11!

That time of year again... the annual tubing lake party, only this time he's 11!
Handsome cousin Noah!!
(Above) good friends Charlie, Noah and Austin.
(below) Noah and Austin.
No one has a smile like Charlie!
Love this one.
Mathew and Andrew- two of Knox's best friends!
These three boys have been in school together since PreK (that's going on 7yrs!) Two years ago Knox's good friend Nolan (on the tube here with Knox) moved into town, but we are so glad he still makes it out each year for the lake party!



There is a lot of love around this little punk!
The whole gang!
Great Kay (that's Principal Pruitt to most of these guys) made a surprise visit and was instantly handed a naked baby ( I am sure she was slipping him straight sugar or cool whip when I wasn't looking as is her custom :)
Such a good group of guys (and one little girl who thinks she should be right in the middle of them)
Isn't this what 11 is supposed to look like- so glad they aren't too cool yet.
Love these boys- they have been friends for many years now!
I loved having my grandmother there this year. It's hard to screw up a pie with her around (yes, I have screwed up a frozen pie before... it can happen!)
The child wanted apple pie... thank you Mrs. Smiths!
Nanny and Paw paw make the trek and sit in the heat each year for this event.
I don't know what he's saying, but it may or may not be true :) This is my grandfather and he is about to have his own skiing birthday party... seriously, he will be on water skis with in the week!
Knox has been asking for a while now to learn how to play "The Fiddle"

See you all next year!

The Fourth and a First

We spent the 4th on the lake with my parents- It was a great evening!
Great food, great visit, great view!
This is getting to be more and more of a workout!
Yes, that is a naked baby!!!
Grammy and Camille!



This boy took this very seriously! He cried if we pulled him away and fought to get back here.
From the boat we could see all the big community fireworks going on.
Max's first haircut! I sent him with His Dad and his big brother.

He was fine wit it all.
of course the sucker helps
The men- at the barber shop!

We took the new haircuts out for a spin at the bowling alley.
very proud of her bracelets!
My men!!!!
He loved bowling!


Kap and Knox have the exact same expression here. They are both about to say something funny- I love it!

Dirt Bag Boot Camp

I have been personal training for about three years now. It really has been a good fit for me, though it has also been a real stretch. I don't instinctively trust my own ideas. I tend to give sway to what others think and assume that they know more than me or will do a better job than me, but training these three years has been a lesson in believing in myself. I started out trying to follow the mold of what I thought a trainer should be. I really, in the beginning, felt like I was "pretending" to be a trainer, but as time went on, I tried more and more of what seemed right and natural to me and found that it was effective and that I was so much better and more passionate when I was training in a way that excited me. I started pushing more and getting a little unorthodox and a little more confident at the same time. I started to really have fun instead of being so nervous. I remember having the office workers that I trained (and loved) pushing each other down the hall in an office rolling chair and then pushing off the wall at the other end. I learned that I enjoy a group dynamic, that I enjoy alternative resistance tools to weights (hence the office chair exercise), and I came to trust my ideas. For the last year, at least, I have eyed this new parking garage area on the river where I live. I knew it would be perfect for a boot camp and I really wanted to try it. After thinking about it for so long and telling people why it would work and I could pull it off, I finally did it! I pulled out of the other training I was doing. This was hard to do because I trained some great people whom I miss, but I have an incredible boss who gave me complete freedom to create this thing and even took over some of my former training. I knew I wanted it to be really tough and conducive to guys not just women, as is typical of lots of boot camps. I knew I didn't want to use weights and decided to use sand bags instead and, thus, came up with the name and concept "Dirt Bag Boot Camp." I love that it conveys a gritty, tough workout and is a little comical. I decided to do an invite only, pre-advertising trial group. I picked fit people primarily from this community, girls and guys, and charged them the best rate I could offer. I had more takers than I anticipated, and at the close of this our first week, we have 13 people (9 girls and 4 guys). They are a great group--hard workers, for sure, but a lot of fun also. I feel like all of the training I've done has lead to this venture and it could not be a more perfect fit for me. We meet at 5:30am!!! and even that has been surprisingly enjoyable to me! I have never felt something taking off right under my feet before, and it is such a beautiful moment!!! I just wanted to share with you that are close to me, this season. I want to document it and remember it! Here are some photos, but I will have many more when I start advertising-- maybe as soon as August.
Dirt Bag Boot Camp:


This is the trial run I did with Kap and my boss and friends...







This one was just for fun :)








This is the real deal, at the wee hours of the morning--someone left their scaffolding out and we took advantage of it!
It is really pretty here when the sun comes up!
My brother- the ham!- is one of the guys--I don't know what he is demonstrating for the camera here, but I love having him there!
These are our awesome friends, the Karps!
I tried to take some promo shots, mostly for facebook. I threw this stupid sand bag 1,000 times (the kids were in the car in the parking garage eating McDonalds :)






Kap and I joked that this should be the promo shot- I look like a sumo wrestler!
This is the one I went with
I will prob. use this one somewhere too (my grandmother made these cool canvas covers- aren't they great!!!)
This whole experience feels a little like this...