A New Sport

Danny's interest in paddle boarding has been increasing lately. His interest really is in prone paddle boarding, which is laying down on your stomach and using your hands/arms to paddle. He purchased a board on Craigslist and used it a couple times, but it really wasn't the right board for him. So he went back to Craigslist and found a used board from a guy named Mike in Carlsbad. To make a long story short, Mike said he would sell it to Dan if Dan signed up for a race in January in Mission Bay. Seems he really loves the sport and wants to make sure that there are enough people to keep the racing going. Danny agreed and brought another huge 'board' home.

He had not found a lot of time to practice, but to my surprise decided he was going to stick to his commitment and register for the race. It was last week, and he did great!! It was a beautiful day, and it was so much fun to go out as a family and root him on. Nana joined us too. He did great considering his lack of preparation. He finished the race with a smile, and we were so proud of him. Mike, the guy that sold the board to him, had finished much earlier, but went back to cheer Dan on to finish the race. 4.75 miles! Way to go Danny!!!

This Saturday Dan is doing his second race, and we are looking forward to cheering him on again.

Truly a gorgeous day on Mission Bay

This is Dan (on the left) and Mike paddling out to the starting line.

Danny crossing the finish line and checking in at the pontoon boat. He did it!!

Celebrating our Daddy and his 1st race!

Exciting Side Note: My mom has been bitten by love of stand-up paddle boarding after trying it with my sister in St. Thomas. She rented them for us to use at Lake Havasu last summer, which was a blast. Last week she bought her own and took it right out to the lagoon in Carlsbad to get it wet. My dad got a kayak too so they will soon be grazing through the water together :-). LOVE IT!!

Getting Slim and Trim

The Standard Process cleanse is officially over, and all in all I would have to say it was a success. We completed the 21 day cleanse and decided to go back and repeat the first 7 days. We are both feeling great, and have both lost weight. Dan has lost about 25 pounds, and I have lost a little over 15. It's a great start, and done in a healthy way. We hope to continue eating healthier, but I can honestly say I can't wait to have a slice of pizza, the cheesier the better!!!

On the subject of getting slim and trim, we have decided to take it one step further and slim down our expenses. It is time to get in control of our eating AND our money. We decided to look into Dave Ramsey, so I checked out an audio book from the library and Danny and I really liked what he had to say. I won't get all preachy here, but after a few days I was moved to check out Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University on-line and see what the classes where about. Lo and behold there was a introduction to the class at our local church the next morning AND there was childcare. (ahem... okay God, we're listening) So we went, we loved it, and we bought the t-shirt (meaning we are now signed up for the 13-week class). Our first class was last night and it was great. This is not going to be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.

By the way, while we are going to the class the kids get to go to Adventure Club, which is a weekly Bible Study that they have attended in the past and loved. Unfortunately our youngest has never gotten through a Church service in the nursery without someone having to come get us. He cries and screams and just wont be consoled. Surprisingly the first night he got through the whole class, he did a craft, played on the playground, he went to music and the teacher said he loved it! He was even sitting at the table with the other kids praying when we picked him up. And last night when we picked him up it was again a success, he was excited to show us the Valentines he made in class with his Bible verse on it. All thanks goes directly to God for this!!! His work is being shown in this place and so, as a family, we have decided to pursue the Grove as our families church.

So here we go on another adventure together. I'm so blessed to walk it with my hand in my husbands and Christ in my heart (and all three of my kiddos HAPPY at church!).