Sugar Sugar, Honey Honey

So far so good with my new fitness kick. I've completed the first 2 weeks and week 3 is well under way.

But in those 2 weeks I've also been a little disappointed that despite all my hard work, tons of sweat, and sore muscles, my weight hasn't changed at all! Two weeks in and I'm still at 135 lbs. *sigh*

A year and a half ago, being at this weight would've been an extremely happy occassion as I was well on my way to shedding all my unwanted pounds, but now it's not. Now it's discouraging because it's backwards. I've already lost this weight, and now it's back.

I simply cannot bring myself to start counting all my calories again and logging every bite I eat into a spreadsheet each day...I'm tired of that, it's TONS of work, and I just don't feel like it. I've been watching what I eat, making sure it's healthy choices and all, but I think I may be eating more calories than I actually realize.

And I've come to the incredibly horrible conclusion that I REALLY need to cut back on my sugar intake! I've known this for a while, I've just been ignoring it. If we've ever met, then you know what a HUGE change that would be for me! Esp. with my enormous love of baking!!!

But I'm determined to shed these pounds and get back into much healthier shape, so if it means I need to back off the yummy sweets for a while, then that's what I'm going to do. 

***So this week I decided to give up sugar.***

I know, I know, sounds totally impossible, right? Yeah, I went ahead and immediately apologized in advance to my family for the terrible witch I might end up turning into as a result, esp. when the sugar withdrawals start to set in!

Now before you think I'm going crazy with this notion, I'm  being very realistic with this idea. First, I'm setting a very small goal: I'm trying to go without sugar for just 1 week...7 days. If I said "I'm giving up sugar..." and left it at that, it would instantly feel like FOREVER, with no end in sight, and I'm sure I wouldn't last. Nope, for now I'm just trying to see if I can do this for 7 little days, and then if all goes well I'll see if I can do it for another 7 days, but I'm trying not to think that far ahead.

Second, I'm not sweating all the small stuff. Which means, if something I eat has sugar as an ingredient, like a loaf of banana nut bread or ketchup, I'm not going to eliminate those items from my diet this week.  I'm not giving up any natural sources of sugar, like fruits, but I am trying to avoid sugary filled things like jelly. I'm also not concerned about the tiny little teaspoon of sugar I put in my hot tea each morning (because tea without cream and sugar is just gross!), and honestly I don't think that little teaspoon is really my problem!

What I am giving up is ALL of the cookies, cake, brownies, candy, my granola bars with chocolate drizzled on top, etc. Basically, all the most enjoyable parts of eating. Honestly I think a little bit of sugar in your diet is okay,...like most things there's nothing inherently wrong with sugar, it's just a matter of how much sugar I consume...and oh baby, am I WAY over the level of what's appropriate or balanced!

Now, some people might say that's not REALLY giving up sugar, because to truly give it up I would get rid of the sugar in my tea, and only eat items that have less than 7 - 8% sugar listed on the ingredients. Well, if that's your idea of giving up sugar, then good for you. But for me, I know myself and how I operate. Which means I know I need to be realistic, and take some baby steps here.

For example, if you were a huge soda drinker, you wouldn't try to cut out ALL soda immediately because you'd go crazy with all those cravings! No, you'd first try to cut back on the amount of sodas you drink each day. I did that to get rid of an enormous Mt. Dew addiction I had several years ago.

I used to drink a minimum of two 12 oz. Mt. Dew's every single day! Yeah, that's ridiculously unhealthy, but it's what I needed to get through each day. When I became pregnant with LA I knew I needed to get rid of that bad habit, so I started cutting WAY back and slowly replaced all those Mt. Dews with water, lots and lots of water. I had the shakes REALLY bad when the caffeine withdrawals kicked in! 

But after I cleansed my body of that stuff, about a year later I had a Mt. Dew for the first time. And while I sorely missed that delicious flavor, I actually couldn't drink the whole thing and ended up with a major caffeine headache! 

I've also been really addicted to extreme energy drinks in the past, esp. those giant Full Throttles, Starbucks Doubleshots, and Starbucks Frappachinos. But I've managed to get rid of all of those awful drinks and never, ever drink them these days! In fact, it's extremely rare that I ever drink anything else other than a cup of hot tea in the morning and water all day long. That's not an instant habit, but it can happen over time.

Anyway, tangent over, back to sugar. With 5 kids in my home, and all the baking I love to do, I'm surrounded by sugar and temptations. LA was eating a Twix bar in front of me on Sunday, I made my family some awesome cinnamon-sugar mini muffins for breakfast on Monday, and EJ was eating a delicious smelling Three Musketeers bar on the way home from school yesterday.

Aside from those muffins though I haven't baked anything this week, other than a loaf of bread for sandwiches. On Sunday I ate half an apple and 1/2 cup of dry rice chex for breakfast (we were out of milk), then 2 hotdogs and some fries for lunch and snacked on a little bit of cottage cheese and crackers for dinner (was still full from lunch).

Yesterday I ate a bowl of plain rice flakes cereal with a banana and milk for breakfast with a cup of hot tea, had a bowl of soup for lunch, and some chicken and rice for dinner. This morning I ate a scrambled egg with 1 slice of toast and a lemon delight yogurt with a cup of hot tea. I'm trying to drink as much water as I can which also helps me feel much more full. I didn't worry about the natural sugar in the apple, sugar in my tea, ketchup on my fries, or the sugar in the sweet & sour sauce on the chicken...that's all small stuff, and a MAJOR cut back from all the sweets I'm used to gorging myself on!

So I really haven't eaten any sugar (at least according to my rules), but I'm CONSTANTLY thinking about sugar! Today is the start of day 3, and I'm not going crazy yet with cravings or withdrawals. I've decided that if I can actually make it through this whole week, then I'll allow myself to have a little candy treat on Halloween next Sunday before I dive into another 7 days sugar free.

And it's not much yet, but I've already noticed a tiny change on the scale. Yesterday in the late afternoon just before dinner I weighed 134.6 lbs., which is just a tiny little change, but enough to keep me motivated. If I can keep cutting back on my sugar intake, and only treat myself every once in a while, then I know I'll start to see some bigger changes on the scale.

15 Cans of Soda

Ready for an EXTREMELY LOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG fitness update?

Alright, so I guess I've been keeping you in suspense here long enough on the little mention of the picture of 15 cans of soda in my sidebar. Of course, if you've been following my fitness journey at all then you probably already figured out what's going on. But first let's go back and explain what's been happening.

Here’s my ugly status. The last time I saw myself at 125 lbs. was right after Christmas last year.  Steve and I were right in the middle of P90X and then:  

January - my Dad came to visit and I slacked off some, and went up to 128 lbs., but wasn’t too worried about it. 

February - we quit P90X and by the end of the month I was up to 130 lbs.

March - I was up to 132 lbs.

by the end of May - I was at 134 lbs. and hadn’t run in almost 2 months. 

June - So then I got together with my running buddy, Christa, and we started a summer running club. We had 4 other women join us as beginning runners and then Christa and I were following a modified program for intermediate runners with big plans to go through that 8 week training program and then begin a new one to prepare to run our first half marathon sometime this fall. We were very serious about it and actually looking up a bunch of different local races to choose one. I actually logged 62 running miles this month! Then:

July - our running club members all fizzled out with busy schedules, Christa had a painful hip injury that wouldn’t heal and forced her to back off from running, and I fell into stress mess city with all the unemployment and my student loans coming due type of stuff. 

I’ve also discovered a really interesting and somewhat bizarre pattern about myself and my relationship with exercise: the more stressed I am in life, the less I have any motivation to workout. It’s sounds completely backwards, I know, but the more stressed I am, the more depressed I become and don’t have a desire to do much of anything (not just exercise, but also no sewing, baking, blogging, and any other activities I normally enjoy). 

