My husband had this bright idea. . .

. . . that we would go on a family vacation out west. I was upset. "be gone 10 days. . . go to a cold place when we have it warm. . . . go the sat after the last wk of school? . . . too busy . . . . How can I continue trying to loose wt?" I said. But as a good wife I mustered up all my strength and I packed myself and 3 children and off we flew. We flew to Colorado, and drove to Wyoming, "Yellowstone", Idaho, and Montana. It was awesome. Simply a great vacation!

Highlights:

A black bear at yellowstone. So cool!
1) It was great family time!
2) The country was absolutely beautiful.
3) It was cold, and it snowed, but it was great fun.
4) We saw moose, antelope, bear, fox, eagle, deer, buffalo, coyote, and so much more.
5)The people were so nice, {except in the not-so-tourists parts, they stared at us, I found out due to our southern drawl (accents)} lol
6) I drank my water everyday.
7) I made smarter choices when we ate out. (It was a must at times)
8) We carried healthy snacks for on the road and hikes.
9) My whole family did a 4 mile hike in the Tetons! Awesome!
10) I exercised almost everyday.

One quick story about the exercising: We arrived in Cody at the hotel, after a 7 hr drive from the airport and a 3 hr flight. I was determined to start off the vacation right and exercise. I put on my warmest clothes, and set out for a jog. It was getting dark, and very cold. I was a little nervous since I didn't know the area. But I walked out of my room and found a paved and well lit area in which I set out to jog. It was by a lake, with some ducks, and as I started jogging I noticed it was a memorial. (This was the Sunday before Memorial day) So, I would stop here and there and read the memorials for those that were lost in war. It was an awesome tribute and an excellent jog. I couldn't help but think how proud these men and women would be to have their names in such an honorable place and have me stop as I'm out trying to better myself and read the names. It was a good feeling. One of which I would have missed prior to SP.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. What I felt like was such a chore turned out to be a great and memorable time for me and my family. I have missed Sparking as much as I usually do. But I'm back now, settled back into life as usual and I'm proud to say, I actually lost 3 lbs on the trip.

Thanks Spark people and all you encouraging Sparkers! This is a great place. I'm happy to be back in full swing. . . . .


My family on a hike.