Hey Guess what?

Yep. You're right.

Hint: Due in April.

And we're so thrilled.

I know what you I did last this summer!

My edited title somehow doesn't seem as thrilling as the original. Hm. Anyway, this has been a long time comin'. Here's the summer review you've all been waiting for. (eyes rolling everywhere).

June was full of free lunches in the park and..well… rain actually. June was weird and rained almost daily. My lawn said daily prayers of gratitude to finally be treated with compassion. I’m such a horrible lawnsmith…that’s a word trust me.

The most exciting news this summer actually got the least attention. But we are so thrilled about it. Brandon switched jobs. His old job was quite taxing and crying himself to sleep every night was just getting hard on everybody. Now that he is the technology director at Filer School District there is a new spring in his step and twinkle in his eye. Our home has just turned into a cottage full of butterfly kisses and heart-shaped pancakes. (insert cocked head and frownsmile).

As all you devotees know, I did a triathlon. I think people don’t realize how basic mine was, and I don’t want to tell them. Imagining I accomplished a Herculean task adds much more padding to my ego. It was actually pretty easy. One hard part was only because of my own stupidity. When I read 2.5 K on the ground, I thought, 2 ½ miles instead of kilometers! Believing I only had ½ left (actually I had 1 ½ left) I thought, “I’m awesome!” I booked it. I passed ladies left and right. They were stunned in awe. “Wow, she is so amazing! And hot.” I’m pretty sure that’s what they said. But after doing this for ½ a mile with no end in sight, every part of my insides started aching and screaming at me. Other than that it was a breeze.

Before the triathlon I did some recording with my sister. Turns out she’s quite the composer and wrote some right nice church music. Whoever thought Do what is right could ever be described as pretty? Yeah, me neither, but she did it. You should take a listen. Add some spiritual power to your day. And loveliness.

And of course the crowning moment was NYC. It was a blast. Perfect. Everything I wanted. We went to: Serendipity-yes it’s that good. Most of the touristy places. Ate pizza. Ate vendor food. Ate a cupcake. Walked around a lot. Were enthralled by Wicked. Loved Central Park. Spoiled ourselves with other shows. Rode a lot of subways. Lazied around every morning. Stayed up very late. And were not parents! I missed them, but was more focused on enjoying every minute. It was just the perfect vacation.

Lastly, we just got back from camping at Bear Lake with my brother Nate and family. What a nice lake! Ethan and Liam could have stayed there all day.

Now things are calming down a bit, and that's exciting in its own way.

It's not fair.

Somethings in life are just not fair. The other day while eating at Applebees I couldn't help but notice the family next to us. Mennonites. The mom and daughter were looking quite Mennonite-ish. But then I glanced at the son. Who just looked dashing in his American Eagle polo. Simply not fair.


Enough about Mennonites, heaven bless'm. I'm here to talk about exercise. At the beginning of the summer I really wanted to get in shape and stay motivated to work out the entire summer. Enter triathlon registration. I ran. I swam. I biked. I was diligent, determined. And the end result? I gained 5+ pounds. (And no, not muscle. Mostly the muffin top variety). My goal was not to lose weight, but to gain it? Is that really anyone's goal here in suburban America?

The very sucky truth is: exercise is useless greatly misunderstood. Oh sure it's good news for you heart, muscles, mind, bones, indeed your very soul-but if you're trying to lose weight? Think again. I've always known this on some level, but a recent article in Time just confirmed it.

Here's what happened to me and maybe some of you: I work out. I feel proud. I feel hungry. And entitled. So then I eat the cookie or cookies. (Alright fine, it's always plural) Surely I deserve this reward! Alas, my body does not agree. My food reward cancels my workout entirely and adds even more calories! And it gets worse. The harder and longer I workout only makes me over-compensate even more at home. This means one thing. Exercise=weight gain. Exercise=bad. If I didn't work out, I wouldn't feel the need to reward myself with treats.

Exercise may do wonders for your heart, but the sad truth is it just doesn't burn calories like it feels like it does. It takes about an hour of biking to burn off a chocolate chip cookie and over an hour to burn off french fries. That means the only reward I can safely eat is maybe an extra teaspoon of butter. I think enthusiasm is shared across the board when I say, "Hip-hip. Hoo. Ray." We'd be better off sitting on the couch just watching exercise.

The other spoonful of bitter medicine I gleaned from this article was about willpower. Psychologists claim that self-control is like a muscle. If you use it, it's going to be sore and weak. That means if I use my will power to hit the gym for an hour, I won't have enough self-control left to choose salad over pizza. The salad barely had a fighting chance to begin with! Exercise also means you'll be less likely to move much after. So instead of running up the stairs, or giving the toddler a piggy-back ride, you'll get on the computer and blog about life not being fair.

It may not reduce the risk of love handles but exercise (or rather, moving) does have some positive side effects which include: read as fast as you can- reducing the risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, colon cancer, breast cancer, premature death, depression and anxiety, and improving overall psychological well-being.

What it boils down to is, I don't get cookies either way. So what should I do? Give up exercise of course! At least in the most intense way. It's movement that counts, not pain inducing, body aching just plain hard work. If I swim, take walks, fidget, basically do what I love, I won't feel entitled to junk food. I won't overcompensate with sugar and exhaustion which only made my best efforts futile. And I still get the fine print benefits! It's a win-win after all!