So then of course my stressed out self decides to eat tons of junk (there’s logic for ya!), which makes me gain more weight, and then I’m even more stressed and mad at myself, and less and less motivated to workout. I swear it’s sooooo much harder to start working out again after you’ve already lost that weight once,…because I constantly beat myself up with thoughts of “Why do you weigh this much again? And what’s your problem with running today? Because you’ve run soooo much faster than this in the past!” 

August - I decided to get back on track and began running for a couple of weeks, but then I seriously strained my quads. It was extremely painful just to walk! It turns out that because I was only running and not doing any strength training, that my calf muscles had become much stronger than my quads, so every time I ran I was putting more stress on my quads than they could handle. From what I’ve read it’s a fairly common problem among runners, and that’s why they stress the importance of cross training. At the time I really wasn’t in the mood to do any strength training and only felt like running, but I’ve also been really bummed at how I can literally see how much tone and muscle definition I used to have in my arms has all but disappeared and turned super flabo again. Of course at that time I had no choice but to take it easy and let my strained quads fully heal. I couldn’t even jog from the front door of my house to the car without extreme quad pains for 3 weeks. 

September - So then the kids went back to school, I gained another child, my niece (I’m becoming the old woman who lived in a shoe!), and by the middle of this month on Sept. 9th I had climbed all the way back up to 137.2 lbs.!!!!!! Ummm,….yeah. That’s 13-SEVEN.2 pounds you just read! 

Which means after all my hard work, getting all the way down to 125 lbs., toning up, having TONS of energy (which was all gone now!), I had put back on more than 12 lbs.!!!!! TWELVE!!!!!!! YIKES!!!!! All of my clothes have become tight on me again, I’ve had to go back to wearing larger sized pants I pulled out of the box in the closet because most of my jeans are too tight to fit into these days, and I can literally feel the love handles and extra weight hanging on me. I’ve become self conscious about it again and find myself choosing baggier shirts in the closet most days…and I hate that! 

Seeing that number on the scale was a huge wake up call!

OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since then I’ve made some huge changes in my weekly schedule and stress load. While I still don’t have a job, we’re still putting food on the table each night. The kids have settled into the school routine, and while we have really busy schedules, overall things are going well. I realized that aside from church on Sunday mornings and Wed. nights when my kids are in Sunday school classes, I LITERALLY had absolutely ZERO time in my entire 7 day week where I had any time alone, apart from my children…and it was seriously wearing on me! 

So I sat down with Steve and told him that with 5 kids in the house, that for my own sanity’s sake, that I needed to start having dates with myself every week! It doesn’t have to be the same day each week, it could be for an hour or tons longer, I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want to do, etc., but it’s totally kid less time I get to have to myself each week so I can rejuvenate and have some peace of mind. 

He totally agreed and the past few weeks have been amazing! He’s not only supported me with these weekly dates, but also several mini breaks where he takes the kids, or I get to run errands without dragging them along, and we even managed to sneak in an awesome date night ourselves! It’s been wonderful!!!!! And it’s given me the motivation I need to get back on track. 

So, what have I been up to? well, I’ve been extremely disappointed in myself for not completing the P90X program last year, esp. since we made it through 7 weeks. So I’m newly determined to get through it this time! I know, I know, but it’s the only strength training program I’ve ever tried where I feel BEYOND sore within 2 days and see such fast results! 

I have some new goals. I want to lose 15 lbs. which would get me to my goal weight, bring back the toning I miss, and bring back the energy I desperately need. Which now explains the 15 cans of soda. I could've continued with 3 of the 5lbs. bags of sugar imagery, but I was tired of it and wanted something new.

