I love to bounce!!!! Day 4

I love this cardio program. I know I sound like an idiot but I love love love love it! I get so excited that I have it as much as I do in the program.

Day 4  I started with cardio and then took a break to talk to you guys about why I do this part of the program not in the apartment.

I don’t say this stuff to deter you from getting the program. I say it as a warning that in cardio, your feet will leave the ground. You will love it but people downstairs will know it’s exercise time. Upper body and full body have a little loudness to it, but not enough that you would really bother someone else. Cardio… tons of bouncing. BUT I LOVE IT!!!. You need the belt for cardio only. And honestly, you don’t really need it. It just adds a little fun to the workout… and makes it more resistance on your body… but mostly I think it’s there to let you bounce around and have fun 🙂

Abs was next. I hate you Tony. Not really but I do when I’m doing abs. The weakest muscles in my body. Even if my muscles didn’t separate with my pregnancy with the boys, this would still be a hard workout. But I never took care of my muscle separation so this is basically torture. Anyone else have this problem? Anyways, it’s an ab workout that actually gets everything. And it’s only 10 minutes. But lets be honest here, 30 seconds is enough to make me pout. The main focus is that its a program that is going to help you, not matter how much you dislike that 10 minutes. It could be longer Laura! Stop complaining.
 Best part of situps

 Not best part of situps

Then I did Yoga (soft serve) which actually hurt more this time than the day before. I’m thinking its because I had stretched those muscles a little bit more than I normally would with the yoga the previous day. Sounds bad, but it’s a good thing because that means I USED them. You know what makes me happy? I actually finished it. I felt the burn and I grrrrrr’d my way though it. That makes it enjoyable. And again, it’s not a hard workout. It works everything in 10 minutes without making you feel uncomfortable about the pretzel you’re stuck in. He makes it avaialable for people of all stretchy and unstretchy levels. He comments on how he used to be Mr. Stiff guy and now he’s more flexible. Guess. what, I’m gonna keep working at it and get flexible too. Thank you for the note of encouragement Tony.

As for food today… don’t ask. I didn’t take my shakeology that morning because I left the house not even thinking about it and ended up eating sweets from Burger King and having a soda. That’s kind of a hint hint that I was no where near staying in my calorie range. Ughhhhhh

Daily Challenge July 10- Take it as a learning experience

You learn every day right? It’s impossible to know everything unless you’re God and I’m just not that perfect. I think maybe I know .0000012% of every lesson people should learn out there. So don’t judge me unless you know .00000121%.

That being said… I don’t know jack sometimes. I decided it was a good idea to take an inexperienced dog out for a run around a duck pond this morning with two kids who just woke up.

I did what I was supposed to do.

I woke up at 7:15. Got the dog out for a potty break. Took my stuff to the gym to get in my 30 min of 10 minute trainer. Came back to the apartment. Ran back to the gym because I forgot my phone. Came back to the apartment again. Ran back to the gym to get my bag that I had sat down to get a drink on my way back out the gym the second time. Came back to the apartment AGAIN. Woke up Josh, told the kids to get their shoes on, put the dog on the leash, AND WE WERE OFF!

The kids were saying they wanted to go around the pond 3 times but my mommy intuition should have told me they didn’t really mean it when they both groaned at the beginning of the run. And when your dog isn’t very good at not sniffing everything when  you walk with her, she may not be ready for a run.

So you would think I wouldn’t be suprised when my dog almost pulls me into the lake while she chases a group of ducks. And you would think I wouldn’t be suprised when my kids aren’t behind me when I turn back to tell them they’re doing a great job. Instead, they’re pretty much still on the other side of the pond. I would have noticed if I didn’t have a dog trying to run between my legs for most of the run. They said they were upset because I said jog and then started running. Me thinks they were having an off morning because normally they’re outrunning me.

So I learned today.

What did I learn?