Oh, and since I want to not get fired, if you could not tell my boss (Gold's Gym) that would be terrific. They are kinda trying to sell the whole, "Working out will make you hot" mantra.


source: go here.

4th of July Camping

We went to Willow Creek with Brandon's side of the family. So much fun. Mostly watching my boys have so much fun. They loved getting to play with Grandpa and look for frogs and just run around and get dirty. The weather was perfect and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We had a great time.




On our hike to the frog pond. I love these pictures.


( He's not winking..just squinting from the sun)



Riding with Great-grandpa Richard-they couldn't get enough

The best poem you'll ever read...*cough*

Are you ever worried that you're so severely dorky, maybe people shouldn't get to know you too well. Or like it's a quality you should repress as much as possible? I'm at that crossroads. Should I suppress? Or let my dork factor shine through? I'm posting this because I'm trusting that you are all dorks too. (please?) I wrote a poem/scavenger hunt for Brandon for Father's Day. You may want to read it aloud. My friend didn't get the "joke" when she read it to herself. And yes, if the word joke is in quotes..it's a good idea to run fast. Just considered yourself forewarned. That's all I'm sayin.



Hooray! You’ve been a father
For another year
Both the boys and I
Hold you so…
Close to our hearts.

To find your 1st clue
Seek out where you sleep
Feel all our love for you
And know it runs..strong

Next, travel to where
We shelve lots of books
Bring your head of great hair
And your stunning good..appearance

Now that you’ve made it
Pick up HP four
To us, you’re a hit!
No man we love..better

Up the stairs you must run
To hold a favorite toy
Thanks for being so fun
And bringing much…happiness

Peek Under the rug, next to the couch
Where the boys can play, and like to play rough
You always stay calm, you’re rarely a grouch
We are so grateful; we can’t thank you…too many times

The end is not far
You’re getting so close
Go into your car
Have some xxx’s and…hugs

This clue is the last
Thanks for being so sweet
Hope that you’ve had a blast
Enjoy your yummy..dessert.

Congratulations! You finished!
You make us so glad
You’re a wonderful husband
And a magnificent..father!






We had just watched Private Eyes a few days previously. A severely dorky film. So I blame Tim Conway and Don Knotts.

Oh keep scrolling for less words and more pictures!

Pictures

Jonas Eugene Kasunick..my new nephew


He loves me.


sweet





The cookie is too big for the cup. I don't blame his concern. Not being able to get a chocolate chip cookie (a perfect one at that) to the milk...Houston, we have a bigger problem.



Still haven't figured it out...


Success!!!

Modesty is Hottest-y

Before I begin, I need to announce (to the one person blog-stalking from Ohio that didn’t know) that I’m LDS. As a mormon, it’s always amusing and often disappointing to hear others, from whatever religion, explain LDS beliefs and doctrine. I wonder, “Where did you hear this?!” Here’s where: Us. Maybe not my mouth exactly but my fellow mormon believers. Of course misperceptions are bound to arise. But so many times, the wrong ideas come from LDS people themselves spouting out weird and/or nonsensical things.

I’ve been a little surprised and okay I’ll say it, eye-rolling, then eyes closing, please-did-you-not-just-really-say-that-chagrined at what has come out of people’s mouths. Most recently, it’s been about modesty. I won't repeat the weirdness I've heard, but instead will set out to set the record (at least my record) straight . I do believe that it will coincide with LDS doctrine, but really I think my beliefs should be accepted and upheld worldwide regardless of religion. I jest. But not much. A Christian friend of mine asked a little awed, “You can’t wear bikinis?!” First, awkward. Second, I was tempted to say, “No, because most of us (whether Mormon, Hindu, Muslim..etc) cannot pull off a bikini.” I refrained. Third. Real answer. If I wanted to, sure. It’s a personal choice. There is no official doctrine on the subject of bikinis. The doctrine is simple: Be modest.

Roll in soap box.

Enter Julie.

Modesty is so much more than not showing skin. Modesty means being humble about one’s importance. It means freedom from vanity. It means not showing off. And yes, a large reason for bikinis is to show off one’s hotness. Does that mean bikinis equals eternal damnation? No. (I myself have attempted to show off hotness and no bikini was involved.) But my favorite definition of modesty is: simplicity or moderation. (Did the bold help it sink in a little deeper?) Modesty is not just covering your butt crack. But feel free too. I give you my blessing. With all my heart.

To me, modesty and moderation are very close cousins. Or siblings rather. Ok fine, I think they’re the same person. I believe God wants us to be humble, not show off, and not go to extremes..aka, moderation. Modesty/moderation should be a guiding principle in everything in life. Clothes…food… blog length (crap.) Pick any topic and moderation goes with it. Eating an entire cow, or only Splenda for lunch-not okay. Watching TV all day long, or even reading the Bible all day long–not okay. We can veto all the bikinis in the world and still not be modest. Spending a third of our income on clothes no matter how covering they are is not how a modest person would act. So to the question of bikinis: I don’t care. It’s a moot point. Modesty is an attitude. A behavior. Not how long your muu-muu reaches. A humble, modest person embraces the fact that she is not that big a deal and therefore spends little time thinking of herself at all, not to mention bikinis or muu-muus. This allows her to think about others. What now? Think about others?! That idea is just too preposterous for more words. I think I just heard a deep sign of relief.

Exit Julie.

Roll off soap box.

Dim lights.