Fun Times

We have been trying to get out and enjoy the sun lately! Except for the last few days of rain....

Kylie loves the park and is turning into quite a climber.

She also loves to help me make dinner. I love it. Even if it usually means a lot more work and clean-up for me. :)

We had a ward family dance this past weekend. Kylie was in heaven. I don't think she stopped moving and dancing for an hour and a half straight. McKenna didn't seem to mind too much either; even while doing Cotton-Eyed Joe with me. :)

We also do a lot of coloring, dancing and dressing up as princesses these days. What fun. :)

Yay for Spring!!!

4 months

McKenna turned four months old on Saturday!

Where has the time gone?!

She is such a sweetheart and we love her so much.

At her appointment she weighed 13 lbs. 6 oz. (But she filled her diaper and spit up all over me promptly after getting weighed so she is probably closer to 13 lbs. Lol.)  And she was 25 inches tall. What a chunk.  :) It is very strange to have a child that grows. Haha! We just got out the 3 to 6 month clothes. (I recognize outfits Kylie was wearing when she was walking.)

She talks, drools, smiles, grabs for everything, puts EVERYTHING in her mouth, loves to sit in her bumbo and watch us, and loves her sister.

She takes 3 or 4 really good naps AND SLEEPS ON HER OWN AT NIGHT!!!! It is a miracle.  She only wakes up 1 or 2 times to eat, but goes right back to bed. So wonderful.

Kylie always makes sure McKenna has friends with her for her naps

We sure do love you McKenna Jane. So glad you are part of our family!!

Really mom? More pictures?

St. Patrick's Day!

You've probably figured it out by now... But if not, you should know I LOVE holidays. All of them. I love decorating, getting dressed up, making delicious food and doing fun things for my family.

And this year, St. Paddy's Day was no different.

We woke up to shoes filled with green and gold goodies from the friendly leprechauns that stopped by our house.

We enjoyed a green breakfast. Special Lucky Charms and green milk for Kylie, and spinach quiche and a green smoothie for Dallin and I.

Then we got dressed in our green attire... Gotta make sure we don't get pinched!

I changed into my green after exercising. :)

We built towers with green legos, ate green snacks and talked A LOT about leprechauns. Kylie was very intrigued by how they filled her shoes. And she now puts everything in her shoes. ha!

We ended the day with a green dinner. Honey lime enchiladas with an avocado cream sauce, green cilantro lime rice, and green fruit kebabs.

We topped it off with brownie trifle for dessert.. and a little bit of basketball :)

Yay for traditions and fun holidays!!

Hague Health Challenge

Starting January 8th, Dallin's family faced off in a 8 week long weight loss challenge. It was awesome!! We each paid an "entry fee" and the winners split the pot at the end. (This was totally Dallin's motivation...and it worked!!)

Each day we got points for different things: drinking 64 oz water, exercising 30 or 45 min, eating 2+ servings of fruit, 3+ servings of veggies, not eating after 9pm, not eating sweets/treats 6 days of the week, keeping a food journal and encouraging teammates. And then extra points each week for maintaining and losing weight.

Both Dallin and I did pretty well and we feel SOOOO much better! Dallin swept the competition, winning with the highest points as well as the highest percentage of weight loss. He lost 25 pounds (11%) and I lost 11 pounds (8.5%.) You can't be mad about that! Dallin now fits into his mission suit, as well as multiple pairs of shorts/pants/shirts he hasn't worn since we were married. CRAZY!

Thank you Elayna for the idea! And thank you to the whole family for making it such a fierce competition!!

Here's some of the things that helped us be successful!

Myfitnesspal App! For tracking food and exercise. We highly recommend it.

Exercises:

• HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training 

On every other set I double the incline... :)

the pink are the changes I made

• Spinning Bike Classes (this one and this one are good)
• Basketball
• Running outside (Dallin will willingly go out and see how fast he can run... this is a major change people!!)
• Walking 3.5/4 speed at the highest possible incline (for days when we don't feel like running)
• Insanity
• Wii Zumba
• Billy Blanks Boot Camp

(those last three are my favorites... Not exactly Dallin's style)

And our favorite topic...
FOOD. For those who are interested. And to help remind myself later. :)

Breakfast:

• Frittatas and omelets using egg whites
• Oatmeals: overnight raspberry, various other overnight oatmeals
• Smoothies: Chocolate PB, Skinny Pina Colada (I like to add 1/2 c frozen mango,) Strawberry Limeade, Blueberry Banana, Green Smoothies

• Banana Split: 1 banana sliced lengthwise, diced fresh strawberries, vanilla greek yogurt, topped with mini chocolate chips and grape nuts or granola
• Grapefruit
• Granola with unsweetened coconut milk (we like So Delicious) and frozen blueberries
• Bell Pepper Eggs
• Breakfast Burritos and Sandwiches
• Biggest Loser pancakes

Lunch:

• Yogurts (Fred Meyer carbmaster or Dannon light and fit greek) and granola or Grape Nuts
• Salads (our go-to lunch most days... great way to use leftovers)

• Hula Pizza: low carb tortilla, topped with BBQ sauce, pineapple, cilantro, and feta cheese
• Wraps using low calorie tortillas or small corn tortillas
• and a lot of leftovers from previous dinners! :)

Dinner:

• Various sweet potato and steamed squash entrees
• Skinny Chicken Parmesan: grill a chicken breast, top with marinara sauce and mozzarella
• Cauliflower Pizza- this crust with these toppings
• Hummus Chicken
• Taco Salads

• Costco Alberto Flatbreads ( look for these!! they are TASTY)
• Grilled Chicken and Veggie Skewers
• Chicken Sausage Zoodles
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Veggie Soup (be warned.... this makes A LOT)
• Lemon Orzo Veggie Salad

Snacks:

• Trail Mix: Air-popped popcorn, dried cranberries, mini dark chocolate chips, cereal (we like Chocolate or Apple Chex, Oatmeal Squares are also very yummy)
• PB Rice Cakes -rice cake topped with PB2, sliced banana and sprinkled with cinnamon

• Veggie Straws from Costco
• Ants on a log: Celery, PB2 and raisins. Grape nuts also add a fun crunch!
• Fat-Free Cottage Cheese with fruit/applesauce
• Sliced apples topped with PB2 and various toppings

• Crackers and Laughing Cow Cheese: our new favorite crackers are Saltine Rounds- Rosemary and Olive Oil

• Veggies and Hummus or Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip
• Air-Popped Popcorn with seasoning salt or nutritional yeast
• Various whole wheat banana, carrot, apple, zucchini breads (like this) (I substitute applesauce for the oil)