Day 30

Meadowdale Beach Park.  This time we made it all the way down to the bottom because we had enough daylight.  We 1st tried this walk on Day 9 and it got too dark for us to do the whole walk.  It now stays lighter about 30 min later than it did just 21 days ago. 2 miles round trip, 1 1/2 hours.  Not a spectacular per mile rate, but to our credit the entire way back is uphill and steep.  Haley made it all the way without having to be carried - amazing for her! She definitely had to be helped along though.  Chocolate orange slices served as "motivation" to make it uphill. What a beautiful trail.

Day 28 and 29

Day 28
There was a family dance at the school. Dancing for all!

Day 29
Two hours of playtime at McDonalds for the kids during the day for their active time.  A date with Daddy at Build-a-Bear for the together time.  No real active time for Mom and Dad. Unless BUNCO counts for mom, forearm workout?

UPDATE: I am back from BUNCO, 1 hour after it ended, my right arm is still so tired I can barely lift it! Oh, and it turns out this is a tricep workout, not a forearm one.  I enjoyed two hours of belly laughs and dice rolling.  There were even some comments from my table mates (who have no idea I'm doing this blog) that this should count as a workout.  I couldn't agree more!  Also, the Daddy date went off without a hitch.  We are now the proud owners of two additional build-a-bear teddy bears and only had to pay 95 cents for them, gotta love coupons and gift cards.

Day 27

If you've been reading, you know that wednesdays are pretty much non-active together time since we have Pioneer Club at church.  So, tonight our together time was the hot tub 20 min.  We're hoping that will do the trick to relieve Hannah's cold symptoms and make for two relaxed and tired children.

Day 26

We actually got out "early" this evening.  There was even a shred or two of sunlight left at 5:30pm.  The girls went bike riding around the neighborhood and we had a friendly game of tag as well.  As usual, us parents got exercise pushing the girls up hills and sprinting down hills to catch up with them.  Hannah took a big tumble off the sidewalk and into someone's yard because her training wheels got caught.  On the way back home she took a tumble at the exact same spot, although we think this one was on purpose, though she swears it wasn't.  We have been trying to convince her for weeks that she is ready to take the wheels off, she is still too nervous, although at the end of our walk, she was sounding more convinced.  45 min.

You would have thought Normal Rockwell visited our house this afternoon when the girls and I were baking chocolate chip cookies.  It was just as you would imagine, fun family time together, music in the background, every helping and getting along. Today's cookie baking and bike riding will have to carry us through tomorrow when family time will be scare.

Day 25

Hooary for the parents, we followed through on discipline tonight, but that means no together time for one child.  She was about to throw something and we warned her if she continued, she would be sent to her room for an hour.  You can guess what her decision was.  She then fell asleep 15 min into her punishment, as we pretty much knew would happen.  We did a 20 min pilates on demand video with the other child.  She did great, stuck with the video pretty much the whole time and was doing the exercises with us.  It was a nice quiet peaceful time.  This would not have been the case if both kids had been awake and doing the video.  Two kids usually = increasingly chaotic running around.

Day 23 and 24

Day 23
Saturday Daddy had lots of pruning to do in the yard and the girls were a big help carrying the branches 20 min. 

Day 24
Tonight, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out.  It always seems like such a big deal to get everyone dressed warmly and outside and pretty much all this month it has been wet wet wet.  We had to bribe Haley to get her outside.  She kept insisting that she and Daddy would stay home.  She finally agreed when we told her we would bring the rocking horse into the house.  There was room for now that the Christmas decorations have finally been packed away and out back out into the garage.  It had stopped raining by the time we went out, but everything was nice and wet, so there were some decent puddles to splash in (for the kids, not the parents).  Even though it is a pain to get everyone out, it is so nice once we are out there, it is quiet and peaceful and there is a nice chill in the air.  Not chilly enough though, we would love to get some snow!  20 min.

