Gold stars

Last week proved an interesting one.
On Saturday, the 16th, I ran in the SLC 5k. It is the first "race" I have ever run. I didn't come in even close to first, but I didn't come in last, and I am proud. I ran the race in 43:44, which isn't great, but it isn't terrible. The reason I point this out is, not only was it my first race (EVER), but I only had a week and a half from finding out about it and signing up to race day. Yep. You heard me right. A week and a half.
When My Belle initially told me about the race that was being 'sponsored' by her work, I jumped at the chance figuring that most of the time, sign ups start a few months before the race and that I would have plenty of time to get in better shape and prepare for it. I was so excited, since I have a list of goals and running in a race is one of those goals.
My calm enthusiasm was soon turned to dread and worry when I asked when the race was. "Next Saturday," came the reply. Immediately I began formulating the most unrealistic training schedule to get myself in "race condition" by then. The plan consisted of going out every day with all 3 kids, one stroller, a loaded diaper bag, a gallon of water and enough snacks to feed an army and, using the Jordan River Trail, I would walk/jog while pushing 100 pounds of children plus the inevitable cargo for 3 or 4 hours to get myself in condition followed by 2 hours of strength training at the gym in the evenings. Fortunately, these thoughts never made it any farther than my freaked out imagination.
Upon consulting my BIL (who was also running the 5k with me), we decided on a much less extreme training plan. We went the first day or 2 to the gym and used the treadmills for a certain amount of time to see how far we got. I found this to be a challenge, however, on the first day when, 10 minutes into the jog, I got dizzy and left the treadmill for the stationary bikes.
I won't lie, this had me worried. If I couldn't stand more than 10 minutes on the treadmill, how in the world would I be able to run 3.2 miles in just over a week?!?! The next day, however, was more promising when I was able to make it to 20 minutes on the treadmill before I got dizzy.
We missed a couple of days when the weekend came around, and I must say, I have never regretted missing a workout in my life. I thought that this was not just falling of the band wagon, but I had just run the wagon off a ravine, never to be recovered. Boy was I wrong.
On Monday, the week of the race, we went to the Legacy Parkway Trail and we did a walk/jog of 3.2 miles! I was stoked! I think that using the treadmill psychs me out because all I can think of is time and distance. On the trail, however, I had trees and birds and sky and fresh air and ducks and even a passing beaver to occupy my attention and before I knew it, we had completed the trail and we were headed home. I felt GREAT and it was at that moment, while riding back to my sis's house, that I knew that I could do it!
We continued to "train" during the week until, finally, the day before the race came. The plan was not as simple as I would have liked. Anthony, unfortunately, worked on Saturday and would not be able to join us for the race. This also meant that we had to figure out what to do with the little miss. The simplest way, we figured, was if the Miss and I stayed the night at My Belle's house and in the morning, BIL and I would wake early, not wake anyone up (if it could be helped), run the race and then be back in time to load all the kids up and take them over to a community Easter egg hunt. The plan, however, was not so simple.
The hubby and I ended up in an argument at 10pm, meaning that we were delayed in getting to My Belle's house until almost midnight. By the time we arrived at their house, the argument was over and the hubby and I were feeling much better. The little miss had conked out in her car seat and slept most of the night. She woke up once, but just because she was in a strange place. She soon went back to sleep and so did I. I was, unfortunately, kept awake until about 1am by the TV in the living room where I was sleeping because My Belle was baking hot cross buns for the egg hunt in the morning. When I finally started to doze off, the hubby started texting me, telling me how much he missed me. (I couldn't turn off my phone because it was my alarm.)
Alas, 6am came far too soon. I slept in a little past my alarm, but soon got up and got ready to go. by 6:45, we were on our way into town for the big race.
We arrived slightly early, but my stomach was swimming with butterflies. I tried to eat the banana I had brought, but only got through half of it before the space being taken by the butterflies wouldn't allow any more.
When the race started, the BIL and I were close, but we had decided that we weren't going to stick together for the sake of company. We both wanted to see how well we would do, so we separated and ran the race as best we could.
As I neared Temple Square, the fear of butterflies escaping my stomach grew and I feared that I would have to "pull off" to throw up. Happily, I was able to push past the feeling and soon began to get into running. I was surrounded by some 2000+ other runners and bystanders and soon found myself getting into the race, pushing myself to go faster and longer than I thought I could.
At the half way point, I was worried that I was at the very back of the line. I couldn't have been more wrong. As I rounded a corner to begin the second half of the run where the route doubled back on itself, I could see just how many people were still coming up behind me. I was stoked! I began telling myself "Finish the race and don't finish last!" Half way up the hill back to south Temple, I hit a small road block with a side stitch that wouldn't go away. I had to push past it. I had to continue to breathe and to push myself.
As I rounded the corner on south Temple, I saw people sitting inside a Trax train waving at us and I happily waved back, which gave me a boost of happiness that got me back over to the Gateway and the last stretch to the finish line. As I approached the final corner, the BIL came in sight. I caught his attention (he had already finished the race) and he began to run along side the course telling me to "finish strong!" and "Keep Going! You're almost there!". I admit, I did have to take a breath for a couple of seconds amidst "finishing strong" but it was the greatest feeling of accomplishment to run across that finish line and then get my photo taken with the BIL!!!
It was something that I had set out to finish and I did. I finished strong. I don't care what place I came in that day, I won that day. I beat my own expectations.
I hope that one day, I can compete again. (hopefully with more notice next time, though.) Eventually, maybe one day, I might be able to do a 1/2 marathon or even a full marathon! I hope so, but for now, there is one goal on my list that I can happily put a gold star on. :)




