Wellness Challenge - Who's With Me?

I've decided I'm going to take the reins on my sugar addiction and take the wellness challenge. I first heard about it from my aunt who did it for 3 MONTHS and have heard about it a few times since. I'm excited to try it.

THE CHALLENGE

1. 7 hrs. of sleep (not necessarily consecutive - naps count too!)
2. 48 oz. of water
3. 30 minutes of exercise (not necessarily consecutive)
4. 2 servings of veggies
5. 2 servings of fruit
6. No soda or other unhealthy drinks (high sugar juices)
7. No bad fast food (anything fried) or unhealthy snacks (ex: potato chips)
8. No sweets. (Desserts, pastries, sugary snacks & cereals) Sugar-Free alternatives are OK.
9. No eating after dinner/7:30pm
10. 15 min. of scripture reading (or spiritual text if you don't do scripture)
11. One journal entry (any length)
12. Express sincere appreciation, love or praise to your spouse or if single, to another person)

You get 1 free point in each category per week (not-interchangeable).

I'm hoping to stop craving sugar like I do and increase my overall health. I'm going to do it for a month and would like to invite you to join me! I'm going to start tomorrow but I understand if you need a few days before you start. Let me know if you're in!

Katie's Visit

Calder has been doing much better this last week. Thank goodness! Thanks for all your concerns and well wishes. He's never been throw-up sick and I had a hard time with it. I felt like I couldn't really do anything to help him. Thankfully he made it through.

We've been going pretty much non-stop since my sister got here last week. Calder has been such a good sport. Thankfully we found a broken sprinkler by the Washington Monument for Calder to cool off in, since it has been quite hot.

Calder wore his Abe Lincoln shirt in honor of his visit to Abe Lincoln. He kept saying he went to Abe Lincoln's house. It was really cute. He loves to ride the train and is amazingly patient at museums. I'm so lucky!

Calder is sick

Need I say more?

DC Temple

Calder has been sick for the last few days. He has had a fever, diarrhea and isn't eating well but neither of us can stand to stay home all day. On Friday we decided to visit the temple. It is about 10 minutes away and is a gorgeous drive. It's a nice way to get out without infecting other kids with our junk.

We enjoyed walking around the grounds, smelling the flowers and hanging out.

Thankfully the weather has been great for the last few days. It finally cooled off a little and we're sitting right around 90 degrees during the day. It sure beats the over 100 degrees plus ridiculous humidity we've been having.

New Bed

We live in a 1 bedroom apartment. It has been working really well. Everyone sleeps just as much as they did when we had a two bedroom. We only plan to do this for one year and then we'll move up to a 2 bedroom next year. Calder will be 2.5 when our lease is up. This apartment has been working out so much better than I could have imagined. I love it. A lot. I promise I'll post pictures soon.

Calder has outgrown his mini crib. He had three terrible nights in a row where he woke up crying because he was stuck in a corner. We moved his mattress to the floor and disassembled his crib. It has been that way for about a week and Calder has been so good about going to sleep on his own and staying in his bed, or at least on the floor... until tonight. This is what we walked in to tonight.

We went mattress shopping today. The new one will be here on Wednesday! I can't wait. Watching Calder try out mattresses in the store was adorable. Hopefully he'll love the new one enough to stay in it.

Downtown Silver Spring

The longer we live here the more I love it. I have discovered so many things within walking distance in the last week. I love living close enough to walk to the Metro, Ann Taylor Loft, DSW, a weekly farmer's market, parks, the grocery store, Borders and more. I feel so lucky.

Every Wednesday we go to Downtown Silver Spring (a 5-10 minute walk) and enjoy a free dance class and a kid's concert. After the concert is over we stay to play in the fountain. I think Wednesday is Calder's favorite day of the week.

They serve fruit and cookies at the concert. Calder always asks for papaya and pineapple.

We just discovered this new park on Tuesday. We've been back a few times already. This school bus is Calder's favorite part of the park. I love that he plays so well with other kids while they all pretend to drive each other to school and home.

Emily

About two weeks ago we met a little girl named Emily and her mom, Katherine. They are here for her husband to do an internship. He is an MBA student at the University of Chicago. It was just by chance we met them. They were walking the same direction as we were on our way to a kids concert by our house. They happen to live in the building next to ours.

Basically it was instant friendship and instant infatuation for Calder. He LOVES Emily. We've had quite a few playdates since we met and Calder always gets excited when I tell him we're going to hang out with them. We've been swimming, gone to dance class, played at the fountain near our house and gone to DC. On Friday we met at the National Museum of American History. It was so fun! They have a great kid science area where Calder & Emily got out some energy. Then we were free to walk around and see some of the other things.

Calder really enjoys riding the train. He likes to people watch and wave and flirt with those around us. He often brings a book or toy and always stays in his stroller. Thus far we've been able to keep up with my plan to go to DC at least once a week. It's been nice to see so many things in such a short time.

Yesterday was so hot (101 degrees that felt like 110). We spent the afternoon at Ikea playing in the kid section. Calder loves it and we were able to get out and play without being outside. It's weird to go to Ikea and not buy anything. It is about 15 minutes away, which is just perfect.

DC At Last

We've been here for two weeks and we have been busy. I haven't spent a day at home since we moved in because we've been having so much fun. I'm trying to get as much in as possible because I'm not sure whether we'll be here a year or longer. Calder has been an awesome sight seeing buddy. He loves riding the Metro and even has fun at the museums. It's going to be a great year!

At the Portrait Gallery.

Jason's mom drove with Jason from Oregon to DC. I am so thankful. She stayed for a week and a half, helped us move in and saw some sights. It was great!

Oregon, The Final Chapter

Calder hording his candy at the Umatilla Landing Days Parade.

Calder & Anessa watching the parade. Thankfully this was Calder's first parade since it is small and mostly trailers pulled by pickup trucks holding soccer teams and the like. There weren't any real floats or marching bands.

My sister and I ran a 5k. It was my first and her second. We beat our goal time. I don't know that I would call it fun or addictive but I would do it again.

My cousin Kirt is a volunteer firefighter in the town we grew up in. He was kind enough to give us a private tour of the firehouse. He showed us all the trucks and ambulances, the living quarters, kitchen and offices.

The kids got to spray the hose.

And sit in the ambulance jump seat.

This last picture is Calder's face when you tell him to smile. I love it.

There you have it. Our month in Oregon was wonderful. We loved spending more time with family and it was fun to see Calder grow closer to his grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Thanks to all of our family who hosted us and spent time with us. We love you!

Oregon Part 2

Hold tight while I catch up on the last few months. I promise I'll eventually tell you what we're doing these days.

We spent a few days with Jason's dad in White Salmon, Washington. We had a lot of fun and as always I didn't take enough pictures. We went to Mt. Hood, where people were still skiing in the middle of June. We also went to this awesome seafood buffet at Skamania lodge. Calder ate just about as much as the rest of us. Sushi was by far his favorite and he has asked for it many times since.

Calder helped Grandpa John with some yard work.

These are all pictures I took from John's deck. He has a marvelous view of the Columbia River gorge and Mt. Hood.

Still Alive

I know some of you are thinking we moved to DC and disappeared. We're still alive but don't have internet set up in our apartment yet. There have been 3 guys out to look at it over the last 9 days but we still don't have any. It's the pits. I've been told they are redoing the internet lines on the whole floor tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us.

We're loving DC and I can't wait to tell you all about the last month once I don't have to use the internet from our lobby.