arkansas

Mid July the kiddos and I loaded up the Highlander and took our first solo road trip to Northern Arkansas to visit our friends Bethany, Bob, and baby Shae.

Bethany is a good friend of mine from jr. high/highschool that led into college and post college life. She's the kind of friend that is exactly the same as she used to be and just a fun person to be around! She is someone I can totally be myself around, speak honestly with, and never go a day without laughing when I'm around her. During our time living together in college I was able to get to know Bob. He too is just a wonderful person. He and Bethany are a perfect fit, he's kind and generous and such a genuine person. Some may say I followed Bethany and Bob throughout my post college life but I'm just thankful it worked out that way because I always seemed to have a friend nearby - after Bethany graduated college she and Bob got married and she joined him to live in Kansas City, where he was working. I graduated college a year later and also moved to Kansas City after receiving a job with John Deere. A year or so later Bob and Bethany got moved to Charlotte, NC for Bob's job, and six months or so after that I got moved to Raleigh, NC for my job with John Deere. We are now living in seperate places :) but still do our best to eachother whenever we can make it work. Fortunate for us both their families live in Iowa so they come through Des Moines quite often. Anyways, it was our turn to go see them in Bentonville, AR!

I must say I didn't really think things through when I told Bethany the kids and I would come down for a long weekend sometime in July. We found some dates that worked for us both and that was that. It wasn't until a few days before we left that I wondered what I had committed to! A 6 1/2 hour roadtrip by myself with a 2 year old and 11 month old - yikes! However, I had said I was going to do it and my gosh I was going to prove to myself that I could. 

So, we made plans to leave around afternoon nap time, stop for a visit and dinner with Jimmy's aunt and uncle in Kansas City, and then make the final few hours of the trek to AR around kiddos bedtime. And I must say, it worked out well except for the poor planning on my end to pull into KC right at 5 oclock rush hour, when of course was the exact same time Lily had to go potty! So yes we did have an accident because what other choice do I have in bumper to bumper traffic downtown KC?! Poor thing. But except for that episode and me getting a little sleepy the final hour or so we did great - nothing a Red Bull and some candy couldn't take of while the kiddos slept away! We rolled into their place just before midnight.

The next day was spent bumming around their house. We did venture out to their neighborhood playground but it was super HOT and even Lily wasn't too interested in playing! We made dinner at their place and then after tucking the kids in Bethany and I snuck out for some fro-yo and she showed me the town. The next day we enjoyed lunch at a local crepe spot (so yummy!) before hitting up the splash pad - kids loved it! Then after afternoon naps we joined Bob for pizza at a Southern favorite, Mellow Mushroom. The 3 of us watched a movie that night and the next morning we hit the road again! 

This time we left during morning nap, stopped in Kansas City for lunch and a visit with my dear friend Erica, and then hit the road during afternoon naps to get home early evening. Catching up with Erica on the way back through was such a treat too. She is such a kind person whom I truly adore. She has such a gift for hospitality and made us such a perfect lunch at her trendy modern downtown loft. The kids loved crawling around their concrete floors and made me a little too nervous around all their breakables!

We had such a fun trip! I love doing little things like that with my kids. Although yes it is hard without Jimmy by my side to help with nap times, discipline, etc. I love proving to myself that I can do things on my own. I'm blessed with kids that travel well because Lord knows we love to travel, so we are able to go on little adventures and show them the world!

me and my early riser

lily talking to baby shae

shae

shae and i in the water

babies lovin it

clean eating

A few months ago Jimmy and I decided to really change the way we eat. We decided to eliminate processed food, as best we can, cut out the pop and most sugars, and eat primarily lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, or what some would call "clean eating" I honestly thought it would be so much harder than it has been. The first few days were really rough for me without pop, I would say I drank the equvialent to 1 diet coke every day for probably the last 5 years or so. So for me that was the toughest part. However, once I got past those 3 days where I was literally going through withdrawl - scary that this can happen for only pop! it's been SO much better. 

So far Jimmy has lost almost 50 lbs! and I've lost 15. We both feel great and while I think he'd like to lose just a bit more I still feel like I have a ways to go BUT we are proud of our accomplishment so far - especially Jimmy, why is it so easy for guys?! We are thrilled that we've been able to do it using no supplement products or vitamins and truly do it the natural way. While I have been working out 4-5 times a week for the past few months Jimmy has yet to find the time in his schedule to do so. However, I'd say we've made some significant changes and conscious decisions to be more active. Whether that means a bike ride or walk at night, Jimmy signing up to play in a flag football league, or me riding my bike to the pool instead of driving, it's been good!

