Memorial Day, overveiw of the week, and big news...

Today there is big, exciting news to share! But first, an update on our week

Our new ward and neighbors!
We LOVED meeting more of our neighbors at church last Sunday - our first time going to the new ward! It's amazing how open, friendly, and FUN people are here! The members immediately welcomed us in, and our bishop went out of his way to get to know us, asking about any needs we might have as some of the neighborhood's newest members. It was great, and we're looking forward to going back each week!

Memorial Day
After a relaxing Sunday at home, Matt and I had the day off work for Memorial Day. It was lovely!
We got out of bed at 6:30am and hung out at the apartment for a while. I went onto the patio, spread out my yoga mat, and did half an hour of yoga and meditation. It felt wonderful!
Feeling very centered, I read a little bit of Jesus the Christ (I have a goal to finish that huge book before the end of summer, and I'm working my way through!) It was fascinating, as usual!
Just before 9am we walked out the door for our first activity of the day: hiking up Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon.

The base of the falls was crowded with families and couples and we ran into friends of Matt's from ROTC. We chatted for a few minutes before it was time to head up the falls!

The hike turned out to be much LESS intense than we'd planned for - it took us 20 minutes round trip! But no regrets here - it was something I'd wanted to do for a while and Matt had never been!

Still feeling ready for a challenge we decided to take hike #2 after an early lunch. This time we went to Big Springs Park. The park was packed to capacity with families barbequing and enjoying the beautiful weather. It was fun walking past them all on our way to the trailhead, soaking up the happiness. Then we started the hike which took us about an hour and a half. 

The mountains reminded Matt of his mission in Germany!

Old rusted tractor along the trail

We realized: the last time we'd been there we weren't even engaged yet :) It was the day he asked me to our first military ball!

The hike was exactly what we wanted and left us ready for a nap. 

After we went home and cleaned up, we realized we were too tired to cook and instead went out for dinner. We went to a resturant new to one of us: Outback Steakhouse! 

As you can see, Matt enjoyed our complimentary loaf of bread and butter  THREE TIMES!
Our waitress kept dishing it out!

Aah! Funny face! Haha :D

A couple of friends gave us a gift card to the resturant as a wedding gift and we decided to give it a go! The atmosphere was perfect for groups of people, and we're looking forward to going back with friends. If there are any Outback lovers out there, let us know! :D

After eating we rounded out the day with a free outdoor movie at The Riverwoods shopping center. 

Lovely :) The shopping center hosts fun events all summer long, and we're looking forward to stopping in for as many of them as we can - especially their farmers' markets!

The rest of the week

The rest of the week was typical - both of us at work all day and meetings around town for me. 

The biggest work-related news was that the Provo Rec Center scheduled me for THREE weekly yoga classes! I'm BEYOND excited to start teaching there again! After three years of teaching, this might be my favorite location yet :)

Getting back on the Rec Center's schedule is just one of our family goals. We are a very goal-oriented couple (our freezer door is covered in goal outlines) and getting this one checked off felt great! We also achieved another one: to get all of our wedding gift thank-you notes written within a month. DONE! It was fun reviewing all of the thoughtful things people had said and done, and to write to each one individually. THANK YOU to our amazing friends and family!

We got up extra early a couple times this week to go to BYU's gym before work. I love that the facility is so accessible and - during the summer - that there's plenty of room for us on the machines. 

Thursday night we went to run club at a local running store and, while there, found some things that are now on my birthday list..! (it's only 19 days away!)

 

And now for the big news...

L: highest weight, 2011
R: a few weeks ago, on the program

In the last month, I've lost 15 pounds and counting. 

I feel amazing!

I'm not on a diet. I'm on an amazing program that I've been talking about with everyone! Becuase it works. 

I plan to do a whole blog post about it in the next two weeks, after I reach my goal weight. I love sharing my success becuase you can be just as successful, whether you have 5 extra pounds or a hundred and five. It's all because of my health coach and an amazing program! 

More on this later - so excited to complete THIS goal very soon!

Have a wonderful week!