Out with the old and in with the new!

I love the gluten free lifestyle though truth be told I had my fair share of gluten the last two weeks. I'm drinking a Sam Adams Christmas brew as I read about eliminating beer. 😉 Christmas food is so full of gluten! Anyhow.. On my journey to long life, great health, and an active lifestyle, I am slowly moving my family out with the old and in with the new. This book should help me since the food must be PRACTiCAL for me to even think about cooking it! My goal is to be in full swing by June. I'm giving myself time and my husband time to acclimate. So here we go, ready or not. 

Family ...Dinner Italian Style

Family....

We love having dinner with all of our  kids. Many nights we will sit around the table with ALMOST all of them and break bread together. With three of the four children working, we had to get our calendars out to find a day to make a date to actually go out and share a meal. I guess that's what happens when your children grow up; coordinating schedules becomes a regular part of life.  We also love Downtown Denver. And Italian food. So today I blew off the GF  lifestyle and shared a family style meal with everyone. It was de-lic-ous! We had more than we could eat and well, who doesn't love leftovers!!

We are family!

Gabe and Sarahh

 

I am always, always grateful for the time together with our children and treasure each memory we have together.

Psalm 127:3

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

Climb Every Mountain.. or just one.

 

The Incline

 

 Scary. Intimidating. Hard. Breath-Sucker. 2000ft Gain. Muscle-Maker. Worth It! 



 The last time I did this, I swore that was it. It almost killed me; and that was only half-way up. After time away from this beast, I rethought the mountain and my wimpy 'tude and decided I could do it again. Kind of like having a baby; you forget the pain and go for it one more time! This time though T convinced the youngest to join in. It took some coaxing but she came along, with a smile on her face. Hollywood underestimates herself and her physical ability. She's much tougher than she lets on.

With ear buds in and Beyoncé singin to me, I climbed. It didn't take long before I was remembering the pain of this mountain. Cough, cough, cough. Oh wintertime exercise and coughing! But it is so worth it. Fresh air, warm temperatures and the beauty of Colorado. Honestly, we couldn't believe it was December. My sweet girls would wait for me and I would wave them on. T on the other hand was just climbing! His new bionic hip is serving my man well. He did awesome! I turned off at Bar Trail, same place I stopped last time, which is about the half-way point. The hike down from there is wonderful and the views amazing.

But these two.. whoo hoo!  They kept climbing. Just look at all those stairs!

 

 

 Half way point.... made it!

And she did it!!! Hollywood's first time and she did it! If you looked at ALL her hashtags on Instagram you'd think she was dying. Does she look like she's dying?  Her sister, the great motivator, kept her going and I think she's ready to go again!

T took this photo and text it to me while he waited at the top for his girls. Someone decorated a tree at the top of the mountain. How cool is this? I keep thinking about their backpack full of ornaments trudging up the mountain. A nice way to end a Christmas climb.

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas to you all!

TnT

Denver at Christmastime

T and I  love spending time away and downtown Denver happens to be one of our favorite spots. The culture is so much more me than Monument. I even told T that I can think and relax downtown. This is our state courthouse building. The have a full manger scene on the steps, yes you read right, and signs that shout Merry Christmas. For such a liberal state, this one they got right.