Oh, and for anyone interested, my race results are:
Shari Hunter--Salt Lake City, UT--21520--F--26
0:43:44--14:05--142/169--1199/1574--755/1053--0:45:04--14:30--1:20

strides

Well, it took a little more than a year, but we have finally accomplished something we've been striving and praying for. We finally traded in our car! We were driving a white 2005 Hyundai Accent for a little over 3 years now. When we bought the car, the only thing that we were considering was the price. We didn't do any research, we didn't think about features we wanted... it was just "how much money will we be spending?".
Though I will admit that we did need to find a car in our budget, in not thinking first of what we wanted, we ended up getting a car that didn't really suit our needs and we have regretted it. It was a good little car... but it was just that... a little car. We weren't looking for a monster, but we didn't have any room for anything in it. We have tried a few times to do somethings in our Hyundai, and we soon became aware that it was not well suited for the kind of driving we were doing. Trips to Idaho were a nuisance because of how many times we had to fill our 9 gallon tank. We couldn't go out camping in places we'd like to have gone because we had such a small tank. We couldn't go off-road in our car because it couldn't handle it and if we happened to have my sister's children with us, we could BARELY fit all 3 carseats in the backseat... and even then, we had to slam the doors shut in order to close them or the car seats stopped the doors from closing.
For a starter car, it's great, if you're single or your newlyweds... but when you get to the point in your life when you have one child and you're seriously considering expanding your family again, a little car just doesn't suit it anymore... which is why we upgraded.
We are now the proud owners of a silver 2006 Chevy Trailblazer. It is a great car! It is big enough (seats 7!) it has plenty of storage space in the back, it has a sunroof, power windows, power locks, remote entry, a 6 disk CD changer, the 2 back rows either fold down, remove all together or BOTH, heated power front seats, a towing package already installed, roof top bike racks... and the list goes on and on. Now of course, that is all just gilding the lily. The car has a 22 gallon tank (MUCH better than 9 gallons!)and it will take us camping... off road and everything! We are so excited to have it. It has been a long time coming.
I will have some pictures of it soon... I don't know why, I just haven't taken any yet. :)
That's our news.

