Click below to see the photojournal of our impromptu day trip to Zion National Park with Amber, Brandon, Bree, Christiana, and Austin.

From gourmet fast-food (Taco Bell) to feeding donkeys, this day had a bit of just about everything. One look at the pictures and it is easy to see that it was a fun, eventful day.

 Click here to see all of the pictures!
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Click Here to view the photojournal of our wedding.

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Princess Christiana in her new diggs

Today marks a week since a simple, two-bedroom remodel was initiated. Originally, the plan was to paint and remodel Brandon’s bedroom so that he can have the furniture and television given to him as his birthday present. Discussions with the extended familial units and the assistance and ‘flavor’ of everyone involved led to a bit more exhaustive plan that the ‘slap paint on the wall’ approach I was initially targeting. Brandon’s bedroom took about 4 days to complete and was a combined group effort between Adrian, Danny, Kevin, Stephany, and Ariel. Adrian did the artwork with Brandon’s name on the wall.

Once Brandon’s room was completed, we began the effort to paint and relocate Christiana from her existing bedroom to a newly remodeled princess suite. Another combined effort from Amber, Bree, Austin and Kevin led to a quicker start. However, the need to paint the dressers, relocate the saltwater tank, add the new Porcupine Puffer, and sort through a Hollywood wardrobe of clothes caused this part of the project to take longer than expected. After a lot of work, Christiana’s bedroom was completed this evening.

Seriously, 8 people to tackle 2 kids bedrooms and it took a week. Looking forward to the private comments on this one <grin>.

On June 12th, Christiana celebrated her 8th birthday. We were blessed to be able to help her celebrate and were able to put together a successful gathering of some close friends and family for a party for her at our house. She received lots of love, lots of food, and an over-abundance of gifts … all of her favorite things. In addition, she was able to spend time with her bestie, Brit. It was a last minute gathering since circumstances had made it difficult to put together plans in advance. Regardless, it worked out well for her and she said she had a terrific time. Below are some pictures of the party highlights:

Nathan, Trevor, Christiana, and Brandon took on the 2-day project of renovating the side yard. This process included cleaning up a tremendous mess of dirt and organizing a small amount of existing rock, smoothing down the left and right sides, and then adding 1 1/2 tons of rock in addition to some accents I had left over from the old house. We ran irrigation line completely around and I am about 25% done running the drips to the pots so the kids (who will take over the choosing and planting in the pots) do not run into a desert fry after their efforts. Although, I asked myself who had the bright idea to do this … I must admit it looks a million times better and the kids have about 20 pots to work with now … unless or until someone gets a bright idea to add more (shh).

These pictures were taken last weekend when Christiana spent the day crafting with Kristi. Too cute not to share.

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The reasons many people decide to make lifestyle changes aimed at personal fitness goals are many. To watch someone transform themselves into a more physically fit individual over a period of time can be pretty amazing. Sometimes, it can even be enough to make someone consider becoming a part of that transformation. However, when you are the person who is being transformed, the desire to spread the word on just how achievable and FUN reaching these goals can be becomes a powerful and burning desire.

I have people who have not seen me even in a few months have a difficult time recognizing me. They ask me how I did it and I am always happy to explain, “I had fun!” There are a lot of people who have had a role in my successes, especially Michele Chovan-Taylor and Justin Paneda from 24 Hour Fitness, and many others. So, now I find it is my time to help pay it forward.

The biggest differences I made in my life to achieve my loss of over 110 pounds (and counting) is listen, learn, and have a blast! I listened to what nutritionists and my personal trainer recommended; although, I did not always follow it. I made changes to my diet slowly over time but I enjoy what I crave and cut nothing out completely. I listened to what knowledgeable doctors said about the importance of maintaining proper electrolyte balance and allowing the body to rest and recover. I also use massage therapy and chiropractic in order to ensure I would be able to continue doing what I attribute 75% of my success to … dancing. Dancing out at clubs and dancing at home. Dancing at the gym with Zumba Fitness. With Zumba Fitness classes I never experienced a plateau that lasted more than a week and on average burned 600 calories in each one hour class. More importantly, it helped me build my metabolism over time to where I can easily burn 4500 to 5000 calories in a day. It is hard to eat that much food <smile>.

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After 10 days, the new house is habitable and feels comfortable. There is still a lot more to do; but, it can finally be pushed to the proverbial back burner for work and rest <smile>.

Halloween Tree

Halloween had more activity and less candy. Although, there were plenty of opportunities for treats … Christiana and Brandon were both a bit more brave and active than usual. Of course, some parental coaxing was involved <grin>.

From haunted houses around town to Halloween Haunt at the Springs Preserve and the Easter Seals Halloween Trunk-r-Treat (both highly recommended), Christiana and Brandon celebrated the Holiday nonstop this year! And, doesn’t everyone have a Halloween Tree?

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Dad’s most fun in an hour … check out these quick video’s and you will see what I mean!

Christiana loves her dance days and although she has only been enrolled at Bunker’s Dance for a few months now, she is catching on very quickly … most importantly, watch her smile!

(Click continue reading from the front page to see the video gallery from this event)

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We (Kristi, Christiana, Brandon, and I) just had the opportunity to take some pre-prom pictures with Ariel and Nathan before they left for their big evening. Click the ‘more’ link just below to see the gallery. I am hoping to add more pictures as they are sent. Enjoy!

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Last week, Christiana, Brandon, Kristi, and Kevin went on a long awaited trip to the magic kingdom. After spending 24 hours in the park (in 2 days) we went on all but 4 rides. The kids had a blast and we were all wore out from the trip that started on Tuesday and ended on Friday. Brandon and Christiana both said their favorite ride was Indiana Jones.

There are a ton of pictures so click here to go to the next page and see them.

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Christiana and Ariel both mentioned that this may have been their best Christmas ever. An abundance of love and family activities made the time quite special. In the pictures below, you will see Kristi, Christiana, Brandon, Ariel, Mom, Dad, Toni, and Gary. There were a lot of other activities this Christmas season that were not captured on film; but, will surely survive eternally in our memories. Enjoy!

Last week, Kristi, Christiana, Brandon, and me took a trip to Williams, AZ to experience the Grand Canyon Railway’s version of the Polar Express. Rather than write a lengthy review of our wonderful experience, we will let the pictures speak for themselves:

Christiana and Brittany at Scotty's Castle

Saturday brought the urge to get out and explore a bit.  So, Melissa, Brandon, Christiana, David, Betty, Brittany, and myself went on a one-day road trip.  Ariel did not want to join us so she made other plans.

Christiana and Brittany decided they wanted to go to a princess castle. So, we set out for the next best thing … Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley. We drove North on 95 through Beatty and entered Death Valley that way. Then, we went to Scotty’s Castle and down through Death Valley. We made a couple of stops and headed out through Pahrump. The kids were exhausted but had a great time.

The kids had quite more than they bargained for the week before winter break. Christiana was determined to taste snow. Clark County School District actually canceled classes the next day in anticipation of even more snow. But, for Christiana, one taste was all she got. Brandon, of course, had a ball chasing anyone that would follow him outside. He saw the opportunity to make snow bombs and he took full advantage of it. Ariel was amused. However, her main concern was to not fall prey to Brandon’s ambitions. Overall, it was an exciting start to the winter holiday season. Even I was able to take several hours off work to enjoy the children in this most rare occurrence.

I'll find it!

Brandon's Angels

Time for a swim!