sunshine and tulips

 This year the first year that we have gone to the tulips and we didn't have to wear coats. It was so warm and sunny and normally we have rain or clouds and mud.

 The kids loved running around with the kites while we waited for my parents to arrive. When everyone was here we went to walk along the tulips and enjoy the beautiful colors.

I love how pretty they look, so many colors and types, it is fun to see what will be there every year. This is our 6th year going up to Mount Vernon to see the tulips and it is something the kids always look forward to seeing.

Books to read

I have a few authors I love and I have a request list at our local library keeping me supplied with great books. It is always great to have something to read when it is cold out .
 I just finished Kate Morton's new book the Lake House and it was another great book. I love how she keeps you guessing until the end. I never want her books to end and I feel a little sad when they do.

What Alice forgot is a great story by Liane Moriarty and really makes you think about how people change when they get older and become parents. Loved it so much I couldn't put it down.

I also finally finished Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah author of the Nightingale. It is a story of two friends through out the decades and was so good. There is a second book I haven't read yet but will sometime.

I read Susan Meissner's Sunset over Sunset boulevard and can't wait to get into it.I love how she twist stories and they have a common connection. This one was good but a little different then her other ones most of the book was in  one time period with little glimpse of another.

 A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable a new author for me that I am excited to read too. Love a good story in Paris. This one was good and after I got in to it I liked it. I thought it was interesting since it was based on something that really happened and I found my self looking up people and things on line to better understand things.
I just finished three wishes another book by Liane Moriarty. It was about three triplets and their lives and what happens to them. It was a good story but not my favorite of Ms. Moriarty books.

 A few other book I read this summer /fall
 All the Light you can not see - such a great story but definitely heavy material and took me a little while.
 The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah the same topic as the book above but different view/ story. So good it made me cry at the end. It is truly an amazing story and made me so thankful that I have never had to deal with what these ladies did but they were true heroes and so brave.
I also read True Colors by Kristen Hannah and it was a great story and I loved that it was set in Washington so I knew some of the places (  Firefly Lane was set in Washington too)
I read Liane Moriarty Big Little Lies and The Husbands secret - both were great stories - I didn't want big little lies to end. 
 

My Favorite online Workout sites

As a mom sometimes it is hard to find time to work out but there are some great websites that I use and it makes staying on track with working out easy. I love the challenges and calendars they provide because I can get up and see what the workout is and do it. 

My first one is Jessicasmithtv – I love working out with Jessica and her dog Peanut. She has so many great workouts to try from Kickboxing, toning, cardio, HIIT (High intensity interval training) and barre. Somedays I have time for one of the longer workouts but even on days that I don’t have as long there are some great workouts.

The next one I use a lot is Tone it up. Karena and Katrina are fun and energetic and they have a lot of great workouts to pick from or you can follow their weekly schedule. I follow the weekly schedule and adjust when they have a workout you need to buy. They have a meal program, dvds and other great products.

A new workout I just started is Blogilates. Cassey Ho is so upbeat and happy that it is contagious and it makes working out fun and she makes you work. I am just starting the second week of the beginner’s workout since it has been awhile since I have done Pilates and I wanted to make sure I learned some of the routines and got familiar with Pilates moves and techniques. I am excited to try the May calendar and see how that goes once I am done with the beginner one since I was sore last week but feeling stronger.

 Another workout I want to try is Barre3 and for as little as 15 a month you have access to tons of workouts from10 minutes to 60 minutes.

The thing I love about all of these ladies is that they have great workouts, they are encouraging and have great communities, and the workouts vary in length so you can mix and match depending on the time you have. I also love that they encourage you to be strong and healthy, it is not who is the skinniest kind of thinking. It is about being the best you, strong, healthy and confident.  I am excited upcoming challenges from the TIU girls – bikini series is coming April 25 and it always amazing ( you can sign up now) . 
I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do. Do you have any favorite workouts? What do you do to stay healthy?

Dear Seahawks

I would like to thank you for another great season. Yesterday as we watched the game my kids said we could still win and we watched you put up point after point and even though you did not get enough to win, we love how you never gave up. You kept fighting until the end. I love that and at our house we call it the Seahawk spirit. If your math homework is tough keep trying don’t give up , if learning to tie your shoe seems impossible keep trying, you will get it.
We love being 12’s because it is a family a group of people who care about each other. We love all and welcome all . That is a great thing. My daughter goes to the games with her dad sometimes and she is learning about how total strangers will buy hot chocolate because you are cold. You don’t stop believing that something good will happen because there were some amazing come backs and plays that she will never forget.

Sometimes the best seasons are the seasons where you grow and learn. This season I have seen players step up and fill in when players get hurt or just when they are needed. There have been amazing plays by these amazing guys and I think people totally underestimate them but yet here they are breaking records and helping their team win games and get back to the play offs. So many didn’t have faith in the Seahawks after a rough start to the season but we had faith and we knew they could do it.

I was reading my devotion yesterday and it was about failure and how God  uses them to do amazing things. Sometimes these are the times we learn the most or that become our greatest time not because things were perfect and we won but because we were honest and real and we let God work in us.So learn from this time and get better. Thank you for being humble and honest because there are to many players who seem to full of themselves and make bad choices. 

So thank you teaching us, entertaining us and working so hard this season. We can’t wait for next season!

Go Hawks!