Spring

It's finally starting to look and feel like spring.
Today, the girls and I went to playgroup and then went to the park. The girls needed to get out and be able to run around to their hearts content. They haven't been able to run around and play like that for months. They can't even play around inside the house because of the complaints about "noise" from the lady downstairs.
They played until they couldn't anymore! When we got home, they both sat down on the couches and in less than 2 minutes, they were both asleep.
Being able to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather has made me realize that I want to be able to sit outside on our porch in the evenings and enjoy it. I have begun to think about getting come chairs (and possibly a table) for our porch. Somewhere we can sit and enjoy the nice evenings.
We are also planning a few other things. A new bed for us (and a twin sized one for Alida, if we can figure out how to get it up here), A bookshelf (if it ever gets made), and a few other things which I will not mention here, as we aren't sure if we will actually be getting/doing them any time soon. :)
I am LOVING the warmer weather! I hope it stays this way from now on (with the exception of rain).

A new leaf

Recently, my sister transferred her gym membership into my name. It is honestly the solution I have been hoping and searching for. With the lady down below me complaining, I have found it difficult to get any workouts done, making weight loss impossible. About a month ago, I organized a ward workout group on Friday nights and was able to get an awesome woman in our ward that is a certified Zumba instructor to teach Zumba classes on Friday. It has been great! I go every Friday (though I admit, I did get sick one Friday after 2 songs and had to sit it out). Going to Zumba on Friday's got me wanting more exercise and eventually, I decided that, even if it bothers the lady downstairs, I was going to start working out. I needed to do it for me. I had been doing my Turbo Jam workouts every day for about 4 days when Michelle told me that she had been thinking about transferring her gym membership to me because she wasn't using it and she knew that I wanted to. It has opened up a whole new world of exercise! I know that it's "inconvenient" for me to have to drive to the gym rather than just stay home and do my videos, but I am able to get a workout that I am not able to get otherwise by going to the gym.
I am so grateful for the chance I have been given to have proper workouts and to be able to spend some time every day taking care of myself.
My goals are small to start out with. This week, my goals are 1- to get a workout every day this week with one day to rest. (possibly 2 days, but the important thing is that I want to do Monday-Friday.) 2- to lose 2 pounds.
Obviously it's important to lose weight, pound wise, but my long term goals focus mostly on my body fat % and my measurements... but since it will take a little longer to see those results, I am making smaller goals of pounds lost that I can keep track of from week to week.
So far this week (Today is Thursday) I have done a workout every day starting Monday (though Monday was just Turbo Jam at home), Brian and I will be going to the gym this evening again and tomorrow is Turbo Jam day! Brian also wants to go to the gym on Saturday, and hopefully we'll be able to go early on Saturday. That will make 6 days this week.
I am also starting to keep track of the things I eat using a website www.myfitnesspal.com It's easy and it's free and it keeps me consciously thinking about the things I put in my mouth and it's got me thinking about how much water I drink every day. I am getting a pretty good idea of where I need to improve and it's starting to look like it's not going to be as hard as I expected it to be.
I would like to list out a few of my short and long term goals. This is a basic list and the goals can change depending on how fast/slow I see results.
Weekly: lose 2 lbs
1 month: lose 10 lbs
2 months: lose 15 lbs
3 months: lose 20 lbs (total)
6 months: lose 40 lbs or be down to at least a size 8.

I am more concerned with inches and body fat % than actual pounds lost.
I look forward to where this road will bring me. I would love to know what you are doing for yourself.

Happy 2011!!

It's the start of a new year! A new year brings excitement, hope and often times, fear. It's the beginning of something new and has a lot of unknowns associated with it.
Today is the last day of January and there is already no way to know what the future holds. We have been steadily planning some things out but haven't actually decided on anything yet. We have a general plan of how we want things to go and we are working steadily toward those goals. We see our lives right now as though we are standing on the edge of a sword. On one side is success and on the other side is "failure". I say "failure" because for one to truly fail, one must give up. We will not give up, but our version of "failure" is falling back again and having to start over.
We are lucky. We have fallen and we are in the process of building ourselves back up, but we are young and our family is young. We still have time to build up our lives to what we want them to be.
I know sometimes things look bleak and hopeless, but if I could give just one piece of advice, it would be don't give up. There is always a way out if we truly look for it and are willing to do whatever it takes to build a strong foundation.
With that said, I will not go into too much detail of what we are planning, but I will give some 'hints'. 1- One of us will be starting school this spring. 2- We are planning to move in May, but I won't say where. 3- We are beginning planning for Alida's education. 4- we are planning to make a few... additions... to our household at some point in the near future... within the next couple of years.