1. Sleepy kids will find any excuse to not run.
2. Sasha does not have an athletic drive unless you count her constant wagging tail.
3. I had a pretty friggin hilarious morning if I really think about it so brush it off my shoulder instead of being upset.

I ended up dropping the kids and dog off back at the apartment and headed out for another lap around the lake myself.

Tomorrow will be better.

So I didn’t learn a life lesson, I just learned for today. But it was learning, not failure.

Your challenge for the the day, FOR THE WHOLE DAY NOT JUST YOUR WORKOUT AND EATING TIMES, is to take it as a learning experience. If you would see it on a big screen and laugh about it when someone else does it, then you should laugh about it. If it just didn’t go your way, you now know better for next time. DO NOT GIVE UP because it sucked once. Let it be your drive to work out the kinks and be awesome at it. You’re not failing, YOU’RE WINNING!

Yoga- soft served!

Yes, I know, I’m behind on these. I will be doing 2 a day to try and keep up. Day 3 of 10 minute trainer was Yoga. Can I tell you how happy I am about this yoga? Day 3 I was only supposed to do this program instead of 30 min. So it was 10 min of stretching and relaxing. Me? Relax with yoga when I’m the stiffest person I know? Yep! It’s like 30 seconds of holding things instead of “Now turn into a pretzel and hold until you pass out.” I never did good in hour long yoga classes and I’ve had some of the best yoga instructors I’ve ever known of. I just don’t do well with it. But this yoga program still has to cover the same amout of body in half the time so I was moving again before I thought my leg was going to rip out of socket. I love it. I’m all loose and happy and relaxed afterwards. Of course Tony instructs while a dancer/gymnast does the exact moves. But while he’s instructing he talks about how he used to be stiff and forget to breathe and you realize he’s just as human as the rest of us. If I really wanted to I could turn up the temp in the house and do hot yoga, but ummmm, I moved out of Texas because of the heat, I’m not going to make something hot for no reason other than to burn off a few extra calories. I can sit in a sauna for 10 min, relaxing, and sweat out toxins while not bending like a pretzel.

As for food, I really sucked that whole week. I was doing good the first few days but then we were bringing home ice cream and I was eating the kids leftovers. It was a bad week on food. So I’m going to remind you all that as for food- this day was my downfall… and I still managed to lose weight that week.

I like to do yoga at my house instead of at the gym because I have bay windows and they let in light and bird noises and I know my kids aren’t running around an unsupervised apartment ripping things apart. So HERE HERE for a change of scenery.

I am a warrior! And yes I know I have saggy elbows. That’s what happens when you lose 100 lbs and it takes up to a year for your skin to go back to normal.

And proof to how NOT flexible I am. And most of my non-flexibility is in my lower back and inner thighs. But I WILL get there. MMhmmm I will.

Daily Challenge July 9th- Random workout, random recipe

Yesterday I was sick. I had G.I. (Joe, GO JOE!) problems and I’m not afraid to say that because G.I. problems (and injuries) are the only thing I won’t workout through. I’ve worked out through a cold, I’ve worked out through throat infections, but if my stomach is bubbly, I refuse to workout. Why? Because I’m a baby about my tummy. Seriously, I’m 29 and feel like calling my mom and going “Ughhhhhh mama” over the phone. That AND your immune system is mostly in your intestines. So when anything in that area says “Woman, sit down and put your feet up!” I obey.

Did you know that about your intestines? I didn’t know that’s where most of my immune system was until about 7 months ago. I dunno. I find it interesting that the part of you that deals with #2 is also the part that deals with no achoo. IMMA NERD! So yes, that is why I stress that the prebiotics and probiotics in Shakeology that no other meal replacement offers is worth the extra.

Onto the challenge!

Since I’m feeling better, I’ll throw these in with my 10 minute trainer.

I’m in a cardio instead of muscular mood today so pick as many of these as you want.

