Quick Weekend Update

It's 5 am and I've been fighting sleep for the last hour. Part of me wants to sleep and the other part is raring to go. The logical side of me wants to go back to sleep so I can make it through the day. The active part of me is itching for some excitement and personal time. I could spend this time reading my scriptures and/or another book, sewing, cleaning, running on the treadmill....oh the possibilities!! I finally opted to start with updating and see where it takes us.

I am glad I decided to do Core Synergistics on Sat. I actually followed through and in the process, something clicked inside me. I feel committed at this point. I have a plan and will stick with it. This morning I even thought about doing the next disc despite my plan to wait til my off days. So how did it go, you wonder? Well, it was hard. I was sweating before the warm up was even over. I made the mistake of eating an apple before starting and ended up feeling really nauseous by the end. Core involved a lot of varieties of pushups which meant that I only did a handful or a lot of modified ones after watching them bust out 10. I have a long way to go before I can keep up, but everyone has to start somewhere. I am surprised that I am not more sore in my abs but this is also good b/c I did not stop at the morning workout. Later in the afternoon we went on a neighborhood bike ride and then followed that up with a trip to the pool. My legs and arms are still recovering.

I am so proud of my boys! At the beginning of the summer Jared was a wobbly unsure bike rider and now he's riding circles around us and trying to jump over curbs. Aaron is gaining confidence fast. Thursday we tried to go down the street on a ride and it took him 15 minutes to decide to go down the 'hill'. It scared him. He finally opted to walk the bike down til the street leveled out and then start. He was slow at first and then as he got comfortable, he picked up more and more speed. We went down around the culdesac and back up to our street. When he reached the top he let out a yell: That was so awesome!! Let's do it again!!  I promised him we'd go the next day. And we did. We followed the same path (again he walked his bike down the hill, but there wasn't a 15 minute hesitation to begin) and then decided to go over to the next street which also has an incline to go down, but he just kept going. Granted, it isn't as steep an incline but he was offering whoops of joy as he felt the wind in his hair. One of the culdesac's sidewalks end at a driveway so Aaron had to muster his courage to go down the 'hill'. He took it slow, but he didn't brake all the way down as he's inclined to do. YAY! He made it down and kept on going. At this point driveways aren't a big deal at all, though he still has yet to conquer the hill.

I decided that bike riding is a great family bonding experience, so I told Aaron that I think it would be ok if we went on a bike ride on Sunday. Oh the excitement!! It seemed like an easy enough thing when I said it, but when yesterday came around and I was so sore, I wasn't sure I could do it. I really just wanted to lay down and get a massage! But I made a promise so I had to follow through. It was worth it. So worth it. I was right about it being an appropriate Sunday activity as a family bonding experience. There is a business with a large parking lot across from our neighborhood that we went to after riding through our neighborhood a bit. We had races, chases, and free play. We let Aaron have a parking space start before Jared and I took off in the races. Oh my goodness!! Aaron was so fast! Jared and I had to work really hard to win. We really ought to have let him win, but I have never been good at that :/ I will have to remember to do so next time.

There is a drive around the building that I'd been curious to explore but never wanted to by myself because I knew if I went, the boys would follow and I just wasn't willing to cross that bridge. But yesterday Jared brought up that he wondered where it went. We decided to explore it together. Aaron was pretty winded at that point and thus playing in the dirt. We cajoled him into going with us. He made it halfway across the parking lot before he admitted his legs were really tired. I gave him a drink of water and off he went!! The drive opens into the employee parking lot and oh man what a difference in care!! Potholes, cracks in the pavement, curbs....a great place for Jared and his burgeoning daredevil side. Not so great for Aaron and his training wheels. We discovered the pavement went even farther though - to the loading docks behind the building. It was the oddest thing. It got cold. There was like a line we crossed as we approached the back of the building. At this point the sun was starting to set, so maybe that had something to do with it, but it was kind of eerie. And with that, we decided it was time to go home. Jared told me he made a goal to ride his bike every day. I affirmed that I hoped we could keep it up after school starts, but in the meantime, I think we can do that :)

When I offered to go to the parking lot, I did it with reservations. The last time we'd gone, Mom was here and I was ready for a break before the boys were. I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy riding my bike in circles until the boys tired out. But it turned out ok. In fact, it was more than ok. We had fun the whole time, and even more amazing, I did not feel my soreness one bit. So there's a couple of lessons in there, but the one I want to hold on to at the moment is that just because I am sore does not mean I am limited. I say this in anticipation of my run today. My legs are sore and I wonder how they will be effected by all this cross training. I am hoping that I have more endurance and strength. Aaron has gotten so confident in his riding that I think we will be a good match as I run. Jared will still be riding circles around us, but Aaron won't be so far behind that it is a hindrance. And as I mentioned in the beginning, my body feels itching to be on the move. It really is like something's been awakened in my body.

At the end of the day Saturday, I felt so grateful to be here in NJ because I can be outside and be active without worrying about heat exhaustion. I don't ever remember feeling so happy to be active - especially outside activity kind of active. I know I have enjoyed bike riding very much as a youth, but that is about the scope of it. I have lots of memories of going outside to start a game with one of my brothers and quitting to go inside before he was ready. I just did not have the attention span to stay outside for long. At the moment, I feel like I could actually keep up with my kids. I look forward to becoming more and more fit. Of course, the downside of NJ is that winter is coming. But I hope that I can find other ways to enjoy the outdoors and not stop being active.

One more brag on my boys. They started off not being very confident in the water. Jared was more confident than Aaron, but still a pretty weak swimmer.  He worked this summer on being able to go from one side of the pool to the other without stopping and standing up in the process. He can do that now :) Aaron has relied on his floaties big time, though he was getting more and more confident at the same time. Well, the floaties finaly broke and all he had to rely on were pool noodles. He can get around in the water pretty well with the floaties or noodles, but he won't put his face in the water. Something clicked in him on Saturday and he decided to try real swimming. Face in the water swimming. Ta da!! Swimming with confidence! I want to go swimming every day this week to keep up this momentum and see how far he can get before the pool closes for the season on Labor Day (next Monday). He pretty much doggie paddles, so he needs some tweaking but being willing to put his face in the water and sink without panicking is a HUGE step forward.

I would say that this has been a summer of growth for all of us.