So, there are a lot of exciting and potentially life altering events that are coming up within this year. We are so excited and we will do our best to keep everyone up to date on the "goings-on" in our family!

To finish up, here are some photos that I took over the holidays of 2010. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them and I look forward to and wish everyone a joyful and prosperous new year!

Love,
Shari Anne

The Hunter Family

Click here to view this photo book larger

Fall-ing

We took a trip recently to Trolley Square Mall. I was not impressed, BUT they did have a pottery barn and a Pottery Barn Kids. I fell in love with the stores. Though I can't afford to buy anything, I love the decorating ideas and I got some GREAT ideas of projects I would love to make with Anthony! While we were there, I fell in love with the history of the building and the character it had. I have decided that it would be the PERFECT place to take photos and with the weather getting colder, they have the fireplace and fire pit lit which make great warm places to take photos.<



Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the colors and the sound of the leaves under my feet. I also love using the colors in photos! Alida makes a great subject to take photos of in ALL circumstances, but she was particularly precious playing in the leaves.





I think the ONE thing on my Christmas list this year is a nice new camera. Though I got one for our anniversary this year, it broke in less than 7 months due to a manufacturers defect and we can't get it replaced because we can't find the receipt and for some stupid reason Walmart doesn't keep receipts in their main system. We have to go to the EXACT store we got it at and we have to have EXACT details for them to fine it. ie- The exact date, time and register we got it at. We don't remember 2 out of the 3 details needed. Walmart is making it unnecessarily difficult to get my camera fixed. We are slowly realizing that our best option is to just get a new camera... from a different store, obviously. We're thinking Best Buy.

I am SERIOUSLY looking forward to the holidays. I LOVE Thanksgiving, but I am SO EXCiTED to take down the fall decor and put up the Christmas decorations! Anthony and I have a deal. I can put up all the minor decorations I want, but I can't hang up Christmas lights, play Christmas music OR put up the tree until 2 Saturdays before Christmas OR the 14th of December (whichever comes first.)
Until then, I love occupying myself with photography. It is quickly becoming my favorite hobby! Take a look at my photos on facebook. I'd LOVE to know if people think if I'm any good. :D

Until next time, see you later!
Love from,
Shari Anne

Halloween 2010

Halloween is once again upon us and Alida couldn't be more excited.
She has insisted for about a week that she wants to be Snow White. I was hoping at some point that she would forget this notion and decide that one of her costumes in her closet would be fine. Much do my dismay, she didn't give up the idea and Anthony and I finally caved and got her a snow white costume from Walmart. (granted, I could have made one for less (probably) but it wouldn't have been as cute and I am finding lately that I just don't have the patience lately for little projects that require a lot of attention to detail.
Anthony and I are just going to be recycling costumes that we've already used once before. I am being a "pioneer" and Anthony is being "Bizarro" from Superman. (At least, I THINK that's what he decided on.
Tonight is our ward Halloween party. Tomorrow is OUR Halloween party... and guess what... I haven't done ANYTHING to get ready for either of them. I still need to clean my house (it's looking like a hot mess), plan a menu (it's a potluck party, but I don't know how many guests are coming or what they're bringing... so I have to plan SOMETHING for dinner at least. (I have a dessert planned, but that's it.)
For now, I'm babysitting "Little Sweetheart" and the girls have played princesses, phone (with a little toy phone) and I have been TRYING to get L.S. to go "piddle" in the potty. She says she wants to, but I don't know if she's quite ready.
The girls have been having fun.

Same old story...

