Drop & Plank Challenge

Late last night all us Spartan Chicks where issued a challenge to Drop & Plank every hour on the hour for 1 to 3 minutes. Why, because we are super chicks & because the winner get's a free Spartan Race entry!! Yes I was on board with that!! Rolled out of bed & started at the lake.

Then my living room floor with Jacob

Next came the ironing board- yes folks I had to UP my game- these ladies where getting hard-core with their planks!

After seeing some of the fabulous Planks taking place all over the USA all for a free Spartan Race I knew to win this was going to be almost as hard as winning the race itself!

By 10AM I was in town so I picked Starbucks right in front of everyone. Including two police men who weren't sure whether to keep drinking their coffee or make me get off the wall.

This cracked me up as my friend counted to 60 & we hurried off I CORPS lawn. This is right in front of the building my husband would normally be working inside.

Next I moved on to the Joint Base Lewis McChord water park for a make-up plank I owed. Yes folks I got a little wet & laughed at by some moms at the park.

 What made my day was when I picked up the two boys from school & they asked where are you planking next? I had no more cool ideas....but Jeremy did! Oh the blasted monkey bars, it seemed only appropriate since I complain about them everyday.

Now I'm at home working on dinner & randomly dropping to plank in my kitchen floor. But I wanted you to be able to see how motivated these women are across the country. 

 Spartan Chicks ROCK!! 

I liked all the pictures so I have no idea who will win ? But everyone did great who tried!

My last plank of the day was at the lake since I started my day there as well.

Yep It's My Happy Dance

If you been following along on this crazy roller coaster ride for the past 10 months & 2 weeks - I bet you can figure out why I am Happy Dancing around my house tonight!

I got the STOP sending mail email today from our Rear D & the "this is how Homecoming will go"  newsletter!! We are so close I can almost taste it to having my husband home after deployment number four. We have only told the boys a time frame that dad may arrive. Seeing as I've been there done that a few times I know that exact dates are  not a good thing to hand out. But oh how I am relishing the fact that we are almost DONE!!

Done skyping, done mailing care packages, done chatting on Facebook, done, done , DONE!! YIPPIE!! Now to make it through these last few little weeks by keeping busy. I think I can manage to find things to do that I didn't quite get around to finishing....lol
I hope all you still going through your deployments know the end does come eventually. I wish only good things as you travel on down the deployment road- you are never far from my thoughts. Now to start making hair appointments & planning the outfit....thank goodness.

Just Add Color

I have been waiting for two months now for Mother's Day. Not so I could get some flowers or a card or even a great dinner- which I did. I was waiting for The Color Run Seattle 5K. My nine year old son decided to run with me as my gift from him. It was our first ever 5k together & his first 5k ever. It was so amazing to get up at 5:15AM (note some sarcasm) & head out to Seattle. Hunter my oldest tagged along to be our camera man. He captured some great pictures that will forever be in my memory. This will most likely be the best Mother's Day for a long time to come. I will let the pictures tell the story of how we started off white & ended up looking like a rainbow of colors. It is so cool to have my boys involved in my runs now! 

In the beginning there was a group of 9 clean runners....

For some it was the first mom & son 5K

It also meant best friends running their 7th race together

Friends who met everyday at the gym for weeks to support eachother

There was over 6,000 runners...fastest sell out time ever!

We began our run & laughed the whole way!

Jacob turned into a smurf at the first color zone

The people in the green color zone went a little nuts on us- we looked like the Hulk!

By the end we looked like a rainbow explosion!

We all had fun & all the kids ran their very best!

Jacob kept up anytime I asked to run including a big hill.

The Color Party at the end- was so fun! It was a little hard to breathe but we didn't care.

Bekah's husband looked awesome in all his color.

Color Party Zone

We got photo bombed by random dude!

 

My little guy resting after the race eating a snack.

It was a morning filled with laughter & fun that I will never forgot. It was so much fun that Hunter my oldest who took all the pictures wants to run it next year! I can't wait to maybe get the whole family to join us in the fun! 

An Overhead shot of Seattle

Military Spouses Appreciation Day Blog Hop

 

It's Military Spouses Appreciation Day & Blog Hopping!

Head on over to Riding the Roller Coaster  to post your link & party hop around to other great Military blogs.

My name is Amanda & I've been a military spouse for sixteen years now. Here is our lovely but old before digital wedding picture to my then Specialist.

Here is the current picture as I picked him up for R&R in late February of this year.

We started at Fort Campbell , headed to Fort Wainwright, & have been at Fort Lewis now for eleven years. That's right folks I said eleven! Why so long & how did we accomplish that. Well here is the picture of my four handsome boys.

My third son who is Jeremy was born with a rare disease called Sturge-Weber syndrome. it officially put us on EFMP status. So we have been super lucky to get to homestead at Lewis in Washington . My family loves it here & we are so glad we can stay .

I'm a really outgoing lady who was raised in the south deep in the bible built. I no longer hear my accent but true North Western friends & acquaintances always say they hear my soft lilt still today.  I do miss living close to my extended family but adore the PNW climate unlike a lot of people. The mild summers are a welcome blessing from the southern heat & humidity I grew up with.

