10 Years & Counting

A few weeks ago The man and I packed up the car, left the kids with Grampa & Gramma, and we headed up to the ski resort where we were engaged 10 YEARS AGO to the day!!! Holy COW!!! We stayed in the same lodge where the big event happened. It was the most fabulous few days.

Day One: Arrived at said ski resort & got settled. I SO want this bad boy on my wall!We grabbed a most fabulous dinner; pork loin and halibut... I'm still salivating! During dinner Hawkeye gave me a new wedding ring {to replace the one I lost several years ago}. Isn't is GORGEOUS?!! We capped off the night watching Olympics, which only psyched me up even more!

Day Two: Hitting the slopes bright and early!! No new snow for days so it was a groomers kind of day but even a bad day here is better than the best day anywhere else!!! Here we are on the chair lift up our first run! I still got mad skills!!! What a workout too! My legs were on FIRE!We boarded all over that mountain! We took a million pictures. We smiled, laughed and had just an AWESOME time! There really is no place more beautiful, stunning or awe inspiring as this ski hill.After a killer day on the hill we decided to strap on the snow shoes. It was an absolute BLAST!! Here we are with the ski resort behind us. We had the most amazing view of the hill and the valley on the other side. Well worth the climb to get there!Day Three: We really wanted to board in some powder! Thanks to our hike the previous day we found the perfect place. We were able to get in a few run of perfect, untouched powder. There was even a jump for the man to play on. Oh it was the most perfect way to end out trip!I had to throw this one in there too. We hiked past the horses that the resort uses for their sleigh rides up to a yurt where they serve dinner {we so wanted in on that awesomeness but they didn't run on the days we were there... MAJOR bummer}! Isn't this guy just AMAZING?!It was the trip of a lifetime. I was on cloud 9 the entire time. It was THEE most perfect way to celebrate the beginning of my life with the man of my dreams!

just another day in paradise

We just rolled in... well, awhile ago. I am so glad to be back!!! What an awesome week it turned out to be!! 4 days of driving {the sprouts were AWESOME and well behaved; what a lucky Mom I am}!!and 4 days of playing! It couldn't have been better. We had a fun dinner way out on a fishing pier in San Diego {it was yummy}. I snacked on pretty healthy stuff and had at least one salad for a meal per day; what else could I crave when it's so blasted HOT?!! We drank A LOT of water; bottled, that stuff they call H2O down there is horrible {I am biased though, where I come from the water was snow not long before it hits the tap and it's filtered au natural}. But I digress..

We first hit Sea World in San Diego. WOW!!! What an awesome place!! We walked over 15,000 steps {10,000 is considered "active"} which was nearly 8 miles that day. I LOVED Sea World. The weather was beautiful. The animals are amazing. It was FABULOUS!! It was after Sea World that we ate on the pier and it was so cool to be way out there in this little cafe. So fun {minus the migraine that my MIL had}!The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo. Double WOW!! This place was HUGE!! I could EASILY spend days here and never be bored! We walked well over 8 miles this day, up and down hills and stairs. I seriously couldn't get enough of this place! We headed to the beach after the zoo where we had a picnic and played in the water. Coronado Beach was beautiful and picture perfect! We had SO much fun there!The next day was exclusively spent at Disneyland! I couldn't believe this place!! We walked nearly every inch of that park, easily another 8 miles. We rode on rides and met a lot of characters. My kids had an amazingly magical time here.Final day of play: Disneyland and California Adventure. FUN!! Yet another 8 miles too! it got nice and toasty {91 degrees} this day. What a way to end a great vacation! So now I'm back to 37 degree weather!! I'm ready to get back to the grindstone and have a million memories {and well over 800 pictures} to look back on. And an added bonus is that I managed to LOSE weight too; all that walking and being conscientious about what I was eating paid off!!!

vacation vacation vacation!!!

We are OFF {tomorrow} for our California Adventure!! Wow. I am such a country girl, I am surprised that I am excited as I am for this Urban madness!! We are cramming our family of 6 and my in-laws into our car and driving like 18 hours!!!!! MADNESS I tell you, absolutely CRAZINESS!! But honestly, we are thrilled!! We've worked so hard to get out of debt and we're celebrating BIG by going to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland!

Don't you worry your pretty little heads about me though!! We've got nice healthy snacks for the car {a few junk food items but it's all about portions remember}! I'll be avoiding my traveling nemesis... SODA, as much as possible. I'm bringing my RUNNING shoes and we're going to get in AT LEAST one run on the beach, hopefully two... three if my in-laws are up to watching the kids that often!!! Besides all the walking we'll be doing every day! I'm bringing my little pedometer {even if it isn't the nicest and doesn't count EVERY step} for curiosity sake.

I am so looking forward to seeing the ocean. It's my therapy. I am GIDDY with excitement to see the zoo and sea world!! I wanted to be a marine biologist; how flippin cool would it be to work at one of these place?!!! Disneyland is going to be MAGIC. My kids are jumping out of their skins; and I can't wait to see every second of it!!

So off we go. You can STILL make healthy choices, even while on vacation!! I'll PROVE it!

Vacation Run

I love to run while I'm on vacation. It all started about 4-5 years ago. I was battling postpartum depression; I had three children ages 3, 2 and 4 months. We had traveled to the Washington coast for the wedding of a very dear friend. Our hotel was ON THE BEACH!!! It was FABULOUS!! Anyway, I went walking alone out on the beach early in the morning and it was that moment that I once again felt peace and an inkling of happiness! Whenever I go anywhere near the ocean I HAVE to duplicate that morning.We have been planning a trip to Disneyland and San Diego {gasp! I HATE crowds}. One of my FIRST thoughts is, "where am I going to RUN?" I have had more fun planning this run than much of the rest of this trip! I've been scoping out beaches and parks near our accommodations and there seems to be a lot of options!! We will have Gramma & Grampa with us & they have offered to stay with the 4 monkeys so my husband and I can go run TOGETHER; a rarity but something we both LOVE to do!!! I am SO EXCITED!!!Do you know of any good running spots in San Diego? We'll be there for 3 nights; we'd LOVE to run a different place every day!