1. See how fast you can do a mile. Push until your legs want to give out and your lungs feel like they’re on fire. I dare ya!
2. See how many burpees you can do in a row.
3. Side shuffle around your house until people wonder if you’re losing it.
4. Find a basketbal court and do suicides (Run touch inside line of key, run back to start, touch top of key, run back to start, touch 3 pt line, start, halfway, start, ect.) We do this with the rackeball court in my gym also. Or just find a place and put lines down yourself to touch.
5. Play 52 pickup with some cards. Only pick up one card at a time.
6. Take my dog for a walk. She’s wanting to go out constantly.
7. Put on some spandex and ride your bike like a professional racer.
8. Swim like you’re trying to escape a country.
9. Play freeze tag with your kids.
10. The OCD in me needs a 10 so lets add in climb a tree.

And while you’re doing it, take a picture of yourself so you can remember you took the challenge 🙂

 

As for a random recipe, I chose fish tacos because I’ve had a craving for fish lately. My mom would probably pass out if she heard me say that because I refused to eat fish as a kid. Now I eat it once a week. So here’s the recipe on sparkrecipes.com

At my grocery store I found flax and fiber cold tortillas that taste and have the texture of the floppy corn tortillas. I’m addicted to them. I ran out so I don’t have the bag but next time I grab them I’ll give you guys the name.

HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYBODY!

Daily Challenge July 6- Written vomit

Part of getting fit is getting over frustrations in life and in the mind. How much weight are you carrying around in your heart that is showing up on the scale? When I talk to people who have been successful at losing weight and keeping it off, there’s a few things that almost all of them have in common. One of them is that they share their story and include their failures in it. It keeps you grounded. It reminds you of who you are. By sharing your story, you’re motivated to make it a happy ending.  By including your failures and insecurities, you remind yourself that you’re human. The great part about sharing is that you get support, whether it’s positive or negative and you keep doing your best to make things positive.

For a long time I was scared to tell anyone when I was struggling. When you sell a fitness drink and fitness products and want to be a trainer/nutritionist, you don’t want any of that to look like a struggle. No one wants a trainer who has gained weight or just wants to sit down with a whole entire pizza for a day and roll around in its yummy gooey cheesiness. No, I would not roll around on a pizza… in public. I just want you to know sometimes I crave an entire pizza. And who’s goign to buy a shake that’s meant to help you curb your cravings when it’s actually doing its job but you’re just being an idiot who misses cheesecake. But by not sharing that info, I was pretty much lieing to people. There is no magic pill out there in the form of a shake and there will never be a personal trainer out there or nutritionist that lives on salads alone. But I thought I had to be perfect.

Long story short, no book is complete without a problem and a victory.

So your challenge for the day is to share your story. Join an online fitness forum, make your own blog, join weight watchers, join a challenge group, or even just share with your favorite fitness buddy.

One of my friends is doing what seems to be life purge and I love it. You can follow her here. She’s an amazing writer and puts my blogging to shame… which isn’t hard ;p But I read her first blog and I do believe she is the Phoenix she wants to be.

Daily Challenge July 5th- Face your fears like a 9 year old

I hope everyone’s fourth of July went well. If you’re not in the United States, I still hope it went well and got to see something spectacular like fireworks anyways. I heard the Chinese New Year puts any of our celebrations to shame so you can gloat on me that entire month.

Yesterday I took the kiddos to Oaks Park. It’s an amusement part next to the river that was actually pretty fun. The rides were very state fair-ish but the whole thing was fun… oh how I miss Six Flags. But we did have a great time.

