School Days

This year I am in for a roller coaster ride, as far as school is concerned anyway. Tom has been accepted into the masters program at the University of Utah. (go Utes!) It is a two year program and will be in school on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Very proud! Very proud!

Laine is in 8th grade and is doing well.

Kaylee is in 7th grade. First year of middle school! Laine is old hat when it comes to Middle school since he is a big 8th grader now. Hehehe. For Kaylee it meant new school and new experiences. We spent 2 days at the school getting used to the surroundings and finding her classes. She is very excited! And a bonus, she gets to ride the bus!

Chesney and Jaycie started preschool this year as well. Can you say excitement overload! Chesney goes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Jaycie goes on Tuesday and Thursday.

Here are some pictures of Chesney and Jaycie's first day of school. Kaylee is to cool for first day of school pictures and Tom, well he is just Tom.

The newest member to our clan

We were lucky enough to add a new addition to our family. Introducing Nike! She is a little dachshund. She is 3 years old and came to us fully trained! She is a perfect addition! She loves the kids and plays with them all constantly! She had taken to Kaylee the most. She sleeps with her, unless Kaylee is gone then she is with me. She loves to play ball and soccer! Squeaky toys don't last long with her (about an hour) but it sure is entertaining watching her play with them. Everyone (including Tom) loves having her around.

I absolutely love it when she begs. We call her our little groundhog.

The first break for Chesney

We can now say that Chesney has broken a bone. On Father's day we were at Tom's Dad's house when Chesney, just being a typical kid, was running for the swing set and tripped falling on her hands and knees. Well, just this little, normal, happens on a daily basis, thing was enough to give Chesney a "buckled" broken bone in her arm right above her wrist.

When she first fell she was really hurt but could move everything just fine. We just thought she sprained her wrist or something. After a few minutes it started to swell so we put ice on it and she cuddled with Grandma and Grandpa. About an hour later she was back to playing.

After playing for about 30 minutes or so I was sitting on the floor and she comes up to me and says, "Mom, I need to talk to you." I told her she could talk to me and had her sit on my lap. "I lied mom." I asked her what she lied about. "I lied about my arm. It still hurts. I just wanted to go and play again." I asked her if she was ok. "Well, yeah, I think I am good." (Cute side story)

The next day she was babying her arm and kept telling me it hurt. I would give her pain medicine, still thinking she sprained it. After the last does of medicine wore off the swelling came back. We decided to take her in to the ER to have it looked at.

So at 9:00pm Monday night we were off to the hospital. Chesney didn't want to go because she was afraid of getting a shot. The admitting nurse told her she wasn't going to get a shot and then things were ok.

We went back to get the xrays done and told her she was going to get pictures taken of her arm. She was as good as gold. Sat perfectly still in every position they put her in. Now when the camera would go off it would beep to take the xray. Since Chesney was getting her picture taken she would smile and pose for each beep. That made me giggle. After all she was getting her picture taken.

While waiting for the films they brought her in a coloring book and some crayons. "Mom, I am having the best time ever!" was what she kept telling me. She thought this was all great fun.

They wrapped her arm in a splint for 5 days till the swelling went down the we went to get the cast put on. She chose a purple cast. That surprised me because she constantly tells me her favorite color is pink and she could have gotten a pink cast.

She has to wear it for 3 weeks then it comes off. She has been really good about the whole thing. I couldn't be prouder of her.

Kaylee is 12!

It is official, we have a preteen in the house! Kaylee celebrated her 12th birthday this year. Her gift from mom and dad was her first set of real make-up. (Oh No!) To help mom prepare for this venture, aunt Angie held a make-up applying party with her Mary Kaye consultant. Thank you Aunt Angie! While we were there, she bought her some moisturizer and some cleanser to help teach Kaylee proper hygiene. At her Birthday party she got some much needed snow cone and sucker supplies from Grandma Rayna and a beautiful handmade cloth doll from Grandma Wendy! She had a great time and is now ready to face her teen years! Thanks to all who came and helped make her birthday so very special!

