Feel Great In 8

Feel Great In 8 is a program that allows you to eat right, feel great physically and spiritually, all while gaining points for a cash reward. My Team and I are already in our 4th week, and we are all noticing an amazing difference in our lives and in ourselves. This has definitely been a challenge, but how I feel makes it all worth it.

Phone Blogging

Just set up blogger on my phone. I can now blog from my phone.
      Joshua

Henslee and Pop-pop

Henslee is a pretty happy baby, but can so serious sometimes! Colden was like this too. However, whenever Henslee is with Pop-pop she is pretty chill. I think my dad might be a baby whisperer!

A Colden good morning!

Sometimes you just need to snuggle your blanket a little bit longer! Colden has a lot of business that he has to have when he sleeps. Some mornings this business follows him to breakfast. Most of the time it is only one item, and somedays it is a whole bunch. On this particular day he only had gimli.

Henslee

Training Improvement

TRAINING DAY IMPROVEMENTS

   
     So I decided not to keep writing about every day I trained, solely on the fact that I really don't like typing and do not prefer to blog. However, Samantha has encouraged me to at least blog at the end of my week. For today, I am posting because I have improved immensely on my training.
     Saturday February 9th I just jogged the 2 miles just to jog. No time required, just needed to do a 2 mile jog. I jogged it with Copper my dog in 19 min. I could only do it in 22 minutes my first time.

Today February 12, 2013:

I ran a mile in 9:52 minutes

I did 25 push-ups in 0:45 seconds

I did 30 sit-ups in 1:45 minutes

     So as anybody who reads this can compare to my first day, I have made quite the improvement and am very proud for myself. Thanks for those who are supporting me, especially to Samantha and Colden and Sassafras! Love you guys! 

Training Day 4

     Alrighty then! So today Samantha had me do some conditioning workouts that she thought would help instead of just doing the requirements for the OSP tests. I did not exactly agree with it and neither did my body. I am very grateful for the support that Sam is giving. She is like my own Jillian Michaels, but less mean. So, for today's training day:

     TRAINING DAY 4: I started out with an ab workout. I took a ball, went up in front of myself, then to my left, and then the right, and back down again. I did this workout for 1 straight minute then rested for a minute, x3.

     Then I did burpees, and for anyone who knows what a burpee is, you know what I am talking about. From a squatting position, you jump straight up, into a squat, straight to a push-up, back to a squat, and then jump up again.

I did these for 1 minute straight then stretched and walked around for a minute, x3.

     After the burpees I did wall push-ups. Which are a lot harder than they sound. For these, I did them for 1 straight minute and rested for 30 seconds, x3.

     Lastly, Samantha and Colden even joined in on this. We found a clip on YouTube of a beginning Zumba dance class, and oh boy that was fun, and a workout!

     Like I was saying, I enjoyed that Samantha is pushing me to do something different and that I actually was very grateful for the workouts she has me doing. I am definitely feeling this tonight and even tomorrow I am sure.

Training Day 3

     Today February 2nd was day 3 of training. Still a little stuffy and short of breath due to illness. I attempted my fastest mile run, and sucked major at it. I jogged to the school, stretched, and prepared for the run. All seemed good and well until I started. I got off to a great start, but when I hit the corner which was not even 30 yards away, it all went down hill. I lost all strength and my ability to breath correctly. My legs felt like they  wanted to give and I was breathing like a lifetime smoker or asthmatic person trying to run a 5k. I am not trying to make excuses for my horrible time (because I am still a beginner), but seriously I should not have tried that while still being sick. This just means that my running/jogging, sit-ups, and push-ups will be that much more improved when I am not sick.

TRAINING DAY 3: I ran my fastest 1 mile in 9:58 minutes

I did 10 sit-ups in 0:44 seconds

I did 23 push-ups in 1:08 minutes

Training Day 2

     So training day 2 did not go as well as I had wanted it to. I finally got the 24 hr. bug that has been going around. I did manage to do my sit-ups and my push-ups, but did not get my run in. Samantha, Colden and I did however get the master bedroom cleaned, which I don't think has been clean since we moved into our current establishment. I guess we can call that my cardio workout for the day.

TRAINING DAY 2: I did 22 push-ups in 0:50 seconds (before crashing)

I did 14 sit-ups in 1:06 minutes (an improvement)

and no run in.

