Camping/MTN Biking at Devil’s Den

A few weeks ago we drove about 2 hours away to Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas to camp and hangout at their annual mountain bike festival. I had wanted to go last year, but we didn’t get too, so this year we made the reservations so there was no turning back. Fortunately, we also went with some friends (who also happen to be our neighbors). Each of our kids had someone to hangout with and it was great because they all seem to get along well.

The festival itself wasn’t too exciting. There weren’t a lot of booths set up, but it was fun to ride with a group of MTN bikers (even if I was one of the slower ones).

Lilly went on her first trail that weekend. At first she thought it was awesome, then she started to freak herself out, but in the end she pushed through it and ended with a smile on her face, which is all I could ask for.

Everyone had a blast, except for the undeniably COLD conditions we slept it, that was pure torture at its finest. It was actually painful. Cold camping is the opposite of fun.

Some photos to document our trip….

 

Mountain Biking with the Boys

FINALLY!!!  I am so excited because I found a killer deal on a Scott Mountain bike for my daughter, which she loves. However, her big brother (8 years old) borrowed it for the day to try out mountain biking with mom and dad. My nephew also joined us, who is also 8.

This was on the Slaughter Pen trail system in NW Arkansas. If you are ever in the area, be sure not to miss it. There are many miles and difficultly levels for everyone.

We had an amazing Halloween morning biking, even with a temp of only 45 degrees. Can’t wait to go back!

We got our wrecks out of the way early and had a blast through 5 miles of beautiful AR terrain.

 

One Mile a Day

Around here, being active is what it’s all about.

We encourage each other to run, bike, swim, etc…. daily.

We go as a family with our 6 and 7 year old and run a mile, or ride the trails, or swim laps (actually, I don’t swim laps — not for me!)

We have been pretty regular on working out, but the last few weeks I’ve been thinking sometimes it’s just too hard to get in a long workout, or I just don’t feel like it, so I came up with a one mile mentality. One Mile. Each day. Minimum.

Of course you can do more than one mile, that’s awesome, good for you, but for those days where you don’t feel well, or the day is jammed packed already… one mile is doable. It’s not much, but just enough.

It’s a great start for those who have trouble working out, or being motivated.

I wanted to challenge each of you to a mile a day. One mile. Walk, run, bike, whatever, just get up and move. Each day for one mile. You can do it.

You won’t regret it, and once you get the ball rolling, you will start to feel amazing and hopefully you will never stop. Maybe increasing your distance down the road. But don’t focus on that now, just focus on 1 mile. It could be a life changer.

1 mile a day. 7 miles a week. 30 miles a month. Imagine the awesomeness of accomplishing that.

Also, it is so much more fun to workout when you have an app like MapMyRun or RunKeeper to keep track of workouts. You feel good looking back on workouts, speed, calories burnt, etc. You can have friends and keep track of each other. Another neat feature are the challenges. You can win cool prizes for completing these.

My kids were 4 and 5 for this 3 mile walk in Houston. Kids need someone to show them the way to living an active and healthy lifestyle. Be their role model. Families that workout together, stick together :)

Intermediate BMXer

So proud of my son for turning Intermediate in his favorite sport!

If you don’t know much about BMX, here is a small background on him with the sport:

Turner picked up this sport back when we lived in Texas, he was 5 years old.

All riders start out NOVICE, and must win 10 races to move up to INTERMEDIATE, once INTERMEDIATE you earn more points and you can wear clip less shoes and have clipless pedals (which help increase your speed on the track).  So we will be getting these soon!

INTERMEDIATE riders must win 20 races to move up to EXPERT (where you get EXPERT points).

Each level receives points and at the end of the year you get a plate number based on your districts standings, or your state and national standings (if you competed in those races).

Turner LOVES this sport and has recruited 4 other kids age 6-11 to start racing.

I highly encourage your children (if they enjoy bikes), to find your local track and have fun trying it out. You can find a track here.

There is also Strider racing for the younger kids who can’t ride bikes yet. They are balance bikes and my son had one when he was 2 years old!  He loved that bike, and rode it everywhere. I really think this is why he was able to hop on a bike in no time flat.

