Lauren and Addison's Saturday of Fun

So when I was up in Lincoln, the girls had their own fun at home.  Addison had a play date at Jenna's house...

I am not happy that Addison is holding MU colored pom poms.  That is a problem...but she loves the cheer leading.  That's for sure! 

Mark and Lauren went to a movie, then Lauren did some shopping with my Mom for her upcoming birthday.  

Then they were off to run some errands and have dinner.  

As much as they miss me when I am gone, I know they have a blast with Mark!  

I Worked out With Shaun-T

AMAZING.  That is all I really have to say about it!  It was a fantastic day.  

Me, Becky and several others got the opportunity to train with Shaun T on Saturday afternoon.  If you don't know, he is the mastermind behind workout programs like T-25, Insanity, Hip Hop Abs and many others! 

But, let's back up. The day started at 4:00 AM when my alarm went off!  I was out the door by 5:00, made a quick stop at the gas station and then I was off to Lincoln, Nebraska.  

I stopped in St. Joe and picked up Becky.  She is my office mate any my first official challenger.  She is currently doing T 25 and rocking it!  

We arrived in Lincoln around 8:45 and the morning was filled with motivation talks and leadership information.  Team Beach Body is normal people, just like me and you, wanting to make a difference in people's lives.  We coach people, right in the comfort of their own home.  We offer exercise programs to meet every one's needs.  It helps that I have an undergrad degree in Corporate Fitness and Wellness and I have always had a passion for health promotion.  So far, this opportunity is coming very natural to me.  

Then we had a quick lunch break and filled up on protein bars, almonds, and fruit.  Nothing to heavy, since we were planning on working out with Shaun T for an hour.  OMG.  We were so excited.  

Finally it was time to get started.  As you can see, the room was packed.  All ages, all sizes, everyone with a common goal of better their lives with exercise.  

Shaun T talked for a while, really getting up pumped up before he killed us for 60 minutes.  If you have ever done his Insanity program, that was pretty much it! He walked all over the room, and by me several times.  I pushed my self harder and harder each time he came near!  Becky and I had a great time and we were both ***touched*** by Shaun T at some point in the workout (insert high school girl giggles here.  We had fun!) 

At the end, before stretching and cooling down, he told us all to gather in and continued to give us a motivational talk.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday and got me very excited for the opportunities I could share with others.  I can offer a lifetime of health and fitness with the opportunity from Beach Body and so far I love it! 

If you would like to know more about my coaching e-mail me at 

Fit4everAshley@gmail.com or look me up on Face Book at Fitness forever Ashley!

Boring...

So the blog has been kind of slow lately.  Honestly, we don't have much going on.  January is typically a cold, stay home and lay low kinda month.  This one is no different.  

Lauren and I ran some errands this weekend, getting ready for her upcoming birthday party!

Mark asked for some pictures from us.  This is what he got!  

OK.  Here is a a better one! 

Lauren snacked on everything in Target Saturday afternoon.  

Then we stopped at Orange Leaf for lunch.  Yes, lunch.  

Addison hung out at Paradise Park with Mark. 

Sunday afternoon the girls and I (and Zoe too) took a long walk around the neighborhood.  It was a gorgeous day.  

Things have also been slow on the blog because I started my own business (essentially.)  I am a Beach Body coach.  Basically, that means I am a fitness lover who wants to share my passion with fitness and an overall healthy lifestyle with others.  Before I became an RN, I earned a degree in Corporate Fitness and Wellness.  So, health promotion and fitness have always been a passion of mine.  Now, I am coaching others and helping them achieve their fitness goals.  Programs like T 25, P 90X3, Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam are just a few of the programs that I coach people through.  Saturday, January 25th I am attending a training session in Lincoln, Nebraska with Beach body coaches and trainer Shaun T (the creator of Insanity, T 25, Hip Hop abs, etc...)  They asked us to send a picture of our goals with coaching.  Earning extra money for summer vacation is one of my goals.

If you are interested or want to hear more you can follow me at  

Fitness Forever Ashley

or you can email me at

Fit4everAshley@gmail.com

Back to fun stuff!  Mark had Monday off for the bankers holiday so him and the girls played all day.  Lucky them!  

Plus, they ran a few errands for me and enjoyed a snack at Hy-vee.

So, keep this in mind.  Find ways for some sort of exercise every day.  

Our Weekend

Things have been a little quite around here.  We typically lay low in January.  It is usually too cold to get out much, we usually spend too much money around the Holidays, so we just take it easy in January!  

However,this past weekend we had 2 birthday parties and 1 baby shower!  

My niece, Claire, turned 6!  

She had a magician at her birthday party and Lauren was picked out to do some magic. She loved it. 

And I love Addison's face! 

Lauren loved the magic too.  

And here is the cousin table...but not really.  Anna and Sara are Claire's cousins, but my girls seem to think they are their cousins too! They love playing with Anna and Sara, even though we only see them maybe 3-4 times a year.  

Oh, but before we went to Claire's birthday party, we went to the baby shower next door.  Lauren immediately found Mike and hung out with him!  

Then Mark took Addison for a birthday party for about an hour....and Lauren and I headed to Claire's!

Sunday afternoon was gorgeous.  We spent 2 hours at the park.  

Lauren made it all the way to the top of this equipment....

while Addison played in the sand and built a sand castle!  

It was so nice to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in January at the park! 

Great Wolf Lodge

Over Christmas break we snuck away to GWL for a few days.  We have done this a few times now and the girls really seem to enjoy it. 

As always, as soon as we arrive to any hotel, the girls start jumping on the beds.  Best memory ever as a kid.  Jumping on hotel beds because we couldn't jump on the beds at home.  

We were able to check in as soon as we arrived, so we got settled, changed, and headed to the pool.  

Addison and Mark went to the Lazy River. 

Lauren hit the slides...she gets braver and braver each visit. 

Addison stuck to the baby pool for a while...

and the smaller slides.  She loves them, and doesn't get ran over by the boys on the bigger slides.  

Then it was snack time...Christmas sugar cookies.

Then we headed to the room and changed and headed out to dinner at Granite City.  Then it was back to the pool and more swimming that night.  

Then PJ's and ice cream.  Yummy.

There is so much to do at GWL.  We went to the arcade Monday morning before swimming...again....

Lauren is really getting good at snapping pictures with my big camera.

Then we hit the pool for a few more hours before heading home.  Lauren made a new friend (twice actually.)  Mark and I ran into college friends...

and Mark and Addison had fun in the hot tub.

It was a great little get away in the middle of Christmas vacation.  Can't wait to go back again.