Less Gorging, More Running! and Be Present! in 2014!

Well hello again! Its been nearly a year since we posted to the blog but everything is pretty much smashed into this video down below so no worries.  Happy New Year!

But first,here are the new years resolutions posted here in hopes we stick to them!

Kody:

Need I say more..

My goal:Trim down & get fit again!
1- Running 5-6 times a week
2 - Healthy work lunches each week (instead of rotating between McDonalds, In-N-out, and Jack-in-the-Box)


Lisa's goal:
I choose a one word goal each year. This year is present! I want to be focused on the kids and Kody when I'm with them and not on the phone or otherwise distracted. Whatever I am doing I want to do it consciously and with all my effort.

 

The Stimpson 2013 Year in Review!

But wait... There's more! I just realized we never blogged the 2012 Year in Review. LOL! So traveling back in time. Here is 2012...



We're excited to see what 2014 has in store for us with baby on the way will be exciting but in the meanwhile I gotta get up and go run!

Lake Mead and a Burger from Heaven!

When you think of Las Vegas you usually don't think of giant lakes of water but from where we live in Henderson, Lake Mead is less than 20 minutes away. We have passed by it many times on drives but never actually went to check it out.  Well Martin Luther King Day was the day to finally do that!

We loaded up the kids and started to explore. Immedietly upon arriving I wondered why we hadn't explored this before. I think I'll be getting the pass so we can come here all the time. It was beautiful!

We found some great camping spots too. Unfortunately when we moved here we left our camp trailer so we'll have to get some good tents or something.. or maybe another trailer. ;-)

But it was nice since its been a little cold the past few weeks to finally get out again.

Quick video of our explorings!

Yummy dirt!

Rebel was not afraid of the water a bit and before we knew we had a muddy mut on our hands.  She's a great little pup and has become a fun little member of  the fam.

Ok what does this last picture have to do with our trip? Well not much but it must be shared!  When we lived in Meridian my absolute favorite place for a burger was Famous Daves! I can't believe a whole year has gone by and I hadn't had one so a friend and I went there this week.

Holy cow! Its got shredded pork, tasty pickles, and check out that bacon!  Thank goodness I started my healthy eating & running plan again this week. ;-)  It was even bigger and better than I remembered!

I keep thinking of starting "Kody's Burger Blog" but until then I'll just have to share it here.

Asian Family Night!

Last week a friend at work returned from a trip visiting family in Asia including Thailand and Japan. She brought some wonderful treats back with her including a Sun Cake and some pineapple tasty treats! We decided to make a night of it and here are some pics from the night. The kids loved it!

First, Lisa made some tasty Chinese food including rice, egg rolls and orange chicken. We had the kids watch some Chinese cartoons while we ate. Then we talked about different cultures and how we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father.

Then we called Aunt Janis and listened to our cousin Jaydee speak Mandrin over the phone. We taught the kids Wa shir... My name is... Trace or Kendra.

Then we watched clips from Mulan and ate the delicious treats my friend gave us.

Lastly, the kids drew some pictures from Mulan. Here below are their masterpieces.

What started out as a couple fun treats turned into a really memorable night. ;-)

Decision by Richard Franklin

Lisa's Uncle was an extremely talented artist named Richard Franklin. We have a few of his pictures in our home which we love but recently his widow brought us a beautiful print.

We found the perfect frame but it needed to be sanded and restained to restore it. Here are the before and after pictures.

This piece is titled "Decision". There are certainly a lot of life's decisions that are critical in determining our life's paths and future happiness so thinking about its name makes me love it even more.