Training Day 1

     On Wednesday Samantha was looking online and noticed that the Oregon State Police were taking applications. It also happened to be the last day to file the application. If my (Joshua) application gets excepted I will be going in for the testing stage at the beginning of March. So this gives me about a month to train myself physically and mentally.
     I have not done a serious workout since I was in high school. I know that I used to be in good shape when I had gym classes. When I graduated I lost the opportunity to have the access to that free gym and scheduled classes. So I worked for the three or so years before getting married. When Samantha and I got married I decided to see how long it would take me to run 2 miles.
     It was 2009 when I ran those 2 miles, and I did it in about 15 minutes. To pass the physical part of the OSP testing, a person at my age, which is 25, has to be able to run 2 miles in 16 minutes, do 40 push-ups in 2 minutes, and 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes. Easier said than done right? Well, maybe for someone who is in good shape and lives a little healthier lifestyle than I.

I am about 5'9, 230 lbs. and very much out of shape

DAY 1 of TRAINING: I ran 2 miles in 22:06 minutes

I did 22 push-ups in 1:15 minutes (before I could do no more)

and sadly I did 10 sit-ups in 0:30 seconds (before I could do no more)

Colden is Such a Talker!

So I haven't posted in forever, and a lot has happened. Hopefully, I will be able to get caught up, but for now, I want to make a list of Colden's vocabulary. I have been telling myself to do this for weeks now, so I am finally doing it! We started signing with Colden when we was around 4 months. We didn't do a lot, just made sure when we talked to him about stuff we signed as much as we could. I didn't really think it was going to be as cool as it has been. I am so glad we did it! At first he would just look at us and laugh, but when he was around 9/10 months he did he first sign, and said his first word. The sign was Dog, and the word was "Ca" which was his version of Copper. Since then he has taken off! He has learned some signs faster then we can learn them to teach him more. It is really funny now, because he tries to make his own signs for words he is saying. So here is the list, and hopefully I don't forget any!!! Some things don't sound exactly how they are spelled, but just imagine what these words sound like coming out of a 13 month old mouth! I will put a big "S" by words he signs also!

Copper "Ca" S
Treat S
Sit
Sit down
poop S (even let's us know when has done so, by saying it, and signing it!)
bat
deer S
Thank you
please S
more S
all done S
all gone S
this
bite S
eat S
cheese S
shoes
socks S
Water S
stop
kitty S
car
honk
ball S
banana S
apple S
Milk S
eyes S(he made up his own sign for this)
bath
play S
Dad S
Josh
Dinosaur S
Llama S
Go
Out
Baby S (this is my favorite! He is so cute!)
toys
friend S
Hat S
Brush teeth S
wash S (for washing hands)
Fish S
Sleep S
 Ya or Yes
Uh oh
Bye(with a wave)
Hey
Spider
Ouch
Hot S
I think that is all of them, but he adds new words everyday! He is such a funny kid and we love him so much!     I will do my best to get all updated and keep it updated! I hope everyone is having a great Fall!!

Is it Summer Yet?

For a few days we got a glimpse of what summer (hopefully) has in store for us! So being the summer lovers that we are...we took advantage of it! Nothing like a nice trip to a park, and a dip in a pool, a very small pool, but a pool none the less! Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jordan, Aunt Alex, Copper, and cousin Braden were all there to enjoy the day with us too! It was nice to hang around outside. It made me really excited for camping! It made me even more excited to take Colden camping! I just know he is going to love it as much as we do! 

 Colden enjoying the shade.

 Can't be a good practice day for summer, without getting our feet dirty!

 The water was a little chilly for sitting in, but Colden loved splashing around.

No pre-summer day is complete without some cute little cheeks!

After our little glimpse of warmness, it got cloudy and cold again. Summer isn't to far away...

Down on the Farm!

Living in Oregon is such a blessing! One of the greatest aspects of our green state, is the proximity we have to farms! Buaman's isn't exactly the closest, but I knew they have farm animals to pet, and feed, and they have a great selection of plants and flowers, plus a nice place to walk around. Jordan and my mom came up for a few days, and we were able to take a trip up there. Best part...Josh had the day off, so he got to come too! Josh getting to be there for some of Colden's firsts was awesome!

No better way to start off an adventure! Nap with Llama!

 Rooster! This guy was pretty loud! We walked with him from the courtyard area, all the way to the barn! 

 Jordan got to show off her farm girl side!

 Some pretty flowers!!

 guinea hen! Josh said these ladies are pretty loud, but this one seemed pretty chill.

Colden loves animals! This was a cute little baby goat. He was so interested in them. Every thing just seemed

 Sheep!!!

I was really nervous about his little fingers being so close to animals with big sharp teeth! But, Josh was there, and the animals were all very gentle. You could tell they were used to little kids. Colden came home with all of his fingers!

  Of course have to clean our hands after we play with barn animals! Colden also loves water, so this was fun for him too!