A Star is Born

Kaylee's 6th grade class put on a condensed version of A Midsummer's Night Dream as their class play. Kaylee came home all excited to try out for a fairy. She practiced and practiced her lines and won the part. Our budding actress! She relinquished the part she had practiced for to another girl, but she still was a beautiful fairy. Congrats to Kaylee on her excellent performance!

Biggest Looser...NOT!

So, I haven't posted anything for a while. Mainly because the exercise train derailed! I had made it to week 5 on the P90X and before that had been doing other things since the first of the year. Well, for some unexplained reason, it all came to a screeching halt. I do plan on starting over. Just don't know when I will find the motivation to do so. So sorry, no complaining for a little while.

Finished week 3

I did it! I made it through the first 3 weeks of P90X. I have to say that getting motivated through the third week was tough. I really didn't want to do any of it. Even the ones I really liked. I also felt like I wasn't giving it my all either. But I found that I was doing more that week then I had done in the past and was really pushing myself. So surprise to me! I am just starting the "rest week" this round. So far I had to replace the first Yoga with stretch. Mainly because I got a slow start to my day and found that I didn't have the time to do the whole 1 1/2 hrs it took to do the yoga. So I managed with 50 minutes of stretch instead. So still plugging along.

Day 15

Two weeks down! I usually love Sundays for the stretch! I love stretch! But we were busy that morning so I didn't get it in. I find that if I don't get my workout in in the morning then I don't get it done at all. Mainly because I don't want to get all showered and done up twice in one day. Plus the shower will wake me up when all I want to do is rest in the evenings.
So since I missed my workout on Sunday, which is technically a day off so I haven't missed anything really, Monday comes and it is hard to get motivated. I found myself in that dilemma today. Plus it is core. I am really not liking core. Not that it is really hard. I just don't like it. I found myself today watching the time on the DVD and wishing it would go by faster. That, of course, made my hour feel like two. I also need to get motivated enough to do a regular push up. I am still altering them so I am on my knees. I need to get brave and do it.
I am not giving up, by all means, just don't like core.

Day 11

I almost made it through all of Yoga! I made it with 10 minutes left to go. Then the children where sick of cartoons and wanted to get going. So close!!! At the beginning it was interesting doing Downward Dog with two little girls playing like it was London bridges. after about 5 times of this I had to distract them with something else so I could continue. I tell you what though, 45 minutes of Downward Dog to Warrior posses to Upward Dog gets you sweating really good and you are done with all of it after that session. The second session, that I have never seen before, was fun. Ya, I said it, Yoga was fun. There are some moves that I really need to work on, but it felt good to get that much in. Wish I could have finished but we will do it next time.

Easter 2010

Sorry I have no pictures for this one. I am hoping people will email them to me so I can add them later.
Holidays are so much fun and as the kids get older they are becoming funner and funnier. This year we woke up to snow on the ground. YUCK! One year, soon I hope, the Easter Bunny can hide the eggs outside of the house! The kids set off to find the eggs first thing. The older two thought it was too easy. Ha Ha! Mom found 3 eggs that they missed two days later!! So much for being easy! Then we all got ready and headed for our first stop. Grandma Wendy!
The Easter Bunny put together a wonderful hunt there. All the kids had to go on a Safari Hunt. Laine and Kaylee were the leaders and they helps the younger kids follow each clue to their destinations. Dads were the drivers. The Safari was all about preparation for what might happen. So first stop was Maverik to get their "water". Next stop was Harmons to get their "energy" (a doughnut). Then next was the movie theater to get "entertainment" (movie passes for all to see How to Train your Dragon). Then to Red Robin for "nourishment" (Hamburgers!) The last clue was the most important of all "home, Families are forever!" So back to Grandmas for a cute little Easter container with treats inside. It was so much fun and something the kids will never forget.
Next stop was Grandma and Grandpa Simmons. We had a lovely traditional ham dinner with all the fixings. Love Easter for Ham! Then the older kids were allowed in the back yard for their hunt! They were allowed to find 20 eggs each. Kaylee, of course, was the first one done. Laine soon followed! They loved it! The little kids had a hunt in the front yard. Jaycie came ahead in this one. (all the practice she had all day.) And all the kids got a goodie bag to take home. Chesney and Jaycie's were filled with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. In the words of Jaycie "I LOVE bubbles!"
It was a great day filled with lots of good times and great memories. Thank you everyone! We love you all!