I am a huge thrill seeker when it comes to my rides. If my hair isn’t messed up by the end of it, I didn’t have fun. Two years ago I couldn’t even get my kids on a mini drop ride. This year, one of my kids was all for the spinning and bouncing and woohooing. But the other kid… not so much. He was almost too scared to go on the kids spinning teacup kind of ride. So when my thrill seeker mini asked to go on a ride that spun alternating directions and bounced higher than a two story house, I knew as a mom, I honestly couldn’t force the other kid to get on. We asked, he said no. I said it was just like the first spinny ride but it bounced high… he said no. I wasn’t going to make my kid cry so I said “You know bug, sometimes you have to face your fears to realize you had nothing to worry about. But if you’re too scared right now, I’m not going to make you get on it.” Full House Danny Tanny sappy music was playing for this parental speech by the way, followed by an awwwwwww from the audience. Just kidding. I think Free Falling was playing in the background on the Screaming Eagle ride to be honest. But needless to say, thrill seeker, who had already jumped in line for the spider and was jumping up and down waving for us to come over, was crushed we weren’t going on.

Something I love about my kids is that they protect each other. They feel each other’s pain. When one is sent to his room, the other worries about him the entire time. They bicker like all kids and there are times you’d think they hated each other. But when you get to the heart of it, they’d die to save the other one if they had to. We walked to the other side of the park. Sadly it was all thrill rides and we had already done all the kid rides. I was about to tell the boys we’d go do the kid rides again, but then my kid who isn’t into thrill rides suprised me. He said… word for word… in the goofy style that he’s known for… “Well I guess I gotta face a fear. To the spider!” and started running back towards where the spider was. It was a proud mama moment.

In the line, he faced about 30 changes of heart. It didn’t help that adults were getting freaked out in line and leaving.  I kept telling him we’d stay in line and if we got to the front and he didn’t want to go on, we’d head straight for the exit, but I also said if he faced his fear he would be really proud of himself. We got to the front of the line. He didn’t panic. We got on the ride. He didn’t panic. The ride started moving and I could literally FEEL him shaking next to me. I had a safety bar crushing the air out of me so I couldn’t exactly move to console my kid.

First the car started spinning. I looked over at him and he looked almost puzzled. After the first bounce, I could see a grin. Second bounce, he laughed. Third bounce, he was cheering with his brother. As a mom, of course I was about to start crying like a baby at how proud I was of my kid. But then the nausea kind of crept in from all the spinning. In the 2 minute long ride my NEW thrill seeker was cracking jokes about being Tigger and doing the “Hoo hoo hoooooo” with a few of the bounces. They he said we were Xtreme pogo sticking. The kid was going crazy over this ride. And the previous thrill seeker was laughing and giggling but also pale and extremely nautious like I was.

Right after the ride, my kid who faced his fear wanted to go on it AGAIN! His brother and I… wanted to vomit.

Moral of the story- Don’t share a gatorade with your thrill seeker son right before a spinny bouncy ride. The person who doesn’t drink will have the most fun. Drinking and riding is bad mmmkay.

Bigger moral of the story- Face your fears. If the statistics are in your favor that it’s not going to kill you, and isn’t bad for your health,why not try it?

Your challenge for the day is to think about facing/face a fitness fear. If you’re afraid of a group exercise class but really interested in what the class is… seek one out and give it a try. If you want to try to water ski… put together a group and go. If you want to wear spandex and don’t want to be giggled at for the wobble wobble of your butt… who cares? Shake it till you make it. Afraid your family won’t like your new healthier version of lasagna? They can make a sandwich. They’ll be ok. Try it anyways. Want a friend to come exercise with you but afraid they’ll turn you down? The worst thing they can do is say no, right?

I’m going to follow through with this one also. I have avoided getting a speaker system to teach Hip Hop Hustle at my apartments like they’re going to make me battle zombies in the process. I know I can do a warmup. Why not be the actual leader of the class? I can do this! I’m going to have hubby take me TODAY to go pick out something that will play the music and learn how to yell over it.

Feel that adrenaline pumping? Run with it. Work yourself up. Get excited. Be a nine year old kid with his fist held high and charge towards the Spider.

But not like this guy…

Daily Challenge July 4- Invest in success, not a heart attack

First off, Happy Independance day to all of you American’s out there and a big old “It’s not you, it’s me… no it was you” to my English friends.

