Here are some pictures from the week. It's been a crazy one and I haven't had much time to post. I'm dissapointed that I didn't document a tackle it Tuesday project. However, I had friends coming into town and my whole house was a project. Hopefully that counts. :)

Ft. James

A few weeks ago, Ned put up some shelves so we could get some food storage going. I have loved having the extra space, and so have the kids. It's so entertaining for them. It's funny because everyday they sneak in the laundry room and get some cans and do something with them. Today they thought it would be fun to build a fort on the stairs.

Fondue fun!

I don't know why, but my family loves fondue. Oh wait...chocolate, strawberries, and marshmallows. Ok, now I know why! Anyway, two of my friends from CT came to visit Tuesday and Wednesday. We had a fondue night with the kids and it was a lot of fun. Tatum was being so silly.
However, Carson was taking his marshmallows very seriously.
Can someone say Yum?? I got this fondue fountain from K-Mart a few months ago and was waiting to break it in!
This was the only picture I got of Ck, Sheree's baby. He was SOOOO cute I couldn't get over it. Sheree was 6 months pregnant when I moved to Washington and she moved to Hawaii...so it was a fun reunion. Addie and Asher were being camera shy, so this was the only picture I got!

Carson's new talent

Apparently Carson has entered that "drawing on the wall phase". I remember Tatum going through the same thing. I walked into the playroom only to discover that Carson had gone crazy with the coloring. This too, shall pass...

My first attempt...

Ok, so I have been running all week trying to gear up for my first attempt at the PRT. So this afternoon we headed out to the track on base. There is a playground right by it so the kids could play and Ned could time me. I was nervous because I hadn't run a mile and a half yet in the week. I didn't want to look like a total DORK in front of my hubby. Let alone anyone else who was on the track. Luckily we were the only ones there today. So I ran it and didn't stop the entire time!!! I came in a little over 18 minutes. So I have about 3 minutes to shave off until I pass. But the good thing was that I kept the same pace for all of the laps, which is something I've been trying to work on. So all in all, today was a great personal high for me. I never thought that I would be able to just up and run 1.5 miles and live to tell about it. So now I will be heading over to the track at least once a week to time myself. Fun!

My new goal!

So I have a new fitness goal. I wrote briefly about it in my tag. Anyway my new goal is to pass the "PRT" for my age and gender. For those not familiar with the military...PRT stands for physical readiness test. It's a fit test that every service member must complete and pass every six months. Recently, the Navy has really cracked down on the PRT standards and if you fail 3 PRT's in your career, you are OUT OF THE MILITARY! This has always been a real stress for Ned. He has never failed one and is in good shape, but just the thought that our livelyhood is riding on his athletic ability can be quite daunting. So the bast 14 months I have lost 55 pounds and met a lot of fitness goals, but I think this will be a good new goal for me. I am hoping to be able to show Ned that we are a team and I am willing to work just as hard for him as he works for us. So, I have been working like crazy this week. The requirements for my age group is the following:

1.5 mile run in 15:45
47 sit-ups in 2:00
15 push-ups in 2:00

Ok, for those of you who have athletic ability you are probably laughing right now. I know it might seem easy. But I have always struggled with sports and athletics. I am 6 ft tall and it seemed like everyday at good old Harrison High School someone asked me why I wasn't on the basketball team. Simple answer: I have no skills what-so-ever. I did push myself to play tennis in high school to try and stay in shape. But as soon as I got married the pounds c-r-e-p-t on until 2 kids later when I hated what I had become. So I have had a major milestone this week...I have been running for over a mile at a time without stopping and without feeling like I'm going to die. I know it will take me a little while to be able to do the full mile and a half in the time given. But in a way I'm doing this to show my sweet and wonderful husband how much I support him. I love him so much, and I'm so proud of the work he does. I am so grateful that health is important to him and he works hard to be in the best shape he can be. I am really grateful to all our service men and women who push themselves everyday to be ready to protect and defend our freedoms. So here I go, I'll keep you posted! Alisa...good luck on your 5K run! Maybe someday I'll be able to run one, too!

I heart K-Mart!