I am trying again.
After gaining 15 lbs at the beginning of this year (due to stress, bad eating habits and a job that kept me at a desk all day) I have tried multiple times to lose the added weight. I've NEVER gained weight like that. I've always fluctuated between 2-3 lbs. For the past 4-5 years, I've actually kept my weight VERY steady... until this year.
This past summer, I tried desperately to lose the weight (in a healthy way). I watched what I ate VERY carefully (I ate more fish this summer than I EVER have before) and I worked out regularly every day (except Sundays) for 1-2 hours per day... but alas, not only did I not lose any pounds, but I didn't lose any inches either... which was VERY strange for me.
I went to my doctor a little over a month ago and they checked my thyroid but it was normal, so I am wondering if it was something I did to sabotage myself that I am not aware of.
I have looked into my habits and have found several things that I need to change (for a start, I need to stop being on the computer so much).
I think it's time for me to start building good habits again. I am sick and tired of the extra weight. It only makes me feel like crap.
I am going to try my hardest to get myself back down to the pant size I was when I got married (an 8) OR down to 125 lbs. Whichever comes first. I don't care about having both... but to make things clear, I AM more concerned with the pant size. I have taken the official stance that I don't care if I weight 150 lbs... if it's all muscle and I have a 4 pack and fit into all of my pants, I don't care about the number on the scale.
That being said, I may not stop when I have achieved just one of the goals. If I get down to 125 and I am a size 10, I may keep working until I am a size 8. (again, that being said, I am not going to work myself to starvation. There are some things that I will NEVER be willing to do to be "skinny")
I have goals and I feel that they are very realistic goals. For my height and age, I can be as low as 114 lbs and still be in the healthy range. If that means that I get down to a size 2 at 120 lbs, then so be it. I am not partial to either goal... they are the MINIMUMS. Once reaching one of the 2 goals, however, I am not going to stress myself to keep going.
This is all very hard to explain. The past couple of days, I have struggled with my limited options and had nearly given up on the idea of being healthy until we've moved or our circumstances have improved... but today, I decided that I was not willing to wait. There are things I want to do in life (like play with my daughter and not be tired... and to get my energy back!) and to do those things, I REALLY need to start caring about my health.
Anthony deserves a supermodel wife!!! I want to be the best I can be for him and for our kids!!! They deserve it!
I deserve to be the best me I can be and NO OLD HAG LIVING BELOW ME IS GOING TO COMPLAIN ENOUGH TO STOP ME!!!!
Thank you for your time.
*gets down from my soap box and goes to finish cleaning my living room*

October

Well, it's only the 7th of October, but already I've been keeping myself busy decorating for the coming holiday. I love fall! It has to be my favorite season!
I love the colors, the smells, the decorations, but mostly the food! You can get things now that you usually can't the rest of the year. I also get to decorate with gourds and I get to eat food from a garden well tended (though I admit, it's usually other people's gardens, I still get to eat food from them!).
The weather is cooling down and so is our apartment. It is only about 76 degrees in here right now. (a far cry from the usual 90+ of summer!) It feels wonderful! I've already had to start putting Alida in a jacket to go outside.
Michelle and Brian had their baby and he is adorable. They have run into a snag at the moment though. He has spent the last week, (since he was born pretty much), in Primary Children Medical Center with a lung infection (which has cleared up, thank goodness) and a heart defect which they will have to surgically fix. We don't know when he will go in for that, but hopefully it will be soon. Until he comes home from the hospital, Michelle and Brian spend about 7-8 hours per day at the hospital with him. While they're there, we get to play with their Little Sweetheart at our house. Alida LOVES having her cousin come over to play. They fight every so often, but it's been an all around enjoyable experience. (except for their darling sons predicament, obviously.)
I also rearranged the photos on my walls. Now it looks somewhat organized.
As some of you may know, Lana had been living with us for the past couple of months. Last Sunday she decided to run away and after a couple of days of not knowing where she was, she returned back at our house. Unfortunately, she had slipped back into her previous condition and that night we had to drive her to her parent's house in Spanish Fork so they could take her to Wasatch Mental Hospital and commit her. I don't know how long she will be there, but needless to say, she no longer lives with us.
I am currently trying to put my house back in order since she has left. Alida loves having her room back to normal (it gives her lots of space) and it has made keeping the house clean that much easier with the extra space back.
We recently had some excitement with a mouse as well. I saw it in the evening in our room a couple of weeks ago and it took a couple of days, but we finally caught it! We had been putting peanut butter on the mouse traps (they are attracted to it, for those who don't know.) but the mouse kept taking the PB without setting off the trap, so I put a chocolate chip on it instead and that finally got it! It was living in the pocket of the bathroom door. (it's a sliding pocket door.)
We have also decided that we are throwing our annual Halloween party again this year (we had to miss it last year).
Well, that is all the fun I can think of for now.

