best friend sleepover

little miss turned 4 and we got to have birthday/best friend sleepover.

i heard that a yoga studio in ogden had a little yogis class and i knew i wanted to take little miss with me.  she loved it!  it was so fun practicing with her.  we joined a friend of mine and her niece.  we asked them to pose in their favorite poses for a photo and these are what we got...

tree and warrior (little miss and i called it princess warrior)



snake

and lion

and downward dog (which we both looked under our armpits at each other to chat...she is so cute!)

she loved tree pose so much that the instructor shared a partner tree pose with us.

challenged my balance much more than little miss (she was leaning on me).

we worked up quite the appetite (especially me, i had gone to pilates beforehand).

i asked little miss what she wanted to eat and she said "i like pizza."

so we walked to one of my favorite pizza places, lucky slice,

to get "pizza slices bigger than our heads."  if you can't tell, she loved it.

later than night we met up with gordon's parents (her grandma and grandpa) who were having a

sleepover with little man for dinner and a stroll through christmas village.

little miss LOVED all the decorated houses.  we had a good time.

on our way to grandma's house for sunday dinner the sun was shining.  it was shining a little too much for little miss so she asked if i had some sunglasses she could wear.  i about died when i looked in my rear view mirror and saw this.  she is so cute!



little miss has often called me and told other people that i am her best friend.

i just knew we had to get best friend necklaces.

so i presented these to her with her birthday gift.

we were both reallly excited about them and wear them just about everytime we're together.

30 day challenge complete!

I DID IT!  i can't believe it.

for the past 30 days i have participated in a green smoothie challenge.  gordon and i have been drinking green smoothies just about daily since january.  we (i) decided to participate in the simple green smoothie challenge and amp it up a bit by following a clean-eating lifestyle which means we avoided (and for me, cut out completely) dairy, gluten, any added sugar, and processed foods (anything with additives, refined, or enriched ingredients).  and we made sure to keep ourselves hydrated by drinking plenty of water.  (if you drink alcohol or coffee, avoiding these is also part of clean-eating.  herbal tea is okay though)

at first i thought it was going to kill me.  the first week i was sluggish and craved every unclean food i could think of.  and i spent way more time in the kitchen then i ever had before.  lots of meal prepping.  

and then week two came.  i felt good.  my stomach didn't hurt everyday.  my mind was clearer.  i wasn't fatigued like the week before.  and i spent less time in the kitchen each day because i was more use to chopping and dicing, and i would prep more on one day to be used on a different day.

as the days went on, these good feelings just kept increasing.  and my physical activity totally benefited from it as well.  my runs have been longer and faster.  my muscles are leaner and more visible, and i am not fatiguing as quickly while practicing yoga and pilates.  and i have lost inches in those hard to lose places - butt and thighs!  i have more energy and crave fruit and vegetables all of the time.  and my skin is glowing and i swear my hair is shinier and healthier too.  (i feel extra awesome because we maintained this while on our camping adventure too...high five for me!)

today is the first day i can eat whatever i want.  and guess what?  i want a green smoothie for breakfast, a handful of almonds for a mid morning snack, a sweet potato with broccoli and cauliflower for lunch, probably an apple and pb for a mid afternoon snack, and then for dinner we'll have a spinach, kale, green lettuce salad with raspberries, tomatoes, avocado, mango, and grilled chicken on top and a fresh cilantro mango puree as the dressing.  and i'll probably have a drink of dark chocolate almond milk for a evening treat too!  why not keep this going...i feel so dang great!

note: this isn't that far off from how we normally eat.

i was really surprised by that.

however, we did eat something sweet everyday.  and went out almost every weekend.

i no longer feel the need to do that.

we also were a little out of control with our portions...like a whole box of cereal between two people in one sitting out of control.

this challenged changed my life.

oh, and gordon is looking goooood!  way to go us! 

the next green smoothie challenge begins july 1.

go here to join.

and be ready to feel your best!

life has been happening, i promise

^^finally, trail running season has arrived!

^^a during the week lunch date with my favorite person.


^^birthday dinner for Mystie & Chana with my high school besties.



^^proving to ourselves we're still young & hip by going to the alkaline trio concert.

^^happy st. patty's day!

^^sunday dinners with this little guy are the best!




^^we got to spend time with a few of our favorite little people so their mama could have some time for herself while their dad is serving our country in Afghanistan.  i also have a great respect for melanie.  she's an amazing mother and those kids love her dearly.  they are great kids!


^^gordon turned 27! he thought he was turning 26. i reminded him he wasn't. it took awhile to convince him. to his dismay, he's 27.  (also, i love that by chance all of his friends were in town and could go to dinner to celebrate with us.  gordon is such a great friend to them that it made me so happy that all of them rearranged their schedules and made time for him.)

^^went to the Brigham city temple for the first time. it's nice to have a temple somewhat close to us again. counting down the days til Ogden opens up again though.



^^easter! egg hunts & egg dying. fun fun fun!

^^my talented husband installed hardwood floors and framed our windows in our upstairs living area. it's like i have a whole new house it changed things so much. i love them!  next up...new couches (a girl can dream...)

^^mandi was in town from Texas so we got together for lunch in the park. loved seeing her & miss her so much!

^^my very first trip to trader joes. is it possible to fall in love with a grocery store? cause I totally did. trader joes, come to Ogden please!


^^baby girl shower for Jodi! Jenny taught me her crafty ways & we made paper pom poms & yarn ball garland.  pretty sure every party i decorate for will have those two things as part of the decor from here on out.







^^and last but not least, my step dad Tim turned 60! he had a few parties. the one at boondocks was my favorite, but the surprise was pretty great too.

& there ya have it. the past month or so in a nut shell.

weekend moment: 50 degrees!

i'm sorry.  i have none of my own photos for this week's weekend moment.  i didn't take my camera or phone on what i had planned on being my first spring trail run this year.

news flash: it's not spring.  the 50 degree weather fooled me good.  when my sister and i reached the beginning of the trail there was a little snow.  not a lot.  we thought we'd hike for a bit til the trail cleared off then we'd run.  the trailed cleared...for about a 100 feet!  we ended up hiking the rest of the way.  in snow.  in our running shoes!  by the end of our "run" our feet were wet and our abs were sore (we couldn't help but pause and laugh at how ridiculous we were!  the first warm day and we both assumed the trails with feet of snow would magically be cleared.  there are a lot of sink holes on that trail, i tell you what!).

so this doesn't happen again, i've ordered some of these:

i think every time something doesn't go as planned i should get something new...