Day 22

I asked my daughter what I should write tonight, this is what she said, "we couldn't do outside time because I wanted to do hide and seek and my sister agreed with me."  And . . she'd be right, they didn't want to go outside for together time, so we did our version of hide and seek - calisthenics style. 15 min.  Before that, the girls did what they called a firefly dance.  What made it a firefly dance?  They turned off the lights and started up their firefly toothbrushes that flash for the amount of time you should brush - creative!  We had a fun family dinner tonight - taco night.  I talked it up all day for the girls and they were excited to help set it all up.  This sounds like a typical dinner that any young family would have often, but I can't remember the last time we had taco, with actual taco shells (not tortillas).  Daddy finally got a chance to go outside on his own for a brisk walk this evening.

Day 21

Active time and together time for 3 of us, just not active time and together time altogether. Gymnastics for the girls. A 3 mile run for mom (with the youngest in the jogger). Dad worked late and then got to watch the kids, so no active time for him unless going in and out on engine rooms count. Mom and Dad each got some reading time with the girls.

Day 20

This is a wednesday, our busy evening day, so no active time altogether, but we did have some relaxing time in the hot tub. This is always a good time for talking. I got in a 3 mile run and the girls had 1 1/2 hours of VERY active play at McDonald's playland. It was active and LOUD - 7 screaming girls being chased by 1 boy! This resulted in afternoon naps for my girls and I was truly happy about that. The hot tub, by the way, is my method for (hopefully) getting the girls in bed at a decent hour. Afternoon naps translate into screwed up bedtimes. As I write this, I realize the irony of writing "at a decent hour" when it is already 9:54pm and no bedtime in sight! Good thing school starts after 9am.

Day 19

I was proud of us, it was still early evening and we were ready to head out on a bike ride. We did get outside, but not until almost an hour later. I can't complain about the time in between though, it was definitely together time. Daddy-daughter rough housing together time. The kind of play that rarely occurs when it is just mommy and the girls. We finally got outside and the temperature felt so mild, like April or May. There was a fine mist in the air when we started out and midway through the drops started getting larger and larger and larger, I thought we'd be soaked by the time we got back but it eased up a bit. The exercise for us parents is keeping up with the girls on the downhill sections and the parent "lucky" enough to help our youngest gets pretty much non-stop pushing with a bent over back because the bike is so low to the ground. I can't wait until they are old enough to ride freely without training wheels and I can't wait until it is still daylight at 8 pm. 25 min.

Day 16, 17 and 18

Lots of family active time this weekend during a trip out to the Olympic Penninsula.

Day 16
We went to Railroad Bridge Park, a beautiful former railroad bridge that is situated on the Olympic Discovery Trail, a rail trial that spans from Port Townsend to Port Angeles. We have been vactioning in this area for over 10 years and never knew about this park until I was training for a marathon earlier this year. The marathon course takes you right over the bridge. As it has been raining nonstop for days, there was lots of water rushing under the bridge. I can never get tired of watching it and the sound of the water was so loud, I could have sworn we were close to I-5. Nothing spectacular about the energy spent and calories consumed on this walk. It was close to dark and our 4 year old was not finding the "joy" in being out in nature. 30 min.

Day 17
Playing the snow, sledding and snowshoeing at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. We are having an El Nino Winter in the Northwest which translates into rain, rain, and more rain and very mild temperatures. Not sure how this is going to translate into snow for the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver, but enough snow does seem to be falling in the mountains. We usually get snow at or near sea level at least one or two days, but so far nothing. The girls were overjoyed to see the snow as we were winding our way up the mountain. You would have thought that it was Christmas. Haley kept squealing in her cute little high pitched voice, "It's a Winter Wonderland!" The girls had plenty of time to sled and make a snowman, and then they got interested in digging a hole. John and I took turns heading off down the snowshoe trail by ourselves. I was freezing, so this was the only way I could think to get my extremities warm. The mountain was "closing" early due to an impending snow, so John and I each only got a 15-20 workout, but it's a great one. You can't beat the scenery and the way back is entirely uphill. It is a great trail and I can't wait until the girls get their own snowshoes and can join us, maybe later this winter. 2 hours.