So when you think of an item that weighs 1 lbs., what comes to mind? Well, an average soda can is 16 oz. = 1 pint = 1 lb. So in order to get to my goal weight I now have a total of 15 pounds...or 15 cans of soda to lose. It's hard to imagine how difficult it would be to go through every minute of every day constantly carrying around 15 cans of soda! How incredibly tiring! No wonder I'm so exhausted and unmotivated!

I've packed on an average of 2 lbs. each month for the past 6 months, which is thoroughly depressing! But I'm determined to get rid of it again and get back into the really tone shape I used to have and go even further beyond that!

I've been trying to find the time to post this fitness update for a while now, so I'm happy to report that I just completed week 2! And to catch you up to speed on where I'm at and how it's been going so far, here's a little recap:

***Note: I’m just following the Classic program, but because I miss running too much not to do it, and because that program doesn’t have enough cardio for me, I’m also running a few days per week on top of the P90X program…and that will allow me some more flexibility on changing it up with my runs when the program becomes dull with repetition. I can still work on speed, endurance long distance runs, sprints, etc. Lots of variety! 

Day 1:  October 11, 2010
2.0 mile run – 20:16 min., 10:08 min./mile pace. 
    Treadmill: Good run. 6.1 mph for 5 min., then 6.2 mph until 10 min., 1 min. walk, 6.1 mph until 15 min., then 6.2 mph, 30 sec. walk at 16 min., then gradual increases all the way up to 6.8 mph at the end. Now I'm off to begin P90X day 1! I will look smokin' in 8 weeks from now on my birthday! 

Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X - One down, 89 more days to go! 

Day 2: 
2.0 mile run – 20:22 min., 10:11 min./mile pace. 
    Treadmill: Ran at steady pace 6.1 mph for 10 min., 1 min. walk, then 6.1 mph until 15 min., then gradual increases up to 6.7 mph at the end. Took one other 30 sec. break at 17 min. Feeling a little tired and sore muscles all over from P90x yesterday, now off to do plyo. 

Plyometrics - Feeling a little tired after running 2 miles, but got through most of it. Feeling very sore muscles. 

***By the time I went to bed this night I was EXTREMELY sore all over my upper body! I could barely move without being in a ton of pain! 

Day 3: 
Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper X – Took a LOT of convincing to get myself moving today. I'm feeling extreme sore on my upper body, and all the way down to my quads. It was really painful to go to bed last night when the soreness kicked in. But I'm still going! 

Day 4: 
1 mile run – 9:42 min., 9:42 min./mile pace. 
    Treadmill: still lots of sore muscles, but getting better. Wanted to see how fast I could run 1 mile today. Started at 6.2mph and increased 1 point every 2 min., had a small weak moment for about 30 sec. at 6.5 mph, but then started again at 6.5 and increased up to 6.9 mph at the end. Now I need to do the yoga video, finding it hard to stay motivated, esp. with my weird weight increase today (what the frick?) Up to 137 lbs. But I'm still moving!  

Yoga X – I forgot that this workout was actually 1 1/2 hours long! IK did the first 30 min. with me before leaving for soccer practice, and it was pretty intense for him too. I did my best to get through all of it, but it was a tough, long workout! 

Day 5: 
Cardio: Hip Hop Abs, level 2 - I watched some Zumba and Insanity promo videos this morning, and since my right quad is hurting a little today I decided not to run and instead pull out an old Hip Hop Abs Cardio video (level 2). Was totally dripping sweat at the end, but kept up with most all of it. 

Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X – After finishing hip hop abs I took a little break, ate a banana, and then started this workout. Felt okay during the warmups, but as soon as I started the first balance lunges with my foot behind me on the chair I seriously wanted to die! When I got to the sneaky lunges about half way through I swear I looked drunk with my total lack of balance. 

I took some pics to send to my sis who doesn't believe how much weight I've gained, and now I want to throw up when I look at them. Plus I really need to STOP comparing how much better I used to be able to do these videos because it's seriously depressing me. Last night after yoga I took a long, hot bath and while the sore muscles are still there (esp. in my triceps) it's getting better and I can move around more. I'm almost through week 1, so that's encouraging! 

