Back to Nature!

So the weekend after the theme park we decided to take the girls up to the mountains in the Shenandoah and go hiking! Justin grew up in Oregon in a town surrounded by wilderness and mountains...I did not. I grew up in the Texas Hill Country, and the only hiking I had ever done was up the trail at enchanted rock **still a great time and if you're in central TX you've gotta do it!!**

We made the hour drive to the mountains, and began the hike. I was a little hesitant about how Madi would do with being carried all the way up, and we would still be on the way up if she was walking herself. But she did great! She rode all the way up and down the mountain on Justin's shoulders.
Bethany, who is not a nature girl when it comes to bugs so this could have been bad...but she also did great! She complained less than we expected and completed the full hike! She only fell down a few times, and by the end I think she learned how to avoid the sticks on the ground that were tripping her up. I absolutely loved the hike! I love being outside and this was right up my alley! I love the trees and the smells, and the little creeks and streams that are all around! It was beautiful!! My first hike will certainly not be my last!

I know this blog is intended to be about health and fitness and this post as well as the last have a lot to do with family. I am posting these things because as we improve our health we are able and willing to do more active things with our kids! It is awesome!

I want my kids to lead active lifestyles, to see past the television to the world around them, and put the laptops down and find true adventure.

I also post these things to encourage you to get out and play with your kids. Ask them to join you for your workouts, teach them about fitness from the get go, so they don't have to fight an uphill battle for health like so many of us!

Bethany is a morning person...like a really early morning person. She usually gets up about an hour before Madison and I (as in 6am, she's crazy). The last 2 mornings I have come down to the living room to find my yoga mat out on the floor. She did her kids' yoga workouts on her own, and was folding laundry. Just gotta say...awesome kid!

I wear a fitbit everyday to track my steps and fitness each day....we logged 7 miles at Kings Dominion (not including the water park), we hiked 4.35 mi on the mountains and 615 feet!! Family fun days can be a great way to get your workouts in!

Roller Coasting!

A couple weeks ago Justin and I embarked on a journey most parents cringe at...we took the kids to the theme park. I say cringe because lets be honest this can be a less than desirable experience depending on the age of your kids.

This is the time that we are reminded exactly how inconvenient the 6 year age gap in our kids is, especially at these ages. Bethany can ride pretty much everything and Madison doesn't understand why she can only ride baby rides. Neither one of them are going to go on their own and Justin and I cant ride anything together because someone always has to be with the kids. So needless to say we had been avoiding the whole situation. Not to mention the last time we went to a theme park we were both overweight. I was on the smaller side after my initial weight loss, and hadn't gained a lot of it back just yet, and his marriage weight gain was on the rise.

But going to a theme park as an overweight or obese person can really be terrible. You can't fit comfortably into the seats on most rides, or even ride some of them because of a weight limit. Walking confidently in the water park? YEAH RIGHT!

Justin and I like to think of ourselves as fun parents and we do really enjoy roller coasters, so we were semi excited about that part of the visit to Kings Dominion. We arrived when the park opened with 2 very excited, sunscreen coated girls. And we had a great day! There was no drama (well...minimal drama we do have 2 daughters) and both kids did great all day!

I met a fellow fitness and health coach watching Madison drive the monster trucks, and that was a total God thing. We were discussing how being at a place like Kings Dominion really shows us how we are the small percentage of the population that is health conscious. 'Gym Rats', 'Health Nuts', we are the exception, not the rule. I guess it is human nature to flock to those similar to you. I am at the gym everyday and everyone there when I go is for the most part always there. I go to church at Lifepoint every Sunday, and everyone there is on fire for Christ. In my little bubble of influence everyone is pretty positive, genuine, and encouraging. It isn't until you go places like the theme park full of the general population that you realize how unhealthy and unhappy the general population can be. People screaming at their children, morbidly obese people on scooters (eating fried oreos...seriously people you can't make this stuff up), and the group of 9 year old boys in front of us in line at the water park who were talking like thugs, cussing in front of their mother who did nothing to correct them. Not my favorite.

 Universal Studios 2010

 Kings Dominion 2012 (We look so much younger....except for Bethany...she looks like a baby in the Disney photos!)

 Thanks Madi for the awesome family photo with the peanuts characters!

Finding people to do life with that lift you up and encourage you to be the best version of yourself is crucial to meeting and keeping your fitness goals. On the days that I stumble I am so blessed to have a spouse to lift me up and encourage me. On the days when I just don't feel like working out, I am blessed to have a beachbody coach to tell me to push play or head to the gym. Everybody needs somebody to hold them accountable. Please let us know how we can help encourage you! Major's Motivation has openings for in home health coaching and is now accepting new clients!