Cabin Fever

As a kid I have very fond memories of the West Piney Lodge in Idaho. Over the last few years its been hard to reserve, but we lucked out this year. I was excited to share the same kinds of experiences with my children that I had when I was young. It was great to catch up with family we don't see very often.



My mom and Grandma Stucki spending some quality time together. Grandma and Grandpa Stucki make this reunion possible every year.



Everyone's excited to be here.



A famous stop is the goodie table. Everyone brings a treat to share. This table is stocked with every kind of treat imaginable. It is always stocked during our stay. It is soooooooooooooo good but soooooooooooooo bad at the same time.



There is always lots of great food.





You can't help but enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and enjoy the great outdoors.



Grandpa Stucki in his element. He is THE FISHERMAN!



We enjoy many outdoor activities.



Not least among them is the famous slide. This slide has been around for years. It can be a little intimidating, but I guess that is what dad's are for.





It's quite a thrill ride.



Its always a relief when you make it to the end.



Conquering the slide can put a smile on anyone's face.



The kids were all about the critters. They were constantly on the look out for butterflies and snakes. (Catching little pets was a pass time when I was a child, too. We loved to catch minnows in the stream and keep them in a cup till it was time to leave the lodge.)



The annual fish pond.



The annual sawdust hunt.



Indoor activities include play dough...





...and crafts...



...and ping pong.





You can tell you're having a great time when you pass out on the floor...



...or in a bed.



Sometimes it's just nice to sit and relax.



We ended with the Stucki talent show and a tribute to Grandma and Grandpa Stucki.

Payson Lakes

My mom sent out a countdown calendar for the kids. The calendar might look a little fishy or maybe its just because there was a theme behind this calendar. Garrett and Tasha put a fish on each day of the calendar until the day we finally left for Utah. They were told when they arrived in Utah, Grandma and Grandpa would have a surprise waiting for them. Can you guess what it was?



A brand new fishing pole that they could use at Payson Lakes.



Payson Lakes



Garrett - "Ok boys, let me show you how a real fisherman does it!"



Now it's time to play the waiting game...



...still waiting...



...still waiting...



...still waiting...



...still no bites...



...still waiting...



...still waiting...



...still no luck...



...still waiting for something, anything to bite the line...



...maybe there are no fish in this lake...



...fishing is hard work. Maybe it's time to take a break...



...time to sit and relax...







...get your feet wet...



...feed the ducks...





...go for a nature walk...





...play a game of Nature Bingo...





...take a ride in a boat...



...Row, row, row your boat...



...gently down the lake...



...merrily, merrily, merrily...



...life is but a dream...



...enjoy some grub...











...in the end...



...the only catch of the day was made by none other than Grandpa. At least we didn't get skunked.

BRING IT!!!!

We interrupt our normally scheduled summer posts for a quick update on what we are up to at this very moment. So this has been a challenging week of change. School has started once again and this was the week where we decided to start our P90X workout program. If you aren't aware of P90X let me give you a glimpse of what we are in for for the next 90 days. This program consists of 12 exercise routines. These are very intense (or should I say brutal) workouts that last between an hour to an hour and a half. It also comes with a nutrition plan. This includes 3 phases. Each phase explains the amount of servings you need of each food group for each phase. It also includes recipes.

So, were we aware of the challenge ahead of us? To an extent. I personally have tried the workouts for the last month to familiarize myself with the routines. Rob has tried all of them at least once. I knew the nutrition plan would be hard for me, but I didn't expect to live in the kitchen cooking 3 meals a day. It has been very time consuming.

We decided to go all out and try all the recipes out in the first phase. That made making a menu easy because I didn't have to figure out serving sizes to get in our calorie intake for the day. That isn't a concept I have fully grasped or ever worried about. The food has been VERY different. I'm used to butter and salt and flavors galore and most importantly sugar. Yes, sweets are off limits. (Go figure!) We have tried SO many unfamiliar foods this week (not all pleasing to the taste buds). There have been a few (and I mean very few) that I would try again. We have already made several mistakes. First being our shopping list. We got everything we needed for the recipes for the week not taking into account that some recipes have a larger serving size and can be used for more meals. We have had tons of food and not all food that we would eat again. For instance, they have fish 3 times a week. We are not seafood lovers but thought its been a while maybe we will give it another go. So yes, we tried a shrimp stir fry that we were both able to down but will never down again and salmon that we both ate one bite of and had to throw away. It was seriously going to make me vomit! So no fish for us! (We should of seen that one coming!) Unfortunately since many foods have unfamiliar flavors I have felt as though we have wasted a lot of food because we had a hard time eating it or the portion sizes seemed so large that we couldn't finish it all. I hate wasting food. In fact, as a mother I feel like I am like a garbage disposal cleaning up our kids unfinished plates of food. That can't happen any more obviously. (that will probably help with the daily calorie intake) Any way, our next challenge will be to find foods that we can eat that we will enjoy that fit into our nutrition plan. I need to figure out a way to spend less time in the kitchen. I can't keep up with all of the daily tasks that require so much of my time.

Our house literally fell apart this week. It was a complete wreck! Some lessons have been learned. We did however bring it when it came to our workouts. Where did we find the time? In the early morn. That's right kids we have been getting up at 5:30 to get the job done. It is not easy by any means but for us the only way we can fit it into our schedules.

Why would we put ourselves through such brutality? Good question! Rob may have to answer that one on his own. For me, I have never been the workout type. The thought of exercise didn't sound appealing. I avoided it, but once I had Garrett everything changed. I couldn't stand having all this extra weight from having 2 babies. I needed to change and exercise seemed to be the answer so I bought some exercise videos that I have used for several years until I noticed I hit a brick wall and I wasn't seeing any more results. Exercise brought other benefits too. It made me feel good even though I wasn't seeing results all the time. It has become a habit and when I get off track I feel it. It has become a part of my everyday life. Since I have a few more pounds I would like to lose I'm hoping this will get the job done. I'm hoping to tone my body, by adding some muscle. I'm doing this for me, for the challenge of it all, to see if I can really push myself. Can I last a full 90 days? Can I do it and do it well? Can I learn how to eat more healthy? Can I show my kids the importance of taking care of our bodies by eating well and exercising?

Hopefully they may learn something from this experience as I will. Last of all, I want my kids to see that if they push themselves they can accomplish anything. I believe I can make it. I'm determined not to fail. It will be a hard road but I am ready to bring it especially because I have great support. Rob is right there with me and will be every step of the way. My kids have agreed to go without some of their favorite foods so we can make this happen. Tasha has been one of our biggest cheerleaders. She is keeping us in line. In fact the other day she overheard me mention the word sweets and immediately she said, "Mom your not eating a treat are you?"
You're not allowed to have any sweets." Not only that she has been praying for us which I appreciate sooooooooooo much. It has totally touched my heart! Yep in the end our kids will get a reward and hopefully we will too. Our reward will be the results of hard work. We just need to reach the finish line.

Can we BRING IT!!??

Payson Pool