Getting ready

So, we've been trying to get ready for a baby shower I'm throwing for Michelle tomorrow. They'll be having a sweet little boy soon.
I know that "tradition" says you have a shower for only the first baby, but I say why not have a shower for EVERY new baby! It helps the parents get ready for the new arrival and it's a chance to celebrate the new baby.
It's been a joy keeping our house clean. I have discovered something wonderful that I have used on my couches, floor and clothes. It has gotten out EVERY stain I have tried it on (so far) and I am loving it! It's called Zote. I used it to spot clean my carpet before using the carpet cleaner over the whole area. It got up ALL of the stains on my floor. Now it looks nearly flawless. (There's a rip in it near the door...)
I'm a little sad lately though. My digital camera broke. There was a malfunction in the lens and it has completely shut down the camera. :(
I still have my old one, so I'll still try to take some pictures of the shower and I'll try to get the new one fixed soon. (I just need a copy of the receipt from the store.) Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I've been embarking on a lot of craft projects lately. There are a few I'm particularly proud of. I'll show them to you at the end of this post.
I love how it's been transforming our apartment! You should try some of your own. I find them to be great stress relievers.
I'd love to hear about some of the crafts you have done! (pics are great too!)

My latest complaint...

is actually a rather silly one.
I want to be crafty. I want to make things. I want to completely redo our apartment... but I can't. It takes supplies to make stuff and it takes money to get supplies. This is where my complaint comes in... or rather, my dilemma. Where can you get things to make stuff (wood, glues/epoxy, other such supplies that you can use to make craft projects...) besides DI. I need to know places that are cheap (and by cheap, I mean as close to free as you can possibly get).
I have caught a crafting bug. Wanna see some of the blogs I've been looking at and getting ideas from?
http://www.potholesandpantyhose.com/A/Home.html
http://www.misscraftypants.com/
http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/
http://houseofsmiths.blogspot.com/

These are just a few of them and I have fallen in love with some of the things I have seen on here!
I used to dislike "crafty" houses. I thought they were all to "kitchy", but since moving into our own place again, I have changed my mind. I LOVE CRAFTS! (to a certain extent... i still don't want my house overrun by nick knacks.)
I am going to try to get all of our stuff organized too. We have a relatively small space, so we can use all the organization we can get!!!
If you have any great ideas, let me know!

The Doctor

So, I had to visit the doctor yesterday.
Nothing serious.
I made an appointment for my annual with a new OB/Gyn and had an issue that I needed to have checked out.
And now, after 3 months of continual bleeding (vaginal) I am finally over it. Hopefully this means my cycles will become "regular" again. Not ovulating sucks.
(I know... TMI.)
The good news is she said that aside from a VERY slight yeast infection, everything is normal. No problems.

Lana, Alida and I went for a bike ride yesterday. It felt GREAT! I think we're gonna have to try it again. I have to admit, I stopped working out regularly after about a month and a half. I had been biking every day with Alida on the bike with me. It was about 6 miles a day, which was a TON for me! I hadn't really been trying very hard before that. I had also started cooking meals for us here at home... healthy meals. We haven't had fast food for a LONG TIME! Anyway, what with eating healthy and biking 6 miles a day, you'd think I'd have lost at least SOME weight... nope. None. Not one pound was lost. It was aggravating. So I got depressed and then kinda gave up. We still went riding occasionally and we went swimming (if the pool was open), but I stopped trying to lose weight.
Now I think I need to start trying again.