Day 10

Still on track. I know it's kind of easy when you are first starting out to keep going. We will see what day 37 or so will bring. I pushed myself harder today then last week. I upped my weights for my arms and did most of the moves with 5 lb. weights. OOOHHH 5 lbs.... I will get there. Then I did ab ripper right afterward. I made it through most of the moves with 15 reps each. much better then my start of 10. And 2 of them I even did the whole 25. So just a little proud. I can already feel my arms starting to ache. Hopefully it will be worth it.

Day 9

Yes, I know I missed a couple of posts. I am a slacker. At posting anyway. I have kept up my routine though. On Sunday I had stretch or rest. Since it was Easter, I took the day off. I tell you what, my body is screaming to be stretched. So I will be doing it next time. Yesterday was core again. My heart was not into anything that day. So I know I didn't work as hard as I could have but I still tried to bring it.
Today was Cardio again. I brought it good this time. I had to pause twice to catch my breath I was working so hard. It was easier this time through which is nice. But still hard as hell to get through. My feet where screaming at me during the yoga portion. They didn't want me on my toes at all. I think that was the hardest of them all. Once I got past that I kicked some butt. Still need to work on my kempo and learn to keep my balance so I don't fall over. But I can say I was proud of how hard I worked and felt good to get it done!

Day 6 Kempo

Kempo is not for the uncoordinated! Which I very much am! With me there is so much mental thinking trying to figure out which side and what move you do next. I felt lost most of the time. When I did finally get it I felt like fat woman trying to pretend to punch and kick. The worst part was the punching and feeling my arms jiggle around with my feeble punches. Really need to work on this one.

Day 5 Arms and Legs.

I am going to be miserable tomorrow! Two words, Pull-ups and squats! Not my strongest moves. I admit, I had to use a chair to do the pull-ups. Even then by the end of the 60 minute workout I was only able to muster up 10 instead of my goal of 15. Keep in mind that I did use a lot of help from my legs to make it that far. But I tried my best to make my arms do most of the work. And who ever designed wall squats should be shot! Oh the burn and then to turn around and do them again with one leg held up for a whole minute! OUCH!!! I swear this workout was never going to end. By the time it did, I forgot that I still needed to do the ab ripper. Oh the horror! But on three of the exercises in that I was able to add 5 more reps to them so that made me proud. I will just keep plucking away at it till I am an expert.

Day 4 Yoga

I hate Yoga! Ok when I first found out we were doing Yoga I thought "no big deal. This should be easy. There isn't any jumping or hard lifting. Piece of cake." WRONG!!! This workout is 1 hour 30 minutes long and you sweat your guts out! Now never doing it before I found out just how uncoordinated I really am. I made it though the first 40 minutes and had to quit. My mat became all to slippery for me to use to even attempt to try the poses we were getting into. And by this time my arms and legs are screaming at me "if you don't give us a break we will quit working for you!" I swear that is just what they did. As I would attempt to get in the right position for the pose I was loosing my balance every which way I looked. After about the 5th time of falling on my face I knew I couldn't go any further. But by goodness, I am going to make it through this video by the time the 90 days are up. I am not giving up yet. I am going to attempt to make it 10 more minutes into it next time and keep going at that pace until I get it down packed. So Yoga, you won't defeat me!!!