Here is my daughter racing Strider last year.

I’ve even raced twice this year!  It’s for everyone and the whole family can get involved, that’s one reason why it’s so appealing to us.

And once your child gets older, and if they ever turn PRO, there is money involved as well, an added perk to something you love doing!

GET OUT AND RIDE!

Triathlons are so much fun!

Turner entered in his 1st triathlon of the year.  We each compete in a minimum of at least 1 race each year, however, more are encouraged. He and his sister are currently training for another TRI at the end of August. Jason recently ran two 5Ks, placing 2nd in one, and getting a PR in the other. I am training for a 50 mile bike ride in August. And Jason and I are also entering in a team Duathlon in October.

We love to be active together as a family. Yes, we are the crazy fun family you will find running down the neighborhood street, riding bikes at the park, hanging out at the Y, trying out rock climbing, kayaking, anything outdoors…. it really brings us closer together in one of the best ways possible.

Turner was semi-ready for this race, he could have done with some more swimming training, but finished 5th overall and had a fun time.

He is the 2nd to the left.

Check out this site to find races near you!

Both kids competed in 4 youth Tri’s last year as their 1st official year competing and the last one was amazing, both getting on the stand!

    

    

Lilly was the last person in the entire race to cross the finish line, and they made it amazing and glorious to watch. If you have 2 minutes I encourage you to see the good in people and the fun in racing by watching this video, it’s her crossing the finish line, with lots of kids running behind her cheering her on and other parents making a tunnel at the finish!  There’s also a link from our Facebook page.

I really want to encourage all you parents out there to get up and enjoy your time with your children.  It is short lived, they will never be this young again. Have fun with them, train with them, race with them, it truly brings everyone closer and I promise you won’t regret it!

Biking is awesome, you should try it

I just wanted to share with everyone my love of biking.

I picked up this hobby about 2 years ago while living near Houston, TX…. League City actually. A ton of people bike there: BMX, mountain, road… everything.

So I went and bought myself a mountain bike and road bike from Sun Ski Sports (both on sale, an added bonus!)

And so the love began. I have always enjoyed biking, but now am more serious about it, I mean I wear an $80 bike helmet, gloves, you know, the whole shebang!

I just want to encourage who ever is reading this to try out biking, or at least another outdoor hobby you have always wanted to get into. It’s never too late to start.

The mornings when I get up and ride I feel so much more alive and an overall better sense of happiness.

It’s amazing what nature can do for you, and riding next to groundhogs, deer, snakes, etc is really something else.

So, hop on a bike and start pedaling! Even better —  find a bike buddy!

A Day in My Shoes

Tuesday, June 10th

7AM Workout, I wanted to hurry, so I skipped the treadmill & worked out on a StairStep, it was awesome!  I did 115 floors in 20 min, it was the HILL setting, and burned 248 calories, then I pumped some iron. Mumford and Sons always helps me get through my workouts or Maroon 5 🙂

 

8AM Got home, put in a load of laundry and cleaned the kitchen (I even mopped!)

9AM Got the kids some breakfast and hopped in the shower!

10AM  Finished Miquon Math after breakfast then drove to the library for a Magic Show!

11AM  Magic Show — Turner was picked to go on stage, he thought it was cool!

11:30AM  Sonic break!

12PM  School time, I helped the kids with their stuff for the day. Here is a run-down for today (they can do it in any order):  Miquon, Khan, Science, Reading, Keyboard practice, and Spanish.

2PM My sister called and wanted to meet up at the park, the kids loved feeding the fish and finally getting down the monkey bars!

 

4PM Got home and cleaned the fish tank, this is our 2nd Betta (I kinda killed the 1st one, oops!)

5PM-8PM Coaching at the ball field 🙂  We WON!  I really LOVE volunteer coaching.  It’s something I started about 2 years ago, and will continue for many years.

——— Jason made dinner tonight while I was gone — he’s so great ———-

8PM Decided to watch Catching Fire before bed and snack on some Jalapeño popcorn

11PM Bed!