 Colden takes his tractor rides very seriously! Just kidding, he was laughing and having  good time! Sometimes he just feels like he needs his serious look.

On top of some tires! He wasn't so sure about this, but seemed to like the view. 

Colden is so amazing to me. He loves to look at things, and touch them! I love seeing the world through his eyes. I never realized how awesome having a little boy would be! He is always so excited for new stuff. Taking him to see the animals, and hear them was really neat. He makes us laugh everyday! I can't wait to see what he brings to our family next! Here's to our next adventure!

Seven Months!

Colden is Seven months old! He can roll over both ways, stand with help, and sit up. He still falls down every once and while, especially when he is tired. He loves, loves, loves Copper, Todd, and MJ. I think he gets more excited to see Copper than to see me. He still loves his Dad the most though, as soon as he sees Josh come home he gets all jumpy and squealy! He has had tons of fruits and vegetables, and loves them all! He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but I am sure that will happen...Someday...right? Oh well he is a great baby during the day, always playing and having fun. Since we were able to get a camera I feel good about getting a lot of pictures of him. He is pretty good at smiling for the camera, except when he is cranky! He has had a cold for a couple days, but seems like he is getting over it! He makes all kinds of noises, like gaga, mama, dada, baba, and owe. He still does what we call lady talk, where he talks quietly and softly. He also can scream and screech! We have a lot of fun just showing him new things. HE loves the bath too! He loves playing in the water with his toys, and splashing!

Seven Months old and cranky!

 Also, a little sleepy!

 Watching Copper. Copper kept barking at Colden. I am not sure why, but Colden was pretty curious about it too!

Smiling at Copper. 

Here is a shot oh his two teeth!

Easter!

Colden's first Easter! I can't believe how much time has passed! We were able to go to Eugene for Baby Braden's blessing. It was a quick short trip, because Josh had to go back to work after church, but we were able to get a few family pictures. Colden seemed pretty excited about his Easter basket, although he had been using, and playing with most of things he got before Easter. That is one good thing about having a little guy, he can play with his new toys, and then get them for Easter and love them just as much. We didn't die eggs or go look for any, but we still had a pretty good time. Hopefully next year we will get to do some more activities!

 Our family! You can kind of see it in this picture, but Josh spiked Colden's hair up for church!

 Colden checking out all his new stuff! Yay for tooth paste! Colden has two teeth now, so that means he needs to have his teeth brushed! 

 Hanging out in Jordan's Easter basket!

 Here is Colden's Easter basket.

Colden loves to touch and feel new things. Especially with his toes! My mom was holding him over the flowers, and he was trying to grab them with his toes!

We are still here!

So if you couldn't tell we had a baby! Yay! His name is Colden. Really old news, but I felt like I needed to say it before I continued on! I really wanted the first thing I posted to be Colden's birth story, but I also wanted the pictures to go with it. Unfortunately I don't have the pictures yet, so that chapter will have to be told another day.  I am just going to start with where we are now and move forward. In between I will post things from the past to try and catch up. It will be like one of those crazy novels that jumps around in time, and you have to figure out which part of the story you are currently reading! So here is a recent picture of Colden!

 He is amazing and we love him! Right now he can roll from is tummy to his back, and has been able to since we brought him home. He loves french children's songs. He is now is size three diapers!! Amazing! We went in for his check up and his in the 60th percentile. It is crazy because to me he seems big, but he is right around average. He loves his llama and anything soft and fuzzy. Up until recently Josh was the only one who could really make him laugh, but now he laughs at me too!! He can cry really loud. He will let you know when he is upset! We are pretty sure he is going to have red hair. He is happy a lot, and we are having a blast with him. He has the cutest chubby cheeks. He loves dance parties! When he is fussy we have to dance with him. He loves baths and showers, listening to meditation music and nature sounds, and he talks with this cute little dainty voice. He can crawl backwards, and stand with help. He loves holding on to your hand, especially when his is sleepy. Ok! here are some more pictures!!!

Blogging from my phone!

I Tried sending things to my blog from my phone, and it didn't work so well. Good news is... iPhone has an app for blogger!! I like it! And now a cute baby picture!

Maternity Photographs!

Having a best friend that is a professional photographer is such a blessing! I can pretty much guarantee that the most important important moments of my life will always be well documented, and I will look amazing! Luckily this summer Kristen and I found a time and a place to take some maternity pictures of me! Yes it may have been 80 degrees, and it might have been a dog park, we also might have had both her kids, Copper, and Josh running around us, but I think they turned out amazing! I couldn't be more happier! Thank you again Kristen! You have such a great talent! Here are a few of my favorites!