Day 6: 
2.0 mile run – 19:58 min., 9:59 min./mile pace!!! 
    Treadmill: Walked 5 min. at 3.0 mph, then ran at 6.2 mph for 10 min., 1:20min. walk break at 3.0 mph, then ran at 6.2 mph again until I increased to 6.4 mph in the last 30 sec. I'm dripping sweat, warmed up, and ready to go do an hour of Kenpo! 

Kenpo X – My calves and lower back were incredibly sore from yesterday's workout when I got up this morning. I ran a good 2.0 miles this morning and wanted to run longer, but ran out of time in my schedule. Felt good doing Kenpo, I think it's my favorite workout video in this series. I was able to keep up with just about everything, so that felt good. This wraps up my 1st whole week. I haven't decided yet if I want to use day 7 (tomorrow) as a rest day, or if I want to work on a longer distance run. Weight: 135.2 lbs. 

Day 7: Week 1 accomplished! 
3.1 miles (5k) run – 31:30 min., 10:10 min., mile pace. 
    Treadmill: It took an ENORMOUS amount of pep talks in my head to keep moving, and tons of excuses (hadn't eaten much today, tired, hadn't had much water, etc.), but surprisingly I actually made it all the way through the 5k! I ran at 6.2 mph for 10 min., (reached 1 mile in 9:40min.) then 1 min. walk, 6.2 mph again until 2 miles, (reached 2 miles in 19:53 min.), then kept going at 6.2 mph, had to walk 30 sec. at 14 min., then increased 1 point every 30 sec. all the way up to 6.6 mph, but couldn't sustain it too long, had to back down to 6.2 mph for a little bit and then back up to 6.4 mph to finish. So I feel pretty good about my overall time today. Ready to hit week 2! 

Day 8: 
Cardio: Hip Hop Abs, level 2 - It took a little while for me to decide what I wanted to start with today, but I decided to do a big cardio workout. I always feel really dumb doing these exercises, but I'm also dripping with sweat when I'm done, so at least I know it's doing something. 

Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X - Out of all the videos this one is probably  my least favorite in the group, so I wasn't very motivated for it. But I was SHOCKED today at how much I've improved on this video in just 1 week! Last week I was doing about 5-6 reps on every move, I had to do the girly (on your knees) pushups several times, and I was pulling 5 and 8 lbs. weights on all the moves. But today I felt really good and I did at least 10-12 reps on everything and pulled 10 lbs. weights on everything. I even managed to do 8 reps of the divers pushups in both sets! Really encouraging!!!! Last week on Ab Ripper X I could barely get through it. Today was still tough, but I could get through a little more of just about all of it. I REALLY hate the fifer scissors move! It makes me think I'm going to throw out my back every time. But I got through it all and that feels awesome! 

Day 9: 
1 mile run - 9:30 min., 9:30 min., mile pace. 
    Treadmill: Wanted to play with my speeds a little bit. I started at 6.1 mph and then every 1 min. I increased a point to 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, then ran into a little trouble for about 30 sec. and had to stop/walk, then started again at 6.8, 6.9, 7.0 and finished at 7.1 mph. Not bad for my time, but it certainly wore me out. 

1 mile run - 9:45 min., 9:45 min., mile pace. 
    Treadmill: After running the 1st mile today increasing my speed at every 1 min. I walked slowly for about 5 min. Then I decided to try another mile with more gradual speed increases but beginning higher than I normally do. I started at 6.3 mph and ran for 4:30 min., then a 30 sec. walk, then 6.4 mph for 1:30 min., then 6.5 mph for 1:30 min., then 6.6 mph for 1 min., then 6.7 and 6.8 mph at the end. Not bad. 

