8.09.2014

Bland Family Reunion

Bland Family reunion 2014! That was what brought my family to the coast in the first place. Almost all of these pictures are from July 4th..apparently the only day I really used my camera at the reunion. Love my Bland Family so much and really hoping I can make it out for the 2016 one. 
Started the day with a sandcastle contest...glad we had the Lims on our team to help out! My sister-in-law's family had driven down from Seattle to spend some time with us at the reunion. And they have some serious sand castle-making skills. 
The finished project! We may have one 1st place..no big deal. I mostly supervised however.
That night we had a bonfire on the beach complete with a nice firework show right in front of us.
Me, Crystal & Erica
Brittany & Jules
The Lim Family!
Aren't my parents just the cutest?!
Cousins Traci & Kim & Baby November
My awesome sister-in-law Hannah threw Brittany and I a joint baby shower while we were out there. Her and her mom made some awesome food and had some cute decorations going on. Thanks Hannah!! And thanks family that came!! Very Grateful!
Brittany is having a boy & I am having a girl hence the pink and blue
Julie & Crystal being good sports :)
The rest of the reunion was pretty much games bc the Bland family loves its games! This picture was taken probably around 1 am playing resistance. Good times
Jonathan's "lying faces" were cracking us up. Resistance is a mafia-like game. And Jonathan is either the best or worst liar out there. Still on the fence. But below was his face when answering any questions. Who is he?
2 cute cousins wearing bow ties. 

8.05.2014

Oregon Coast

Ah the Oregon Coast. Beautiful and chilly. I suppose it was a nice break from the oppressive heat and humidity of Okinawa though. I grew up coming out here every few years. My dad is from Portland area and we would venture out for family reunions. My grandparents moved to Indianapolis 5 or so years ago to have family help take care of my grandpa, so it had been 6 years since I've made it out there. I'm so grateful I was able to come out and see all my family. 
 So excited to be having a baby around the same time as my sister! She's due about 4 weeks before me. Our little kids are gonna be BFF obviously. Whether they like it or not.
 Jules, Tyler & Jo
 24ish weeks
 Eating at Mo's, bc that is what you do at the Oregon Coast. Also,I've never liked Clam Chowder, but I tried a little here...not too bad...
 Our beachside cottage for the week!
 Hiked through the insanely beautiful and green forest area. I would hike everyday for the rest of my life in that weather and beauty.
More pictures coming soon...

8.04.2014

Yosemite's Giant Sequoias

Our last day in Yosemite we visited the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoias. It's crazy how majestic these tall, beautiful trees can be. Also a little interesting tidbit: the difference between Redwoods and Sequoias- Redwoods are the tallest tree, with more slender trunks; Sequoias have the widest trunks. Now you know :). Enjoy the pictures...and go to Yosemite!!! You are really missing out if you haven't visited.
 my family! (that was there)
Looking at these pictures I can't believe how much my bump has grown-these were taken the last day of June, I was 23 weeks. Now I'm 28. What a difference 5 weeks makes.
 Jonathan in awe. 
 Jonathan & my dad
 I believe this is the Grizzly Giant- 1800 years old, 209 ft tall, 96 ft circumference
Ended the day with the best sunset on the way home.

7.26.2014

Get Fit (and a rant at the end)

Hello little bloggy world! So You may have seen on Facebook that I decided to join my friend in the Beachbody world and become a coach. I wanted to write a blogpost to elaborate on why and what it is. (and some other stuff at the very bottom)

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

My good friend Jenna has been dedicated to losing weight the past couple months or so. She bought PiYo through Beachbody to mix things up and ended up absolutely loving it. She began with weightwatchers and jogging and such, but since starting PiYo and being part of the Beachbody team has seen AWESOME results and is really loving working out and being healthy-which is key to achieving a goal. So, HER success motivated little old me to try out PiYo. Since I'm pregnant it will be harder to SEE the results, but I'm determined to stay fit through my pregnancy so that 1) I can have a better labor and 2) I won't have to work as crazy hard to get my regular body back post-pregnancy.
Jenna let me share her Before & After pictures. Her after picture is after only 2 weeks of doing PiYo!

So I bought a Challenge Pack which got me a month's worth of Shakeology and PiYo for only $10. The Shakeology is a liiitle expensive, but from everything I've been reading and hearing about it I'm pretty stoked to try it out. I'm going to use it as a nutritional supplement for my lunches because I am really awful at eating a filling lunch. I usually just snack on things and then end up getting all shaky if I have to go anywhere afterwards (I think it's a pregnancy thing).

WHAT IS PIYO?

PiYo is pretty much just what is sounds like-a Pilates/Yoga fusion program. This particular program from Beachbody is brand new and just came out a month of so ago. In the words of Beachbody--"Chalene Johnson took the very best Pilates and yoga-insipred moves and cranked up the speed to give you full throttle cardio, strength, and flexibility training--all at once. PiYo packs it ALL into each workout so you can build muscle mass-as you're burning crazy calories."



WHAT IS SHAKEOLOGY?

First of all, it's all natural. It's made up of over 70 fruits and veggies and gives you your daily recommended dose in ONE packet. Sure, eating your actual fruits and veggies may be better, but for me that is hard to do everyday (esp the veggies!). The drying process of the fruits and veggies Beachbody uses is one the best in preserving all of the nutrients. There are a variety of flavors to choose from: Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla, and Greenberry as well as vegan options. Shakeology can be used as a nutrition supplement or as a weight loss supplement (meal replacement). If you are using it everyday a months supply is $129 which breaks down to about $4 and some change. But if you are using it as a meal replacement thats a pretty cheap & healthy meal! I also hear this has helped people's energy levels so I'm hoping for that as well.


Anyways, that is what all the buzz is about! If you want to get serious about getting fit and healthy we also have some great motivational Facebook groups for people who buy, where people can post their workout, share meal ideas and have some accountability. 

I really hate being a sales person to be honest. I absolutely hate pushing things down people's throat and I promise to not do that! But I would like to share how I am liking the products as I'm using them and being a part of the Facebook group has already helped me to feel motivated. If you have any questions or are interested you can email me-- mickelleb@gmail.com. Or if you want to get crazy and buy something the PiYo sale goes through the end of July and you can buy right here-->>http://www.teambeachbody.com/mickellem and click SHOP. 

Now enough about that!

I'm will be going out of town the next week to a little island called Fiji. Pretty excited. 

Also, let me tell you one reason living on a military base overseas is sometimes not ideal. You're mailing address is an FPO box at the post office that is a 20 minute drive away. You order some things from Asos like a maternity swimsuit and dress and shirt and are so excited to get it that you start going to the post office everyday thinking--it HAS to be here today. So that's a 40 minute round trip. You check you're mail everyday and there is NOTHING. Or some junk mail, OR there is a package and you get your hopes up only to find out, nope not Asos. Oh, did I mention I ordered this package on June 4? You go on a 2 week vacation thinking, it HAS to be here...nope. In Asos defense they are sending me a replacement package...still waiting for that one too. My life is so hard!!!!! ;) 

Thanks for reading the longest blog post ever. xoxo