I can't say that I feel a whole lot different, my clothes definitely fit better and I am back in all my pre-pregnancy clothes but it definitely feels good to just be active and feel good about what we're putting in our bodies. And Jimmy would definitely say he feels better - he was drinking lots of pop, eating snacks and sometimes lunch out of the vending machines at work, and felt so tired by the end of his work day. Now he drinks no pop (or coffee!), I make him a healthy lunch every day for him to bring along, we've stocked his work drawers with healthy snacks for him to grab if needed, and he has much more energy to play with our kiddos or do something active together at night. I've loved seeing his physical and emotional transformation!

Some people have asked what a typical day of meals looks like and it's really quite simple. While I must say Jimmy would be perfectly content eating the same thing every day for weeks on end, I am not so I definitely have had to find ways to be creative and/or change it up! But, here's what a typical day of meals would like look for us - nothing crazy!

Breakfast - 
Jenna - hard boiled egg, whole wheat toast or cereal, and grapefruit or other fruit, water to drink and a cup of coffee a little bit later in the morning :)
Jimmy - hard boiled egg, vanilla yogurt with fresh berries, water to drink

Lunch:
Jenna - salad with lots of veggies and grilled chicken or turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread and a vegetable for side
Jimmy - turkey sandwich on wheat bread and veggies with ranch. Then I also pack some cheese, grapes, apple, and sometimes some sort of cracker for him to snack on. If he's lucky he gets a homemade granola bar every once in a while too :)

Dinner:
Grilled chicken breast, fresh green beans, salad, and sometimes fruit.

I usually have a few snacks throughout the day as well. Sometimes it's a few slices of cheese and a handful of almonds, other times it's some cut up cucumber or an apple. The key is no, or very limited sugar, and lots of water. I have also found it helpful to eat before I am hungry otherwise those are the time when I tend to stray and eat the things I shouldn't be. I must also admit that these last few weeks have been difficult for me. At some point you just get tired of munching on vegetables and want a brownie! So I've allowed myself to enjoy a few things that I previously wasn't and to me that's ok, it's a journey and that's reality. But that's our journey so far. I have a few key goals in mind - a certain weight I want to be by Preston's first birthday and then a certain weight I'd like to be by my 30th birthday! With hard work I know I can get there and slow and steady is definitely the key, in my opinion, to getting it, and keeping it off!

May 2013

July 2013

things to remember

As these days seem to fly on by and the busyness of our summer plans consume us often times I take notes in my phone documenting little things I want to remember about my kiddos, and this stage of life. Though their are undoubtedly hard days there are so many good days, and moments, as well and here are a few of my current favorites:

When Preston plays he never goes too long without stopping, flashing me a big ol' smile, and then army crawling as fast as he can into my arms for a little snuggle and slobbery kiss!

Preston's soft fluffy hair

Lily's sweet voice that often says "I love you Mommy" completely out of the blue

The way Preston snuggles in for a few minutes when I go get him from his crib in the morning and from naps

Preston's slobbery slobbery kisses all over my face

The way Lily just runs and gives you a big hug totally unexpected

The way Lily always asks where we are going and what we are doing today as soon as she wakes up

The way Preston and Lily play together - rolling on top of each other, pinching each other's faces, and laughing together. Which is of course usually followed by Lily kicking him or he pinching her, but that's beside the point :)

Lily saying funny things "I need to put on my makeup" "oopees" (instead of opps or opsee) "no, I do it" (at least 100 times a day)

Lily putting her undies and/or shorts on backwards or just wrong

10 months

Seems like I just wrote Preston's 9 month post, oh wait I did because I was late on it :)

Well Friday Preston turned 10 months old and it absolutely blows my mind to think that he is almost 1! Being a second child and the summertime it seems like time is just flying by! But he's 10 months old and becoming more fun every day!

Not sure about his weight and height for this month but I'm going to guess he hasn't grown much since his 9 month appointment since it was a few weeks late. He was 21ish lbs and maybe 30 inches?! Something like that anyways - he's a good size boy, not too chunky anymore now that he's moving like crazy but he's long! He's wearing 12M clothing and some 12-18M stuff. I'm just starting to realize now that he's moving more that I should probably be putting shoes on him :)

He is eating pretty much everything we eat with the obvious omissions of nuts, fish, milk, and some fruit but he's a great eater. Likes most anything and usually eats more than Lily! He has just 3-4 bottles a day and it's kinda nice buying less formula!