Day 18
On this day, we visited another former railroad bridge on the Olympic Discovery Trail - Morse Creek Bridge. More stunning scenery across the river and a nice stroll down the newly paved trail. Afterwards we took the girls to a playground in Port Angeles, quite a nice one. It's one of those playgrounds that is fully fenced and has lots of structures to climb on, looks very similar to a castle or fortress. The trail then playground was our way of getting some exercise in for the adults. Although, we did have a chance to climb around on the playground as well. 20 min at the bridge 1 hour at the park.

Day 15

We seem to be getting a little more lax about this, the active part anyway. Family time tonight was Daddy taking the girls to story/pajama night at school while mommy went to a girl's night out. Maybe the Costco samples "lunch" was mommy's family time with the girls.

Day 14

Hot tubbing tonight for family time. 30 min. The girls and I actually had very active days, the hubby, not so much. I did a challenging run up the big hill in Edmonds and the girls had gymnastics. Lots of sore muscles tonight, so the hot tub was perfect.

Day 13

Wednesdays, for now, in the winter are going to have to be reserved for Pioneer Club and not family active time, unless of course I just do something with the girls before John gets home. Although the point is for us all to be together. We get back too late in the evening and sometimes (like tonight) our youngest falls asleep on the away home. We do all go to Pioneer Club together but it is usually not active time. I would like the focus on wednesdays to be together time reading, this I know we can accomplish and it is not something we get to do with the girls everynight.

Day 12

It ain't gonna happen today! In part due to the kids both falling asleep at incorrect and inopportune times and an evening meeting. Throw into the mix us discovering after the car ride home that our preschooler had peed in her pants in some unknown location at someone else's house. Translation - a kid and a carseat to clean and a phonecall to make so the other parents could clean their home. Add to this doing battle with a school-age kid who refused to do her homework all afternoon. Then throw in all the normal diversions like laundry and making dinner and attempting to get the kids to bed at a decent hour (which we are still in the process of doing). This all results in way too many distractions during the time period where we were all physically together to find some "together time". We did have some family time during a quick dinner and a car ride to and from the meeting (where the peeing occured), but nothing you could classify as "active" and "together" at the same time. It will have to do for today.

As I just pushed the button to publish this post, my oldest daughter said, "It's too bad we couldn't have family time. Family time is the best time ever. Family time is canceled". Her last sentence said in a sad but overly dramatic way. Then the youngest added, "yeah, we only got family time at dinner and in the car." Of course I think the youngest only repeated that since I just read her what I had written in the post. Anyway, this is EXACTLY why we are doing this, to be together as a family and enjoy each other's company and it's great to hear that my daughters value this time we are spending together.

Day 11

The girls insisted on a game of hide and seek tonight for our family time. I was trying to convince them to go outside, but hide and seek was what they wanted. 10 min, with jumping jacks, at least for me and our youngest. I'm not quite sure what the others were up to. We also had a really nice time at the dinner table tonight, lots of talking. We had what they call a "fancy dinner". That's what they call it if we actually use the dining room table. I've been thinking about out Together for Ten idea and am wondering if we will keep doing it as an "active" thing each day or if it will morph into 10 min of family time of different manifestations, sometimes active, sometimes stories, games, playing pretend with them (gasp), or a Bible lesson. We'll see . . .

Day 10

Just got back from an outing to a nearby elementary school. The girls rode their bikes and the parents walked. The girls enjoyed some playtime at the school's playground. The school is about 1 mile away and we have to be on the shoulder of a busy road to get there. So it was not the easiest bike route we could have chosen, but it was fun because it was a stretch for all of us. The girls have never ridden their bikes that far and I wasn't sure if we were going to get there and then have the youngest decide she needed to be pushed all the way back. I also wasn't sure if the parents would have the patience to take the girls that far. It can get difficult fast if they refuse to pedal and want to be pushed. It will be nice when they are both off of training wheels and zooming around fast enough that I can run along side them. There were definitely moments of this with Hannah on the downhill sections. It did help that the way home was more down hill than not as well. 1hr 30 min.