Ok, for those of you who really know me, it's already been established that I'm insane. So I don't have to feel guilty for posting about my obbsessions...right? If you have better things to do than read my ramblings, I won't be offended if you navigate away from my page! LOL. Well anyway as most of you know I find the most amazing deals at my K-mart. (First of all, please note that Whidbey Island has two stores, so my options are limited to start with!) Tonight I did an inventory of my toys that I've purchased over the past 6 months and it is $1,300.00 worth of merchandise. How much did I pay for said merchandise you ask? I paid just over $200.00 for everything. I still can't believe that everything added up to $1,300.00. I mean, that is an insane amount and I'd never in a million-billion years spend that kind of money on gifts! I have Christmas and birthday presents for the kids, plus all the Christmas gifts for Cousins and extended family plus the gifts for our sibling exchanges on both sides of the family. Not bad for 200 bucks, if I do say so myself! The best part is that nearly all of my toys this year are name brand. Like a ton of Dora and Diego stuff, Fisher Price, Thomas the Train, and Leapster items. It's a big blessing for us, because Ned's birthday is October 15th, followed by my birthday on the 16th and Tatum's is on the 17th! Then Carson's birthday is Dec. 10th... and then we have Christmas. So it can be expensive getting nice toys for the kids. I am a firm believer that toys don't make Christmas, but if I can get them at such a good price, it's a nice touch. Anyway, this post was totally random, but thanks for indulging me! Brianne and Sheree...we have to get our K-Mart on when you come up next week! Yay for clearance!

Tackel it Tuesday!

My project for this week was my laundry room. It was actually in good shape until we went camping and had all of our stuff on the floor. Anyway, it was nice to get it cleaned up! My batteries weren't charged when I was ready to clean it, so there isn't a before picture. Take my word for it, IT WASN'T PRETTY!

A Fun Tag

This is a fun tag! Thanks Miranda! I know I was supposed to do links, but I get confused with those, so everyone is on my sidebar...

The rules are as follows for this chain letter:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Write six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your blog entry is up.

Six Random things:

Ned and I met on his birthday and stayed up talking until it was my birthday...(the next day)

I went into labor with Carson on my due-date.

I hate crumbs of any kind.

Ned and I have lived in 6 states since we've been married. (Gotta love Navy life!)

I taught myself how to play the piano.

My fitness goal for the next two months is to be able to pass the military Physical Readiness Test for my age/gender group.

Ok, my six people are Aimee, Alisa, Sheree, Serena, Becky, and Dana....and anyone else who would like to. : )

"weight" and see...

Ever since Ned's schedule has temporarily switched, I have been kind of lazy with working out. I'm not getting very much sleep and the kids are running me down lately with all of our weekend trips and so on. So this morning, we all went to run the sea-view trail this morning and I stepped on the scale at the base. YIKES....I have gained 6 pounds since we left for CA. 6 POUNDS! How did that happen?? This is where I get annoyed with my metabolism because..no I haven't been working out twice a day, but I also haven't been lying on the couch eating bon-bons all day. So this morning I'm turning over a new leaf and getting back in the game. I walked one mile with the kids and ran two so hopefully in a couple weeks it will be like this whole 6 pound thing never happened. I just get so frusturated sometimes when it seems like my whole life is revolved around losing weight. And then I take two tiny weeks off and actually think about something else for a change and what do you know...I have to lose more weight to be back where I left off. Oh well, I guess it's not supposed to be that easy!

Mt St. Helens

Ned was asked to attend a Young Women's campout for church. They let us tag along so we could have some family time, too. We went up to see Mt. St. Helens which was totally amazing. The kids had a great time and the whole weekend was a lot of fun.

Camping at Clear Lake

Here are some pics of the family hanging out at the lake and by the campfire!

Hiking on Mt. Rainier

Ned and Tatum took an awesome hike along Mt. Rainier Friday. Carson was too little to go, so I stayed behind. Anyway this first picture I just have to laugh because Tatum was too scared to cross a bridge. She finally did and Ned took a picture of her laughing/crying. Poor Tatie...but she did great on the hike and had a blast.

That night, we took the kids out on some boat rides. Tatum didn't want to ride in the canoe, so she went out on the paddleboat with some of the Young Women. Carson of course loved the boat and therefore spent every waking moment from there-on asking for a boat ride. Gotta love a kid who knows what they want, right?