New things for him this month is his second tooth has popped through on the bottom, he says the words "Lily" and "ball", he now crawls on all 4's but still army crawls alot too :), he can climb up the entire flight of stairs (with one of us close behind), and he is pulling himself up and walking around everything. 

He is such a little sweetie and I love him to pieces. He's my little snuggler in the morning time just after he wakes up, he's my guaranteed slobbery kiss several times a day, and he has a smile and giggle that simply melt my heart. We adore our little man and the joy he brings us brighten our home so much!

As you will see in the pics he is almost impossible to catch a picture of sitting still!

colorado to iowa

This past week we hosted, for part of the time, my sister and her family on their annual summer trip to Iowa from Colorado and what fun we had! We had a busy week and weekends and that's just the way I like it :)

They arrived late Friday evening so Saturday we spent the morning at our house playing and catching up. Part of the catching up entailed my older sister, Kirsten, announcing to my parents that baby #3 is on the way and due in December! She had told my sister, Jacinda, and I a few weeks back but had yet to tell my parents. So excited for them and such a true blessing to be growing life once again! I have already begun praying for the little peanut and can't wait to see how this baby brings joy and completion to their family! 

popsicles to finish the night

hanging on the porch 

sam and preston playing

Then after lunch and pedicures for the ladies! we hit up the pool. There's two pools in Ankeny and we went to the new and bigger one that we hadn't yet been to and it was a blast! They had lots of fun slides for the adults and plenty to keep the kiddos of all ages attention too. Saturday night was a grill out at our place and then Sunday we all attended our church in Ames before driving a little further to hop on a train ride for the afternoon. The train is located just outside Boone and drove around for about 2 hours. It was a pretty ride and the kids loved looking out the windows but with no A/C and 7 littles ones we were happy to be done by the end :)

boarding the train

views from the train

my handsome boys

From here we went our seperate ways for a few days. My sister and the boys headed to my parents for a few days without us and we enjoyed a few days of down time at home. Although Lily asked where Asher, Sam, Devin and Eden were first thing Monday morning and cried when I told her they went to grandpa and grandma's for a few days - so sweet, she loves having friends over!

Wednesday morning I picked up my sister, Jacinda and her little one Paisley and we took off North to my parents house for the rest of the week.

Wednesday they enjoyed running around at my brother's house, petting the animals and playing on the tire swing. Then that night we were able to catch my nephew, Devin's last baseball games of the season! It was fun to see him play and they were pretty impressive for 1st graders!

Then Thursday we spent some time in Cedar Falls eating lunch at a place I miss so much, Pablos!, and may have ventured over for a cupcake at Scratch too - you just have to when it's right across the street, don't ya?! Thursday night we snapped some grandparent/grandkid pictures at my parents house, my mom likes us to do them informally to keep things updated as our family continues to grow! Then we were off to a great park in Parkersburg and had a pizza picnic in the park's shelter.

more popsicles

pig noses

some of the grandkid pics 

precious girls

funny face!

jumping (minus sam)

my beautiful parents!

playing at the playground

We had planned on leaving Friday morning but ended up taking off Thursday night instead which proved to be a smart decision. Everyone was coming back to our place for the weekend as my brother in law, Ivan, was flying into Des Moines to drive back with my sister and the boys. This allowed me time Friday morning to get reorganized, pick up a few more groceries, and be ready for a house full once again - we love it!

Everyone rolled back into town in the afternoon and we spent time playing outside before a taco dinner and a fire to end the night. 

Saturday morning we hit up the Des Moines Farmers Market - so good! although I had quite the story of getting myself back to our car in a down pour! So we spent the rainy afternoon indoors taking long naps, watching movies, and playing games. Saturday night dinner was at my sister, Jacinda, who lives just a few miles down the road - we had BLT's - love these in the summer! and spent the night chatting around a fire once again.

Then Sunday morning it was good-bye :( as they hit the road for the long drive back to Denver. We enjoy their visits so much and we look forward to our visits to see them as well. Thankfully our good bye isn't for long this time as our family is heading out for an adventure packed trip in August! Oh how we love family and cherish our times together and the memories we are making!

a texas wedding

At the beginning of this month we headed south to Dallas, TX for Jimmy's cousin Mia's wedding. Lily was the flower girl and we were looking forward to a few days away and time with his family. 