Anthony is seriously thinking about school still, though we haven't decided when to put him in.

Alida is reading (sort of). She loves The Cat in the Hat. It is her favorite! (she is reading it right now, as I type, and she's almost perfect!) That has to be the CUTEST book in creation! Alida does the voices and everything! (So does Anthony, which is another reason it is the cutest book in creation.)

That's about it for now. ^_^

Yesterday

We had to take a friend of mine home yesterday that lives in Spanish Fork, so we stopped by Meemaw's house for a visit. We stayed for dinner and ended up having an impromptu unbirthday party for Alida. She loved it! Anthony has the video so I will have to wait until he gets home before I am able to upload it, but she has been on about her "party" all day today. She keeps asking where her cake is and when her party is. I keep telling her we'll have another "party" soon... so now I'm debating whether or not I'll throw a Halloween party. I used to do one every year (for like, 3 years) but had to not do one last year because of where we were living... and so this year, I may want to resurrect the tradition.
I am throwing a baby shower for my sister next month, so perhaps we will see how that goes and then decide whether or not I want to throw a Halloween party. (I mean, I KNOW I do, but I'll worry about the shower first...)
Tee hee... Alida just told me she wants to "do a Halloween party. I'll go get my bucket and we'll do a Halloween party!" Then she came running out with her trick or treating bucket and said "where's my Halloween party mom?"
I LOVE having a 3 year old! She is so funny to listen to.
Keep watching... I'll let you know whether or not we'll be doing a Halloween party.

Already August!?

I have been having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that it's already mid-August. It's crazy to think about. Another year already more than half over and I haven't posted anything since January. BOY have I been slacking!!!
Here is the rundown for the last 8.5 months (give or take):
Anthony turned 27 in March. He says he doesn't feel any older. lol He certainly acts like it. He also got officially hired on with NAPA Auto Parts in June and he loves his job. He is a delivery driver.
Alida turned 3 in July, though she keeps telling everyone she's 5. That's the true sign of a woman... lying about her age before she can even count!!! (just kidding, she can count to 17, minus 1 and 2. lol) We have been working on some homeschooling starter things with Alida. We work on colors, shapes, numbers, letters and we sing songs. She loves nursery and often times, she is the one that reminds us about church. She loves going!
I turned 26 at the end of July, though I don't feel 26. I find myself becoming nostalgic lately. I miss a lot of things and people.
We moved up to Salt Lake with the help of my sister, Michelle, and her wonderful husband Brian. After about 3 months living with them, we were finally able to move into our own apartment up here and have been here for about 6 months now. It's a great little 2 bedroom apartment in Salt Lake on Redwood Road. We live just south of the Salt Lake/Davis County border.
Alida and I like to go out swimming in the community pool a lot, though I must admit, we don't do it as much as I'd like to be.
Now we are looking at getting Anthony into school for his degree in... (I'm not gonna tell. It's a surprise).
One of my childhood friends is going to be coming up and staying with us for a while in a couple of days. That should prove interesting.
We are all in great health and we are enjoying our new surroundings, though I admit, I get homesick occasionally. I find that I miss the quietness of Spanish Fork. Salt Lake is a loud, busy place, but it's not bad.
I will be posting pictures of us taken just a week ago... so they are current. I hope you enjoy them!
I will be trying to keep up with my blog. I guess I had just pushed it out of my mind.
We love you all and hope that everyone is doing well!

More Pics

These are pictures from Alida's second Birthday. It was great!!!
An old friend of mine from high school showed up with one of Michelle's best friends. Apparently he can do balloon animals and such. It was really fun having them show up at the party! It was a real novelty and everyone had fun.

Pics

These are some photos from our hiking trips this past year.


These are some of the photos from our hiking trips this year.