Day 3 Arms and Ab Ripper

I really loved this workout. It is a long one though. Just short of 60 minutes. Oh but it was fun to do. I started out with my light weights, only 3 lbs. Since this is my first time through and not sure what to expect I felt it was better to keep it light. I set myself a goal of 15 reps per exercise. I accomplished that. So I think the next time through I will keep the 3's and then the next time mix in some 5's. We will see how my arms feel in the morning.
After that workout you do an additional 15 minute workout called Ab Ripper. This one sucks!!! You do 394 exercises in this workout. Or at least you are suppose to. Each action is suppose to be 25 reps. Again, because I am a beginner and have no endurance yet. I pushed myself to do 10 reps of each one. I am glad to say that I made that goal. So no 394 for me today. But I will work to do reach that as well.

Day 2 Cardio

I must say that this exercise program is a butt kicker! After my first workout yesterday the back of my thighs and my biceps hurt like crazy! Which I found a little odd since it was core and my mid section was just fine. I am taking this as a sign that I need to focus on that muscle group harder when I do that workout.
Today was cardio. On this workout you do Yoga, Plyo, Kemp, and Core. We started with Yoga. Now we did maybe 10 or so minutes of it. I can already tell I am not going to like Yoga! Now, before I ever did any Yoga I thought to myself, "how hard can that be? It's not a bunch of moving." Boy was I wrong! It is intense! I found myself not being able to hold the poses as long as I needed to. And my swift and gentle sweeps to the next pose completely suck! So when we get to that video it will be an adventure.
I also learned that Kemp is not for the uncoordinated! It is going to take me weeks to figure out how the hits and hip movements work together. Especially since he does a set of 4 different hits in one quick movement. My mind was not processing the data as quick as I would like and my hits kept getting all mixed up.
By the end I was complete jello. I was so glad it was over. Thank goodness it is only 43 minutes long. Any longer and you would have seen a puddle on the floor. I can already feel my body going into rig amortise. Now I just need to find a way to boost my energy level since I just used it all in the workout.

My P90X journey

So, since our life is so exciting...I thought I would entertain you all with my new task at hand. There will still be the regular posts of the days in the life of the Simmons family, but I figured if I share my thoughts here then I can feel like I have a support group behind me. And it saves my husband from hearing me bitch the whole time.
I have been working out almost every day since the first of the year. I have only taken maybe a dozen days off of my routine, which for me is very good. I started the year by walking on the tread mill everyday for 30 minutes. Gradually increasing my speed and increasing my incline. I haven't moved up to a run yet but that is a goal by the end of the year. After about the first month I thought it was time to mix it up a little so I started doing my "The Firm" workout videos. I would alternate a video one day and treadmill the next. I must say that these workouts are good. But they are extremely boring. The music in them makes it so hard to get motivated. My biggest complaint is that I don't think they were doing enough to help me burn the calories I need to do. I felt my body changing and muscles getting stronger but alas no change on the scale or in my measurements. So after 3 months of working out and only loosing 7 lbs. I decided to step it up a notch.
So begins the P90X workout. I have watched Tom do this workout for the last 3 months and have noticed big changes in him. Granted he hasn't done part of the workout, (the ab ripper) so his midsection hasn't changed much. But his arms and legs are getting in great shape.
I have decided to do the lean portion of this program. My goal is to loose one dress size by summer. Not to hard of a goal to obtain, I think. So here is hoping. Now, I am not a die hard and going to go on the diet they have outlined. I know I should if I really want this to work properly, but lets face it. No matter how cheep they make eating healthy, diets are expensive! So I am going to trim down my portions, again, and try to eat healthier. No calorie counting at this time.
My stats....
Now, I am going to share with you the hardest part to admit to anyone...My weight!
My beginning weight is 175 lbs. (ouch!!!) The good news is that to be a healthy weight for my height I only need to be at 169 lbs. But that is the high end of the scale. My goal weight is to reach 145 lbs. Not by summer, of course, but hopefully by the end of the year. We tease each other here that by the time I hit my goal weight I will get knocked up again and have to start all over. I guess only time will tell on that one.
My main trouble spots are my waist, thighs and arms. Right now I am a 37 inch waist. A 22 inch thigh. And a 12 1/4 inch arm. I am going to post my stats on the side and do a weekly review to see how I am doing.
The first video in this series was Core. Let me just say I felt like a complete idiot out there! Since this was my first experience with this I had no idea what the exercises would be like. He likes to have you flip from your stomach to your back alot! I have a hard time with this. When I am on my stomach I feel like I am going to puke!!! So I took these exercises in stride. The next thing is that I need to get to the point that I am off my knees for push ups! There aren't a ton in this workout but the ones he does have you do are killer! And unless I learn to get up on my toes I will never do them properly. The workout was about 45 minutes long, so not to bad. And for my first time through, I felt I caught on pretty good and almost did the number of reps for each exercise. Bad but good part is that my back thighs and upper arms are already showing signs of soreness. We will see how I move tomorrow.
Anyway, enough jabbering for one day. Thank you for your support and words of encouragement. I need all the help I can get!

