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Halfway done with the 24-Day Challenge, 2 lbs down... lots of energy and OFF OF COFFEE! I know it's not a huge difference but I can tell more definition in my front/side abs, bloat is less and energy lasts all day. :)

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Steve has lost 3 lbs..... remember we are only halfway through!  12 more days of CHALLENGE!! (This is no exercise for Steve either...just diet.)  

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Well I've updated quite a bit the last couple of days (especially compared to my lack of posting the last year.....) so here's some pics from the last few months, a few of my faves.  Enjoy!  Hope to hear from you!

Raina's rat "Brooks" is getting so big!  We love him!

Moriah had her 1st grade performance tonight...she loves to be on that stage!

Boys Christmas singing performance (3rd grade)

A visit from Gram and Pop in November...

Hiking with the family in Blowing Rock, NC.  Beautiful!!

Aaron with our other beloved pet, Dolly dog.

Gram and her pride and joys on Halloween

Well the most exciting news around here lately is that we are building a house!  We are hoping to have final approval and be able to break ground by April 1st.  Here is the lot where we are building, 2 miles from the nearest grocery store and 4 miles from the kids school that we love...Cool Spring.  We have made LOTS of decisions in the last couple of months....including where our house sits on the lot!  Fun stuff!

Also, some of you know that I started teaching Body Pump in January and I LOVE IT.  Here's a short clip of me and my fellow instructor doing the back track!  Not only is it an amazingly fun but I have definitely seen results from all the hard work I've put in. (thus the back muscles pic....blood, sweat and tears baby!) 

Raina Rene' has been playing basketball for her school and loves it. She definitely misses her dad coaching her and we have hopes that next year he'll be able to do that.  Although the girls lose a lot of their games they play hard, and we are so proud of Raina for pushing through despite some sickness and knee pain this season.  Here are a couple of clips of #1 her doing her thing!

First basket of the game!

Here are the girls using the teamwork to get a basket....

and taking pictures after their well deserved win. (Raina doesn't go for the silly so much...?)

Basketball Buddies

Here is Aidan making some fruit salad.... I bought a bunch of fruit today and he was bound and determined to make one.  Love this kid!

Moriah has taken to reading Alice In Wonderland, which she got for Christmas.  She loves to read and in 1st grade pretty consistently brings books home on a 3rd/4th grade level.  Here's the video....:)

New Diggs in North Carolina

Well we've been here in NC a little over a little over a month and... so far, SO GOOD!!!  We are really enjoying the different scenery... lots of tall trees and curvy roads around where we live, and the kids are really enjoying playing outside and meeting new neighbor friends.  The Cool Spring School they are attending has been wonderful and the teachers say they are all doing great.  God is good!  Here are some pics of our new house.  Write us at 352 Seven Springs Loop Statesville, NC 28625.  The kids love getting letters and I will make sure they write you back! :)
You can click on the pictures to see them bigger if you like.  I will post pics of the kids' rooms soon... we still need to hang posters!

Front of the house - things are blooming!

Living Room - I need a rug!  Lots of beautiful hardwood floors

 This is the view when walking in he front door... we made the eat in kitchen into a sitting area with futon and rug.  The windows look out into the backyard.

Formal dining room area... it's really big!

KITCHEN with bar stool area.... oh yeah, Mama likes! =)

Our bedroom.... thankfully big enough for all our furniture plus my much needed massage chair!

The kids out front on the driveway by Steve's new car (Nissan Maxima)... he works 30 minutes away so needed one with good gas mileage!

Back porch is 1/2 covered and then there is also a patio area.  Not fenced in and lots of pine trees so it feels like we're kinda in the woods!  We love it!  (Dolly has a shock collar now that we don't have a fence and she got "bit" a couple of times... now she is scared to come off the porch!  haha!)

 
The kids and me at the NC ZOO.  We had a great time and it feels like we're just barely scraping the surface of all the fun things to do and explore in North Carolina!  Here are a few more pics from our last month here.  ENJOY... we love you all!

The dinosaur exhibit at the zoo was 
amazing... check out this pic of Mo-Mo looking 
like she's going to be eaten by a T-REX!

We got to ride on the boat with Steve's new boss and his wife... the kids absolutely loved the tubing, and "driving" the boat with Dave.

MOTHER'S DAY MORNING... love my kiddos so much!!!

 







Cousin Trenton here from the Air Force Base in Sumpter, SC!  He's the closest family around now... it was good to be with him and see a familiar face!  (Oh and Moriah lost her first tooth... she was excited to show everyone!)