We left on a Thursday evening after work and drove through the night. We figured between the two of us we could trade off enough to keep ourselves awake and that this would be the best plan with the kiddos so that they would sleep through the night, and it worked great. I started off the drive and of course didn't make it long before I was sleepy, Jimmy took over and ended up driving the rest of the way - no surprise :) The kiddos woke up just 30 minutes or so outside of Dallas the next morning - we only stopped twice for gas and potty breaks. I was a little hesitant because I had potty trained Lily just a few weeks prior but she did awesome - didn't even go in her "safety" diaper once!

Friday was spent relaxing and catching up with family, checking into our hotel and spending some time at the pool, and pizza from a local spot for dinner. 

Saturday morning I hit up the nail salon with the ladies of the family and some of the bridal party before an afternoon Antiguan BBQ at the bride's house. Jimmy's uncle (Mia's dad) is originally from the island of Antigua so it was fun to enjoy some yummy Caribbean food, meet some of his family, and dance to some Caribbean music that afternoon! Later that day Lily and I joined the rest of the wedding party for the wedding rehearsal - she did great, making quick friends with the other flower girl and walked down the aisle without a blink! After rehearsal we were off to rehearsal dinner where Jimmy and Preston joined us. The dinner was at an awesome Mexican restaurant complete with an Elvis impersonator - which made the evening interesting :) After dinner everyone went back to our hotel for a late night swim and to hangout. Unfortunately one of us had to bring the kiddos to our room for the night so I missed out on this part, the unfortunate part of having young kiddos and being in a hotel, but that's ok! I heard they had lots of fun!

It was a Sunday evening wedding so Sunday was wedding day! We had a relaxing morning and afternoon to ourselves. Our family took a little walk on the boardwalk/pier just outside the hotel - our hotel was on a beautiful lake, enjoyed a room service breakfast, took good naps, and then headed to the pool for the afternoon! I was a little nervous with a wedding time of 6pm that both kiddos, especially Lily, would get a good nap in, before having to be there, but they did and it worked out really well. Lily and I headed over to the church around 4:30 for pictures and then Jimmy and Preston joined us for the wedding at 6. Lily walked down the aisle hand in hand with the other flower girl - carrying her little "Here Comes the Bride" sign and smiling away! The wedding was really pretty - his cousin is gorgeous and so she looked stunning, of course, but everything else came together really well too. They wrote their own vows, which I always think is so neat, and the reception was so much fun. The groom has a Mexican background and with Mia's Antiguan background they had lots of fun music and both families were incredible dancers - it was a bit intimidating but we joined right in. I'm pretty sure Lily didn't sit down once until we got back to the hotel for the night and Preston did great until his bedtime when I was able to lay him down in a pack n play that I brought along - it worked really well.

Monday morning Jimmy, Jimmy's sister Jena, and her husband Dan hit the road back to Iowa while the rest of us decided to stay another day or so. Definitely a perk of being a stay at home mama is that we were able to stay on a whim because we didn't have anything to be back for! Monday we enjoyed another day at the pool, time with his family, and one more dinner out at a restaurant on the boardwalk before heading out bright and early Tuesday morning.

It was a fun fun trip celebrating a beautiful wedding and love story. We wish Mia and Josh all the happiness and blessings that a marriage centered on Christ can bring and years and years of memory making together! 

I love love weddings because it always seems to remind me of our wedding day and the words that we promised to each other , and no matter the state of our relationship that particular hour, day, week, or month it puts things in perspective. True love is such a rarity and so many people aren't patient enough to find it, so I know I'm blessed beyond measure to have found Jimmy. My passion, love, devotion, and adoration for him is so much greater today than it was the first day we fell in love, the day we said I do, the day we had a baby, the day we had a second baby, and every day in between.

hotel fun

pool time

lily dancing with aunt shell

breakfast in bed - and we don't have to clean up!

rehearsal dinner - mother in law singing with elvis :)

flower girls checking out their sign

wedding morning - flower girl

checking out the water

jimmy and preston

me and my babes

the bride, mia, and lily

the bride and her little admirers

so cute

here she comes

bride, groom, and flower girls

dancing the night away