Plyometrics - Oh my word, I'm tired!!! I think those 2 miles I ran before this really took it out of me. I really didn't want to do this workout today, feeling too tired to get through it. But I kept moving and right now I'm glad it's over. I was tired, but still able to get through just a little bit more than I could last week. Now I'm really dragging. I'm gonna take a long, hot bath and let my muscles relax, then I'm going to put the 2 little ones down for a nap...and I might join them. :P 

Day 10: 
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X - Feeling VERY stressed out today, barely managed to fit in this workout at all, and I'm kind of upset that I couldn't find the time to run because I really needed to burn off some stress! I did even better this week, last week I was pulling mostly 8 lbs. and 5lbs. weights on the lighter moves, but today I pulled mostly 10lbs., 8lbs. on the lighter moves, and only used 5 lbs. twice near the end. I'm doing a little better on Ab Ripper X each time too,...getting through just a little more every time I do it. 

Day 11: 
2.0 mile run - 20:00 min., 10:00 min., mile pace. 
    Treadmill: Ran at 6.2 mph for 10 min., then 1 min. walk, then 6.3 mph again until at 15 min., then 30 sec. walk, then increased to 6.4, 6.5 every 1 1/2 min., then 6.6, 6.7, 6.8 every 30 sec. until the end. Felt tired during, but a great warm up after I was done. I'm off to LA's P/T conference now, but will do yoga when I get back. 

Yoga X - Really challenging to do yoga with 7 children in my house! But like all the other videos I managed to get through it and do a little bit more than last week. 

Day 12: 

Legs & Back - I totally screwed up my diet! First, with ice cream at DQ with EJ, then with a big piece of apple walnut cake in the middle of the night. I'm cramping & bloated, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much about it, just shake it off and keep going. Didn't have time for the Ab Ripper X today because I'm meeting a great friend for lunch (shout out to Vanessa! We should get together more often!), but I did better on this workout compared to last week, tired but got through more of it. Still going, almost through week 2! 

Day 13:  
Kenpo X - Wow, this workout seriously almost didn't happen! I felt very tired today, I think the rainy & cloudy weather had a lot to do with it. Watched a movie with the kids, took a nap in the late in the afternoon, and finally got my butt moving late this evening. The workout didn't feel too difficult, and went by fast. My weight seems to be out of control and still going up! I'm working really hard each day, but I must be taking in way more calories than I realize.

Day 14 - Week 2 DONE! 
1 mile run - 9:47 min., 9:47 min./mile pace
    So I had totally made up my mind that I was going to take today off from working out and have a true rest day since it's rainy & cloudy & gloomy outside, but then my sis called and when I teased her by suggesting she should go eat a really big brownie, she replied and told me she was watching my super fat-a-licious video clip (my words, not hers) and well, she got me. 

And then out of nowhere, the doorbell rings and it's my old trainer, Swede! I haven't seen or talked to him in several months and out of the total blue he just decides to show up because he was in the neighborhood and wanted to say hi?! Okay, cosmos, I get it! Message received loud and clear! 

By the time I finished chatting with my sis & Swede it was late, 9:15pm, but I decided a little bit was better than nothing. I ran at 6.1 mph for 3 min., then 30 sec. walk, then 6.4 mph until 6:30 min., then 30 sec. walk, then ran at 6.5, 6.6, etc. all the way up to 7.1 mph increasing every 30 sec. until the end. Only 1 mile, but enough to get my heart rate up and going. 


Whew! And now you're finally up to date. I know, I know that was a HUGE fitness update! And guess what? It's not over yet. Because I'm committed to sharing my totally real struggles, completely honest journey, I'm once again totally humiliating myself and posting my most recent progress shots.

Remember how I said I took some new photos of me at the beginning of this? (Well, actually it was on Day 5, but close enough). Well, here they are, in all their disgustingness:

From the 1st front shot I thought I wasn't doing too bad, but then I saw the shot from behind,...and what the HECK happened back there????!!!! Seriously, baby got back, and NOT in a good way!!!!

