Happy Friday and Happy May!
I love this time of year! Even though we’re all in quarantine right now, I’m just so grateful it’s spring and I’m so grateful for the beautiful weather!
Aaaaand, here in Utah we officially moved from a high risk phase (red) to a moderate risk phase (orange) today and I’m so happy ’bout it! A few stores are opening up and I think my gym is opening up next week, although I’m not sure when I will start going again.
It’s just nice to see a little bit of normalcy showin’ up again!
I’ve still found a few ways to get my three little boys out of the house most days. We’ve mainly been going on short hikes, bike rides, walks or just random adventures.
It’s been fun actually.
We went on a beautiful short hike up Yellow Fork Canyon in Herriman a couple days ago. I’m not entirely sure which trail we actually went on because there were a lot of trails to choose from and it was confusing, but it was a beautiful little trail nonetheless!
I was happy that dogs were allowed on the trail as well.
These three little boys are so so so sweet. They are best buddies and get along most of the time. I’m actually amazed and so so so grateful!
My older two boys, who I love and cherish very much, didn’t get along….like at all….for most of their childhood. It was so hard! They are buddies now, thank heavens, but it’s sure been nice and miraculous to have these three little boys get along so well!
I’m just sad to see them all growing up so fast. I wish I could just freeze all my kids.
I also went on a run with my three boys recently as well. My two bigger boys rode their bikes and I talked my baby into letting me push him in the jogging stroller. He’s a huge five year old and not a baby, I know, but he’ll always be MY baby!
I’ve been thinking about selling my jogging stroller because I hardly ever use it anymore (sniff, sniff), but I wanted to go on a last “swan song” run with my “baby” before getting rid of it. The dog also loves riding in the basket of the stroller too. I love him coming with us!
We had such a great time, so I may still need to go on another run or two soon!
I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but I loved running behind my two boys on their bikes and I loved “pretending” I was still a young mom with my stroller. Ha ha.
My sweet baby also fell asleep on the run, just like he always did when he was teeny tiny.
I took a selfie with the dog too. Ha ha!
I have so many wonderful memories of pushing my kiddos in jogging strollers. I started running about 12 years ago and I’ve taken four of my six kids on runs with me over the years.
Here are a few pics I found from my “running with babies” days….
This baby of mine is now ten years old!
These two are now ten and twelve! I can’t believe it. 🙁
Even my sweet puppy looks younger…..
And oh my goodness, look at this punkin’! He’s five now.
Last one, since he’s so dang squishy and tiny….
I say this all the time, but I will say it again….where does the time go!!??!
I’m starting to feel old and it is just so so strange. I remind myself all the time to just enjoy every stage and soak up every moment.
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There have actually been a lot of perks to this whole quarantine thing. I’ve really enjoyed the slower pace, less responsibilities and more time with my family!
I’ve especially loved our Sundays. We’ve done our church at home and it’s been a beautiful experience. I look forward to it each week. Kev and I have also been enjoying making lots of good food every Sunday! It’s been wonderful!
Kev got a Traeger Grill a couple months ago, so he’s been smoking some awesome meat for us. He’s done turkey, steak, bratwurst, pulled pork and ham. He even smoked some Papa Murphy’s pizzas for us last weekend and they were so dang yummy!
So on Sundays, he’s been doing the meat and I’ve been doing all the sides and dessert! It’s a very awesome eating day!
He smoked this ham last Sunday. It was beautiful and tasty!
I made some rolls (here’s my recipe if you’d like it)…..
I also made some deviled eggs….
And here’s the rest of our spread…..
I made some “Funeral Potatoes” and corn as well. I found this Funeral Potato recipe that looks to be very similar to the recipe I used. I used my mom’s recipe and I haven’t put it on the blog yet! Someday I will!
Yay for Sunday dinner!
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I also wanted to share that I signed up for the Oxygen Magazine Challenge #6 and it’s starts on Monday (May 4th!)
The two coaches to choose from are Nikki Snow and Jen Esquer. I wasn’t familiar with either of them, but after doing a little research, I chose Nikki as my coach. I relate more to her and her style.
I love Oxygen Magazine so much and have read it for years and years. It’s just a very awesome women’s health, fitness and weight lifting magazine. It’s the next level up from magazines such as Shape and Fitness. I like those magazines too, but Oxygen is legit!
So, this will be my fifth challenge with them. I really love these challenges and always learn so much! Ya know, I’ve really only completed one of the challenges 100%, but I did all of the other challenges most of the way and I was always glad I did each of them.
I’ve shared these pictures before, but I’ll share them again. These are the results I got from my first challenge after just the first month (it’s a three month challenge.)
I fizzled out a little after this, but I kept the weight off and loved the challenge!
These are the results I got from the challenge I stuck with 100%.
In full disclosure, I struggled a bit throughout the second month, but I didn’t quit! I saw it through to the end!
I saw great results with all of the challenges, but I didn’t take any more “after” pictures. I intend to really dig deep and stick with this Oxygen Challenge! I love challenging myself and learning new things.
It’s also super motivating because there’s a Facebook group with hundreds of wonderful ladies who share so many great things. There’s also a contest to be on the COVER of the magazine and other contests like “Fittest mom” and “Fittest Masters Athlete (40+).” It’s great and keeps me “in it.”
If any of ya’ll want to sign up for the challenge, you still can! It’s reasonably priced and includes 3 months of workouts, a ton of great recipes and live videos and coaching. I REALLY love it! I also have a 20% off code you can use. There ya go, http://oxygen.refr.cc/melanieb
Well, I think that’s all I have to say today! I will keep ya’ll posted throughout my Oxygen Challenge. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! xoxo