Because I woke up too late to get the kids into the 4th parade this morning, I’m taking them to a Lake Somethingwaga park where they have rides and fun stuffs until fireworks tonight. Mmmm carni food. J/k I’m packing sammiches and snacks.

Back to the task at hand… Success sometimes requires investments. Yes, I’m a beachbody coach and would love for you to buy my programs, but I’m here to talk about other stuff mostly.

Do you know how much being overweight is costing you? It may not cost you as much now as it will in the future, but in some ways, it’s costing you now. Your immune system may be low, you may be emotionally eating out of insecurity, it may keep you from getting out and being active outside, even the emotional side of it has a cost. Now fast foreward into your future. How much does a heart attack cost? According to this article, anywhere from 760,000 to a million. The worst cost all together would, of course, be your life. How do they get that cost? Doctors, surgery, prescriptions, checkups, lab costs, ect. ect. I’ve seen it happen in my family. My dad has been hospitalized with 2 heart attacks. One required angioplasty, the other required an open heart quadruple bipass. Add on top of that complications with the bipass. What they don’t factor in is the damage that it costs your family. Constant fear for a parent’s health doesn’t sit well.

So now that I put all that out there, 120$ for the right pair of running shoes doesn’t really sound all that bad, does it? And maybe shopping organic once a week each month? How about an in home ice cream maker where you can put in your own ingredients?

Yes, I know it all adds up, but this is an investment into yourself and a cheaper future. How many 120$ running shoes can you get for 760,000$? 6333 and a few pairs of socks. Do you really think you’re going to go through 6333 pairs of shoes? Lets say you buy 1000$ worth of exercise equipment each year and spend an extra 1000$ on top of your regular food prices for organic food each year. It would take 380 years for you to come up with the cost of a minor heart attack.

When I tell people a bag of shakeology cost 120$ a month or that a fitness program is 120$ and it’s only a 3 month program (that you can repeat as much as you want and keep by the way) I get really funny looks. it doesn’t matter that I tell people shakeology is praised by my doctor for raising my HDL as much as it has and boosting my immune system and helping to re-adjust my thyroid from years of post pardom and diet ideas as a teen. I’m sure I’m going to get the same looks when I become a fitness instructor and tell people what it would cost for me to train them. But lets face it, nothing I ask for is going to add up to that 760,000$. I’m sure some trainers or programs in Hollywood might add up to that much, but you’re not going to spend that. If you were that rich, you wouldn’t think twice into investing in your success.

Now lets add in that

• Organic food keeps you satisfied longer so you eat less meaning you lose weight faster and the grocery bill isn’t as high as you’d expect
• Having an in home ice cream maker would cost about 40$ for the machine (I paid 15$ for mine), you can use truvia instead of regular sugar, add in the fruit that YOU like, and have a low calorie sorbet without having to drive anywhere to get it. The average sorbet costs me less than 5$ per quart to make and that’s with strawberries and the costly cherries.

• The right running shoes will keep you from injuring yourself, make running less painful and more entertaining, and you can use them as regular shoes also. You need shoes anyways. BTW, trust me, get the right shoes. Plantar Facciitis sucks!

So now I’m going to ask you. Are you worth an investment into yourself and a healthy future or are you going to kep giving lame excuses?

Your challenge for the day is to change your mind on what’s worth money in your house. You can’t afford to not understand this. BTW a heart attack is not the only thing that can kill you from not being fit. Just remember that.

Are they really that expensive now?

10 min trainer day 2- Ughhh pushups!!!! But great workout

When I grow up I want to be like Gretchen. She can do pushups off her knees. I’m still on my knees even after losing as much weight as I have. Someday the fat patch above my elbow will be all muscle. But I will say this… I can do more on my knees than I used to be able to and I can do at least 3 regular pushups. Progress is progress. Hopefully I can get up to 5 by the end of the month like I could when I did P90X.