Trying to do my best flex shots too, feel free to leave your computer screen and go vomit. It makes me literally ill to look back at the progress photos of me at this same time a year ago and realize how much better shape I was in back then! Ugh! It kills me!

My sis totally didn't believe me that these are actually new, up-to-date photos of me instead of some old ones, so just to make it brutally honest, I sent her the following little video clip:

Yeah, I must seriously be some kind of extra special stupid to actually be posting these completely humiliating, seriously disgustingly fat photos of myself on my blog! Oiy! 

Either that, or it's because I know that I won't truly become FULLY motivated to lose the weight and get back in shape until I force myself to have such a raw, candid, wake up call on exactly where I'm at and how far I've managed to back slide.

So there it is, in all it's gloriously horrific state. My own little version of the biggest loser, I guess. And if my willingness to share my gross fat struggles can help motivate anyone else, then I'm all for it. It hasn't been an easy road to getting in shape. I'm a real, normal, average person just like you, and it's a HUGE struggle for me to get in shape and STAY that way. I have to WORK at it, constantly, and work REALLY hard!

There's lots and lots of work ahead of me right now, but I'm taking it one day at a time,...and eventually I'll get there.

October = Corn Maze

Warning: extremely long picture roll ahead.

A couple weekends ago we took all the kids to a local corn maze. One of the really fun annual events for the kids, and it seems like each year they add more and more fun new things to do. I was able to find some 50% off discounted tickets through a local coupon blog which made it a lot easier to take my whole family for just $5.00 per person instead of the regular $10!

IK driving, while I play with KM and KW.

 

Arriving at the corn maze, the weather was great.

There's a million different things to do in addition to the corn maze including the corn pit (like a sandbox), kiddie hay maze, rock climbing wall, astro jumps, a petting zoo, corn launchers, hay rides, pumpkin picking, kiddie swings, several other little rides, and of course lots of yummy snacks.

 

Going...

...going...

GONE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running through the little hay maze.

 

 

  

I don't know what she was laughing at, but EJ's expression here makes me smile!

 

Heading to the corn maze.

Group shot, IK brought along TJ, and with my niece it sure looks like we have a boatload of kids, huh?

Each year the maze is a different shape, this year's theme was all about the Broncos, no surprise there. (you can kind of see the maze design in LA's picture, click to enlarge).

Pointing at a plane flying by.

Splitting up into 2 teams.

And we're off!

 

 

 

Fork in the road,...see ya later!

 

KW decided he was the leader of our group most of the time.

Meeting up with the other group at a bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go back into the maze.

A huge rainbow in the sky.

 

And this was the moment when KM decided to tell us she had to go potty, oh no!

Trying to quickly find our way back out. Now KW had to go potty too. We seriously contemplated trying to find somewhere in the corn fields to take care of the problem, but fortunately we managed to find our way out just in time.

 

So while the older kids were still enjoying running around in the maze we decided to check out some of the other play areas.

 

They could've stayed in here the whole time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They loved the train ride!

Finally meeting up with the rest of the group.

 

 

 

 

Time to go pick out some pumpkins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve found a really weird, square shaped pumpkin.

You pick it out, you carry it!

IK coming back to give LA a hand.

 

Heading back, starting to get dark.

 

 

Love this funny expression!

This one too!

Can you see LA way back there (near the center left) rolling her giant pumpkin?

Here she comes.

Still rolling.

Weighing all the pumpkins.

And then wishing we had bought them at Wal-mart instead for $2.98 each for really good sized carving pumpkins, instead of 30 cents per pound plus 1 pumpkin over 45 lbs. at a flat rate of $9.00! YIKES! Yeah, I didn't want to be the mean mom that spoiled the end of our evening by telling them to put the ridiculously overpriced pumpkins back (because $35 for pumpkins???!!! seriously???!!!), but I definitely won't make that mistake again.

Pumpkin overpricing and all, it was a really fun family night.