Move with me!

No the K's are not moving house again. I'm working on this:
The President's Challenge

1. Choose an activity.
Just about any physical activity where you're using large muscle groups and burning energy counts. Taking a long walk. Playing basketball or tennis. Taking an aerobics class. Even doing chores around the house if you do these activities in addition to what you normally do.

There is a wealth of scientific evidence showing that as little as 30 minutes of modarate-intensity physical activity (equal in intensity to brisk walking) done on most, if not all, days of the week has substantial health benefits for adults. Sixty minutes has been recommended as a minumum amount of regular activity for youth. Click here for more information on why these activity amounts were chosen.

2. Get active.
Your goal is to meet your daily activity goal (30 minutes a day for adults/60 minutes a day for children under 18) at least 5 days a week, for a total of 6 weeks. You can take up to 8 weeks to complete the program.

3. Track your activity.
Our personal activity log makes it easy for you to track the time you spend on activities, right online. You can log your time as often as you want, in amounts as short as 5 minutes. Accumulating your activities in periods of 10 minutes or more is even better. Although you can't log time for activities you haven't done yet, you can go back a maximum of 14 days to enter past activities.

You can also keep track of your progress on paper by downloading an activity log form. [PDF] Keep in mind, this means we won't have an online record of the activity points you earn - so you can't carry them over if you ever want to compete for a Presidential Champions medal.

4. Order your award.
When you reach your goal, your activity log will remind you that you've earned an award. You can order it right online or by mail. Then you can continue earning awards in the Active Lifestyle program or move on to the next challenge: the Presidential Champions program.

Can you use a pedometer? Absolutely. If you like to walk, run, or play games like basketball or tennis, you can use a pedometer - a small device that automatically counts the number of steps you take. Then just record the amount in your activity log. Different people will have different daily step goals:

Girls 6 to 17 - At least 11,000 steps a day
Boys 6 to 17 - At least 13,000 steps a day
Adults 18 or older - At least 8,500 steps a day
Click here for more information on why these activity amounts were chosen.

If you want to log minutes one day and pedometer steps the next, that's okay. As long as your meet you daily activity goal of minutes or steps.

A group of online friends and I are working on it together. I'm somewhat limited in what activities I can do by lifestyle,location and physical limitations due to arthritis and tendonitis/osis from my hypermobility but as long as I'm moving it counts!

Pilates and walking (mainly Walk Away the Pounds DVD's) are my two main exercises. Personally, I just can't count housework and gardening as I don't work up a sweat. I'm hoping for a pedometer for my birthday and when the weather cools off I'm planning to take morning walks with Tristan and my rosary before everyone wakes up. See, know that I put it on the blog, I better make good on it or someone (hopefully) will call me on it.

I'm going to try and see if I can put some kind of log or counter on the sidebar.

Idea shamelessly stolen

I saw my friend Therese over at Aussie Coffee Shop had a stick figure family on her header. I thought it was cute and since we don't have the obligatory stick figure family window decal I thought, 'HEY! how about one for my blog!" so there we are.

Add to the the "only in TX' category

We went to a Missions (minor league baseball) game last night. Good family fun, Chris and the kids have been before but it was my first time.

First, Tristan at his first baseball game.Second, the Missions mascots. Ballapeno and Henry the Puffy Taco. Yes, the mascots are a jalapeno and a puffy taco...that dance....and run the bases....and fool around in the stands...generally doing what mascots do...but they are well...a taco and a jalapeno :D

Quick, I need to post something clever and witty!!

My friend, Carol, put a link to my blog on her blog. Cool, smart people read Carol's blog. They'll click on her link, come over here looking for more fun and informative writing and find pictures of my 2 month old holding a beer. Impressive!

E*clusi*e N*ghtcl*b

Katie's repsonse: "Maybe Jack doesn't have to study so hard to be in the Air Force after all."

10,000 hits

Nine Texans has had 10,000 hits!! 9.900 of them were immediate family I am sure :-)

My 10,000th hit came from Sherman, TX after searching Google images for John Deere and landing on this post:

http://ninetexans.blogspot.com/2007/09/mowing-musings.html

which is the most popular page outside of the basic Nine Texans address. Most people who come here are linking through other blogs or are googling 'Nine Texans'.

The many faces of Tristan

Jack+Tristan+camera =

Promised pictures

A variety of shots.







Pedernales Falls..not terribly impressive due to drought but still very pretty.





This is Pedernales State Park where the hiking/wading pictures were taken. The following two pictures were taken FIVE MINUTES apart (not by me...obviously). Needless to say no wading is allowed in this area. Pretty amazing photos.

The irony of WALL*E

A movie touching on the evils of consumerism, materialism and excess put out by..... Disney.
Disney, the marketing giant. The company that licenses cups, towels, toys, bedsheets and BEDS, cake molds, balloons, underwear, pajamas, cereal, fruit snacks just to name a few products, to promote their movies.

Don't get me wrong, WALL*E was a wonderful film, one of Pixar's best, if not the best in my opinion, but I can't be the only one who saw the irony of it all.

A little video

from the 4th of July party.

First, a play by Emma and Camille.
Second, what Texans do during a drought and burn ban.
Third, a 7 year old who knows what YouTube is....

Boot Brigade

Thanks to Carol for the great pic.

Ben(4), Emma (7), Japser (4)

His name is Jasper but Ben has this crazy little reversal where he canNOT say 'sp' in the middle of a word, instead it is 'ps'.

Emma's finger

So Jack had a mysterious skin infection. No biggie. Cleared up with some super-dee-dooper antibiotic ointment. One morning Emma comes down crying her finger hurts "SO BAD!" Her finger is red and swollen and somewhat discolored around the cuticle. "Did you hit it?"
"no."
"Did you drop something on it?"
"no"
"Did you hurt it at all?"
"no"

So now I am a little concerned. It looks pretty painful yet hasn't been traumatized in any way. It is the thumb she sucks (yes, still), even though there is no broken skin I am concerned she has some sort of infection (since we don't have Jack's cultures back).

So a day or two goes by and her thumb is still painful and she is still denying any injury to it. I take her to our friendly-neighborhood GP. Dr. M takes a look at it and says "It looks like trauma." "I know but she says she didn't hurt it at all."
Dr M. turns to Emma "Did you hurt your thumb?"
"Well, Gracie kicked it."

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had only asked her at least a dozen times if she was SURE she hadn't hurt it, hit it, bumped it etc..... so $20 co-pay about $8 of gas and an hour of time to find out it was simple trauma.

Head meet brick wall.

My GP refunded my $20. Bless her heart.

I know, I know...

I promised pictures and updates and funny anecdotes and I haven't delivered. Sorry.
I'll do my best to get around to it this week.
Until then hop over to http://sardinesinacan.blogspot.com as Carol managed to get pictures up and write about her 4th of July party and shockingly my camera shy and introverted daughter, Emma, got in a few shots.