My favorite episode!

Chesney got some CD books where you listen to the fairytale and then listen to the song that goes with it.
She brings the book to me and said. "Mom, look it is Hey Diddle Diddle the cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon."
Very good Chesney. You are right!"
"Yeah, it's my favorite episode."

So...do you think we watch to much TV?

Jaycie is 3!

After the rush of Christmas is over there is barely time to breath before we are celebrating once again.

Jaycie, the youngest of the bunch, has her birthday on the 28th of December! It is hard to believe that she is growing up so fast. This year she turned 3! WOW!

We did our usual birthday bash for her. The family was over for cake and ice cream and she, of course, received tons of gifts! it was like Christmas all over for her! She had a fabulous time and so did the rest of her family!

We love you Jaycie!

Christmas 2009

Christmas Time! The most wonderful time of the year! For our house, one of the busiest days of the year too.
Our Christmas morning started with waking Chesney and Jaycie up at 6:30am. Laine and Kaylee were both at Rick's house. We were meeting up with them at 11:00am. We let the girls see what Santa left them. Chesney got her "laying down kitty" that she wanted. Jaycie got a My Little Pony baby in a stroller. They were excited and yet very tired. Then off to get ready to be at Grandma and Grandpa Wood's at 9am.

At Grandma and Grandpa Wood's we had a lovely breakfast and visited until it was time to pick up Laine and Kaylee. After we reunited with the older two back to the Wood's for presents. The kids each got a new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa. Then off we were to meet at Grandma Dunn's at 1:00pm.

Grandma Dunn's we had a wonderful lunch buffet including the family traditional Manti House Breakfast Casserole. So good! Lots of wonderful gifts were exchanged. Everyone made such a haul we were worried with how we were going to fit everyone in the car! Laine and Kaylee got marshmallow shooters from Aunt Shay and Uncle Brandon so all the kids were outside to dodge the flying marshmallows. We had a great time visiting with everyone and took our traditional family Christmas picture in the living room. I really need to get copies of all the years we have done that. Then off again to Grandma and Grandpa Simmons' by 4:00pm.
Grandma and Grandpa Simmons' had a beautiful Turkey and Ham dinner for us all. It was all so good. And presents galore! Another big haul for everyone! At this point really panicking on how to get everything and everyone home. Chesney and Jaycie were winding down with the excitement of opening presents at this point. We had some fabulous pie for dessert and then off to home to open our little family Christmas there.

We made it home by 8:00pm. Laine and Kaylee rushed into the house to see what Santa left them and were excited to see the electric scooters that they asked for. Kaylee even got a licence plate that said 'Spoiled" for hers. We then turned to the mountain of presents under the tree! Jaycie was done opening gifts half way through her pile. They all got so much that the next day they didn't know where to start.

It was a wonderful Christmas! I am so blessed to have such wonderful family members that love and accept us! We love you all with all our hearts! Thanks to everyone for making our Christmas so special!