Today was

• Total Body
• Lower body (Which still hurt from Day 1)
• and Cardio (my favorite so far but the one I have to leave my apartment to do)

Total body is the pushups. There’s not that many because you only do 30 seconds to a minute of each, but they’re first thing out of the gate. The rest of it is more like his P90X style of curls, twists, kickbacks, and all the other stuff you look like a badass doing. Why do you look like a badass? Because you look like you know what you’re doing. My favorite move out of all of them is the band crunch. Yes, there are burpees in this one and I still like the band crunch better. For anyone who has issues doing full situps without a partner, this is a great option for joo. This has some MAJOR core work. I would advise doing this one first today, then the cardio to give your core a step down, then the lower body to build it back up again.

Cardio is the most fun of all the workouts. Why? Because there’s a ton of bouncing. You use the cardio belt with this one. It comes with the program, so don’t worry, you don’t have to buy it. It’s made up of mostly agility moves. There’s mud runs, heismans, kixboxing, ect. I sweat like crazy after this one.

Lower body should be the easiest for me. Most of my muscle is in my legs. But here’s where us big peoples have the advantage: More up top means more to balance and lift with your legs. So when you go into squats, the come back up gives you a better workout. YOUR LEGS WILL BURN! It’s a warning but still a lovely promise. You want great legs, you have to work them hard.

Sadly I don’t have pics for you today 😦 I had to leave the phone at home and the kids were having so much fun in the racketball court that I just did all three of my workouts in the gym yoga room.

I do this same workout again on Day 5 so I’ll make sure to add in video or pictures on that one.

As for foods- I started out my day with shakeology and frozen strawberries. I have a ton of strawberries to go through. Church had some muffins so I had a small apple one.

I had my fruits and stuff for snacks.

Lunch, we went to a place here called fresh grill. They make their buns gluten free and you get to choose from which kind of burger you get. I chose a mushroom burger which is actually made of mushrooms, a bean paste, and a little cheese. I added bacon (it was a moment of weekness that I’m not sad about), cajun sauce wich was super low cal (like 20 cal per tablespoon and I used maybe 3 tablespoons),  and the veggies on top. I made sure the guy knew I didn’t want cheese or mayo.

More freggie snacks.

For dinner we had chicken in rice and enchilada sauce with a side of green beans and potatoes.

At the end of the day my calories were around 1500 (1590… that rounds down right?) But I had a good workout so hush you!

Thank you for following along with me!

Daily Challenge July 2- Invisible workouts

I used to have a joke in one of my chat groups about Kegles. For those of you who don’t know what kegles are, it’s when you clench your ummm… how can I say this… lower woman parts… like you’re trying to keep yourself from peeing. Great way to start a blog, I know. But I used to have this woman who worked in front of me that did them. She said they were great for toning her butt. I told her she was doing butt tucks and not a Kegal then. It turned into a hilarious play argument between her and I. She said if you did them right, it worked the whole area. So at the next break I was sitting down at a table with my friends and got the wise idea to try one. No one would see. No one would know. And she was right, it works the butt also. Butt tucks are still better though, and just as invisible. I ended up bringing it up in my chat group and it turned into something even more hilarious. It’s the invisible workout… as long as you’re sitting down (the cloth on your pants is a dead giveaway if you’re standing up for either the kegal or the butt tuck).

What am I getting to?

There are tons of things you can do to workout at work or at a friends house without someone even knowing you’re working out. Butt tucks lift the butt and you can easily do them in a computer chair.

You don’t really need to reorganize the books on the shelf but no one else knows why you don’t have to pull all of them down and put them all back up while slightly clenching your bicep muscle.

Oops, did you drop those pencils? Is there paper on the floor? Squat 1, squat 2, squat 3…

There’s tons of parking spots next to the grocery store entrance but you just accidently only noticed the ones at the back of the parking lot.

It’s extra super duper cleaning day at your house! You just decided!!!