Shame on me

Ok, I know... It's been almost a year since I last posted.
It hasn't been one of those years that you want to share with others.
We are still trying to recover but we'll make it.
Lemme post some pics and update you.
Alida is 2 1/2 now. Her hair has sprouted and it's as curly as her dad's.
She is a bit of a bully but Daphne is competition. They both try to out bully each other. They can be good friends too, if they want to.
I am currently embarking on a weightloss journey. My goal is to lose 39 lbs by the end of the year (something I'm hoping and trying to accomplish in 6 months instead).
You can follow my journey at http://pushitwithme.blogspot.com
Anthony is currently looking for a full time job and he is working temporarily at Cream O' Weber. They can't hire him because my sister is in upper management.
We are also living in North Salt Lake and we are hoping that we will be able to get Anthony a job soon so we can get our own apartment soon. I think we are all anxious for our own space again, though we are grateful for all the help we are being given.
I will TRY to post things more on this blog. I know I haven't been very steady with it. I will TRY!

Spring is in the air

And it's time to go to the PARK!!!
Alida has a serious case of the wiggles and I think it's contageous!!!
We all had a blast at the park today! It was a fairly warm day and there wasn't a cloud in the sky!!!

Snow Day!!!

Today, Alida, Anthony and I went out to play at the High School. We walked around the track for awhile and then Alida decided that she wanted to get out of the stroller and run around. Since she'd never played in the snow before, we decided to see what she'd do. She had so much fun, she didn't want to leave when it was time. We went to Meemah's house when we were done and played with the kiddies, but Alida was still mad the whole way up! She cried and screamed cause she didn't want to leave.
It's been hard for her to play at Gama's and Bapa's house... since all of our stuff takes up all of the space right now... so it was fun to get out and have a day in the snow.

We're Back!

Hello all!
Sorry it's been so long since I've been on.
Our lappy has been broken for quite some time. We only got it back 2 days ago.
News on our front:
Alida has started saying words! Mostly names, but she can say some fun words.
She has started picking up the following words:
Hi, bye, puppy, bobble (our word for bottle), Bapa (Grandpa/my dad), sashell (michelle), chard (Richard), deedee (JayDee), Bla (Blake), Mama, Daddy, and Two.
It is so much fun to see her interact with us! She is such a smarty!
Lately we've been having play days with My friend Amberlee and her son Ben. It is so nice to have someone Alida's age for her to play with. She seems to enjoy having a friend.
Alida's new favorite place to play is in my pots and pans cupboard in the kitchen. She'll empty it and climb inside to hide.
She also loves her new stroller that she got for Christmas. Who ever thought to give it to her is a GENIOUS!
Not much else to report.
We hope everyone is well!

An update

Hey! Merry Christmas to EVERYONE!
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Things have been hectic.
For now, We're all in North Salt Lake with My sister and her family while Anthony works a temporary job at Cream O' Weber. We're really grateful that we were given this opportunity! (Thanks Michelle! ^_^)
Alida went to nursery today in Michelle and Brian's ward. She wasn't too fond of it once she found out that mommy and daddy had left her there! She spent most of the time sitting on someone's lap or being held (standing up, of course! She'd have it no other way!) She did, however, recover and managed to colour a picture and when I went to pick her up, she was playing ring around the rosey with the other kids. It was adorible... of course, one look at mommy put an end to that.
She hasn't been sleeping well this week. I think it's being in a strange place and in a strange "bed". (I say bed that way because she's actually sleeping in their play pen.)
Just a warning, it may be a couple of weeks until I'm able to post again. Our computer is broken for the moment and we need to take it in to get it repaired... so no internet access.
We wish EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas from the Hunter Family and a happy New Year!
We love you all!
Love from,
Anthony, Shari Anne and Alida Dawn Hunter

Anthony was the Joker.
I was Mrs. Slocombe.
Michelle was a scottish Woman.
Brian was Don Juan.
Daphne was a Fairy Princess.

Ghoulies and Ghosties and long legged beasties...

Lana Jean dressed up as Dorothy.
Bethaney was a geisha.
Josie was a wench or a bar maid... if you prefer.
Her Royal Highness was Amberlee... I mean Amberlee was a princess. :)
And Mary was (I assume) Maid Marian (lol... ironic... Marylynn was Marian) and her boyfriend was Robin Hood.