PumpkinFest

As I mentioned previously, the weather is cooling down. Fall is upon us. My favorite season.

I've been getting an itch to do something festive.

As a kid, I remember raking leaves as they fell off the trees. I remember putting them in jack-o-lantern bags. I remember picking out costumes for Halloween. I remember decorative cookies at school and at home. I remember apple pies and pumpkin pies. I remember carving pumpkins. I remember wearing corduroy and doing things outside before the snow fell. I remember my mom and dad doing their best to make every moment special - to make every season into a memory.

I want this for Ammely too.

So I just couldn't say no when I saw a great deal on Groupon for this bad-boy:

With all of the memories I DO have from this season, I don't recall ever going to a Pumpkin Patch. And I've never been through a corn maze. But I've wanted to. In fact, the corn maze is on my bucket list.

So we invited along some fellow fall-loving, fun-having people and headed out to make some memories.

Now, I've never been to an event quite like this before so maybe it was not as great as others (if so, I apologize for the invite Belle and Kent!), but I didn't have anything to compare it to and I thought it was great fun!

There were loads of things to do! Well...at least there are loads of things to do if you're under ten.
But still, loads of fun for ALL.

We had a pony ride!

She's going to be the next big thing -- look at that, standing in her saddle!

We settled in ( or squeezed in) and had a train ride!

 

*You may notice that Ammely is not exactly awake on the return ride. Haha.*

We enjoyed the petting zoo!

There were even bouncy houses! Yes, multiple bouncy houses. The fearless, fun-loving Metcalf boys took advantage of those with no hesitation.

It took our little girl a bit more convincing.
We put her inside.
And she cried.

We put her inside again.
And she cried.

So mommy went in.

And then we watched the fun.

And then, at long last, we had fun too.

From the bounce houses, we went straight to the corn maze. It was a must-do. But truly a little intimidating.

Thankfully, we had expert navigators.

Sure, they look a little on the young and small side to be leading our pack through a towering corn maze.
But don't let them fool you.

Without them, we adults would have just stood at every crossroads, scratching our heads and wailing in despair.

But WITH them, with them there was no stopping us.

"Come on, right this way."

They knew all the tricks. You just had to do things like dodge a few husks.

And you could never give up - not even in the face of a dead-end or a tricky circle path.

I'm confident that it was only because we had these leaders that we were able to eventually emerge from the maze. They are the only reason I was able to check an item off my bucket list and get this picture to prove it.

Thank you Daniel and Levi. Thank you.

After the corn maze we said good-bye to the Metcalfs (they had lots of celebrating to do - it was Samuel's birthday!) and headed off to pick our pumpkins.

It was maybe a little hot. But not too bad.
Ammely was maybe a little tired. But not too bad.
Ammely was maybe a little sick. But not too bad. 

All-in-all, I deem this a success.

The baby slept exceptionally well that evening (not to be confused with that night).

But that's okay because that evening we actually shipped her off to a babysitter - and who doesn't love to watch a sleeping baby? Easy peasy.

And I got to scratch my fall festivity itch.

Project: Lose Weight, Get Healthy

I have what is probably a fairly typical story for my fairly typical body.

I used to be very thin.

Disneyland February 2007

Thanksgiving 2007

And then I went to college and I entered the triple digits for the first time ever. Still healthy, still thin. Just not quite the thin I was used to.

Summer 2008

 And then I got married. I gained several more pounds. Again, not heavy. But not the rockin' body I wanted to have.

Easter 2011

July 2011

 And then I got pregnant. And gained something like 40 pounds. Ish. I try not to remember.

March 2012

April 2012

And then I gave birth. And exercised. And ate healthy. And I got down to pre-baby weight. I felt awesome. I felt like I had beat out all those women who never lose the baby weight.

October 2012

And then I stopped exercising.
And then I started eating whatever I wanted.
Heck, I'm a first time mother and I often just wanted whatever was quick. Easy. Thoughtless. Tasty.
I often ate whatever high-calorie food we were trying to get our daughter to eat so that she would gain a few pounds. Excuses.
As a result, I was much heavier than I've ever been or ever thought I'd find tolerable.

June 2013

And then last month rolled around and I couldn't take it anymore.

I saw a convincing ad for a diet on another blog (the blog is called Twist Me Pretty, if you want to check it out) and convinced myself (and my husband) that the plan she used was going to take me to a weight I wanted to be at.

Enter Medifast.

I planned to try this for one month and one month only (we're not made of money people!).
I planned to lose at least ten pounds and hope for more.

I was completely faithful to this plan with only one exception: General Conference Morning Doughnuts and Chocolate Milk. They're a tradition. But I had two doughnuts instead of six. I ate them for one session instead of two. I had one glass of Almond Chocolate Milk instead of regular, high fat cow's milk until I pop.

The Medifast meals were tasty. But more importantly they taught me how to eat slowly. They taught me portion control. They taught me what IS good to eat. They taught me what is NOT so good to eat - even among the healthier foods. They taught me how often to eat.

And now the 4 weeks are up.

Did I lose ten pounds? Yes I did! And a little more.

What is next you ask?


Well, I still would like to lose another 10 pounds. But now that I'm at a weight I'm much more comfortable at, I'm more concerned with shaping myself and being healthy than the number on the scale.


So for at least the next 30 days -
I count my calories.
I don't eat carbs after lunch.
I get my rear end kicked by Jillian Michaels in my living room every day.

Hopefully this past month and this coming month are enough to instill healthier habits that will stick for life.
Hopefully if and when Baby 2 decides to make an appearance I won't have to start gaining weight feeling like a whale from the beginning. -- and hopefully during Baby 2's gestational period these habits mean I won't gain SO much preggo weight.

I feel great. I'm excited about what I've accomplished. Eleven-ish pounds is a lot on a 4' 10" frame! I'm excited about the weeks to come.

Wish me luck! This is quite an adventure.

Go-Ahead. Click on it. Make it bigger. Scrutinize me. I did it too. :)
Maybe you can't tell a big difference, but it's HUGE to me!

An Ordinary Day

Most of the time our days are quite ordinary. It's maybe a little cleaning. A little eating. A little sleeping. A little TV. A little Pinterest. A little reading. Go to bed and do a little of everything again tomorrow.

Sometimes on those ordinary days though, I step back and tell myself that a little ordinary is most extraordinary.

We had one of those days recently.

It rained in the morning and the weather miraculously cooled to perfect for the entire day - long-sleeved shirts were had by all.

We had the windows and doors open all day long and the a/c never once turned on.

I did a little weed pulling - it was definitely time.

And Ammely looked so darn cute just playing outside in our dirt yard while I pulled weeds that I had to stop. I had to just watch her. I had to just enjoy the breeze. I had to grab the camera.

I love our ordinary days of making extraordinary memories.

Reminds me of this country song - and as cheesy as it is, I still love it: