.

The sky was pretty exciting.

As it got cold, we then went back to Don's house to play games then we made the drive back home.

90 day challenge Results

As some of you know I'm participating in a Beachbody Challenge group to get healthy and gain habits that will keep me healthy for the rest of my life. I finished a 90 day workout program called ChaLEAN Extreme where you lift weights and build muscle. I have also been adding more nutritious foods (including Shakeology) to my diet and removing and reducing other not-so-nutritious food.

During this 90 day challenge, I lost 17 pounds, and 12.6 inches. I try to not focus on numbers so more importantly to me, is that I have gained much healthier habits, I feel more energized, and I can play much more with my little boys. In this 90 days I have found that I really started to crave the foods that are nutritious for me and I have NATURALLY avoided highly processed or high sugar foods. (Naturally meaning that I usually don't even want those foods anymore, even if I get a taste, I don't feel like I need to binge) That is a miracle for me as this time of year has always been a challenge for me. (So many birthdays and holidays so close together)
 I was about to include my before and after picture but I'm wearing a swimsuit and I decided that I didn't want to be that bold. There were significant visual changes though.

I'm sharing this on our family blog because I want to share what an amazing experience I have had in the past and presently participating in the Beachbody Challenge. I'm starting another challenge on Monday, I will be doing the Turbo Fire workout, this time, I get to be the coach and work alongside others wanting to reach their fitness goals. I have one spot left in my upcoming challenge group if you are ready to start right away, I will start another one at the end of October/early November.  

The point of a challenge group is to help you gain healthy habits, reach your health and fitness goals, and give you accountability and motivation to make those healthy changes. In my challenge groups we will focus on goal setting and making healthy lifestyle changes.  All you need to participate in a challenge group is a Beachbody program and I can be your FREE coach. I'll even add a link Compare Fitness Programs if I've intrigued you enough. (PIYO and P90 are not included on this list but they are excellent programs as well)

We all know that Healthy Eating and Exercise are the ways to better one's health. Beachbody provides the tools along with the accountability to reach your goals. It has improved my life so much that I feel the need to share it with you all.

And here is a cheesy Pinterest quote, but I do like the idea of it.