My favorite thing I do during my time is run obstacle races. It started back in 2009 & hasn't stopped. The only thing that has changed is that my muddy buddy & I are picking harder races each year that challenge us more.

This was the end of our first Down & Dirty & the beginning of my obsession to stay fit & healthy for life

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I was always active but after four children became a little sedentary. Obstacle racing has got me into the best shape of my life. It has also helped me meet some of the best women around who love to play in the mud & work really hard! I studied to become a personal trainer during deployment number two while my husband was gone through ISSA. I never took the final but completed all the quizzes. I have a good base of nutrition & exercise & love to help others along on their fitness journey.

My newest recruit into obstacle racing &  I hanging upside down for situps on a park work out.

My children consume all my time when I am not racing. My husband is on deployment number four and we are finally wrapping it up in a few weeks! Waiting to see what our next Army adventure will be to come. I am restless as I wait, wait, wait for news of his last promotion & if school will follow. I started my blog before he left on this deployment & it has been wonderful meeting a lot of new military spouses along the way. You will find more information abut my daily life as wife, mom , & friend if you look around . Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy Military Spouses Appreciation Day

" The toughest job in the World."

Just a current song I have on repeat - wanted to share. Blessings to you all out there in bloggy land.

Battling Through

Exhaustion has set in big time today. I woke up full of energy excited to head to the park area to hoist my new log with Ashley until I tried to warm up. Oh- man I could totally tell it was day four of hard work outs with no rest day. My legs where screaming & I just felt fatigued so fast. I had so much going on this week that it has thrown off my training so that I have no rest until Saturday- bummer. I mutt-led through my workout but it hurt! At one point my right leg wobbled so bad coming around a curve I almost ate pavement. That's when I stopped to walk to the next circuit. I have hit my wall and been training non-stop since late January. With my first easy run on Sunday I need to keep going. The hardest isn't until June & I fear I may have no motivation left. 

I was excited that we had a new face join us at our workout- Katie came with her two kids. She has her first ever mud run on Saturday! She is about to loose her sparkle & become a mud girl! She did great but I felt bad I wasn't much help today. Here is a picture of her with Ashley doing wall sits on the pool fence.

Katie did a GREAT job today working out! I wish her the best of luck in Oregon as she tackles her first race. Now here is the picture of us with our logs.

 

 We were super excited! Did you catch the were part-lol I was so exhausted after hauling that 40+ pound log around the hills it was no joke. But I hope all this hard work & training pays off come June. That whatever obstacle they throw our way looks easy because we prepped so well. I even got almost to the end of the monkey bars today! That is HUGE for me,those silly things have been a thorn in my side.

I will keep plugging away & I hope to find a way to get over my wall . Sunday is a fun 5k run with my youngest Jacob in Seattle. Maybe just putting an easy fun run at the beginning will do the trick. I saw this quote on another great bloggers post & it is so true.

"Enjoy your sweat because hard work doesn't guarantee success, but without it you don't have a chance."

-Alex Rodriguez

 

Pumpin Up at the Park

I am back at the park for Tuesday, Thursday & some Saturday workouts & LOVING IT! My girl Ashley is joining me on a regular basis with a few other lovely ladies around our neighborhood stopping by on some days to join us. You saw the post with us hanging upside down on the monkey bars for our sit ups. Yesterday we utilized the picnic table for some ab work as well. There is always some place in any park setting that you can make work for ABS!

 

 

If the picture where closer you'd see my red face & it was all kinds of scrunched up! We where doing what Ashley calls the Clock- almost straight up count to ten then a little lower count to ten all the way until your legs are straight in front working the lower abs. You are pushing your belly button down towards the table the whole time. IT HURTS after 3 sets for me. Here is a quick over view of our whole workout yesterday.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman

Today it was
100 meter sprints x5
110 lunges with 25 to 30 pounds
carrying 25 or 30 pounds over my head x4
2 pull ups
12 burpees
40 push ups
flutter kicks
abs using a picnic table called the clock (ouch!)
60 kettle bell swings with 15llbs
Practiced hoisting a log
It was an AMAZING Workout!!

 Now for Thursday we are going to use that log we hoisted in Tuesday's workout. Ashley's husband chopped it into two pieces for us. One weighs 43 pounds & one weighs 47 pounds. We will be carrying the log as best we can up some hills & back down. All of this is to help us get ready for our Spartan Sprint in June. It's also a lot of fun to laugh at ourselves as we make crazy attempts that sometimes look comical.

 If you haven't gotten off the couch this week WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  No one but you can make the leap to get started- which is the hardest part. We never care who joins our workouts- yesterday Stefanie came along for the ride while her 3 year old daughter played . It's all about trying to get moving & then turning it into a habit for life. Now that we've started why stop? Why go backwards instead of trying new things & moving forward.

I've said it before & I'll say it again. I may not be the fastest on the race course but I am determined to finish & try it all! Do your best & have fun that's what it is all about. If I am getting a great workout in as well- then that's my cherry on top!