Class Pictures: Camryn's Kindergarten Class

Can you pick Camryn out?

She is in the middle row, second from the right.

Her best friends are: Elsie Hyer (front row, 1st on left) and Brayden White (middle row, 3rd from left).

Last week I got to join her class on a field trip to watch the high school students' musical production. It was a lot of fun.

Waiting for the show to start.
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Camryn got to sit between me and Elsie, her BFF. Next to Elsie was Camryn's other BFF, Brayden.




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I asked for a nice smile.

I got a picture of my Camryn.

Her missing bottom two teeth make it look even cheesier.

Silly Girl.


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We had to wait awhile for all the kids to show up and get seated, but the the show finally started. The performers sang and danced.

After the show, we returned to the elementary school for an assembly. The kids just finished a fund raiser, and earned quite a reward. They got to see their principal, Mrs. Gillette, kiss a frog.


It was a fun day. I'm glad I get to go back to Kindergarten, even if it is just for a day.

Muscles--After 12 Weeks

Disclaimer: There are scantly clad bodies in this post. Read at your own risk.

So we have had a lot of requests concerning our 12 week transformation challenge. For 12 weeks, we have been kicking our butt. We have both been lifting weights, and pushing it hard (yes, me too) and doing cardio, and eating healthy. We both made quite a change, here are our pictures:

These pants used to be too tight for Kent. He pulled them out to see how they fit now.

He needs new pants.

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Kent lost 54 pounds. His change is absolutely amazing! He is HOT!!!

He has a will of steel. When he commits to something, he commits. I was amazed at his mindset and perseverance. He kept me going when I got discouraged. Weight loss is hard, because it takes daily dedication, but the results come slowly. Doing it together made it so much easier to stay motivated.

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Here are my before and after pictures. I am quite embarrassed to post them, but some people might hunt me down if I don't.

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I lost 24 pounds. That is in addition to the 20 pounds I lost in the eight months before that. I finally lost most of the weight I put on 3 years ago. I can finally look in the mirror and feel good. I can try on clothes and feel good. It is amazing. I also feel so much healthier. All our hard work definitely paid off.

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As for the 12 week challenge. I really thought Kent had a shot. We were both finalists. The majority of the finalists were men, and it was hard to tell how they were going to judge it. Winners were announced today.

I won third place!

I won a year free membership and the gym and 6 personal training sessions.

The guy that got second did pretty amazing. We think he should have won first place.

The guy that won first, we don't understand. There were a number of guys that did better than him, that lost more weight and looked better in their "after" pictures, Kent included. We never would have picked him for first.
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In the end, it was not about winning the competition, it was about making a change in our lives. The competition was just a motivator.

We are happier and healthier, and that is why we did it.

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My brother Taylor also spent the last 3 months working hard on a transformation. He was preparing for his first bodybuilding competition. My brother has always been the example of long term dedication to weight lifting. He has been doing it for years. We were so happy that he finally decided to do a show. Preparation meant a very, very strict diet for 12 weeks. He had to get his bodyfat as low as possible. At the same time, he had to continue to work his butt off at the gym. I don't think anyone that hasn't done it can appreciate what it takes (myself included).

Kent and I were very excited for him and really wanted to be there for the show. We found someone to watch the kids, and made the drive to Vancouver, Washington.

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We hadn't seen him since Christmas. Here is a picture of him at that time. He is most left in the light blue polo.

We knew there would be a big change, but we had no idea how big. When we got there, Amanda was finishing 6 hours of painting his tan on. He finally came out of bathroom. There are not words to describe seeing this in person:

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Speechless, right.

All I have to say is:

Yes, that is my brother.

The show was the Vancouver Natural. Taylor was in the Heavy Weight Novice division. He was the only novice who hadn't done a show before (I guess you can continue to do novice until you place).

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Here are pictures from his individual posing routine:

He made top 5. Here they are:

We thought he deserved to win for sure, but we knew we were biased. Really though, he had the best, most balanced muscle definition and development. His legs were so much more developed than anyone else. So this is how it went:

It was Amanda, Kent, and me sitting together. The called out these top five. They first announced 5th place, then 4th, then 3rd. Each time Taylor was not called, than meant he had a higher place. So with each place, our excitement grew. We screamed and cheered louder. Then they called 2nd place, not Taylor. HE WON FIRST PLACE!!!!! We were SCREAMING!!!! The poor people in front of us probably have hearing damage.

There were three novice weight divisions. The winner from each was called out to pick an overall winner.

The announcer asked the crowd who was their favorite. People were screaming for Taylor. We heard his name called out from all over in the crowd. It was crazy.

He was announced overall winner!!!

This guy gave him his trophy.

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Taylor made quite the journey to get to this point. I know he couldn't have done it without this amazing lady, his wife Amanda. These two are perfect for each other, and work so hard to help each other achieve their goals.

Taylor did not cheat on his diet at all. He had been planning his post show meal for weeks. This was also the day after our final weigh in, so we were ready for a big cheat meal too. We went out to pizza and stuffed ourselves. It was so good.

We had a great time with these two. We love them so much. Being there is going to be a great memory we will always cherish. It was amazing.

Happy Birthday Kent!!!

Kent had a birthday a couple weeks ago. He works so hard all year round. He rarely buys anything for himself, or even expresses a desire to buy something. I wanted to treat him on his birthday, but struggled with what I could do for him.

I decided to surprise him with a relaxing weekend for just the two of us in Lava Hot Springs. It is a small Idaho town with natural hot pools that are wonderful to relax in.


I had to pull him away from fixing our sprinkler system to go, but he did come willingly. His birthday was 1 week before our final weigh in for our 12 week challenge, so we had to be healthy the entire time. I brought meat to grill and other healthy food we were able to prepare. One morning, we went for a 5.5 mile walk. It was great to have the time to do something like that.


I forgot our camera, so we tried to take a few with my phone. Kent took these on our walk. It snowed that day, which made the sun bright, but I don't think you can tell.

You can't have a birthday without birthday cake, but we had to be healthy.

I came up with this, which had about 250 calories per plate. It was angel food cake, with fat free cheesecake pudding, and fresh strawberries cut up with splenda, all layered together. It was pretty yummy, for diet cake.

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We went and relaxed in the hot pools a couple of times, which was really nice. We also relaxed in our room and watched movies. .

Relaxation was what I was going for, and I think we got it. Kent has been working so hard in school, and is doing amazing! Right now he has three hard classes: Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, and Calculus. He's also been working on getting our yard going for spring. Plus working his butt off at the gym. Work, work, work...he needed a break..

After we got back, he opened presents with our girls. Corinne was already asleep, but Camryn and Kendra couldn't wait to open presents.

Kent was completely surprised by his new shirts.Who looks most excited?We got him waders for fishing. Then came the thank you tickles.

I love you, honey!!!


Happy Birthday!!!