Day 9

We hiked the Meadowdale Beach trail. 25 min. We'll have to start earlier next time. We had to turn around before we got down to the beach because they close the gates shortly after sunset. This was the 1st time John and the girls had been here. The girls had fun - more fun on the downhill part. We carried Haley much of the way back up. What a gorgeous sunset - bright neon pinky orange! Haley described it as layers of color. It did look like there were lots of "layers" of clouds.

Day 8

We managed to get in a night/rain/flashlight walk around the neighborhood - just barely (8:15 pm). I love these times with the girls. They feel like they are on an adventure and it is so much fun to observe them and listen to their comments. We told them before they left that they could splash in puddles, so the bulk of our walk was trying to find puddles, there were plenty as it has been raining nonstop and hard today. We found one at the field that was at least 5 inches deep. Hannah got her feet wet there and was ready to go back. The girls discovered all sorts of things on this walk that we have never noticed before like a post with a house number on it completely hidden by the landscaping of the house and a big tree which was evidently much smaller at one point. They also noticed a shrubby tree that looks like it has glitter on it when a light is shined on it and it's thousands of little water dropplets. We returned pretty soaking wet, especially our pants where the water would funnel off of our rain coats and onto our thighs. 30 min.

Day 7

Everyone exercised, just not exactly all together. The girls each had a gymnastics class. The baby of the family fell asleep in the late afternoon, so no active family outing was going to happen. Mom and Dad managed a 10 min pilates video during halftime of the College Football National Championship Game. Then there was some jumping up and down on the couch and on the parents during the Bama win over Texas. Roll Tide!

Day 6

Pioneer Club Game Night was as close to an all family activity that we got. We were all there. About 45 min worth of fun. Do we have to subtract some time for the ice cream we ate right before the games?

Day 5

Now that the regular schedule is back in full swing, this is hard! Activities all day then a meeting at church tonight. We're already resorting to Hide and Seek as our only exercise. 10 min. We all had to do jumping jacks while counting this time though. Tomorrow will be tough too since it's a Pioneer Club night.

Day 4

Rainy and cold outside. We opted for a 10 min session of hide and seek with the kids, the running style of hide and seek. I got some ideas for making it even more active next time. Jumping jacks while you count or something like that. 10 min Ab workout Video for the parents. Gotta love on demand Fios.

Day 3

I wasn't sure we were going to get this one in. Had a full day of church, visiting a brand new baby, and a dinner guest. After our guest left, we took a night walk in our neighborhood. The small lightweight flashlights we got in our stockings were perfect for little hands. The girls had a blast "looking for animals". Hannah, however, would not allow anyone to talk because she was afraid we were scaring the animals. She, ironically, was the loudest one. 30 min.

Day 2

A vigorous walk to and from Logan Park for the parents. The kids (75 lbs worth) got pushed in the jogger stroller and got their exercise playing at the park. You could tell they enjoyed having mom and dad run around with them at the park. It feels like you are beating the weather when it's cloudy and wet and blustery, but you're out in it anyway. I could get used to this. Way more than 10 min together today, more like 1 hour.

Day 1

Today was easy, the deck was stacked, I confess. We had already gone out for a walk before I started the blog. To our credit, we did venture out in the cold, windy, rainy late afternoon. Kids on bikes, parents on foot. Only one spill off the bike for the youngest child. 30 min.

We're starting on a journey

It's New Year's day. Time for new beginnings, resolutions, goals. Well, here's ours - find a way to spend 10 minutes a day exercising together as a family. We want to improve our physical health and connection with each other. In some ways this is a small goal in some ways it is an impossible goal. Ten minutes is not a lot, but the hope, of course, is that when we're together, we will spend more than 10 minutes. The goal of ten a day is to get us to be active together consistently. As I write this, I have lots of questions. How is this going to work? What if we get sick? What are we going to come up with in the course of the year that counts as "exercise"? I'm sure there will be plenty of "life" things to stand in our way. Can we do it? Stay tuned . . .