Your challenge is to be sneaky with a 5 min workout. Most of them are for toning so extra points if you do one that actually raises your heart rate. What do the points get you? I have no idea, but get them anyways.

Daily Challenge July 3/Multnomah falls with pics

Behind my kids is Multnomah falls, a place that has become my new favorite destination. It’s actually about an hour from my house near Cascade Locks, Oregon. The falls actually contains a few huge falls and hundreds of mini ones.  When we first found this place we had stopped at Horsetail falls on our way into Oregon. I had mentioned it in a previous blog where I asked you guys to get out and explore. Well, I’m hoping that this post encourages you to get out and find places you have not yet adventured to.

 This is much higer up on the bridge you see in the first picture. It’s about an 8th of a mile through a congrete path to get up here.

 After you pass the bridge, there is a concrete path that takes up up 11 switchbacks a mile up the mountain. This is about a half mile up, looking back at the Columbian River that is right behind you this whole part of the hike. Take note, there are no rails. So if you have small kids or animals that tend to not watch where they’re going, hold on tight or don’t go at all. I don’t think a drop from this side would kill them because the next switchback down would catch them, but they go high enough to hurt them and make it hard to get to them.

A little past a mile up, right before you see the sign for 11 out of 11 switchbacks, the pavement ends. The path starts to go down towards a river with a bridge over it. Of course the first thing my kids saw was the other kids playing in the freezing cold water… Ok, freezing cold to me.

 They apparently loved it enough to sit down in the water.  Behind me is a fallen tree that the kids were using as a bridge over the water. I had taken a video of it and a few more paths that took off from this area but the video wouldn’t upload. Unfortunately my kids are just as clumbsy as I am and would have fallen off the tree, so they didn’t get to go across.

 If you keep following this path, it goes an extra 5 miles over rocky dirt, leads to a different large fall, and then you hike .3 miles back to Multnomah. With an untrained dog and two 9 year olds who are drenched in cold water, we weren’t going to go the whole hike around. At this point we were 2 miles in. If you look behind the boys, there is a mini fall. This literally goes for over a mile of watching river, drop, river, drop, river drop. The path is extremely uneven and only wide enough for 2 people, but very worth it.

Another half mile in is a path carved into the rock. Above you is all rock, so it’s like half of a cave. I was told by another hiker that people will wait under there on rainy days and the rain comes off like a waterfall in front of you. I thought it was amazing even without the waterfall over us. It had started raining (not hard enough to make the waterfall over the cave) so I couldn’t take pictures past this. A little past us was the large waterfall that makes this whole part of the river. Around it was a beautiful swimming pool (not the kind in a backyard but calm even water around where the fall hits down). At a little past 3 miles in, I told my kids it was time to head back. It was 5 in the afternoon, we didn’t know the path, and I had promised them fudge in the little villiage around Multnomah, so we weren’t going to be able to get around the whole path. And that path is only one of dozens for people to take. You could spend a week in this area and still not cover all the paths. I loved it. The webpage on it says crowded, but honestly, that’s just around the main falls that you can get to by car. We passed tons of families or groups going up and down the path in the concrete part but it wasn’t a steady incoming of them. It was like maybe one or two groups per switchback. When you head into the dirt and rock path, it’s rare to cross anyone.

If you can see in the middle, there is a border collie with a pink collar. That’s Sasha, our dog. She was actually the first to pass out in the car. We hadn’t even made it a mile down the highway. The boys passed out right after her. This hike is exhausting, but so worth it.

So your challenge, again, is to find something that nature has put out there for you to enjoy. It could be a lake, it could be a path around cactus. My dad loves the hikes in the hottest parts of Arizona. We did a 10 mile last summer through Southmountain that I will never forget. I don’t care about the heat or the rain. Get out there and explore. Nature is too beautiful to ignore. If it’s an hour or more away, plan to do it on your off day and spend half the day there. Make a mini vacation out of it.

GET OUT AND ENJOY YOUR LIFE!